Andrew Maynard

The Tale of Rhino Banana(TM)

by Andrew Maynard February 4, 2012

A product of the A World Of Surprises project with James King and a bunch of extremely talented public health and science students. The task was to explore the confluence between mundane and catastrophic risk, which the team does beautifully.  Love the technique, and the subtle touches (note the progressive effect of Rhino Bananas on [...]

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Exploring speculated catastrophe and mundane reality

by Andrew Maynard February 4, 2012

Credit: James King Last semester, speculative designer James King worked with myself and a small group of science and public health students at the University of Michigan to explore how a fusion of science and creative art can lead to new insights and modes of communication.  The exercise was part of the A World of [...]

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National Academy publishes new nanomaterials risk research strategy

by Andrew Maynard January 25, 2012

The US National Academy of Science today published its long-awaited Research Strategy for Environmental, Health, and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanomaterials. I won’t comment extensively on the report as I was a member of the committee that wrote it.  But I did want to highlight a number of aspects of it that I think are [...]

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Mind the Science Gap – Helping science students connect with a non-science audience

by Andrew Maynard January 21, 2012

Cross-posted from the Scientific American Incubator blog: Studying for a Masters degree in Public Health prepares you for many things.  But it doesn’t necessarily give you hands-on experience of how to take complex information and translate it into something others can understand and use.  Yet as an increasing array of public health issues hit the [...]

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2012 World Economic Forum Global Risk Report

by Andrew Maynard January 11, 2012

Cross-posted from the Risk Science Blog The World Economic Forum Global Risks Report is one of the most authoritative annual assessments of emerging issues surrounding risk currently produced. Now in its seventh edition, the 2012 report launched today draws on over 460 experts* from industry, government, academia and civil society to provide insight into 50 [...]

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Spare a comment – student science writers need your help!

by Andrew Maynard January 5, 2012

In a little over a week, ten of my University of Michigan Masters of Public Health students will embark on an intensive  science blogging course – and they need your help! Every week for ten weeks, each student will take a recent scientific publication or emerging area of scientific interest, and write a public blog [...]

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Innovation resolutions for 2012

by Andrew Maynard December 31, 2011

Note to self: When being swept up in the inevitable innovation frenzies* that 2012 will bring, don’t forget to: Be aware of where change is needed, and where it is not; Focus on inventiveness that will foster new solutions to pressing challenges; Develop the foresight to explore and respond to the consequences of actions arising [...]

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Brain candy for the intellectually incapacitated – the sequel

by Andrew Maynard December 22, 2011

Two years ago I posted links to ten (relatively) mindless online “games” as a bit of fun, and as something not too taxing to indulge in over the holiday break.  Having reached that point again where anything more intellectually challenging than tic tac toe makes my head hurt, I thought I would revisit and update [...]

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Chris Mocella and The Chemistry of Fireworks

by Andrew Maynard December 19, 2011

A couple of weeks back I had the pleasure of moderating an American Chemistry Society webinar on the Chemistry of Fireworks with pyrotechnics guru Chris Mocella.  It’s not quite emerging technologies, but Chris gave such an engaging talk that I thought I would post it here.  It’s a great intro to some chemistry basics, and [...]

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Metaphorically speaking, it’s photo caption time

by Andrew Maynard December 19, 2011

A question for you: How many science literacy/communication/engagement metaphors can you see in the photo below? Answers on a metaphorical post card in the comments area below please – I’m really interested to see what you come up with! The photo by the way is the header image for a student science blog that will [...]

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Pencasts – a useful educational tool?

by Andrew Maynard December 11, 2011

I picked up a new toy this weekend. (If you want to cut to the chase and see what I’ve been doing with it, please head straight to the end of the post). I’m fascinated by the combination of old tech (essentially “chalk and talk”) and new media that Sal Kahn has been successfully using [...]

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Didn’t get a reply to your email? This might be why:

by Andrew Maynard November 16, 2011

You sent me an email and didn’t hear back?  This might explain it: OK so it’s not a serious decision chart.  But it’s beginning to look increasingly attractive! I always have the best of intentions when it comes to keeping up with my email correspondence.  But increasingly I find myself struggling to keep up. The [...]

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Exposure to silver nanoparticles may be more common than we thought

by Andrew Maynard November 7, 2011

The past few years has seen an explosion of interest in silver nanoparticles.  Along with a plethora of products using the particles to imbue antimicrobial properties on everything from socks to toothpaste, nanometer scale silver particles have been under intense scrutiny from researchers and policy makers concerned that they present an emerging health and environmental [...]

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Techno Hype or Techno Hope? Two panel discussions on technology innovation

by Andrew Maynard November 6, 2011

I’ve been up to my eyeballs this past few weeks in stuff, and haven’t had as much time as usual to post here.  So this weekend I thought I would take the easy route and post a couple of videos from the recent Symposium on Risk, Uncertainty and Sustainable Innovation. These were back to back [...]

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New US federal strategy for nanotechnology safety research released

by Andrew Maynard October 20, 2011

The latest iteration of the US National Nanotechnology Initiative’s Environmental, Health and Safety Research Strategy was released today – downloadable from nano.gov. A draft of the document has been on the streets since last December – this version was compiled after a public comment period on that draft that closed earlier this year (the key [...]

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Risk = OMG x WTF!

by Andrew Maynard October 18, 2011

My apologies for the rather crude title, but I couldn’t resist.  Australian science communicator Craig Cormick is speaking at a University of Michigan Risk Science Unplugged event on November 1, and when asked for a short and pithy title, this is what he suggested.  It was too controversial for the Risk Science Center website (and [...]

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EC adopts cross-cutting definition of nanomaterials to be used for all regulatory purposes

by Andrew Maynard October 18, 2011

The European Commission had just adopted a “cross-cutting designation of nanomaterials to be used for all regulatory purposes” (link). The definition builds on a draft definition released last year, but includes a number of substantial changes to this. Here’s the full text of the definition:

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US National Nanotechnology Initiative to release latest Environmental, Health and Safety research strategy, Oct 20

by Andrew Maynard October 15, 2011

This coming Thursday (Oct 20 2011), the US National Nanotechnology Initiative is releasing the latest version of the Initiative’s federal nanotechnology environmental, health and safety research strategy.  The strategy will be available for download from 10:00 AM Eastern time, with a webinar on the release being held between 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM Eastern (registration [...]

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New models needed to master technology trends – World Economic Forum

by Andrew Maynard October 10, 2011

In his opening remarks at this year’s Summit on the Global Agenda, World Economic Forum founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab placed the need for new models to support effective use of technology innovation firmly on the table. This is the fourth year I have participated in the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Summit – [...]

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Inspiring teachers – a blast from the past

by Andrew Maynard October 7, 2011

Two years ago, I wrote a piece about ten things that inspired me to become a scientist. One of those was my high school teacher.  We never kept in touch, but through the miracle of the web, that post eventually came to his attention, and we connected again. The other day he unearthed a photo [...]

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