Category: Physics and Technology

Engineering

Humanity and Technological Innovation

Jillian Martin, Grade 12 Continual innovation is crucial within the scope of engineering and the advancement of society as a whole. Innovative ideas have the potential to improve living standards, increase efficiency, and provide overwhelming opportunities to those it reaches. Whether it be indoor plumbing, electricity, vaccines, automobiles, or smartphones, technological innovation has shaped every industry and facet of life. However, all things come at … Continue reading Humanity and Technological Innovation

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Computer Science

Predictive Policing: Important Safeguards to Consider

Trevor Kim, Grade 11 The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has increasingly become critical to modern society. AI algorithms are frequently used to automate industrial processes, to streamline supply chains and to even set our oven timers. Intrigued by the efficacy of this technology, law enforcement agencies have invested heavily in developing AI to assist with policing. One emerging use has been in the field … Continue reading Predictive Policing: Important Safeguards to Consider

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Computer Science

Correcting for Bias in Automated Decision Making: How to Better Solve for Disparities in Algorithmic Outputs

Arnav Hak, Grade 10 Introduction          In today’s digitalized world, people are constantly encountering automated decisions made by ADM (Automated Decision-Making) systems. ADM systems refer to technical systems that aim to aid or replace human decision-making in society by deriving conclusions based on given datasets (1). These systems are increasingly becoming more common within local, state, and federal agencies, yet their use is somewhat rare in … Continue reading Correcting for Bias in Automated Decision Making: How to Better Solve for Disparities in Algorithmic Outputs

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Computer Science

Mitigating Automated Discrimination

Dylan McCreesh, Grade 12 Humans are biased creatures. That’s a simple, historically irrefutable, unavoidable element of our nature. In making decisions, humankind is notoriously hindered by a variety of innate biases. Hard-baked into our psychology there are heuristic shortcuts, self-preference biases, and situationally homophilous or heterophilous tendencies which all alter our judgement and limit our capacity for unbiased decision-making. Moreover, for humans, decision-making is a … Continue reading Mitigating Automated Discrimination

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Astronomy, Engineering, Natural World

Implications of Solar Geoengineering

Ashley Goland ’23 Solar geoengineering is a technology that aims to reflect incoming sunlight away from the Earth to reduce the rise of global temperatures, and one proposed approach is to send aerosols into the atmosphere. Although this method may seem like a quick, relatively cheap way to delay further climate change, the effects it could have upon marine and terrestrial organisms are not yet … Continue reading Implications of Solar Geoengineering

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Biology, Physics and Technology, Technology

The Future of 3D Printing in Biotechnology

Aditi Kaveti ‘23 Health technology has advanced tremendously, especially in the field of tissue engineering. Two main products that have resulted from tissue engineering are scaffolds and hydrogels, both being distinct physical forms of polymers for tissue engineered skin. To  enhance cell interaction with polymers, cells need to be present as integrated parts of the bioengineered tissue or host cells need to be recruited for … Continue reading The Future of 3D Printing in Biotechnology

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Health, Health and Medicine, Technology

All Eyes and Ears: How Visual Deprivation Enhances Auditory Learning in Adult Mice

Mariam Malik ‘22 Past research and work has proven the interconnectedness of all senses and their corresponding cortices in the brain. For example, it has been scientifically proven that those lacking in one sense possess advanced abilities in others. Cross-modal learning, or the manipulation of one sense to cause alterations in another, is a key feature of further research. Researchers at the University of Maryland … Continue reading All Eyes and Ears: How Visual Deprivation Enhances Auditory Learning in Adult Mice

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Engineering, Health and Medicine, Technology

The Future of Prosthetics Technology

Aditi Kaveti ’23 People with hand amputations often rely on prosthetic hands and services and face difficult daily challenges in performing simple tasks. The conventional prosthetic hand restores mobility but does not provide realistic human hand-like features. The inability to perform daily activities affects the quality of life and can be damaging to the patient’s mental health and well-being. A new electronic glove boasts the … Continue reading The Future of Prosthetics Technology

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Environment, Technology

The Usage of Electromagnetic Waves as Water Sanitizers as Opposed to Traditional Methods of Water Sanitation

Kavindra Sahabir ‘21 One of the biggest challenges for animal breeding on farms is assuring the highest quality of the drinking water afforded to said animals. The goal is to prevent contamination from pathogens in order to ensure optimal animal health, and lower the risk disease. Currently, the system that most farms use is a physical method of filtration along with different chemical treatments. However, … Continue reading The Usage of Electromagnetic Waves as Water Sanitizers as Opposed to Traditional Methods of Water Sanitation

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Figure 1. Despite being known for entertainment, Disney has also gained an edge in technological research via 3D printing and modeling. Shown here is one of the compliant mechanisms created in a study from Disney’s research division.
2016-17, Engineering

New Disney Study Suggests More Effective 3D Printing Designs

By Caleb Sooknanan ’20 Compliant mechanisms are mechanisms that can transfer forces or displacements to other points along their bodies. 3D printing can be used to quickly and effectively design compliant mechanisms for commercial use, but more work is needed to understand how such devices can be printed. Doctor Bernhard Thomaszewski and researchers from Disney Research Zurich in Switzerland devised a computational tool that would … Continue reading New Disney Study Suggests More Effective 3D Printing Designs

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Figure 1. Scientists strive to create wearable smart devices that can detect physiological phenomena in real time. According to a study from UC Berkeley, new ear devices can be 3D printed and used to indicate patients’ true body temperatures.
2016-17, Engineering, Health

3D-Printed Ear Devices Detect Core Body Temperature

By Caleb Sooknanan ’20 Healthcare sensors are frequently used to detect skin temperature, but more research is needed to design a device that can pinpoint core body temperature levels and help doctors predict the likelihood of fever, fatigue, and other physiological phenomena. Professor Ali Javey and researchers at the University of California, Berkeley designed a printable smart device that — when placed on a patient’s … Continue reading 3D-Printed Ear Devices Detect Core Body Temperature

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Figure 1: Stairs are frequently a major obstacle for individuals with neuromuscular conditions.
2016-17, Engineering

Researchers Develop Low-Power Assistive Stairs

By Anna Tarasova ’19 Many elderly and mobility-impaired individuals are unable or tend to be unwilling to use stairs. While assistive technologies exist, they are frequently costly and unsustainable. The principle of energy recycling has been previously applied to walking assistance mechanisms that take advantage of the continuous braking and propelling of the legs. However, during stair-walking, ascent is a period of constant propulsion and … Continue reading Researchers Develop Low-Power Assistive Stairs

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