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Community Codesign

Welcome to Our Beautiful Power Plant

The founders of the Land Art Generator initiative believe renewable energy developers may be overlooking a powerful and important tool: community codesign of power installations. To that end, their projects invite the public to construct a different relationship with new energy technologies.Read More

Nuclear Innovation

An Ambidextrous Approach to Nuclear Energy Innovation

An Ambidextrous Approach to Nuclear Energy Innovation

After many years of stagnation, a new wave of nuclear energy innovation is underway. With all this new activity, parsing the differences between the technologies in play—and evaluating their potential to transform the energy landscape—is as necessary as it is complex.Read More

Hydrogen Hubs

karplus and morgan on the hydrogen economy

Moving Beyond Hype on Hydrogen

Whether hydrogen becomes an important part of a climate-friendly energy system depends as much on the cost of greenhouse gas emissions as it does on the tricky process of finding cheap, safe, and easy ways to harness hydrogen’s advantages.Read More

Gallery

promethean sparks ben volta NAS 1

Promethean Sparks

An art project imagines what the scientific imagery in the National Academy of Science building’s Great Hall would look like if recreated in the twenty-first century.Read More

Always the Machines

"R.U.R. and the Vision of Artificial Life" by Karel Čapek

Go to Hell, Robots!

At a time when our technologies are becoming ever more human-like, what does the play that introduced the term “robot” to the world have to tell us about artificial life?Read More

Cool Ideas

Solar-Powered Canoes

A team led by David Manuel-Navarrete works closely with Ecuadoran engineers and the Kichwa and Waorani people to develop a solar-powered canoe that can bring renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure to the Amazon.Read More

In Focus

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The SUMMER Issue

Summer 2024 Issues in Science and Technology

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In response to essays published in Issues, our readers weigh in on critical topics in policy related to science, technology, and society.

On the Front Lines of Change: Reporting From the Gulf of Mexico

In many respects, the Gulf is on the front lines. Massive disruptions brought by climate change, the need to transition to a new energy economy, and the potential collapse of vital ecosystems are on the horizon for the nation as a whole, not just the Gulf region.

Lauren Alexander Augustine

Supporting the Gulf

A skiff cleans up oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Ten Years Into the Gulf Research Program

The Gulf of Mexico is on the front lines of change. But massive disruptions brought by climate change, the need to transition to a new energy economy, and the potential collapse of vital ecosystems are on the horizon for the nation as a whole.Read More

Emergency Management

photograph of bulrushes for the roots that ward off disaster

The Roots That Ward Off Disaster

Recent disasters have strained the Gulf’s ability to respond. Building capacity for local emergency management agencies and disaster research could help the region cope—and thrive.Read More

The Loop Current

Gewin on the loop current

A Scientific “Forced Marriage” Takes on the Mysteries of the Loop Current

Decisionmakers need insights on how this powerful current shapes hurricanes, fisheries, energy supplies, and life in the Gulf of Mexico. An ambitious project to collect data and predict the current’s erratic behavior is compelling scientists to cross disciplines as well as borders.Read More

The Energy Transition

Tristan Baurick on the energy transition in Port Arthur, Texas

How Will Carbon Capture Transform Port Arthur, Texas?

Advances in engineering and financial incentives are putting a Gulf Coast city at the forefront of the energy transition. Can policies make good on promises to clean the environment and create jobs?Read More

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