WPI Daily Herd: The Innovators of Tomorrow (The winners!!)

Mass Academy Repeats

Posted Mar 18, 2015 in “News”

Mass Academy of Math and Science takes top honors at Worcester Regional Science and Engineering Fair

Identity theft is an all-too-common side effect of 21st century conveniences—according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 16.6 million people were victims in 2012 alone.

When it comes to our Smartphones, 17-year-old Yashaswini Makaram knew there had to be a better—and more convenient—method than simple password protection. So the analytically minded student at the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science at WPI set about to experimenting.

The result is her project, “The Phoney Lift: Using Accelerometers to Identify People,” which placed No. 1 in the 60th annual Worcester Regional Science and Engineering Fair, held at WPI on March 13. Her ongoing endeavor makes use of accelerometers, gyroscopes, hundreds of measurements, and trigonometric computations, ultimately determining nine observations that define a person.

“I like the area that I’m working in right now,” Makaram said. “I want to do something closer to the edge, mixing the different fields of science.”

Makaram’s work was chosen from among 126 projects by 163 area high school students, with awards given out following a keynote by President Laurie Leshin. Now Makaram and five other top finishers will go on to the International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh in May. Forty-two other students were given honorable mentions, qualifying them as regional delegates to the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair, to be held May 1 and 2 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mass Academy dominated Friday’s fair, claiming five of the top six awards.

“Every year they seem to outdo themselves,” Mass Academy director Mike Barney said as the winning students mugged for photos on the Alden Hall stage nearby. They typically start brainstorming in August, he said—a full half-year ahead of time—and all their work is from scratch. “All this is original research. The students work so hard.”

The regional competition is open annually to students in 9th through 12th grades from numerous public, private, parochial, charter, and home schools in Central Massachusetts. The middle school division of the fair is to be held at WPI on May 5.

Projects were displayed all day Friday at the Odeum at the Campus Center; the hall was abuzz with conversation by budding scientists and engineers and their mentors, future instructors, and curious onlookers.

The works covered a wide swath of disciplines and topics—circadian rhythm disturbances on cricket neurodegeneration; affordable lower-limb prosthetics in developing countries; the effects of therapy dogs on human blood pressure; preventing concussions in contact sport collisions; light-following robots; electricity-generating backpacks; the benefits of volcanoes; electrolytes in drinks; and the spectrum of plant growth.

Roughly 100 judges from numerous fields—representing EMC, National Grid, Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation, and U.S. Army Natick Soldier RD&E Center, among others—critiqued students on criteria such as originality, feasibility, clarity of oral presentation, application of quantitative and statistical tests, and effectiveness of visual display.

Serving as further inspiration for the great minds of tomorrow, President Leshin offered her keynote on her NASA work on the Mars rover Curiosity.

As she explained before the crowd of students, parents, and educators, the rover was designed to look for evidence that water once flowed on Mars. Its landing area was the 80-mile-wide Gale Crater, and it touched down at 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 5, 2012.

“I remember the date extremely well, because it happened to be my birthday,” Leshin said. “It was a pretty good birthday present.”

Still, she and her team only spent a few minutes celebrating, she said; the rest of that night and the ensuing months were dedicated to work on the rover, which is outfitted with numerous cameras, weather instrumentation, spectrometers, chemical sensors, and a drill, scoop, and laser that shoots tiny holes in rocks.

What it has since discovered among Mars’s canyons, enormous volcanoes, and “thousands and thousands of dried-up river beds,” is a rounded pebble conglomerate similar to one that indicates water on earth. It has also photographed elaborate textured layers on rocks, a geometric pattern that tells scientists there were once flowing currents there. The crater that served as its landing pad was probably once a lake, Leshin posited.

“Was there anything swimming in that lake? We don’t know yet,” she said, explaining that the robot’s next mission is to make a slow crawl up the nearby Mt. Sharp.

Overall, “It’s a great mission,” she said, “It’s an exciting time.”

THE FAIR’S TOP FINISHERS:

Georgie Botev, Mass Academy, “Single Track Gray Codes: A General Construction and Extensions.”

Kyle Foster, Wachusett Regional High School, “They Get Knocked Down, But They Get Up Again!”

Marian Dogar, Mass Academy, “Effects of Turine on Memory Retention in D. Dorotocephala.”

Amol Punjabi, Mass Academy, “New Algorithms for Virtual Drug Screening Applied to Cancer.”

Aishwarrya Arivudainambi, Mass Academy, “Effects of Curcumin and Piperine on Development in D. rerio.”

Follow Curiosity on Twitter @marscuriosity or @laurieofmars.

Original link. 

- BY TARYN PLUMB

Boston Globe: Think spring!

Bring spring into your home with bright colors, bits of nature

By Taryn Plumb GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

MARCH 15, 2015

Photos by Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe / Jessica Rinaldi, Globe Staff / Debee Tlumacki

For once, fashion and life are perfectly aligned: Sunshine yellow is a prominent color in home décor this year.

Also pink, berry, emerald green, and overall “more saturated colors,” says interior decorator Shawn Strok of Franklin, while more “painterly, romantic flowers” are emerging in fabric designs.

“After this winter, everybody wants a little color,” agrees Darilynn Evans, owner of the Cohasset boutique Darilynn’s Home Presence.

“You can take an old drab chair and paint it a bright beautiful color for the spring,” says Ida Staffier Bial, owner of the Topsfield boutique Some Like it Old ... Some Like it New.

It’s doubtful that anyone who spent the last two months digging out from Greater Boston’s endless winter will argue for more white this year, either outdoors or in. In fact, decorators suggest a range of flourishes — both subtle and bold — that can help transform your drab winter hideaway into a warm, welcoming spring refuge.

BRING NATURE INDOORS

For starters, it doesn’t get much more colorful than flowers.

“Daffodils can really brighten up your home,” said Strok, with Decorating Den Interiors — Strok Design Team. Her suggestion: Place them in a clear glass vase with a layer of moss. Or display cut grass on a decorative platter; it’s simple yet earthy.

“Just a little bit of green really warms up a space,” said Linda Rubin of Quintessential Interiors in North Easton.

She suggests bamboo shoots, vines, and curly willows displayed in inexpensive glass vases.

Green touches could also be added with cyclamen plants, preserved boxwood, and topiaries.

And tulips, with their array of pastel hues, are an inexpensive way to freshen up a room.

Silk flowers are another option, Rubin said, as are the early-blooming cherry blossoms and forsythia, which, when placed on a mantle, “the color is just going to pop.”

ADD SOME WHIMSY

Other quick and painless ways to rejuvenate your space: Switch out doormats, sheets, accent pillows, shower curtains, table linens, napkins, place mats, and serving and dinnerware. Shedding the darker, heavier accoutrements of winter forthe lighter, brighter ones of spring can provide a surprising lift.

Even a fresh set of bath or kitchen towels can enliven the atmosphere, Evans pointed out.

“There are a lot of little things, easy ways just to lighten up, add pops of color around your house,” she said.

Evans suggests placing summery-scented candles around a room, creating table centerpieces with clear glass balls or shells, filling hurricane lamps with flowers or candles, and vases with lemons and limes.

Unusual pieces — such as antique bicycles, futuristic-looking floor lamps, and oil paintings by obscure artists — can be found at vintage stores such as Salvage LTD in Arlington.

Owner Ellen Aronson suggested accents such as antique cameras and globes, ceramics, and, of course, art.

“One object can change a room,” she said. “Finding the right painting or print really can change the look of a room and say something about you.”

Strok, meanwhile, said she likes to include elements such as bird statues arranged in a vignette, tucked away for guests to discover. “It adds whimsy to a room,” she said.

GET YOUR PAINTBRUSH

If you’re up for a project, get creative by painting an accent wall in your living room, or lightening up the color of a bathroom (Evans suggests a subtle pink). Or welcome visitors with a front door newly painted with a fun seasonal color (and, of course, along with it, a new welcome mat).

“Paint for anything does wonders,” said Evans. “It’s a very inexpensive fix. Plus it renews your spirit as well.”

You also might try using Chalk Paint, which can be used to coat and ultimately redefine any surface — fabrics, glass, brass, ceramics, wood — with a velvety matte finish. Popular overseas for a number of years and now catching on in this country, the paint brand can be found in 30-plus colors at Some Like it Old ... Some Like it New.

“You can change a kitchen really inexpensively,” said Staffier Bial, who has personally painted redone candelabras, chandeliers, glass vases, a dining room set, china cabinets, and kitchen cabinets (some on display in the store) with Chalk Paint.

DON’T OVERDO IT

Ultimately, when accessorizing, make it a goal to “bounce” a color three times in a given room to maximize its impact, advised Strok. (For example, display daffodils on a table, complementing them with a similarly bright pillow nearby and a splash of yellow on a carpet across the room.)

“We’re coming out of the economic downturn, finally, and people really want to express themselves with color,” Strok said.

But be sure not to overdo it, Rubin cautioned. Work with your existing colors to create a nice palette, and aim for clean lines.

“Enhance what you already have,” she said. “You don’t have to cover every square inch of a table, or a wall, or a mantle.”

Meanwhile, if you don’t feel like spending the money (or already have more than enough stuff), a quick and easy room rearrangement can pay an unexpected dividend.

Simply try changing up the mantel, centerpiece, or coffee table, Evans suggested (definitely removing any remainders of the holidays), swap out pictures, reposition lamps or tables, move artwork from one room to another, put heavy area rugs away.

“Roll it up and just make things simple and clean,” said Evans.

And there’s a reason it’s called spring cleaning. Notes Rubin: “Sometimes just decluttering can give you a breath of fresh air.”

Decorating tips

MARCH 15, 2015

Darilynn Evans

Darilynn’s Home Presence, Cohasset

On plants:

“Have vases of flowers around, tulips especially, because they’re very springy.”

On the dining room:

If you don’t want to invest in a whole new set of dishes, buy one or two accent plates or glasses.

On color:

“Anything white is always good. It makes things look crisp and fresh.”

Linda Rubin

Quintessential Interiors, North Easton

On patterns:

“Geometric is always nice to add — a geometric layered with a floral, or with a solid. But not over the top so your eyes don’t know where to rest.”

On furniture:

Buying just a couple of pieces of furniture in a nice fabric “will really bring the room to another level.”

On color:

“Tangerine is a nice crisp look; you can easily add white accents. It can look very sharp and upscale.”

Ida Staffier Bial

Owner of Some Like It Old...Some Like It New, Topsfield

On projects:

“One very quick-and-easy redo to add color is to paint your furniture.”

On chalk paints:

“They go with pretty much anything and everything,” with the most popular hues “soft greens, blues, neutrals, and gray.”

On general ways to freshen up for spring:

“Transform the living room by updating and adding colorful pictures, pillows, throws, rugs.”

Original story link.

Photo slideshow. 

WPI Daily Herd: The Innovators of Tomorrow

Science Fair Elite
Posted on Mar 12, 2015 in "Events"

Regional Science and Engineering Fair brings brightest high schoolers to WPI

Science, engineering, and the contemporary world have a symbiotic, evolving relationship, with influence flowing in both directions – need prompts study, study propels innovation.

This process is evident down to one of the disciplines’ essential, age-old building blocks: The science fair.

“The progress of science can be tracked by the projects students choose to do,” said Nancy G. Degon, retired educator and chair of the upcoming annual Worcester Regional Science and Engineering Fair. “Over our 60-year history, you can track interest in space projects when the moon landing occurred, biology projects when DNA was discovered, computer programming projects when the first computers were available to the public. Today students are designing apps and robots, and many projects also involve some aspect that intends to help solve global problems.”

Ingenuity of all types will be on display at this year’s high school division fair, to be held this Friday at the Campus Center Odeum. (The middle school division, meanwhile, will take place on May 4.)

Judging will begin at 9 a.m., and a final awards ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. in Alden Hall. The competition is open to students in 9^th to 12^th grades from numerous public, private, parochial, charter, and home schools in central Massachusetts.

According to Degon, 175 students from 25 schools have signed up so far, and their projects encompass a wide swath of ideas. A few examples: the inhibition effect of garlic extract on colon cancer; generating electricity with a backpack; practical alternatives to persistent pesticides in Haiti; and (particularly timely after this record-setting winter), the effects of road salting on plant germination and growth.

Judges will score all projects based on a number of criteria, including originality, consideration of feasibility, application of quantitative and statistical tests, clarity of oral presentation, and effectiveness of visual display.

The benefits of the fair, a nonprofit that has encouraged innovation and experimentation since 1956, are multifold, Degon notes: Students have the opportunity to explain their projects and research and receive feedback from professionals, and they may also meet with like-minded peers.

Teachers have the privilege to contribute and go “above and beyond” their normal duties, while the professionals who serve as judges get a chance to see the ingenuity and interests of the up-and-coming generation of scientists.

“I am passionate about encouraging students to design and implement STEM inquiry projects,” says Degon, a retired chemistry teacher from Auburn High School, where she introduced the school’s first science fair in 1987. She has served as chair of the fair since 1997.

“After all, that is what actual research scientists do, isn’t it?”

The top five scorers in the fair will qualify for entry in the International Science and Engineering Fair, which will welcome roughly 1,500 students from more than 70 countries to Pittsburgh on May 10. Meanwhile, the 40 top-scored projects will qualify for entry in the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair, to be held May 1 and 2 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In both cases, Degon explains, students will have access to scholarships, significant monetary awards, and research opportunities.

The 2014 high school winners were from the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science at WPI; Akshayaa Chittibabu was awarded for her study on the hidden hazards of infant formula, while Jesse Michel was recognized for his math project, “Base 1.5: Analysis of Properties and Relation to the Collatz Conjecture.”

Ultimately, the hope is that the majority of students will go on to make their marks on the world, however big or small.

“Many will continue their journey through science,” said Degon, “thinking outside the box, and providing answers to so many of the scientific questions that may affect all of our lives.”

For more information, visit http://www.wrsef.org/high-school-fair.

- BY TARYN PLUMB

Original post. 

March/April Artscope: Christina Zwart and Dawna Bemis

The Spring issue of Artscope has arrived! Pick it up at participating galleries around New England, or subscribe to the print or e-edition here. 

See excerpts from my two stories below. 

FINDING BEAUTY IN THE BEAST
Taryn Plumb

CHRISTINA ZWART TAKES THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

BOSTON SCULPTORS GALLERY

486 HARRISON AVENUE

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

APRIL 1 THROUGH MAY 3

It’s a common sight, and one that most of us greet with a flash of revulsion or a quick aversion of the eyes. But when Christina Zwart came upon roadkill during a walk on the Cape a few summers ago, she not only stopped to inspect it — she perceived the beauty in it.

A jackrabbit lay on its side, unbloodied, possessing a look of vigor with a “really, really beautiful blue hue in its ear,” the Wayland, Mass. artist recalled. So she snapped a few photos. And from then on, it was her habit to pull over whenever a bend in the road revealed similar casualties.

She’s since amassed dozens of images — the expected squirrels, chipmunks, skunks, raccoons and snakes, as well as deer, a fox, a coyote, a cat, and even a sadly fascinating mother opossum carrying five underdeveloped babies in her pouch — that are creatively assembled in her dichotomous photo mosaic, “Rosekill.”

When viewed from a distance, the unpleasant, sometimes grotesque pictures of roadside carnage come together to create the pinnacle representation of love and beauty: a rose. The duplicitous work will be on display, along with several other of the installation artist’s unique and thought-provoking pieces, at the Boston Sculptors Gallery from April 1 through May 3.

Rebellion and irony thread throughout Zwart’s work; often with a mark of whimsy, she manipulates expectations and first impressions by presenting her audience with one thing, then literally reeling them in, step by step, to reveal another. “It’s the element of surprise, the shock, the discovery,” she said. “It’s not what it first appears to be.”

The serious and sobering study, “No Hives...No Lives,” for example, appears at paces away as a 10’ x 8’ honeycomb, a certain number of the hexagons darkened to create a skull-and-cross-bones pattern. But advance closer, and those dark spots reveal themselves to be thousands of clusters of dead bees (provided by the Worcester County Beekeeping Association).

Read the entire article in our magazine pages...

View Zwart's website. 

ORGANIC TO GEOMETRIC AT ENDICOTT

Taryn Plumb

DAWNA BEMIS CELEBRATES HER UPBRINGING

ORGANIC TO GEOMETRIC: INVESTIGATIONS IN STRUCTURE AND SURFACE - A GROUP EXHIBITION REPRESENTING THE WORK OF 19 CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS

WALTER J. MANNINEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS AT ENDICOTT COLLEGE

376 HALE STREET

BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS

THROUGH MARCH 20

Dawna Bemis knows she was blessed with a unique childhood.

Four generations of her family thrived in one teeming house- hold, and at any given time when she was growing up, she was surrounded by extended family — cousins, great-uncles, great- grandparents — who virtually took over an entire neighborhood in the tiny mid-Maine town of Veazie.

“You can’t throw a rock without hitting relatives of mine up there,” quipped the artist, who has since immigrated south to Portland, calling her upbringing a “privilege.” “I recognize how special it was.”

And also how rare. Bemis, in her prolific encaustic geometric works, explores the loss of such generational bonds and conduits of knowledge in today’s fractured, solitary, technology-dependent society.

Read the entire article in our magazine pages...

View Bemis' website.