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- Innovations of the Big Dig 3 – Scheme-Z => Zakim Bridge, Conclusion
- Innovations of the Big Dig 2 – Slurry, Jacking, Freezing
- Innovations of The Big Dig 1 – the Concept
- Obscure Creators of the World #2: Robert Dennard
- The Invention of Lawn Inflatables
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- “Oppenheimer” and the Limits of Scientific Influence
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Tag Archives: Tech life in New England
Innovations of the Big Dig 3 – Scheme-Z => Zakim Bridge, Conclusion
Here’s the last of the major innovations described in the WGBH podcast, The Big Dig, along with my take on how it all turned out. Along with the straight construction challenges of the Dig, described in the previous posts, Fred … Continue reading
Innovations of the Big Dig 2 – Slurry, Jacking, Freezing
Let me again recommend the WGBH podcast, The Big Dig, which was the inspiration for these posts. It’s full of great stories, but I’d like to concentrate on the innovations that made this vast project possible. Last time I talked about a … Continue reading
Innovations of The Big Dig 1 – the Concept
WGBH, the main Boston public radio station, has just done a great series on The Big Dig. You can find the podcast here: The Big Dig, and the start of the series on Youtube here: The Big Dig began with … Continue reading
Space Has Become Cheap
I was talking with a researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute recently, and he mentioned a new project he had to track penguins. From space. With his own personal satellite. These days you can put up a cubesat, a … Continue reading
“Lethal Tides” – Researcher Heroines of WW II
“Lethal Tides – Mary Sears and the Marine Scientists Who Helped Win World War II” by Catherine Musemeche is a thorough biography of the sort of person that is easy to overlook. Sears was an unassuming marine biologist who wound … Continue reading
Ekranoplans are Back! Maybe. The Regent Seaglider
The Soviets used to build the world’s biggest and ugliest airplanes: They called them by the ugly term “ekranoplans”, or “screen effect” in Russian. They flew low over water, and got lift from the cushion of air between the wings … Continue reading
How Re-industrialization Now Works: GO Lab and Wood Fiber Insulation
I was driving through central Maine recently, and was struck by how dreary the landscape looked. The houses and towns looked run-down, and store fronts were vacant. This is an old story about industry leaving rural areas, and can be … Continue reading
Good News on Backstopping Renewables (1) – Ambri
Wind and solar at this point are cheaper than any other form of electricity, and are getting steadily cheaper still. Coal plants are getting shut down because it’s just not worth it to run them, and even natural gas is … Continue reading
The Obsolescence of White Nationalism
I was sitting in a conference room the other day, meeting with a company that wanted to supply a component for a new chip we’re working on. These days most chips are assembled from big pieces from other firms. It’s … Continue reading
The Least Substantial Lasts Longest
A few days ago a friend noted that this was the 40th anniversary of the VAX computer line, one of the most successful and most criticized machines ever. Its first model was the VAX 11/780, which was announced on Oct … Continue reading
A Niche in the Library of Babel 