Barack Obama has been awarded an honorary degree from Arizona State University the Nobel Prize in Peace for “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
I recommend a bag of popcorn, a big soda, and a nice recliner to watch the consternation and just plain craziness that will surely follow this announcement 🙂
Tweeting Ski Resorts
Yes it’s that time of year. The nights are cooler and the days shorter and so all thoughts turn to…skiing, of course. Via @dannysullivan and @eric_hoffman, ski resorts on twitter. Who will be the first to tweet opening day?
Nobel Lit
The Nobel prize in Politics Literature has been awarded to Herta Müller “who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed.”
Nobel in Chemistry
The Nobel in Chemistry for 2009 has been awarded to Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath for “for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome.” And because I am (or was, or am, or..whatever) a physicist, I will note that Venkatraman Ramakrishnan has a Ph.D. in physics 🙂
And today is even more busy than yesterday!
Confession…
Confession of a classical sinner.
Gelfand 1913-2009
Israel Gelfand, one of the great mathematicians of our age, apparently passed away yesterday at the age of 96. Check out the list of results that bear his name on the above linked Wikipedia page. Wow. Today I will, in his honor, think a bit more about Gelfand-Tsetlin basis and what they can be used for in quantum computing.
Nobel Prize in Physics for Fiber Optics, CCDs
The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2009 has been announced and goes to Charles K. Kao for “for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication” and to Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith for the “for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit – the CCD sensor.”
I’m crazy busy so don’t have time to comment on the physics of these awards at the moment, but the thing that struck me about this selection will probably strike a few others and can be summarized in two words: Bell labs. Boyle and Smith are retired from Bell labs which is also where they invented the CCD. And today…. Well today Bell labs does not do any basic physics research. Instead its current owner, Alcatel-Lucent has Bell labs focused on “more immediately marketable areas such as networking, high-speed electronics, wireless, nanotechnology and software.” In other words, you can pretty much bet that when you plot Bell labs nobel prizes verses time you will see an amazing bubble, leading to a complete collapse.
Oh, and by my count that makes two McGill grads with Nobel prizes this year so far (Boyle in physics, Szostak in medicine.)
Caltech IQI Postdocs
Postdocs at Caltech’s IQI. Now in the new Annenberg Center (named, of course, after Caltech’s Ann of the Steele tower 🙂 ):
INSTITUTE FOR QUANTUM INFORMATION
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Postdoctoral Research Positions
The Institute for Quantum Information at the California Institute of Technology will have postdoctoral scholar positions available beginning in September 2010. Researchers interested in all aspects of quantum information science are invited to apply. The appointment is contingent upon completion of a Ph.D.
Please apply on-line at http://www.iqi.caltech.edu/postdoc_opening.html. Electronic copies of your curriculum vitae, publication list, statement of research interests, and three letters of recommendation are required. The deadline for receipt of all application materials is December 1,
2009.
The California Institute of Technology is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Women, Minorities, Veterans and Disabled Persons are encouraged to apply
TTAGGG Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2009 has been announced and has been awarded to Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak for “how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.” I’m sure the medicalbioblogs here on Scienceblogs will have some fine coverage of this. But one thing jumps out at me: Carol Greider was, I think, a graduate student when she worked did this work! So, dear graduate student procrastinating by reading this blog, please get back to work and win that there Nobel Prize!
Oh, and of course, in the Nobel counting game, I am happy to report “Go Bears!” Cal is where Greider got her Ph.D. (and where the work on telemorase was done.)
Also, first Nobel prize to a Tasmanian (Blackburn)?
Oh, and yes, I just checked GERN stocks spiked this morning 🙂
Can There Be Too Much Bacon?
Jorge sends along the answer…Obese skunk put on vegetarian diet to battle bacon addiction.
Mr. Bumble the skunk loves his bacon sandwiches, but his new owners have put him on a vegetarian diet to help shed the extra weight they’ve added to his frame.