math/sci in culture

William's father and friend

William and his junkyard windmill

You may be familiar with William Kamkwamba, who as a 14-year old Malawian boy, built a windmill modeled only from a picture he saw in a library book. As a boy, William’s village suffered for seven years from a severe, crop-killing drought. Forced to drop out of school, William dreamed of a way to make something from the only resource he had – wind. From this dream he created his first junkyard windmill, which generated enough energy to power a radio. You can watch his inspiring story unfold in a very moving short documentary.
William’s life has continued to evolve in new and exciting ways.  He is currently attending Dartmouth College and created a foundation to help build windmills in Malawi. He is also focused on creating a self-sustaining Malawi, offering secure food, water, and health services and improving access to education. To see what he’s been up to or support his cause check out William’s website!  William is definitely a man to watch after building something so life-changing at the age of 14, we are excited to see what he will accomplish next!

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Science Nerds ARE Really Cool!

by Mary Louise Helbig October 7, 2010 General Interest

An overdue congratulations to Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper of The Big Bang Theory (CBS) for winning a 2010 Emmy for his lead role in a comedy series. Thanks for showing the world Nerds are cool. And while we love our science nerds, we were also glad to see one of our other favorites, Matthew [...]

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Amazing promo animation for “Quants”, a movie about the impact of complex math on the financial system

by Josh Salcman April 5, 2010 General Interest
Thumbnail image for Amazing promo animation for “Quants”, a movie about the impact of complex math on the financial system

Like any tool, math can be used for things that help humanity or it can be used for things that cause harm. Many people believe that the recent US financial crisis was caused in part by financial models that were so mathematically complex almost no one could understand them. I don’t know anything about this [...]

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