Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
N.H. almost got one of the “genius grants”
The most genius thing associated with grants from the MacArthur Fellows program was labeling them "genius grants," thus guaranteeing coverage even in places that don't have geek in the title. The 2022 group was announced yesterday. There were no New Hampshire...
PFAS in deer meat
I've got a hunter coming to my property this season to hopefully thin the eat-everything-in-sight herd. She does it for the meat, but perhaps that's not a good idea - PFAS, those incredibly useful chemicals that were put in everything before we realized they were...
Panic!!! It’s only 18 months to the total eclipse!
The biggest solar-eclipse booster in New Hampshire – perhaps the biggest on the Eastern Seaboard – has a confession to make: “I may have started a little early.” Rik Yeames has been eagerly anticipating April 8, 2024, when a total solar eclipse will cross New...
Delivery robot with NH roots gets nixed
The Union-Leader reports. (story here, behind paywall; why not subscribe to the state's biggest newspaper?) FedEx is ending the research and development of “Roxo” — a same-day delivery robot that was being developed with Manchester’s DEKA Research & Development...
Maine to get 1st engineered-lumber office building
MaineBiz has the story (here): The first commercial office building in Maine that will primarily use cross-laminated timber will be funded in part by a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The 150,000-square-foot office building, at 100 Rock Row,...
Science Cafe tackles the search for alien life
Science Cafe NH is back in meatspace mode in Nashua, meeting monthly at Margarita's Restaurant, which is located in a converted industrial building right on the Nashua River - very cool spot. The next session is SETI, Science and the Search for Alien Life, on...
Webinar Oct. 11 on new COVID booster
I haven't gotten the latest booster yet because it's only been two months since my last booster. But I will get it, soon - and flu shot, of course. In the meantime, check this webinar from Dartmouth Health about the booster: Maintaining a fully vaccinated status means...
Can hunting guns, ammo outdo safety limits?
The state has taken the unusual step of closing a popular spot to waterfowl hunting after shotgun shell fragments were found in a school yard, apparently because improvements in weapons and ammunition allowed them to travel farther than expected. “It’s just designed...
N.H. roads have gotten deadlier for everybody, not just people in vehicles
Being on roads is getting a lot more deadly in New Hampshire. The number of people killed in traffic crashes in the state has risen 29% this year compared to the same period last year, according to State Police. Fatalities through Sept. 6 increased among drivers and...
Why would a tuition-dependent college cut its tuition by 62%? Survival
In response to the host of headwinds facing small liberal-arts colleges, Colby-Sawyer College in New London has decided to shake up one of the industry’s long-standing trends: Ever-growing tuition partly offset by ever-growing financial aid. “Higher education has to...
Return to the Concord Monitor