The Leo on Wheels recently visited Sunset Ridge Middle School and South Hills Middle School. At both visits we noticed a large gap in the nearby mountains. If you are local, you know that that gap is the site of the Bingham Canyon Mine. The science and the history of the mine are both interesting and important to Utah.

In its earlier years, the mine employed countless immigrants to Utah, shaping the current cultural heritage of the state by attracting Norwegians, Italians, Greeks, Mexicans and others to work at the mine and live in the town of Bingham (which no longer exists because the ground it stood on was cleared away in the mine's later expansion!).

Utah Copper Company mill circa 1910

(photo from Utah State History collection)

If The Leo on Wheels staff decided to visit the mine during our lunch break, we would have seen a hole about 2.75 miles across and 0.75 miles deep. If we wanted to hike to the bottom of the mine, we would have had to walk down the 500 miles of road in the mine...and probably wouldn't have made it back for the next class. The Bingham mine has produced 18.1 million tons of copper -- more than any other mine in history.

Bingham mine as it looks today

(photo from Wikipedia Commons)

The technology used to process the copper, molybdenum, gold, and silver at the rate and scale of the Bingham mine is impressive. Once mined, the material is transported by a fleet of 70 trucks that can each carry 255 tons of material. The trucks carry the material to a conveyer, which then travels through a 5-mile tunnel in the Oquirrh Mountains to the Copperton Concentrator at the southern end of the Great Salt Lake. The concentrator crushes the mined material which then goes through a floatation process that separates waste from the minerals.

So next time you take a look at the Oquirrh Mountains and see that break in the peaks, think about the Bingham Mine and the technology over the ridge. If you feel like learning more about the mine take a drive up there and take the tour, I guarantee you’ll be impressed and surprised with the science and history of the Bingham Mine.

The Leonardo After Hours: Energy Revolution event in Logan last week was a huge success with a ton of audience participation. Thanks to our presenters and our host, The Italian Place, which supplied nourishment (energy!) for the crowd. Take a look at our recap video, with interviews with all three presenters:

Jeff Muhs, executive director at Utah State University Energy Lab, will discuss new initiatives from his lab, such as creating biofuels from algae and automated electric transportation, which will make energy mobile. Other presenters include Kevin Shurtleff, who is a member of the USTAR Technology Outreach team, and Lynsey Talbot, who is a student energy researcher at Utah State University.

It seems as though Avatar has everyone thinking about the future of mind-controlled devices...a future that may not be so far away. Mind-controlled devices can be extremely helpful to people like Pierpaolo Petruzziello, who had his arm amputated. Researchers at the University of Rome connected a prosthetic hand to his nervous system by electrodes controlled by brain impulses that move his "muscles" to precisely control his hand and fingers.

Every year in Sundance's documentary competition, stand-out movies feature environmental impact topics. The premiere of An Inconvenient Truth in 2006 started this tradition. Some movies show how our environment is changing (Climate Refugees, 2010), and others show us what we can do to change (No Impact Man, 2009).

Fox initially planned a 5-minute short that would show how natural gas drilling worked and what kind of impact it would have. However, that small tasked turned into a huge project after he found out that fracking, the process they use to extract natural gas, was contaminating the natural watershed. As Fox traveled around the country he found that in almost every town near drilling, drinking water had been contaminated with...well, too many chemicals to name.

This was not just a typically cloudy or foggy day, but rather the effects of a thermal inversion. This naturally-occurring event happens when the atmosphere’s temperature gradient is “inverted” from its usual state. Anyone who has climbed a mountain in the summertime knows that at higher elevations the air is usually cooler. During an inversion, however, cooler and denser air is trapped at the earth’s surface beneath a high pressure layer of warmer air. The mountains bordering our valley keep this trapped cold air walled in, and because the cooler air is denser it remains in the valley, accumulating water vapor and pollutants. Here is a diagram of what is going on during an inversion.

In another instance, musical artist Calvin Harris created a human synthesizer using Bare Conductive paint. The synthesizer creates a programmed sound each time Calvin slaps the hands of the models.

The Leo on Wheels officially has a completely new look complete with a new trailer, T-shirts and exhibit displays. The Mona Lisa trailer wrap has been retired after almost five years of service and tens of thousands of miles on the road.

As Utah’s biotechnology resource coordinator, Kasey works with students and teachers at high schools with biotech programs to provide them with the equipment and information they need. Kasey traces his interest in the field to middle school when he decided to take honors science so he could learn dissection. As a member of Utah Valley University's first graduating class of biotechnology students, Kasey balanced school work with lab jobs at Salt Lake Community College and the Jordan Applied Technology Center. Since then, he has helped open two labs at Itineris Early College High School and five others at SLCC.

Educate to Innovate hopes to pique interest in STEM learning in young children. For instance, Sesame Street will focus two years of its programing on helping children become science and math literate. And an annual science fair will be held at the White House for top science fair winners from across the country. (One more local plug: check out the Salt Lake Valley Science and Engineering Fair on your way to the top.)

The MacArthur Foundation is helping to develop the Digital Media and Learning Competition, a national contest to recognize changes in the ways children learn. The open competition, which starts Dec. 14, is searching for digital media ideas that will help children develop their math and science skills. The competition has all sorts of partners we've tweeted our love for in the past, including National Lab Day and HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Advanced Collaboratory). So, genuises, get those proposals ready.

Digital plant from Daniel Brown's series, "Flowers."

"The Network," dissects traces of information we leave behind after using social networks. Programers developed a section that visualizes information, such as how bloggers are feeling based upon what they say in their blogs. "Code," looks at the digital coding we use to program. Artist Daniel Brown uses mathematics to generate a fluid growth of digital images that mimics plants found in nature. Much like "Ghost Interruptions," the "Interactivity" exhibit allows visitors to interact with different works. One of the featured exhibits is the Opto-Isolator, developed by Golan Levin, which is a robotic eye that follows the viewer's eye motions.

One of the highlight of the event was the soap-film wall prototype. Our exhibits team worked hard this past month to make the wall. Viewers learned the science behind the bubble -- light refraction, wave patterns and surface tension -- and stuck their hands in it and blew bubbles. All in all, it was a delightful evening for the 150-or-so attendees!

The Leonardo is celebrating National Chemistry Week on Oct. 10. Our free event, "Chemistry—It’s Elemental!”, will be held in the Urban Room and on the Plaza of the Salt Lake City Public Library. (The elements are highlighted at this year’s event because 2009 is the 140th anniversary of Mendeleev's Periodic Table of Elements.)

Families will have an opportunity to learn about different elements on the periodic table by participating in hands-on art and science projects: investigate the size of the different elements with bubbles, learn about the elemental composition of minerals through a treasure hunt, find out about properties of elements by using magnets, and discover reaction properties of oxygen. There will be 33 different activities to engage children and family members of all ages. The Leonardo also will be introducing our "Radiation and You" exhibit with facilitated activities and discussions on radioisotopes, elements, and radiation.

Francis H. Brown, distinguished professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Utah, will lecture Nov. 24 about the "Geologic Control of the Age of Early Man. Graeme W. Milton, a professor of mathematics at the University of Utah, will present "Cloaking: Where Science Meets Science Fiction," March 10. Ronald L. Walsworth, senior physicist at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, presents the final lecture "The Search for Earth-like Planets Around Other Stars," April 7.

We often see examples of science inspiring art but the Dana Centre in London is finding ways where art inspires science. The Dana Centre, which opened in 2003, caters to an adult audience. The Centre hosts free monthly events where people can discuss and learn about current science issues. It even has different event styles to suit your learning needs, including "Vent Your Views," "Artistic License," "Test Lab," and "Face to Face."

Students entered their gymnasium that we had converted into a traveling science museum buzzing with questions. Most had already heard stories from their friends, and over the hum of the science classes, I picked out phrases: zapped her braces! ... his hair stood straight up! dude, there's the big silver ball! The Van de Graaff generator is always a favorite; we have to pre-advise the students to ration their time wisely. Even still, many kids return to the shocking machine numerous times during their limited class sessions.

Octogenarian Bliss recently overcame a year-long period of blindness, following with cataract surgery, an experience that she compared to "coming out of solitary confinement." Her career in the state stretches back decades, though, and includes several public art pieces at major buildings around town, such as the University of Utah's Cowles Building on Presidents Circle and the State Capitol Building.

Good news for local art fans, too: Black Opal Productions is putting together a documentary about this woman's fascinating life and storied career: "ARC of LIGHT: A Portrait of Anna Campbell Bliss." (We can't embed this particular link, but do watch -- Anna is brilliant.)

A couple of us at The Leonardo had the pleasure of chatting with Anna recently and she reassured us that she has at least a good 10 years left in her -- she has a lot she wants to accomplish and intends to continue her role as a self-proclaimed "misfit locally" in the art scene. We're also looking forward to forging a partnership with her for The Leo building down the road.

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But please do drool over electromagnetic forming with me. There are folks out there with the gear, the time and the wherewithal to shrink coins. As for motive, what's better than "because I can"?

Hackerbot Labs in south Seattle (sample mottos: "Like prom night, for your warranty" and "Trespassers will be used for scientific experimentation") and Intellectual Venture Labs posted a couple of video gems on the coin shrinking process.

A massive electrical current creates a magnetic current in the coil, which creates an opposing magnetic field in the coin. The two fields cause the coin's material to contract and compact -- no volume or weight is lost, but the coin is smaller in diameter and thicker.

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First off is the SEED Magazine Mathematicians slideshow. I always imagined mathematicians toiling in relative obscurity in dusty corners of a campus' oldest building. But in this SEED slide show, the practitioners of the field get the high art treatment with intriguing portraits and audio narration describing the allure of the field. One person's inspiration was a dramatic pause in a conversation from her childhood, and another compares his work to a secret garden in which he grows beautiful theories. Creative minds find inspiration in and draw connections to everything. Please click through the link to the show, especially because I can't repost the entire show here.

The next highlight is this post from the Brooklyn Museum about sun bleaching an Arshile Gorky print from the museum's collection. The post shows the process step by step, including before photos, process photos and the "after" result. The museum has taken a routine conservator's task, brought it into the sun (literally and online, of course) and made it a fascinating glimpse into the behind-the-scenes work of a large institution.

A British scientist and student in science communication came up with an intriguing project to get people talking and thinking about the impact of science in their lives. Dr. Tim Jones' simple concept was to ask people to draw what they think is important about science. He stitched the drawings together (with a nod to the "exquisite corpse" methods of the surrealists, hence his title) and created a video with the participants talking about their drawings.

There are many things that I like about this project -- the thought of getting the public involved in the conversation about science, the art, and the variety AND similarity in response. My favorite part, though, is the 14-year-old's drawing. His free-form links between the various parts of science that affect his life end up being more profound and real to me than, say, the scientist's representation of the scientific method.

I like the basic way that he's gotten folks to consider the impact and importance of science in their lives. I'd love to hear how they prepped their "artists" before drawing and interviewing. The project reaffirms my belief that the simplest things are often the most effective, and frequently the most intriguing.

Jones (@physicus) is taking his project wide and calling for submissions for the next version of The Exquisite Corpse of Science. Join his efforts, and comment or tweet back at us (@the_leonardo) if you do. We'd love to see what you come up with.

The week, the program celebrated its five-year anniversary! To celebrate, the outreach crew set up at the Salt Lake City Public Library in conjunction with Air Force Week.

They guided people through making the best paper airplane possible (including distance and hang-time contests!), explained the science behind bubbles suspended above dry ice, and allowed budding pilots to test out a flight simulator from Rockwell Collins, among other activities.

Happy anniversary! And thanks to all the great partners, sponsors, staff and volunteers who have helped make the program possible over the last several years!

Muhs, who was at one point an energy and science policy advisor to the U.S. Senate, recently testified before Congress about the plausbility of using algae to capture and recycle carbon-dioxide emissions and create oil in the process. Muhs is also a USTAR researcher.

In theory, algae farms can be anywhere there is enough sunlight for the plants, and part of Muhs' research is optimizing sunlight absorption and thus increasing the amount of fuel produced. Other biofuel researchers are exploring creative placements for algae ponds -- next to wastewater treatment plants (the, ahem, natural organics in the wastewater can be part of the algae "food"), in shallow desert pools in the sunny southwestern United States, or next to coal plants where algae could convert waste carbon dioxide to biofuel.

You may remember the Continental Airlines test flight this January with half a tank of conventional jet fuel and half a tank of algae- and jatropha-produced biofuel. Continental joined Air New Zealand and Japan Airlines, among others, in testing biofuels as an alternative to conventional jet fuel. Even though large-scale algae fuel production is likely still several years away, the promise of this biofuel has caught the attention of the airlines, Congress and R/D communities throughout the country.

So, please, join us Wednesday, June 3, at the Salt Lake City Public Library for a discussion about how the hated pond scum of yesteryear could become the future of fuel. (To register for Lunch with Leo, visit its web page. The event is open to the public, and the $25 fee pays for your meal.)

NASA isn't exactly a local group, but it has been fascinating to watch from afar their Hubble Space Telescope repair mission.

Atlantis Shuttle launch on Monday, May 11

I'm currently watching video feed of the Atlantis Space Shuttle crew positioning a robotic arm to repair the telescope. There are no orchestral swells on the soundtrack, but the real-life drama beats anything you could manufacture on a cinema screen.

Amy Caron's "Waves of Mu" is a great example of what The Leonardo loves -- Caron perfectly translated the science of mirror neurons to a theater performance and art installation at her show here in Salt Lake City a couple of weeks ago.

The show is named for the EEG oscillations that reflect mirror neuron activity, but that doesn't even begin to cover a description. Participants hand over their shoes and crowd together in a small ante room, swilling champagne and chatting before moving into a brain room -- the thalamus is a 1960s-era secretary, enormous chandeliers represent the prefrontal cortex, and snarling, sculpted cats (jaguars? imaginary creations?) are the amygdalas. On my walk through, the thalamus frantically asked me to get the amygdala a gentle pet because a "wave of fear is coming on."

After passing through the brain room, visitors step into a "laboratory" for the rest of the performance. I've likely already given too much away, but it's safe to say that everything -- the projections, the football game, the neuroscientist's lecture, and the outburst -- tie back to the idea that mirror neurons allow us to relate to each other.

Caron uses art and performance to translate complex neuroscientific points for those of us not, ahem, fluent in that language. If you missed Caron's show this time around, you can catch her in Seattle this fall.

"InterPlay: AnARTomy" features two dancers, poetry, a host of sketch artists, and digital animators, and requires nearly a dozen computer systems to compile live video feeds from four other universities. The video feed of the sketchers and performers in other locations --Indianapolis, Indiana; Fairbanks, Alaska; Long Island, New York; and Cardiff, Wales -- are projected and "mixed" on a large screen behind the dancers. InterPlay is the work of Jimmy and Beth Miklavcic.




During the year-long development process, the Miklavcics meet with participants via open-source video conferencing software. Then, the "telematic" performance is woven into a multi-leveled, live performance and cinematic work that incorporates feeds from artists, musicians and technicians at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianpolis (IUPUI),University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Long Island University in New York, and Cardiff University in Wales (full bios of the cast and crew can be found here). The performance is designed specifically for viewing at the University of Utah Intermountain Network and Scientific Computation Center (INSCC), giving Utah audiences the best seats in the country.


An operator during the performance arranges the screens dependent on what the dancers, animators and artists are doing. Digital MC Jimmy Miklavcic manipulates the relationships between the various performances by combining the video streams into the center digital mix of the display -- all to create a dynamic, collaborative performance. "This thing is so intertwined that calling it art and technology isn't correct because they're so symbiotic in a way," Beth and Jimmy Miklavcic tell us.




Beth and Jimmy will be giving a presentation about their previous InterPlay project -- Nel Tempo Di Sogno (2007) -- Thursday, April 16, at 1 p.m. at the University of Utah's Center for High Performance Computing. They'll talk about the scene-by-scene tech requirements to pull off an InterPlay performance.