Science Cheerleader

The longest-running, public international environmental forum will convene from November 6-13, in the city of Merida, Yucatan, to build awareness about pressing environmental issues and celebrate the importance and vitality of wild nature. The event, WILD9, was planned over a two-year period by the Wild Wilderness Congress to connect anyone from wilderness enthusiasts to top-ranked academics and scientists.

One of the many goals of the event is the signing of an international agreement on wilderness between the US, Canada, and Mexico. Emily Loose, WILD’s director of communications, said the agreement would recognize “the importance of wilderness areas and the cooperation between the agencies on management, planning, preservation, and research for the conservation of wilderness.”

WILD9 is open to the anyone, but if you happen to not be in the Yucatan area this week, there are a number of social media options to stay connected. (more…)

By Dr. John. Anyone can be a scientist, and not surprisingly, scientists are just like everyone else. That’s what NOVA ScienceNOW hopes to convey with their new show, The Secret Life of Scientists, a web video series that provides a personal and thought-provoking look at the lives of 16 scientists and engineers. Through a mixture of whimsical interview questions, each show will demonstrate how scientists and engineers can be athletes, musicians, artists, chefs, and, most importantly, incredibly human.

Although, SUPER-human might be more accurate for tonight’s episode featuring Nate Ball, a mechanical engineer, entrepreneur, pole-vaulting coach, jazz pianist, and TV star. In his day job, Nate is chief technical officer and co-founder of a technology and innovation company, Atlas Devices. His business develops a tool that he helped invent, the Powered Rope Ascender, which enables military personnel and rescue workers to reverse-rappel up buildings at high speeds. Check out these awesome videos of Nate’s invention in action.

And, Nate isn’t camera-shy. He is currently a cast member on PBS’ Design Squad, a show that features two teams of contestants charged with brainstorming, designing, building, and testing products before putting them to the test.

I had a chance to ask Nate a few questions about how he balances all of these endeavors, what inspires him to innovate, and his strategies for creating more interest in science and engineering. You’ll find, just as I did, that Nate has transformed a childhood passion into a career and drawn from a variety of perspectives to keep himself grounded. To learn more about Nate’s drive to succeed, check out tonight’s episode of The Secret Life of Scientsts.

Dr. John: How do we demistify science and bridge the gap between scientists and society? (more…)