Daily Archives: April 7, 2013

Mines celebrates Persian new year

The Iranian Student Association (IRASA) and the International Student Council (ISC) hosted the first ever Persian New Year party (or Nowruz as the Persians call it) Tuesday, March 26 at the Colorado School of Mines campus. The event was a large one with over 100 people in attendance. The celebration started with both Farshad Harirchi and Kamyar Mosavat explaining the celebration to the audience. “We celebrate the new year in springtime and we believe that spring is the beginning of the year.” Mosavat when on to explain that much life in the natural world begins in the spring, “You know the trees blossom and the birds wake up,” concluding that it would make sense for the year to start in spring along with the start of many other things.

Tunnel boring technology digs deeper

Jeff Petersen, chairman of UCA SME summarized the developments in the field of tunneling before discussing the Kemano Backup Tunnel Project last Wednesday. According to Petersen, the underground construction industry is expanding rapidly with some companies experiencing 20% growth in employee size each year. The work involved in underground construction is so complex that individuals from a large variety of fields and degrees can be successful in the industry.

Scientific discoveries this week: 4/8/13

London, England
By growing and analyzing stem cells from patients’ blood, scientists were able to shed light on a common bleeding disorder. They discovered the cause of the disease in individual patients that can enable doctors to prescribe more effective treatments according to the defects identified in the patients’ cells.
Researchers at the National Heart and Lung Institute, at the Imperial College London focused on von Willebrand disease (vWD) which is estimated to affect 1 in 100 people and can cause excessive possibly life-threatening bleeding.

Quran and Science

“From the Atom to the Galaxy: Quran and Science” lecture, presented by the Muslim Students Association brought together a large number of multicultural students and faculty to hear Abdulaziz Alaswad speak. The room was quickly filled with students and the smell of falafel sandwiches with lots of anxious buzz about the lecture. Alaswad started by addressing the Muslim belief that perfection is God’s creation and these creations are to be contemplated. Alaswad is currently a Ph.D. candidate in physics working with photovoltaic cells, and says his research is based in the science in the Quran.

Magnification, compression and cloaking using light

Alexander Gaeta, of the School of Applied and Engineering Physics at Cornell University, conducts research focusing on using light for imaging and other processing typically done today with electrons. Using electrons ultimately caps the frequency of processing, and Gaeta argues that using light instead can put sampling speeds into the TeraHertz regime, or on the order of Gigasamples per second. This presents useful applications in non-destructive, contact-free testing especially in biological specimens.

Headlines from around the world: 4/8/13

North Korean authorities have told diplomatic missions that their safety can not be guaranteed. They declared that conflict was inevitable due to United States and South Korean military exercises. But staff at embassies in North Korea appear to be remaining in place despite the appeal by authorities in Pyongyang for diplomats to consider leaving. Tensions in North Korea are increasing due to U.N. sanctions following a nuclear weapons test in February. China’s news agency quoted the North’s Foreign Ministry as saying the issue was no longer whether, but when a war would break out. The South Korean capital, Seoul, appeared to be calm. Traffic moved normally through the city center busy with shoppers.

The Knight, the Seer and the Child: Chapter 13, Rolanda

Two harvests later…

Rolanda settled into the throne chair, bringing the crystal goblet to her lips. The sharp sting of wine danced on her tongue. The warmth settled into her stomach, relieving the chill from the winter air. Small flurries of snow were falling outside, covering the ocean in a blanket of ice. The doors at the end of the throne room creaked as they swung open.

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