Monthly Archives: April 2017

Neil Gorsuch Sworn In as Supreme Court Justice – NBCNews.com

Posted: April 12, 2017 at 8:54 am

Neil Gorsuch was sworn in as the next Supreme Court Justice on Monday morning an ascension to the high court bench that President Donald Trump touted as one of his first major domestic successes.

"And I got it done in the first 100 days that's even nice," he told reporters, White House aides, and guests gathered in the Rose Garden. "You think that's easy?"

Trump also acknowledged the magnitude of the moment.

"This ceremony has special meaning as Justice Gorsuch is filling the seat of one of the greatest Supreme Court judges in American history, and that's Antonin Scalia, who is a terrific was a terrific judge and a terrific person," Trump said. "Justice Scalia was a patriot who revered our Constitution. He was beloved by many, very many, who are here today, and he is deeply missed by all of us."

Trump's first months in the White House have otherwise been plagued by legislative missteps on healthcare and legal challenges to his immigration travel ban. However, the administration and Trump's supporters see Gorsuch's confirmation as a campaign promise kept and a notch in the win column as the White House eyes the end of the critical first 100 day period.

"He will decide cases based not on personal preferences, but a fair and objective reading of the law," Trump said.

Justice Anthony Kennedy administered the judicial oath in the White House Rose Garden. It was the first time a sitting justice swore in a former clerk to join him as a colleague on the high court bench.

"I cannot tell you how honored I am to have here today my mentor, Justice Kennedy, administer the judicial oath, a beautiful oath, as he did for me 11 years ago when I became a Circuit judge," Gorsuch said, adding that he was "humbled" by the role.

"I am humbled by the trust placed in me today," Gorsuch said. "I will never forget that to whom much is given, much will be expected. And I promise you that I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and laws of this great nation."

Gorsuch will replace the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who passed away in February of 2016.

This was the second of two oaths taken by Supreme Court's newest justice on Monday. The first was administered earlier that morning by Chief Justice John Roberts with Scalia's widow and one of his sons in attendance, as well as the other eight Supreme Court justices.

Related: New Justice Neil Gorsuch to Have Immediate Impact on Supreme Court

Gorsuch's swearing in comes after a fierce confirmation battle, waged largely along party lines, that deeply divided the Senate. Democrats tried to block Gorsuch's nomination Thursday with a procedural filibuster but were met by a historic and unprecedented counter by Republicans.

Senate Republicans invoked the "

Just three Democrats crossed party lines to confirm Gorsuch: Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana), Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota.

While Republicans and the White House praised Gorsuch as a mainstream and qualified jurist, Democrats sounded the alarm over past rulings that they said reflected a preference for corporate interests.

Their opposition was also rooted in the Republican block of President Barack Obama's Supreme Court pick Merrick Garland, who was nominated last year to replace Scalia. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at the time refused to consider Garland's nomination because of the proximity to the presidential election.

Garland never saw a vote.

Gorsuch can't vote on cases argued before he was sworn-in. However, he could play a decisive role in an important freedom of religion case to be heard April 19.

The court will hear the final 13 cases of the term in April.

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Limits to the Nonparametric Intuition: Superintelligence and Ecology – Lifeboat Foundation (blog)

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In a previous essay, I suggested how we might do better with the unintended consequences of superintelligence if, instead of attempting to pre-formulate satisfactory goals or providing a capacity to learn some set of goals, we gave it the intuition that knowing all goals is not a practical possibility. Instead, we can act with a modest confidence having worked to discover goals, developing an understanding of our discovery processes that allows asserting an equilibrium between the risk of doing something wrong and the cost of work to uncover more stakeholders and their goals. This approach promotes moderation given the potential of undiscovered goals potentially contradicting any particular action. In short, wed like a superintelligence that applies the non-parametric intuition, the intuition that we cant know all the factors but can partially discover them with well-motivated trade-offs.

However, Ive come to the perspective that the non-parametric intuition, while correct, on its own can be cripplingly misguided. Unfortunately, going through a discovery-rich design process doesnt promise an appropriate outcome. It is possible for all of the apparently relevant sources not to reflect significant consequences.

How could one possibly do better than accepting this limitation, that relevant information is sometimes not present in all apparently relevant information sources? The answer is that, while in some cases it is impossible, there is always the background knowledge that all flourishing is grounded in material conditions, and that staying grounded in these conditions is one way to know that important design information is missing and seek it out. The Onion article Mans Garbage To Have Much More Significant Effect On Planet Than He Will is one example of a common failure at living in a grounded way.

In other words, staying grounded means recognizing that just because we do not know all of the goals informing our actions does not mean that we do not know any of them. There are some goals that are given to us by the nature of how we are embedded in the world and cannot be responsibly ignored. Our continual flourishing as sentient creatures means coming to know and care for those systems that sustain us and creatures like us. A functioning participation in these systems at a basic level means we should aim to see that our inputs are securely supplied, our wastes properly processed, and the supporting conditions of our environment maintained.

Suppose that there were a superintelligence where individual agents have a capacity as compared to us such that we are as mice are to us. What might we reasonably hope from the agents of such an intelligence? My hope is that these agents are ecologists who wish for us to flourish in our natural lifeways. This does not mean that they leave us all to our own preserves, though hopefully they will see the advantage to having some unaltered wilderness in which to observe how we choose to live left to our own devices. Instead, we can be participants in patterned arrangements aimed to satisfy our needs in return for our engaged participation in larger systems of resource management. By this standard, our human systems might be found wanting by many living creatures today.

Given this, a productive approach to developing superintelligence would not only be concerned with its technical creation, but also by being in the position to demonstrate how all can flourish through good stewardship, setting a proper example for when these systems emerge and are trying to understand what goals should be like. We would also want the facts of its and our material conditions readily apparent, so that it doesnt start from a disconnected and disembodied basis.

Overall, this means that in addition to the capacity to discover more goals, it would be instructive to supply this superintelligence with a schema of describing the relationships and conditions under which current participants flourish, as well as the goal to promote such flourishing whenever the means are clear and circumstances indicate such flourishing will not emerge of its own accord. This kind of information technology for ecological engineering might also be useful for our own purposes.

What will a superintelligence take as its flourishing? It is hard to say. However, hopefully it will find sustaining, extending, and promoting the flourishing of the ecology that allowed its emergence as a inspiring, challenging, and creative goal.

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Space | National Archives

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Information about the United States space flight programs, including NASA missions and the astronauts who participate in the efforts to explore space.

Stellar cluster taken by Hubble Space Telescope. (Courtesy of the Hubble Heritage Team)

NARA Resources Finding Aids for NARA Records on Space Exploration

Mars taken by Hubble Space Telescope. (Courtesy of NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team)

Presidential Libraries

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Library And Museum: Space Sources

John F. Kennedy Library & Museum: Space Sources

Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum: Space Resources

Richard Nixon Library: Space Resources

Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum: Space Resources

Picture of the Trifid Nebula taken by Gemini North 8-meter Telescope. (Courtesy of the Gemini Observatory/GMOS Image)

Jimmy Carter Library and Museum: Space Resources

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: Space Resources

George Bush Presidential Library and Museum: Space Resources

William J. Clinton Presidential Library: Space Resources

Neptune taken by Voyager spacecraft. (Courtesy of NASA, JPL, and CALTech)

General Space Exploration Resources

Jupiters red spot taken by Voyager spacecraft. (Courtesy of NASA, JPL, and CALTech)

Fireworks at star formation taken by Hubble Space Telescope. (Courtesy of NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team)

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Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation – Wikipedia

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Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation Abbreviation CSEO Formation 2012; 5years ago(2012) Type Non-governmental Legal status Non-profit Purpose Promote Space Exploration - R&D, Education and Industry Location

Region

Volunteers

The Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation (CSEO) is a Cypriot non-governmental, nonprofit organisation.[1][2] It's main functions are outreach,[3][4][5] education,[6] research,[7] development,[8] advocacy,[9][8] and international relations[10][11] in the field of space exploration. The organisation fosters collaboration with other space-faring nations in science, space and planetary missions.[1][12][13][14][15][16][17] It was founded in 2012[8] and has over 380 registered researchers,[17] members and volunteers and over 18,000 followers on social media.[17][11]

CSEO is member of:

CSEO's research paper submitted by its team MarsSense, has been recognised and nominated in the best four in the world for an international award, at SpaceOps 2014 (at JPL, NASA in May 2014).[7][25]

CSEO's main mission is to promote Cyprus as one of the leading international space-faring nations.[18]

CSEO states[26] its mission as:

CSEO operates with the following four basic pillars: Education and Outreach, R&D, Industry, and International Relations and Collaboration.[18][13]

CSEO main activities concentrate on:[18]

CSEO is actively involved in space-related educational activities to stimulate the interest of the younger generation in the field of science and space research.[4][27][5] One of CSEOs pillars of primary focus is the education and empowerment of young people of all ages and backgrounds in its area of expertise, with the ultimate objective of assisting in the development of a highly skilled youth, equipped to address contemporary and future scientific challenges.[28][1][6]

As part of these activities CSEO runs the "CSEO Space Club" in schools throughout the island.[17] This club is an outreach and education project in Cyprus, in association with the International Space Community, for school classes and afternoon societies.[29] It brings to schools training and educational material, as well as astronauts and space engineers in order to prepare and build the next generation of scientists and engineers.[5][4][30][6][29]

CSEO organises the Space Week annually since 2013, promoting space to the people of Cyprus.[9][4]

CSEO co-produced with Tetraktys-Films the First Cypriot Space Documentary, that promotes space research on the island.[31] It was premiered at the CYTA Headquarters in November 2016 and then on National TV channel CyBC 1 the following month.[31]

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Conference to focus on space exploration in next decade – Lowell Sun – Lowell Sun

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LOWELL, Mass. (AP) -- Astronauts, scientists and entrepreneurs are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the start of the Space Age and looking ahead to the next frontiers at a conference in Lowell.

"Space Exploration in the Upcoming Decade: The Domestication of Space," will bring industry leaders from around the world to share their work.

The conference will be held at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell from April 21 and April 22.

Space travel, human's ability to live on other planets and research that benefits life on Earth are a few of the conference's topics.

Keynote speakers include astronaut Col. Robert Cabana, director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center; Kenneth Sembach, director of the Space Telescope Science Institute and retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. James Abrahamson, the first director of the Strategic Defense Initiative.

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Conference to focus on space exploration in next decade – Sentinel & Enterprise

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LOWELL, Mass. (AP) -- Astronauts, scientists and entrepreneurs are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the start of the Space Age and looking ahead to the next frontiers at a conference in Lowell.

"Space Exploration in the Upcoming Decade: The Domestication of Space," will bring industry leaders from around the world to share their work.

The conference will be held at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell from April 21 and April 22.

Space travel, human's ability to live on other planets and research that benefits life on Earth are a few of the conference's topics.

Keynote speakers include astronaut Col. Robert Cabana, director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center; Kenneth Sembach, director of the Space Telescope Science Institute and retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. James Abrahamson, the first director of the Strategic Defense Initiative.

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Conference to focus on space exploration in next decade - Sentinel & Enterprise

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Get excited: NASA has agreed to fund 22 wild ideas for space … – ScienceAlert

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Own up how many of you still have that picture you drew when you were 10 of a tentacled-squid-bot diving the depths of Jupiter's gaseous oceans, or of a blimp sailing the skies of Titan in search of floating aliens?

NASA might prefer that it's not presented in crayon, but based on the results of its latest rounds of Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program pitches, they're willing to entertain some pretty imaginative suggestions for undergoing space exploration in the not-too-distant future.

Between 1998 and 2007, the program was known as the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts, and was responsible for exploring cutting edge ideas that could provide clever ways to conduct its missions.

In 2011, a new version of the program was launched under the same acronym but a slightly different name, continuing to fund studies that aim to investigate exciting possibilities in space travel and exploration.

Best of all, the ideas don't need to come from NASA scientists virtually anybody can apply, where the mix of 'so-crazy-it-just-might-work' and plain old 'so-crazy' are put through a peer review process before a final list is decided upon.

"The NIAC program engages researchers and innovators in the scientific and engineering communities, including agency civil servants," said Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate.

"The program gives fellows the opportunity and funding to explore visionary aerospace concepts that we appraise and potentially fold into our early stage technology portfolio."

All of the proposals fall into two categories: Phase I awards pay researchers US$125,000 to define and analyse the feasibility of their idea; in Phase II, researchers can be awarded up to US$500,000 to take their Phase I idea and spend the next two-years studying it further.

The list of past ideas reads like the index from an encyclopaedia of science-fiction, with printable spacecraft, asteroid-mining robots, and 'torpor inducing transfer habitats' to help astronauts sleep all the way to Mars.

The entries for 2017 are just as much fun to read. You can read the full list here.

This year's 15 Phase I ideas include:

The past Phase I proposals to get the nod for seven new Phase II projectsthis year include:

"Phase II studies can accomplish a great deal in their two years with NIAC. It is always wonderful to see how our Fellows plan to excel," said NIAC program executive Jason Derleth.

Not all of the projects will turn out to be useful, useable, or even feasible, and even those that seem to have some merit could take years, if not decades to find a place in NASA's missions.

But it's not really the point. Even failure will push future ideas into directions never considered possible, providing data that could find a place in more Earth-grounded innovation.

"Hopefully, they will all go on to do what NIAC does best change the possible," said Derleth.

If you think your brain-wave is worth funding and want to apply for future rounds, you will need to have a US citizen or somebody working in the US on your team; otherwise, get out your crayons!

Just stay on the look-out for that tentacled-squid-bot in next year's list!

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Get excited: NASA has agreed to fund 22 wild ideas for space ... - ScienceAlert

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Dealing with e-waste the nanotech way – SciDev.Net

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[BANGALORE] Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are best recycled by pulverising them into nanosized particles to easily recover valuable constituents such as polymers, oxides and metals, say Indian researchers. The new method, described in a study published March in Materials Today, is scalable and environment-friendly, say the researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and the Rice University in Houston, US. In the study, the researchers followed the principle that ultra-low temperatures make materials brittle and easy to pulverise and separate. They placed a PCB in a rotating cylinder with temperatures brought down to 119 degrees Celsius before bombarding it with steel balls to shatter it into nanoparticles which were then dispersed in water. Physical crushing requires a lot of energy, especially when dealing with complex circuit boards with a variety of components. Smelting circuit boards is more economical and feasible. R. Parthasarathi, E-Parisara

The nanoparticles could be put to various uses, the researchers say. They could be added to polymer composites to strengthen them, used in 3D printing or in the making of polymer powder-based paints. Metallic nanoparticles can be reused after purification by well-known methods. With some preliminary sorting, the method can handle most PCBs, says Kamanio Chattopadhyay, research guide, professor at IISc and an author of the study. Although the technology is still in the laboratory stage, the research team is now working with an industry to demonstrate its scalability and effectiveness. Scaling up the process, Chattopadhyay says, depends on factors such as the existence of an efficient supply chain of waste as well as viable business models including the availability of capital, expected return and the policy environment. Others are less optimistic. Physical crushing requires a lot of energy, especially when dealing with complex circuit boards with a variety of components. Smelting circuit boards is more economical and feasible, says R. Parthasarathi, managing director of E-Parisara, one of Indias leading e-waste recycling companies.

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Dealing with e-waste the nanotech way - SciDev.Net

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Researchers use nanotech. in photodynamic therapy for cancer – Mehr News Agency – English Version

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Chitosan is a natural polymer with excellent biocompatibility, but poor mechanical properties. Dr. Alireza Karimi, the project manager, said the present study was an attempt to produce hydrogels with desirable biological, self-healing, mechanical and electrical properties by creating a nanocomposite with the help of carbon nanotube.

These hydrogels are able to heal themselves in case of injury without the need for outside involvement, he added.

According to the researcher, the produced structure can act as a nanoreactor and has applications in various medical fields, gas separation and energy storage.

We used of carbon nanotubes to synthetize the hydrogel. Carbon nanotubes have lend their unique mechanical and electrical properties to the finalized version of the synthetized hydrogel, he said.

Karimi maintained that the hydrogels can be used in targeted drug delivery, adding the self-healing hydrogels have the ability to modify their forms against strain and then return to their original state once the tension is removed.

According to him, the hydrogel has applications in photodynamic therapy for cancer and injuries of soft tissues such as the skin.

The results of the research have been published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 8, No. 40, 2016, pp. 27254-27263.

MS/3949152

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Chemistry faculty member explores DNA and nanotech in latest research project – Penn State News

Posted: at 8:52 am

LEMONT FURNACE, Pa. DNA, the molecule that contains all of our genetic information, could also be the future of nanotechnology, according to a paper recently published by a research team headed by Julio Palma, a chemistry faculty member at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.

A theoretical and computational chemist, Palma arrived at the Fayette campus in fall 2016 to serve as an assistant professor. Outside the classroom, his research involves the study of molecules and their application in alternative energy sources and nanotechnology.

DNA has the ability to function as an electronic device, and Palma was recently in charge of theoretical development for a project in which researchers modified DNA sequences to control the flow of electricity, making them function as an electrical switch. This scientific contribution was published in the article Gate-controlled conductance switching in DNA in the February 2017 edition of Nature Communications, an open-access, multidisciplinary journal containing high-quality research that represents advances of significance to specialists in the biological, physical, chemical and Earth sciences.

Read more on this subject at phys.org/news/2017-02-switched-on-dna-nano-electronic-applications.html.

In another article published last fall, Palma was part of a team that studied electron transport through a hydrogen-bonded system, finding that, for a family of structurally connected molecules, the conductance decreases as molecular polarizability increases. The results of this research appeared in the article Polarizability as a Molecular Descriptor for Conductance in Organic Molecular Circuits, which was published in the October 2016 issue of The Journal of Physical Chemistry.

Palma encourages his students at Penn State Fayette to conduct research, and is currently working on separate projects with Anastazia Polakovsky, Janai Showman and Jaira Wells, all three of whom will present their findings at the upcoming campus Learning Fair.

It is never too early to begin scientific research, according to Palma, who knows firsthand that it can greatly benefit undergraduate students. Research experience allows students to reinforce concepts that they learn in their classrooms, to improve their critical-thinking skills, to acquire knowledge that is not taught in traditional courses, and have the opportunity to research a specific topic nobody has studied before, he said.

Palma added that having experience with research can also influence students in their decision to pursue a higher degree. I am excited and proud to be at Penn State Fayette working with three talented students, he said, and I am eager to continue developing new opportunities in the future so more students can have the chance to learn and grow from participating in research.

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Chemistry faculty member explores DNA and nanotech in latest research project - Penn State News

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