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Domain: jst.go.jp
Stories and comments across the archive that link to jst.go.jp.
Stories · 2
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Can Long Term Research Survive the Coming Age of Austerity?
Hugh Pickens writes "Alexis Madrigal writes that everyone agrees you need science and technology R&D, but when budgets get tight, research into quantum dots or the fundamental forces that cause earthquakes has a hard time holding the line against health care or tax cuts for the richest Americans. Different countries are taking different approaches. Japan is focusing on its most elite researchers, giving up to $50 million to 30 different people. Other countries are just giving up on some areas of research to focus on others; for example, US particle physicists who will spend their careers trying to drive from the backseat as our European counterparts run the Large Hadron Collider. A third approach might be to reduce redundancies in research. 'An idea to provide funding in a larger number of key areas that would avoid duplication is to create dedicated research centers where several investigators can work in parallel on complementary topics,' writes Joerg Heber. "If we do less research we need to do it right. And using this crisis to think about our research infrastructure needn't be a bad thing. It should be seen as an opportunity to reform the academic research system in a more comprehensive and fundamental way than the academic community and the politicians normally dare to think about.'" -
Racing A Coffee Cup Vs. A Musical Keyboard?
Thanks to the Grandtextauto site for their post showcasing an exhibition using unique game controllers at the Japanese National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. The photos on the page show racing game controllers as wacky as a "..direct-manipulation coffee cup - the text on it reads 'Drink me. Drive me'", and "a synthesizer keyboard that moves forward when you play notes toward the center and turns when you play notes at the edges", as well as a horse you control with physical reins, and a more conventional steering wheel controller, all networked together and racing through a 3D model of the museum.