Blog Post

The Suit That Faces Flames: The Science of Firefighter Gear

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By Alyssa Rios, C2ST Intern, Waubonsee Community College

Imagine standing close enough to a fire that the heat would make you instinctively step backward. Now imagine having to work in that environment while relying on specialized materials to protect you. Every time firefighters respond to a structure fire, they enter conditions that can reach temperatures far beyond what the human body can tolerate. Their gear doesn’t make them immune to fire, but it gives them valuable time to do their jobs safely. Behind every helmet, coat, and pair of gloves are decades of research in chemistry, physics, and engineering. Rather than being one bulky suit, firefighter gear is a carefully designed system of materials that work together to slow heat, block water, and protect the body.  Continue reading “The Suit That Faces Flames: The Science of Firefighter Gear”

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Fed Up: What Evolution Reveals about Food, Diet, Health, and Eating Well

How many times a day do you ask the question, “What should I eat?” Are you confused and overwhelmed by the thousands of factory-made foods supermarkets sell? Or the abundance of diets (paleo, Mediterranean, low-fat, low-carb, low-calorie, intermittent fasting, vegan, vegetarian, carnivore) claimed to optimize your health and manage your weight?

In this talk and his new book, Fed Up, best-selling author and Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman tackles this confusion. Drawing on evolutionary biology, anthropology, physiology, and medical science, he explores how our ancestors never evolved to choose their food to lose weight or live to 100. Instead, we evolved to eat almost anything in order to survive. Continue reading “Fed Up: What Evolution Reveals about Food, Diet, Health, and Eating Well”

Event

STEM to the Future: A Comedic Review of American Innovation Since the 80’s

C2ST’s annual Fall Social is back! Come revel in awe of the scientific breakthroughs that came from this prolific era of innovation.

This year’s Fall Social was created to be a celebration of human ingenuity and scientific work and discovery. Our annual fundraiser and networking event brings together STEM professionals, educators, entrepreneurs, community leaders, supporters and friends for an evening of connection, laughter and philanthropy.

Through a playful retrospective on technological & scientific innovation since the 80’s, C2ST and Co. will explore how big ideas, like the first artificial heart, or even the piano tie, shaped a new reality.

Continue reading “STEM to the Future: A Comedic Review of American Innovation Since the 80’s”

Blog Post

The Future of Our Universe is Bright. Really, Really Bright.

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By Alex Zhang, C2ST Intern, DePaul University

“Are we alone in the universe?” For thousands of years, the question has stumped humanity. Through icons like E.T., the Alien franchise, and most recently Project Hail Mary, our fascination with the extraterrestrial has dominated popular culture and media for generations. But the search for life isn’t just contained in scripts or on film reels; scientists in a dizzying number of hyper-specific fields make daily progress expanding our knowledge of space, getting us ever so closer to answering that burning question. One such discovery has been pivotal in that task, providing stepping stones to understanding the universe in completely unexpected ways. This is the history and science of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs).
Continue reading “The Future of Our Universe is Bright. Really, Really Bright.”