We are gearing up for the NACA 2014 Conference right here in our home city of Boston! We look forward to seeing everyone there!
We hope that everyone enjoyed the Super Bowl! Congratulations to our friends in Seattle and condolences to our friends in Denver!
Be sure to check out NPR’s sit-down with Dr. Ainissa Ramirez, author of Newton’s Football, to discuss the science behind the sport.
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson had some thought provoking Super Bowl observations to share with us on Twitter throughout the game:
Nobody asked: But at six letters there’s nothing longer than this Super Bowl’s Roman numeral: XLVIII until Super Bowl LXXVIII
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) February 3, 2014
A 50-yard field goal in MetLife stadium will deflect nearly 1/2 inch due to Earth’s rotation — meet the Coriolis force.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) February 3, 2014
If gridiron were a timeline, w/ Big Bang at one goal, then cavemen to now spans thickness of single turf-blade at other goal.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) February 3, 2014
Can you feel the universe? @FoxTV airs half-time promo for “Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey” & halftime show is a guy named Mars
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) February 3, 2014
Still haven’t gotten enough football? Check out investigative journalist and speaker Dan Moldea‘s groundbreaking book Interference which chronicles the connection between the mafia and the NFL.
And in non-sporting news…
We would like to congratulate Sonia Shah, speaker and award-winning journalist who covers science and international human rights issues, on being named as New Paltz’s 2014 James H. Ottaway Sr. Visiting Professor of Journalism. In this recent lecture, Ms. Shah discusses 3 reasons why we still haven’t gotten rid of malaria.
Raffi Cavoukian, legendary children’s singer of “Bananaphone”, talks with the Huffington Post about the need for increased regulation over what he terms the “dark web”. His recent book Lightweb Darkweb, is a warning to parents about the Internet’s hidden dangers and the need for government and corporate intervention to “reform social media before it re-forms us.”
Gary Hirshberg, CEO of Stonyfield farms, writes an Op Ed piece for Roll Call which highlights the successes and the shortcomings of the recently passed 2014 Farm Bill:
“There are several important achievements in the bill for which committee members deserve credit, among them: ending direct payments; compliance with existing conservation requirements to qualify for crop insurance; the inclusion of a pilot project in the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables; and enhanced flexibility for the international food assistance program.
But the legislative effort should have yielded so much more. Food and agriculture systems in the United States and around the world face fundamental long-term challenges posed by resource scarcity, population growth, climate change, invasive pests, pathogens and diseases, rising consumer incomes in low- and middle-income countries, and shifts in relative economic power. These challenges demand forward-looking leadership. The 2014 farm bill did not provide it.”
That’s all from us for today– be sure to check back on Friday for our weekly video!!