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In the Works – Potential Topics

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We'd like your thoughts on these and other topics you are interested in seeing or maybe presenting. Send your thoughts via email to info@LCTG.toku.us or contact John Rudy, Peter Albin, Bob Primak, or Steve Isenberg directly – Thank you.
This list last changed 2021.12.22 14:32

Note – numbering is for reference only and it has no other meaning. Numbers were assigned in the order topics were added to the list.

  1. Women in Science, Scientists in Other Cultures (Charlie ask Dan for suggestions; GeorgeG to ask CAAL; Harry to ask Indian Association; for speaker possibilities) (Need contact with Black Americans – Harry to search).
  2. Advances in Surgery (interesting but need speaker); past, present, future. George Gamota to fup with Barbara Hughey (Dan Kleppner knows her)
  3. Solar Panels, Solar Technology. Mark Sandeen (Lex SelectPerson); Cindy Ariens?; Frank van Mierlo, owner of solar technology company, explains science of solar panels. (Harry email to Mark & Cindy cc:PeterA) Dick Wagner to fup.
  4. idea: Telescopes (JohnR; huge telescope being decommissioned. Rich Ralston has contacts at Lincoln Lab & MIT, possible talks on optical, ground, space, x-ray in space, large bodies in space, etc) (Larry Wittig, after it launches. Reconsider Dec or 2022)
  5. idea: ISO-NE webinar being presented by the Attorney General's office; JohnBrown to see if it is recorded and if it's good for the group [20201125 email JohnBrown. Peter; 20210820: Peter to pull out interesting stuff from his video, or Peter to discuss w/Brown to see if he can do it live or maybe Peter. Peter to fup.]
  6. Chris Hess: Musicians record themselves at home on their phones. They send me their files and I build virtual video performances in software. We've done a couple dozen virtual ensemble pieces at First Parish since the lockdown started. I work on a PC, with tools in the Adobe Creative suite. If that's of interest, I could do an introduction to the process and tools and then do some Q&A. Zoom isn't directly relevant, although we do stream the stuff I make over Zoom at virtual Sunday services at First Parish.
  7. Revisit Cloud Storage Options (update from December 2019, steveI) Potpourri option
  8. The first LASER of 2021 explores the relationship between humans, DNA, and data, featuring media artist and TED speaker Refik Anadol in conversation with Dr. Robert Grass from ETH Zurich, and Christine Choirat from Harvard and the Swiss Data Science Center. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCMaMEyYpdw (90 min) TED Talk
  9. Count Rumford (Supplemental to Dan Kleppner's, but emphasis is on history). Howard Cohen; talk is prepared
  10. Automatic Bucks meeting: Programmed Trading and Internet Fastlanes Not sure what or how to present
  11. Approach LHS Grad Brandeis, MD, now at Penn; re Moderna technology Harry
  12. Weather Models. (Need speaker; John Rudy will research.)
  13. Meandering Rivers (proposed by John Rudy) Concord River is a good example. e.g., https://www.ausableriver.org/blog/why-do-streams-meander
  14. Virus package update; both real-time (e.g., Defender) and off-line (e.g., Malware Bytes). Consider Windows, but also Mac/OSX. Peter
  15. Al Sherman: “Everything” from https://www.voidtools.com/ (John Rudy to contact, where is he, when can he speak)
  16. Al Sherman: “Advanced Renamer” from https://www.advancedrenamer.com/ (NOTE Al can be recorded off-line for replay on Weds.)
  17. Shelly Lowenthal: Total Commander, Irfanview https://www.irfanview.com/ smi to put on calendar, tell peter, ask Shelly
  18. Barbara Liskov (John Rudy to fup)
  19. Shiela Widnel and Women in the Air Force (David Kahan)
  20. Best of Freakonomics, an interview with Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, moderated by Faith Salie. Recorded at the 92nd Street Y on May 2015. (Peter Albin has link to 70min video)
  21. BOLLI talk on advances in knee surgery (John Rudy) (John has name and has sent email, no response as of 20210820)
  22. NFT - Non Fungible Tokens (need speaker John to search for speaker)

YouTube Video Possibilities

Rich Ralston suggested topics

Website for MIT Lincoln Lab: http://www.ll.mit.edu Surf this yourselves to see if areas of R&D or system development would be of interest to you and the LCTG. LL develops technology which, as it matures, is incorporated into a prototype subsystem or system to demonstrate new capabilities for transfer to industry for government use. Intellectual property can be licensed by MIT for commercial applications

Some topics I (Rich Ralston) propose within the next year, including the August 21 meeting.

  1. Low-noise and large-area visible and x-ray focal planes in space- and ground-based telescopes. (~90 minutes)
  2. Flash LIDAR (LADAR) with single-photon sensitivity for rapid 3-D imaging with applications from look-through-foliage military surveillance to self-driving vehicles. (~90 minutes) – not to be recorded for later viewing
    Dr. Simon Verghese, head of Waymo’s (Google) sensor development for self-driving cars. In their 5th generation, the sensors are designed to meet the challenging requirements of moving people and goods safely and efficiently in dense cities and on highways. The goal is to make them affordable while meeting the performance needed for driverless operation in various applications and weather conditions. The talk will review some history of the project and describe a few use-cases for sensors and machine learning on Waymo vehicles.
  3. High-sensitivity passive IR focal planes for wide-area surveillance. (Copious Imaging, a spin off in Lexington from LL). (~45 minutes)
  4. Bio-agent warning sensor with single aerosol particle sensitivity. (~45 minutes)
  5. Nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond for quantum sensing. (~45 minutes)
  6. Development of Terminal Doppler Weather Radar for Airports. (LL developed, manufactured by Raytheon.). (~90 minutes)
  7. NOVA video on the Secret of Tuxedo Park. (Culminates in UK bringing magnetron to US during WWII). https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/secret-tuxedo-park/ Rent $3.99 on Amazonk. (60 minutes)
  8. Radar that looks for downdrafts at airports
    Dr. Jim Evans, leader of the work at MIT Lincoln on the “Terminal Doppler Weather Radar and its Deployment for the FAA to Avoid Microbursts at airports”. This work was started about 25 years ago and has proven successful at many US airport sites. The talk will review the development lessons learned in deployment, including human factors in communication between controllers and pilots.

Topic ideas needing speakers

  1. home theater, camera monitor, media player
  2. Linux or other O/S
  3. Headsets and cameras for Zoom; auxiliary microphones?
  4. Your experience with Raspberry or other tiny computer
  5. Troubleshoot your Internet connectivity
  6. Utilities, for a utilities meeting
  7. Construction of the new Suez Canal
  8. Railway Car identification (George Burnell; Greg Sheehan)
  9. “Book Review” of Walter Isaacson’s book Code Breaker about the competing CRISPR teams. Maybe we can bring back Allan Kleinman

===Orphaned (scheduled, but couldn't be presented then)===

  1. Computational Photography - changing what's used as a camera. link e.g., replacing DSLR with cellphones; more (Jonathan Goode?, Harry Forsdick?) (needs a lead)
  2. How one builds a web application (e.g., using spreadsheets) (Harry Forsdick)
  3. (Harry) Getting Streaming Programming Into Your TV (what to do when your TV just isn't smart enough)
  4. [resched from 6/2/21] Eli Brookner would like to present to the group “Fun Family Talk on Contributions of Radar to Winning WWII”. Abstract from Eli:
    Radar was in its infancy at the start of World War II. The British were using radar effectively along their coastline with a network of antennas on very tall towers to warn of approaching German aircraft, but they needed an invention that would allow radars to be small enough to fit on ships and aircraft. They came up with the cavity magnetron. However they looked to American manufacturing know-how and resources to mass produce this device in a hurry. After turndowns by all the major US firms, a small Boston newcomer, Raytheon Company, came up with a solution and ended up making 85% of all magnetrons used by the allies in the war, and changed the course of the war.
  5. [orig sched 7/28/2021] CERN and the Hadron Collider. History, Why It Was Built, Hoped Outcomes, Discovery of Bison, What is Next (Harvey Newman, professor Cal Tech). Harvey will introduce the status and outlook for the LHC, its past and present and near term outlook, and provide a panorama of the future including some of the leading programs. (John Rudy)
  6. [orig sched 8/11/2021] Retrospective on election security, allegations, concerns, why is it so hard to have a closed and secure system? Securing mail-in voting; how states got it to happen. Involve Town clerk or rep to participate? (George Burnell)

visits: 9/17/4053 since 20210323

lctg_in_the_works.1629470881.txt.gz · Last modified: 2021.12.22 14:32 (external edit)