| LII.org (Home) | About LII IPL.org Suggest a Site Subscribe to New This Week Contact |
|
|
 |
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
|||
Innovations
 Websites presented in alphabetical order Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: Scientific & Technical Awards 
 These Oscars, awarded a short time prior to the other Academy Awards, have been given since 1930/31 to "any device, method, formula, discovery or invention of special and outstanding value to the arts and sciences of motion pictures." The site features details and photos of award-winners back to 1998 (including photos of the actresses who presided over the event), and a link to a database with award-winners back to 1930. http://www.oscars.org/awards/scitech/ Topics: Film, Movies, & Video, Technology Last updated Jan 22, 2009 Battle Plan Under Fire
Companion site to a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) NOVA program that "probes the rapidly evolving science of war." Features interviews with technology and warfare experts, a history of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), interactive features on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and on designing aircraft for stealth, a teacher's guide, and related reading and links. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wartech/ Topics: Infectious Diseases, Technology Last updated May 5, 2004 Centuries of Progress: American World's Fairs 1853-1982
Online version of an exhibit about U.S. World's Fairs. Includes images from select fairs, a timeline of fair firsts (Otis mechanized elevator in 1853, telephone in 1876, Ferris wheel in 1893, cotton candy in 1904, assembly line in 1915, Miracle Whip in 1933, nylon in 1939, home computer in 1962, Belgian waffle in 1964, and computer touch screen in 1982), and a bibliography listing books for adults and children. From the Hagley Museum & Library. http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/wf-site/index.html Topics: Recreation, Technology Last updated May 26, 2009 Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)
This laboratory conducts "research in both computation and artificial intelligence." The site contains abstracts of research projects (topics include computer architecture and networks, computer science and artificial intelligence theory, and robotics); publications; and related links. From the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). http://www.csail.mit.edu/ Topics: Computers, Technology Last updated Oct 15, 2005 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
The mission of this U.S. Department of Defense agency is to "assure that the U.S. maintains a lead in applying state-of-the-art technology for military capabilities and to prevent technological surprise from her adversaries." This site contains a history of the agency and information about the agency's many programs. "DARPA Offices" provides links to detailed information about research and development activities. Searchable. http://www.darpa.mil/ Topics: National Security, Technology Last updated Aug 6, 2003 Design for the Other 90%
Website companion to this 2007 exhibition that "demonstrates how design can be a dynamic force in saving and transforming lives, at home and around the world." Includes descriptions and images of design projects concerned with shelter, health, water, education, energy, and transportation. View projects by topic of region of the world. Also includes a blog, panel discussion video, and related links. From the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York. http://other90.cooperhewitt.org/ Topics: Poverty, Technology Last updated Nov 1, 2007 Discover: Technology/Gadgets
Collection of articles about technology developments such as wireless communications, fuel cells, holographic digital storage, robots, jet packs, self-sustaining dog houses, spy devices, imaging, and much more. Archive goes back to 1992. From the website for Discover magazine. http://discovermagazine.com/topics/technology/gadgets Topics: Technology Last updated Aug 5, 2008 Doodles, Drafts, and Designs: Industrial Drawings from the Smithsonian
See some amazing designs of inventions created before the computer technology of today. "This exhibition presents examples of industrial drawings in the collections of the National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Institution Libraries." This exhibit walks you through the creative process for the industrial drawings of a variety of inventions, such as the bra, the shopping cart, and Crayola crayons. http://www.sil.si.edu/exhibitions/doodles/ Topics: Arts and Humanities, Arts and Humanities, Notable People, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Jan 12, 2005 Early Office Museum
A delightful illustrated history of office equipment focusing on the 1860s through the 1920s. It includes pencil sharpeners, staplers, typewriters, copiers, check protectors, dictating machines, calculators, mail room equipment, writing instruments, ephemera, and a collection of photographs of offices. The Really Big Stuff!!! link at the top of the Unusual Items page leads to some examples of office equipment promotional sculpture. The store buys and sells old office equipment, parts, and supplies. http://www.officemuseum.com/ Topics: Technology Last updated Dec 27, 2002 Extreme Textiles: Designing for High Performance
This companion to a 2005 exhibit highlights technical textiles used in applications such as apparel, sports, transportation, medicine, and engineering. Includes images and brief descriptions of items such as Gore-tex apparel, spacesuits, carbon bicycle wheels, speed-skiing helmets, vascular grafts, fishing nets, and more. Includes a game and video clips. From the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. http://www.cooperhewitt.org/exhibitions/extreme_textiles/index.asp Topics: Arts and Humanities, Crafts, Technology Last updated Feb 16, 2006 FogScreen
"A thin curtain of 'dry' fog that serves as a translucent projection screen, displaying images that literally float in the air. ... Using nothing more than tap water and ultrasonic waves, FogScreen projection screen machines employ a patented technology to create a smooth foggy airflow that captures images just like a screen." From an innovation technology company headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. http://www.fogscreen.com/en/ Topics: Technology Last updated Jan 7, 2008 Glass Industry of the Future
"The Industrial Technologies Program [of the U.S. Department of Energy] implements the Glass Industry of the Future (IOF) effort to promote technology development of more energy-efficient, environmentally sound, glass processing technology." This website features an industry profile, reports, best practices for cost reduction, and other technical publications and resources from the program on energy analysis in the glass industry. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/glass/ Topics: Energy, Technology Last updated Jun 12, 2007 History's Greatest Gadgets
"It's not all about circuits, silicon and stock options: mankind's been making technology since the dawn of time. Here's ten of the most wonderful gadgets from centuries -- and millenia -- past." Includes brief discussion and images of gadgets such as the Antikythera Computer (1st century B.C., from Greece), The Turk and El Ajedrecista (chess-playing machines, the former hiding a human within it), and the pocket watch. From Wired magazine. http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/02/historys-greate/ Topics: Technology Last updated Nov 1, 2009 How Black Lights Work
Background about "why black lights make some objects glow but not others, and ... some interesting black light applications." Discusses the visible light spectrum and how black lights emit ultraviolet light, which cause phosphors (such as those on black light posters or in white clothing that has been washed with modern detergents that contain phosphors) to emit visible light. Applications include hand stamps and identifying counterfeit money. From How Stuff Works. http://science.howstuffworks.com/black-light.htm Topics: Technology Last updated Apr 11, 2007 How Gyroscopes Work
This site describes functioning and applications of the gyroscope, a spinning wheel on an axle. Gyroscopes are used for measuring or maintaining orientation and are "extremely important in everything from your bicycle to the advanced navigation system on the space shuttle. A typical airplane uses about a dozen gyroscopes in everything from its compass to its autopilot." Topics include causes of precision and uses of gyroscopes. From How Stuff Works. http://science.howstuffworks.com/gyroscope.htm Topics: Technology Last updated Nov 29, 2006 IEEE Global History Network: Jukebox
Brief history of the jukebox, covering the entertainment uses of the phonograph invented by Thomas Edison in 1877, the 1890 modification of the phonograph to be coin-operated and provided multiple listening tubes, the effect of the record industry's growth and the Great Depression on the popularity of the jukebox, controversies, and design. Includes links to related articles. From the IEEE Global History Network (GHN), built by members of the engineering organization IEEE and professional historians. http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Jukebox Topics: Technology Last updated Apr 13, 2009 iHealthBeat
This free daily news digest reports on the impact of technology on health care. It provides special reports, features, and data points on topics such as patient safety, physician practices, privacy and security, health plans, consumer information, and telemedicine. Registration (free) required for access to full content and for email newsletter. From the California HealthCare Foundation. http://www.ihealthbeat.org Topics: Consumer Research & Advocacy, Health, Technology Last updated Feb 20, 2008 Impacto, Influencia, Cambio: Science, Technology and Invention in Latin America and the Southwestern United States
This site "highlights the lives and accomplishments of inventors, aviators, astronauts, and the everyday people of Latin America and the southwestern United States who have affected science and technology." Browsable by person, geographic location, or topic. Some material available in Spanish. From the Smithsonian Office of Education. http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/scitech/impacto/graphic/ Topics: Regions of the World, Special Months, Technology Last updated Sep 22, 2003 An Inventory of Nanotechnology-Based Consumer Products
"While not comprehensive, this inventory gives the public the best available look at the 500+ manufacturer-identified nanotechnology-based consumer products currently on the market." Search includes options to restrict results by country or categories such as appliances, automotive, or electronics. Site also includes background material about nanotechnology, "the art and science of manipulating matter at the nanoscale ... to create new and unique materials and products." From the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/ Topics: Technology Last updated Feb 3, 2008 Making the Modern World
This site "brings you powerful stories about science and invention from the eighteenth century to today. It explains the development and the global spread of modern industrial society and its effects on all our lives." Includes a timeline, background about dozens of icons of invention in technology and medicine and dozens of "everyday" inventions. Also include learning modules on topics such as DNA, textile production, and stress management. From the Science Museum, U.K. http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/ Topics: Technology Last updated May 6, 2008 The Media Center at the American Press Institute
"The Media Center is a nonprofit think tank committed to building a better-informed society in a connected world." The site provides reports on topics such as media strategies and mobile phones, links to news stories, a blog, information about events, videos, and related resources. Some material only available to members. Searchable. http://mediacenter.org Topics: Media, Media, News, Technology, Writing Last updated Mar 16, 2005 MGM v. Grokster
Legal documents and audio files related to the case brought by "twenty-eight of the world's largest entertainment companies ... against the makers of the Morpheus, Grokster, and KaZaA software products, aiming to set a precedent to use against other technology companies (P2P and otherwise)." Includes the text of the June 2005 Supreme Court decision. Compiled by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the group that is defending StreamCast Networks, the company behind the Morpheus peer-to-peer software. http://w2.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/ Topics: Intellectual Property, Law, Law, Technology Last updated Nov 24, 2007 NASA: Spinoff
"Spinoff is NASA's annual premier publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology." Includes a database with abstracts of articles back to 1976 and links to full text. Items discussed include polymer fabric to protect firefighters, lithium battery power for electric vehicles, and space age swimsuits (as used in the 2008 Olympics). From the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/ Topics: Astronomy, Technology Last updated Aug 10, 2009 NerdTV
"NerdTV is a new [2005] weekly online TV show from PBS.org [with] technology columnist Robert X. Cringely. NerdTV is ... a one-hour interview show with a single guest from the world of technology." The site features an archive with full shows (video and audio) and transcripts for guests such as "Andy Hertzfeld, the original Macintosh systems programmer" and Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive. From the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). http://www.pbs.org/cringely/nerdtv/ Topics: Computers, Technology Last updated Dec 1, 2005 Powering the Electrical Revolution: Women and Technology
"Meet the exceptional women who overcame social barriers to make achievements in the fields of math and science and the ordinary women who made contributions to the telegraph, telephone, industrial manufacturing, and computing industries." Features essays on topics such as women and the communications industry, electricity and the housewife, women and computers, and women as engineers. Includes images and video clips. From the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Virtual Museum. http://www.ieee-virtual-museum.org/exhibit/exhibit.php?id=159251&lid=1 Topics: Science, Technology, Women Last updated Mar 11, 2008 Rube Goldberg Contest at Purdue
Details about this competition inspired by cartoonist Rube Goldberg, in which "college students nationwide compete to design a machine that uses the most complex process to complete a simple task," such as screwing in a light bulb, in 20 or more steps. Provides a FAQ, results of past competitions (back to 1999), photos of some of the machines, and background about Rube Goldberg and the contest. From Purdue University. http://www.purdue.edu/UNS/rube/rube.index.html Topics: Technology Last updated Apr 10, 2007 Science Service Historical Image Collection 1926-1976
This "historical image collection represents twentieth-century scientific research consisting of images and their original captions as they appeared in period publications." This exhibit, which is specific to electricity, covers a "forty-year sample of innovation and invention", and includes photos of automobiles; batteries; cameras; computer art; Thomas Edison; assorted electric products, devices, and parts; radios and related parts; lasers; telephones; and more. Searchable. From the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History. http://americanhistory.si.edu/scienceservice/ Topics: Photograph Collections, Science, Technology Last updated Aug 24, 2004 Scientific American: Extreme Tech
This collection of technology articles covers topics such as using gold nanoparticles to block HIV, space sail technology, personal jet packs, robots, digital glove handwriting technology, and holographic film for 3-D use. Browsable by topic. Includes photos, diagrams, and slide shows. Archive goes back to early 2008. From the website for Scientific American magazine. http://www.scientificamerican.com/section.cfm?id=extreme-tech Topics: Technology Last updated Sep 9, 2009 Smart Parking Systems Make It Easier to Find a Parking Space
This October 2007 article discusses how "[f]rom an airport system that directs drivers toward open spaces to cities' replacing meters with pay stations, technology is changing the way we park." Includes description of finding a parking spot in an airport where sensors are embedded in parking space to detect whether the space is occupied, and photographing parked cars in place of chalking tires. From IEEE Spectrum magazine, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/advanced-cars/smart-parking-systems-make-it-easier-to-find-a-parking-space Topics: Technology Last updated Oct 14, 2009 Special Online Collection: Breakthrough of the Year 2006
Review of "some of the big science stories of the past 12 months" and the "dub[bing of] one of them the Breakthrough of the Year." Features a description of the Breakthrough of the Year (the solution of the Poincaré Conjecture, a century-old mathematics problem) and the runners-up in areas such as paleogenomics, glaciology, paleontology, optics, medicine, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and molecular biology. Also includes material about scientific fraud. Requires free registration. From Science magazine. http://www.sciencemag.org/sciext/btoy2006/ Topics: Science, Technology Last updated Jan 2, 2007 Special Reports: Cars and Motoring
Collection of articles (2003 to the present) on alternative fuels, safety design, green cars, and automotive technology developments. Note: full text of some articles requires fee. From the online version of New Scientist magazine. http://www.newscientist.com/topic/motoring-tech Topics: Architecture, Automobiles, Consumer Research & Advocacy, Technology Last updated Sep 28, 2009 Supreme Court Rules in MGM v. Grokster
"On June 27, 2005, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in MGM v. Grokster, ruling that the providers of software that designed to enable 'file-sharing' of copyrighted works may be held liable for the copyright infringement that takes place using that software." This website features the text of the decision and related background documents. From the U.S. Copyright Office. http://www.copyright.gov/docs/mgm/ Topics: Intellectual Property, Law, Law, Technology Last updated Jun 29, 2005 Tapedeck.org
This site was "built to showcase the amazing beauty and (sometimes) weirdness found in the designs of the common audio tape cassette. There's an amazing range of designs, starting from the early 60's functional cassette designs, moving through the colourful playfulness of the 70's audio tapes to amazing shape variations during the 80's and 90's." View images of dozens of tapes by brand, playing time, and quality. A project of a graphic designer. http://www.tapedeck.org/ Topics: Technology Last updated Jan 22, 2009 The World Innovation Foundation (WIF)
Website for this mysterious British think tank that fosters scientific collaboration to address issues arising from population growth, climate change, pandemics, energy access and usage, poverty, water resources, and environmental concerns. Features newsletters back to 1997 (the most recent as of January 2008 is the March 2007 issue), and of list of Nobel Prize-winning members. http://www.thewif.org.uk/ Topics: Environment, Technology Last updated Jan 28, 2008 X Prize Foundation
Website for this "multi-million dollar award given to the first team to achieve a specific goal, set by the X PRIZE Foundation, which has the potential to benefit humanity." The site features background and updates about current and future challenges in areas such as space, medicine, genomics, automobiles, and energy. From the X Prize Foundation. http://www.xprize.org/ Topics: Technology Last updated Jan 2, 2007 Xeni Tech
A collection of reports by technology writer Xeni Jardin, who is also a writer for Wired and cofounder of the BoingBoing blog. Features stories on topics such as podcasting, video games, privacy, online file sharing, and robots. From National Public Radio (NPR). http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4465031 Topics: Blogs & Podcasts by Subject, Technology Last updated Jul 5, 2005 |
|||
| Copyright © 2009, Librarians' Internet Index, LII. All rights reserved. Financial support for LII (Librarians' Internet Index) comes from the The iSchool at Drexel, College of Information Science and Technology and the IPL Consortium. LII is hosted by The iSchool at Drexel, College of Information Science and Technology. |