Saturday, June 30, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

On this day in 1908, the sky was literally falling over Siberia in what has come to be know as the Tunguska Event.

Friday, June 29, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Twelve years ago today, on the 100th manned mission in the history of the U.S. space program, the space shuttle Atlantis docked with the Mir space station.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Today marks the anniversary of the activation of Intelsat 1 also known as Early Bird, the world's first telecommunications satellite.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

When his calculations about Uranus' orbit turned out to be wrong, he was perturbed. But Alexis Bouvard's observations laid the foundation for the discovery of Neptune. Today is the 240th anniversary of his birth.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

He invented the eight track tape, the first fully automatic landing system and made his company the standard of the business jet industry, yet Bill Lear had no formal schooling beyond the eighth grade. Today would have been his 105th birthday.

Monday, June 25, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Botanist David Douglas, after whom the Douglas Fir tree is named, was born 208 years ago today.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Totally cosmic dude! Nobel prize winner Victor Francis Hess was born on this day in 1883.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Alan Turing, the father of modern computer science, was born 95 years ago today.

Friday, June 22, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Hermann Minkowski, who laid the mathematical foundation of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, was born 143 years ago today.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Mon dieu! Great mathematician Siméon-Denis Poisson was born 226 years ago today!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Getting enough vitamins? Whether you are or aren't, you can thank Fredrick Hopkins, born on this day in 1861, for discovering them and their essential role in health. For this accomplishment, he along with Christiaan Eijkman, received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1929.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

A child prodigy in mathematics and one of the people who laid the foundation for probablity theory, Blaise Pascal was born 384 years ago today.

Monday, June 18, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Born 162 years ago today, Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work which included the discovery of the cause of malaria.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Today marks the anniversary of the birth of one of the true mothers of invention, dietitian Ruth Wakefield, creator of the Toll House(chocolate chip) cookie.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Barbara McClintock, who won the Nobel prize in 1983 for her "a-maize-ing" genetic research, was born on this day in 1902.

Friday, June 15, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

And now for something in a different vein. The first fully documented case of human blood transfusion took place 340 years ago today under the supervision of Jean-Baptiste Denys.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Mariner 5 was launched to Venus on this day in 1967.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

My physics professor once said that his equations should be studied and understood if for no other reason than the good of the soul. So take some time to look at the work of the man who tied together magnetism, electricity and light, James Maxwell, born 176 years ago today.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Sir David Gill , pioneer in astrophotography was born on this day 154 years ago today. Among his many accomplishments, he was the first astronomer to photograph a comet.

Monday, June 11, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the co-inventor of the aqualung and the man who put the "Oh!" in oceanography, was born on this day in 1910.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Buy someone a balloon and celebrate the anniversary of Mylar; which was first registered as a trademark on this day in 1952.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Here is some food for thought. On this day in 1953, John H. Kraft received a patent for "manufacture of soft surface cured cheese".

Friday, June 8, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

He was doing organic design before organic was cool. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright was born 140 years ago today.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Today is the 186th birthday of James Young Simpson, the father of modern anesthetics.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Soyuz 11 was launched on this day in 1971. It achieved the first successful docking with the world's first space station, Salyut 1, Unfortunately the mission ended in tragedy only 24 days later.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971 for laying the foundation of holography. Denis Gabor (no relation to ZaZa or Eva) was born 107 years ago today.

Monday, June 4, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Keen observation, tenacity and curiosity led Robert Chesebrough to a slick idea which he patented 135 years ago today; Vaseline.

Sunday, June 3, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

The world's first 200 inch telescope, the Hale Telescope, was dedicated at Palomar Observatory 59 years ago today.

Saturday, June 2, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

Touchdown! Surveyor 1 became the first U.S. spacecraft to land on another world on this day in 1966

Friday, June 1, 2007

SciTech Spotlight

When these guys got steamed up, things got racy. They developed the most successful steam cars in history and some of the fastest; including a racing model that could achieve over 120 miles per hour in 1906! They were twin brothers Francis and Freelan Stanley born 158 years ago today.