Science fiction meets wiki event May 26, 2009
Posted by Angelo in Alternative Futures, Arizona State University, Collaboration, Education.Tags: James Blasingame, Peter Goggin, PJ Haarsma, Rings of Orbis
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We are hosting an interesting event this Thursday.
Think of it as a literature-meets-wiki project. A multimedia unveiling of a new wiki, that students at Basha High School created to expand on their reading of PJ Haarsma’s science fiction series.
It is presented by Jim Blasingame ASU associate professor of English, who with fellow professor Peter Goggin, worked with Haarsma and local schools for the past two years to understand whether gaming had an influence on reading.
PJ Haarsma
During the unveiling, students will demonstrate their roles in the free online video game “The Rings of Orbis,” which Haarsma created as a supplement to his books. Director of the Kids Need to Read Foundation, Denise Gary.
WHEN: Thursday, May 28, 6-7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Decision Theater, 21 E. 6th St., Suite 126A, ASU’s Tempe campus
- Candlewick Press, the publishers of Haarsma’s series, plans to incorporate this student-driven wiki in its next series release.
- Denise Gary, Director of the Kids Need to Read Foundation will be attending.
- Goggin and Blasingame will be present further findings about the intersection of literature, video gaming and computer literacy at an international conference this August.
- The Rings of Orbis has its own MySpace page
- You can follow The Softwire on –where else?– Twitter!
There’s limited seating. If you are from the media please contact us at 480.965.4098.
What’s an MIT class doing at ASU’s Decision Theater? April 24, 2009
Posted by Angelo in Alternative Futures, Arizona State University, Energy & Climate, Events.Tags: Dr. Deirdre Hahn, MIT, Nimue, WaterSim
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We may be embedded in Arizona State University, but those who use this decision-making environment come from the unlikeliest places.
We have had students from China, and mayors from other US cities, and visiting researchers. Last month we had 30 students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
They were from MIT’s Terrascope program (a very impressive freshman program) and spent half a day exploring some of the interactive tools addressing climate policy that ASU students have had access to for years.
The students were shown WaterSim, the interactive water planning and policy tool. They looked at groundwater visualization (a 3D model called Nimue), and as if that much water was not enough, explored the latest version of WaterSim that probes the demand and supply side of water with more granularity.
This was followed by a hands-on use of a brainstorming tool, Think Tank, with Dr. Deirdre Hahn giving them a close-up look at how GIS tools are being applied to sustainable science. They also looked at worst-case scenarios in reference to a planning tool used by water managers.
New Podast on ‘Solar Economy’ March 3, 2009
Posted by Angelo in Alternative Futures, Arizona State University, Economy, Energy & Climate.Tags: Arizona, clean technology, George Basile, solar
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In keeping with the goals of Lightbulb Moments, to give you an inside look at the thinking behind decision-making, we have launched podcasts on the same theme. These short podcasts –no longer than 8 minutes– capture the energy and ideas going on here.
This one is a look at the ‘Solar Economy, with Dr. George Basile speaking of the relevance and timing of a new set of decisions for Arizona. Click here to listen to the podcast.
Find more podcasts by clicking on the MEDIA tab of this blog.
Stories we seldom tell January 29, 2009
Posted by Angelo in Alternative Futures, Collaboration, Education, Energy & Climate, Media, Urban Growth.add a comment
I spoke to a journalist recently and he asked me “why don’t you guys send us press releases?”
Not an unreasonable question –if you visit our center and look at the projects in the lobby or visualizations in the Drum– since there are many stories that we seldom hit up the media with. There’s a good reason we don’t do a lot of that. Much of the work is often proprietary; when it is completed, the client does the publicity. Sometimes that makes an even more powerful story.
Take the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway project, now a 3D visualization we feature. The East Mesa area has been getting great mileage from the work we did on the project. We worked with the Office of Economic Development, and helped them and other stakeholders understand sound contours (seen as rings in this image, left) that they could see on a Google Earth platform across seven screens. They could also hear it in surround sound! That helped them plan development compatible with aircraft flight paths. Mesa gets plenty of good press about the development.
Then there’s the ongoing work with the Arizona Board of Regents. Because it involves three state universities –and we happen to be in one of them — We maintain a neutrality on this since and the work we do doesn’t get the typical kind of PR.
Other ongoing work involves the National Science Foundation, helping them with energy policies, and work on Light Rail plans in the East Valley. So yes there are stories we don’t holler about, for good reason.
But you soon will. Starting this year, if you care to subscribe to this blog and our Twitter feed, you might get the inside scoop.
Brickyard, Tempe: the challenge of private and public space January 5, 2009
Posted by Angelo in Alternative Futures, Arizona State University, Economy.add a comment
I just came out of a workshop on ideas for a mixed use of space in the Brickyard, the area North West of Mill Avenue and 7th Street in Tempe, Arizona.
In designing a public space like this, the reality that this is a “privately owned public space” or a ’schizophrenic area” as attendees remarked.
The challenge for architects and business developers is that it must serve three publics:
- Business tenants — Around Mill Ave , including us at the Decision Theater, and DCDC
- Residents — who occupy lofts at Orchid House
- Students — from ASU’s school of Engineering, College of Design etc
We broke up into two groups, and used two tools.
The first from the UK, is called Spaceshaper. It was developed by The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) which is into architecture, urban design and public space.
The second, PlaceGame is from the Project for Public Spaces (PPS) a non-profit organization dealing with urban geography, environmental psychology and arts administration among other things.
Among the ideas we generated was creating destinations out of the spaces to draw people and encourage ‘events’ in the area. Yes, we face a chicken-and-egg situation. We need an appealing business environment to draw people and vice versa.
With attendees from the city, the university, tenants and property management, these will be turned into a report shortly.
Slick! Time magazine picks ASU for top 2008 invention January 5, 2009
Posted by Angelo in Alternative Futures, Energy & Climate.Tags: Algae. Milton Sommerfeld, Qiang Hu., Time magazine
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For Time magazine’s pick of the top 50 inventions for 2008 Arizona State University made the list.
The invention? Green Crude, as they called it. A carbon-neutral biofuel bred by algae. Time acknowledged the work of professor Milton Sommerfeld, and Qiang Hu.
Other inventions mentioned in clude the ‘memristor’ (a transistor that remembers), the bionic hand, and my favorite: the dynamic skyscrape, also known as the Da Vinci tower. It will be powered by wind and solar. The first tower, an 80-floor building will debut in Dubai next year.
Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi December 24, 2008
Posted by Angelo in Alternative Futures, Design, Energy & Climate, Watchlist.add a comment
The World Future Energy Summit will take place in Abu Dhabi in a few weeks. The summit is part of the ‘Masdar Initiative,’ which is a collaborative effort to look at issues such as energy security, climate change and sustainability. It is also affiliated with MIT.
Topics include: Energy policy, Investment and funding, Green buildings, Clean transport, Solar, Wind, Biofuels, Ocean power, Geothermal, Waste to energy, Fuel cells, Environmental strategy.
If you’re wondering what the Madsar Initiative is, it is based on Madsar City. This conceptual sustainable city, Madsar, is being built in the center of Abu Dhabi, and will be the world’s first carbon-neutral, zero-waste, self-sufficient city — a cleantech cluster of 50,000 people, 1,500 businesses, and no cars!
“The road to Copenhagen” paved with good intentions December 13, 2008
Posted by Angelo in Alternative Futures, Collaboration, Watchlist.add a comment
At the just concluded UN climate change conference in Poznań, Poland, the international response to climate change ended with some optimism, and a call for greater collaboration.
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer called it a ‘road to Copenhagen.’
Many of the press conferences were immediately published on YouTube.
Speaking of the road, it is paved with new ideas and good intentions. Take this effort by the Club de Madrid (an independant organization whose members are former heads of state) whose Road to Copenhagen web site incorporates a wiki, a forum, and avatars. Unfortunately it is lacking updated content and is low on participation.
GreenBuild’s Van Jones’ message: build the grid, retrofit the economy November 28, 2008
Posted by Angelo in Alternative Futures, Events.Tags: GreenBuild 2008, sustainability
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This speech by Van Jones, author of the Green Collar Economy,” at the recently completed GreenBuild conference in Boston, is worth listening to.
There’s a short pitch about green solutions discussed in his book, here at Amazon.
- “We have many Lego pieces in this country. The challenge is to put it together. Partnerships will be key.”
- “At some point there won’t be buildings. There will just be buildings, and … relics.”
- “We need to retrofit and reboot America.”
Good coverage of Jones’ points here, too at the Boston Globe blog.
