<h4></h4> [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNIDcT0Zdj4[/embed] <h4>Stanford engineers test the limits of autonomous driving</h4> <div class="crocodoc-page crocodoc-page-visible crocodoc-current-page crocodoc-text-selected" data-width="1024" data-height="1325.1764705882354"> <div class="crocodoc-page-inner"> <div class="crocodoc-page-content"> <div class="crocodoc-page-autoscale"> <div class="crocodoc-subpx-fix"> <div class="crocodoc-EhGC0o crocodoc-page-text"> <div></div> <div class="tb f57"> When Professor Chris Gerdes set out to build his lab’s latest autonomous research vehicle, he knew exactly what he wanted: a vintage DeLorean, circa 1981. Gerdes’ team then converted the car into a high-performance test bed for researching the physical limits of autonomous driving. Research using the DeLorean – nicknamed MARTY in a nod to the film <i>Back to the Future</i> – may one day guide the development of safety protocols for self-driving cars. </div> <div> The team’s overarching goal is to design automated vehicles that can take any action possible to avoid an accident, said Gerdes. The laws of physics will always prevail, but driving control systems in most modern cars limit maneuverability in order to enhance stability. Race car driving provides the exception. Without the limits imposed by an electronic stability control system, professional drivers use a technique called drifting to make tight turns and avoid obstacles. They are able to sacrifice stability in exchange for improved performance and handling. Learning how to program an autonomous car to react with the sophistication of a race car driver is a key part of research using MARTY. “MARTY is another step in this direction, thanks to the passion and hard work of our students,” Gerdes said. “Stanford builds great research by building great researchers.” Graduate student Jonathan Goh has already taken the project to the next level. In a superb piece of controls engineering, Goh programmed the car to spin doughnut after textbook doughnut, a feat that may one day allow self-driving cars to handle even the most extreme situations. “The sublime awesomeness of riding in a DeLorean that does perfect, smoke-filled doughnuts by itself is a mind-bending experience that helps you appreciate that we really are living in the future,” Goh said. Learn <a href="http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/october/marty-autonomous-delorean-102015">more</a> about MARTY and autonomous vehicle research at Stanford. Watch the video and enjoy the ride. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div data-width="1024" data-height="1325.1764705882354"></div>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oswm44NDXFs <h4><span class="tx">Stanford's sustainability initiatives </span><span class="tx">show how universities can lead the fight against climate change</span></h4> <span class="tx">Sustainability is more than a research topic at Stanford. It imbues </span><a href="http://sustainable.stanford.edu" target="_blank"><span class="tx">all levels of university </span><span class="tx">operations</span></a><span class="tx">. Stanford's solar and geothermal power procurement initiatives, along with its </span><span class="tx">SESI Central Energy Facility </span><span class="tx"><a href="http://news.stanford.edu/features/2015/sesi/" target="_blank">electric heat recovery system</a>,</span><span class="tx"> which opened in April 2015, </span><span class="tx">will reduce campus emissions by roughly 68 percent and conserve 15 percent of campus </span><span class="tx">potable water. By the end of 2016, Stanford will procure 65 percent of its power from </span><span class="tx">renewable sources, a proportion that will continue to increase. </span> <span class="tx">Stanford is on track to exceed, several years ahead of schedule, the state, national and </span><span class="tx">international energy goals for 2020 that derive from the 1992 U.N. Framework </span><span class="tx">Convention on Climate Change.</span> <span class="tx">In October 2015, </span><span class="tx"><a href="http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/october/climate1_statement_102815.pdf" target="_blank">Stanford trustees urged delegates</a></span><span class="tx"> to the Paris Climate Conference to </span><span class="tx">look to research universities to provide similar leadership in the global search for climate </span><span class="tx">change solutions.</span> "Universities have a special role to play, both as knowledge centers that develop technological and policy innovations and as large organizations that have the opportunity to model sustainable operational practices," wrote board chairman Steven A. Denning and university President John L. Hennessy. Meanwhile, with the 2020 goals in sight, Stanford is already working toward the U.N. framework's 2050 goals.
<h4><span class="tx">Stanford symposium puts focus on education</span></h4> <span class="tx">By harnessing the educational power of virtual reality, Professor Jeremy Bailenson aims to raise our </span><span class="tx">awareness of ocean acidification's devastating effects. </span><span class="tx">If we can "see" the results of our actions on a </span><span class="tx">once-pristine coral reef, Bailenson's research indicates we will act in more environmentally sound ways.</span> <span class="tx">Advances in brain imaging technology permit Professor Bruce McCandliss to capture the effect of </span><span class="tx">learning experiences on the brain's circuitry. A new collaborative field – educational neuroscience – </span><span class="tx">offers groundbreaking insights into how students learn.</span> <span class="tx">In October 2015, Bailenson, McCandliss and leaders from fields as diverse as psychology, computer </span><span class="tx">science, education, physics and the humanities discussed their work to better understand and improve </span><span class="tx">learning. Topics ranged from effective teaching strategies in K-12 classrooms to envisioning the </span><span class="tx">university's role 25 years in the future.</span> <span class="tx">Taking a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach was an overarching theme. We're in "a renaissance </span><span class="tx">time for learning and education," said John Mitchell, vice provost for teaching and learning. Experts </span><span class="tx">across disciplines are "working together and thinking about how we can teach and learn better."</span> <span class="tx">Stanford actively fosters this perspective, and "Thinking Big About Learning" provided an opportunity to </span><span class="tx">share ideas with the greater community. The event, which drew more than 550 participants, was the </span><span class="tx">first in a series of anniversary symposia celebrating Stanford's 125th year. </span> <span class="tx">Read </span><span class="tx"><a href="http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/october/125-thinking-learning-102015.html">more</a></span><span class="tx"> about the speakers and their unique contributions to the future of learning, and visit the </span><span class="tx"><a href="http://125.stanford.edu/event/thinking-big-about-learning/">post-event web page</a></span><span class="tx">, where you can watch a video of each presentation.</span>
<h4 class="tb f7">Some items from Stanford's first entrance exam</h4> <p class="tb f7"><span class="tx"><span class="tx">Standardized testing was not part of student life before 1899, when the College Board </span><span class="tx">was founded. Until then, college hopefuls sat for exams set by the school they aimed to </span><span class="tx">attend. Few applied to more than one. Stanford's 1891 register includes the requirements </span><span class="tx">of its first entrance exam, given over three days at several Western high schools and, </span><span class="tx">locally, on the porch of Stanford President David Starr Jordan's house, now the office of </span><span class="tx">the Escondido Village student housing complex.</span></span></p> <p class="tb f7"><span class="tx">Candidates had to pass 10 tests from </span><span class="tx">among 21 subjects, with only English being mandatory.</span></p> <p class="tb f7"><span class="tx">The new university was more progressive than some of these tests suggest. Members of </span><span class="tx">Stanford's entering Pioneer Class of 1895 faced the following requirements:</span></p> <p class="tb f7" style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong><span class="tx f5">English:</span></strong><span class="tx"><strong> </strong>Shakespeare's </span><em><span class="tx f9">Merchant of Venice</span></em><span class="tx"> and </span><em><span class="tx f9">Julius Caesar</span></em><span class="tx">; Scott's "Lady of </span><span class="tx">the Lake"; Whittier's "Snow-Bound"; Longfellow's "Evangeline"</span><span class="tx f9">; </span><span class="tx">the Sir Roger </span><span class="tx">de Coverley Papers from </span><span class="tx f9"><em>The Spectator</em>; </span><span class="tx">and</span><span class="tx f9"> </span><span class="tx">Scott's</span><span class="tx f9"> <em>Antiquary</em>.</span></p> <p class="tb f7" style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong><span class="tx f5">Elementary algebra:</span></strong><span class="tx"> Quadratic equations, including the theory of exponents.</span></p> <p class="tb f7" style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong><span class="tx f5">Physics:</span></strong><span class="tx"> A year's work in experimental physics. Candidates for entrance credit in </span><span class="tx">this subject should present their laboratory notebooks with their application.</span></p> <p class="tb f7" style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong><span class="tx f5">English literature</span></strong><span class="tx"><strong>:</strong> Candidates will be tested upon their ability to quote freely and </span><span class="tx">accurately, to paraphrase intelligently, and to outline symmetrically [from] </span><span class="tx f9"><em>a)</em> </span><em><span class="tx">Burke's </span><span class="tx f9">Speeches on the American War and Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol</span></em><span class="tx">; or </span><span class="tx f9"><em>b)</em> </span><span class="tx">Genung's </span><em><span class="tx f9">Rhetorical Analysis</span></em><span class="tx">, in connection with some such work as A. S. Hill's </span><span class="tx f9"><em>Principles of Rhetoric</em> </span><span class="tx">[as well as] the etymological notes to the selections from </span><span class="tx">Spenser and Milton in Hales's </span><em><span class="tx f9">Longer English Poems</span></em><span class="tx">, [with the] word derivations </span><span class="tx">in question all carefully verified in </span><span class="tx f9"><em>Webster's International Dictionary.</em></span></p> <p class="tb f7" style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong><span class="tx f5">Freehand drawing: </span></strong><span class="tx">The ability to make a correct outline drawing and an </span><span class="tx">accurately shaded drawing from a group of geometrical solids.</span></p> <p class="tb f7" style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong><span class="tx f5">Latin:</span></strong><span class="tx"> The first six books of Virgil's </span><em><span class="tx f9">Aeneid</span></em><span class="tx"> and the translation into Latin of a </span><span class="tx">connected English passage based on Cicero. Excellence in writing Latin will often </span><span class="tx">compensate for deficiencies in other parts of the examination.</span></p> <p class="tb f7" style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong><span class="tx f5">Greek:</span></strong><span class="tx"> Grammar, the inflections, the formation of words, and the essential points </span><span class="tx">of the syntax [in] Xenophon, </span><span class="tx f9"><em>Anabasis</em>, </span><span class="tx">books I-IV; Homer, </span><em><span class="tx f9">Iliad</span></em><span class="tx">, books I-II.</span></p> <p class="tb f7"><span class="tx">By 1893, the </span><em><span class="tx f9">Register</span></em><span class="tx">'s authors felt compelled to add:</span></p> <p class="tb f7" style="padding-left: 30px;"><span class="tx">It is expected of every student that he be able to read Greek aloud without </span><span class="tx">stumbling.</span></p> <p class="tb f7"><span class="tx">In fact, many of Stanford's original 559 enrollees did not meet these requirements. </span><span class="tx">Instead, 147 entered in 1891 as "special students," in line with co-founder Leland </span><span class="tx">Stanford's ideas about opportunity and inclusion. Many came from rural areas with no </span><span class="tx">high school, and had had to study on their own. They were allowed into Stanford to work </span><span class="tx">on a particular subject or remedy deficiencies. Roughly one-third eventually joined an </span><span class="tx">undergraduate class. </span><em> </em></p>
<h4>Mealworms thrive on Styrofoam diet</h4> The common mealworm may be able to eat a way out of the global plastic problem. Stanford engineers, in collaboration with researchers in China, have found that mealworms, the larval form of the darkling beetle, can live on a diet of plastic waste, specifically Styrofoam and other forms of polystyrene. It turns out that the gut of a mealworm contains microorganisms that biodegrade plastic, a surprising finding published in two companion studies co-authored by Wei-Min Wu, a senior research engineer in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford. Testing the mealworm’s “iron gut” on different types of plastic is the next step in research that offers tremendous potential to develop solutions for managing plastic waste. Other avenues of inquiry include identifying a marine version of the mealworm that could eat through plastic accumulating in the ocean. Craig Criddle, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, is collaborating with Wu and an international team of researchers to learn more about the mealworm’s digestive capabilities. Criddle’s plastics research was originally funded in 2004 by the Stanford Woods Institute’s Environmental Venture Projects. The program supports Stanford’s long-standing commitment to advance innovative environmental research and find solutions to global sustainability problems. Read <a href="http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/september/worms-digest-plastics-092915.html">more</a> about the “mighty mealworm” and its potential to impact the plastic pollution problem.
<h4></h4> At Stanford’s <a href="https://cesta.stanford.edu/">Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis</a> (CESTA), postdoctoral scholar Nicholas Bauch uses visualization technology to glean new insights from 1905 photographs of the Grand Canyon. His finished work, the interactive website “Enchanting the Desert,” will be the first of its kind to be published by Stanford University Press. In other CESTA projects, the digital mapping platform “Geography of the Post” creates a visual record of the American West through the post offices that sprung up as settlement progressed. In “Mapping the Republic of Letters,” scholars are building a digital map of European and American correspondence networks from the time of Erasmus to the era of Benjamin Franklin. In each project, digital tools, many developed through CESTA, enable scholars to literally see what they were not able to see before. Visualizing data using digital platforms reveals relationships and patterns not previously apparent and helps scholars raise new questions about source materials. [caption id="attachment_93" align="alignright" width="1024"]<img class="size-large wp-image-93" src="http://125.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/CESTA_post-office-1024x560.png" alt="Stanford’s Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis (CESTA) is an interdisciplinary hub for the digital humanities." width="1024" height="560" /> Stanford’s Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis (CESTA) is an interdisciplinary hub for the digital humanities.[/caption] It also allows scholars to get a better sense of the shape and structure of an intellectual network, a main objective of “Mapping the Republic of Letters,” said French Professor Dan Edelstein in a video introducing the research. The process of digitization and of visualization brings “complexity and life” to a world lost to history, added history Professor Caroline Winterer, director of the Stanford Humanities Center. Stanford’s synthesis of technology and the humanities creates a unique environment for the digital humanities to thrive. CS+X joint undergraduate majors link computer science with any of 14 humanities disciplines, and students can hone skills in geospatial and textual analysis through a digital humanities minor. CESTA functions as an interdisciplinary hub for this rapidly growing field of study and now offers a graduate certificate in digital humanities. Learn more about “Geography of the Post,” “Enchanting the Desert” and “Mapping the Republic of Letters” on the Stanford Humanities Center’s <a href="http://shc.stanford.edu/digital-humanities">Digital Humanities website</a>, where you can watch videos about seven CESTA projects.
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