As an attendee at the inaugural VISUALIZED conference last week in New York City, I was ready to experience, as the website described, “an inspiring two-day gathering with the brightest minds and social innovators from around the world who are changing how we understand and interact with data; and gain insight into designing data-driven narratives [...]

Every single day, all across the globe, extraordinarily creative and talented students sit in our classrooms bored out of their minds. These budding innovators may differ drastically in what particular domain captivates their attention, whether it’s science and engineering, architecture and design, arts, music and entertainment, business and finance, law, or health care. Nevertheless, as Richard Florida [...]

As 3-D printing has matured over the past decade, the process has proved an effective way for artists, entrepreneurs and academics to produce custom-designed parts and prototype models. Now 3-D printing is becoming even more accessible through Web sites and apps that let iPhone and iPad users upload designs or create new ones and have [...]

I have always been impressed by the design of the coffee grinder. Here you’ve got a supersharp metal blade spinning around in a buzzing blur and chopping the living bejesus out of those coffee beans. But you never—never!—have to worry about the same thing happening to your fingers. The only time a coffee grinder works [...]

SAN FRANCISCO—How will ubiquitous connectivity and social media change everything? That, in short, was what a number of luminaries in the tech world addressed yesterday at the GigaOM roadmap conference. Rather than bore you with an extended recap, I thought I’d share some of the most salient nuggets of wisdom. I’ve made every effort to [...]

Using the words evolution and design in the same paragraph, let alone together in the title of a blog post, can make biologists very uncomfortable. Design is something that humans do on purpose, and natural selection doesn’t “do” anything on purpose. Anthropomorphizing and giving intention to evolution is a big time no-no. Synthetic biologists, however, [...]

Amazing new technologies are helping people with severe mobility issues get around more independently, from wheelchairs that climb stairs to wheelchairs controlled by breathing, magnetic tongue piercings, or even thoughts. But for the majority of people with mobility issues, which will include almost everyone at one point or other in their lifetime, much simpler technologies [...]

After a half-century of brutal urban renewal, sidewalkless cul de sacs, and unwalkable sprawl, planners all over the world have turned towards what was left out of planning for decades: community. Whether it’s planning approaches like Complete Streets or assessment methods like walkability scores, communities have learned that people want to interact with their surroundings [...]

Back in February, we showcased some of science-artist Willy Chyr‘s stunning Neuroplastic Dreams. When I met Chyr here in Toronto those few months back, I wasn’t expecting the forthright clarity and modesty in his character that I encountered. Chyr is intelligent and fun. I’m pleased to share this interview with this vibrant talent. – - [...]

Yesterday I wrote a post about a perspective by multifaceted chemist George Whitesides in which he urged chemists to broaden the boundaries of their discipline and think of big picture problems. But the article spurred me to think a bit more about a question which I (and I am sure other chemists) have often thought [...]