Mechanical engineering students line up in Killian Court on Friday, Sept. 30, with mirrors to reflect the sun. They were focusing sunlight on a wooden boat in hopes of setting the boat on fire. They did not succeed, but a subsequent attempt, under sunnier skies, created an open flame after ten minutes. The Greek mathematician Archimedes is said to have burned Roman ships this way, 2,200 years ago. Photo / Donna Coveney
By developing new materials for separating a mixture’s components, Zachary Smith hopes to reduce costs and environmental impact across many U.S. industries.
Place cells are known to encode individual locations, but research finds stitching together a “cognitive map” of a whole environment requires a broader ensemble of cells, aided by sleep, over several days.