Stem Education

U.S. Wind Power Finally Gets Its Sea Legs

The U.S. is a global leader in wind energy on land. But at sea? Not so much.

Vocabulary: renewable energy, wind turbine, potential energy, mechanical energy, electrochemical energy

Is A Seaweed A Boom Or A Boon?

Biologist Elizabeth Cottier-Cook discusses seaweed farming.

Vocabulary: monoculture, biodiversity, cultivar

What Happens When Meteors Hit Earth?

It turns out, meteors hit Earth all the time, and it’s usually no big deal.

Vocabulary: Meteor, seismograph, meteor fall, Richter scale

Can an origami creation remove a battery from your stomach?

Daniela Rus, director of the Computer…

What are pancake and frazil ice?

Oceanographer Ted Maksym tells us about four different types of sea ice, and what they might indicate about the changing Arctic.

What do the humerus bones of Neolithic women tell us?

Dr. Sabrina Agarwal, a biological anthropologist, talks about how we can tell strength from bones, and how that might just change our view of Neolithic women.

Turning Down the Greenhouse Gases in Your Air Conditioning

John Upton discusses the benefits and drawbacks of the new global ban on HFCs.

Who should your autonomous car save?

Azim Shariff, assistant professor of psychology and social behavior at UC Irvine, discusses some of the moral issues surrounding self-driving cars.

What flies, dives, and swims?

Farrell Helbling, from the Microrobotics Lab at Harvard University, talks about their new robo-insect that can do just that.