 |
|
|
|||||
In recent months, the drama around Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), President Trump’s efforts to defund federal agencies, and the court cases challenging these moves have consumed the news. Its understandable that an announcement last month about a small office lease on the Upper West Side of Manhattan being canceled didn’t get much attention. But that 43,000-square-foot space near Columbia University is home to the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, or GISS, a NASA research outfit, think tank, and pioneer in climate change research that will see its lease terminated by the end of the month, per a NASA spokesperson. Currently, the institute has no permanent home to move into. Its likely youve seen the building, even if youre not aware of the monumental achievements that have taken place there. The exterior shot of the diner in Seinfeld features that exact building; for decades, scientists working inside have dealt with an occasional fan taking selfies outside. [Photo: Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket/Getty Images] Youre also probably more aware of the ideas hatched inside than you think. During the 60s, when the institute was founded, the terms black hole and quasar were coined inside its walls. In the late 80s, NASA scientist James Hansen became famous for his warnings about the dangers posed by climate change. He was then the head of GISS, and the climate modeling that he and his colleagues did there proved the case. This is the place we came finally to understand the threat to the Earth that global warming representedthe biggest threat in the history of our species, climate advocate and author Bill McKibben told Fast Company. Nothing less than that. Their datasets were what allowed Hansen to go before Congress and speak with authority. He had the numbers and no one else did. The end of GISS as we know it represents many things, including the damage the Trump administration’s cost-cutting is doing to American scientific preeminence. Current head Gavin Schmidt said without funds for a new lease, hes racing to find a new home. (Though staffers haven’t been told where they’re moving to, as of yet, none have been terminated; a NASA spokesperson said, Over the next several months, employees will be placed on temporary remote work agreements while NASA seeks and evaluates options for a new space for the GISS team.) The move comes as the federal government has decried climate science, cut jobs at NASA, and proposed curtailing its mission. But even the existence of GISS showcases the power of a small group of curious, driven people who, if given resources and freedom, can accomplish incredible things. There is something that is quite distinct to working for NASA, said Schmidt. Because, literally the whole universe is your subject. A postcard for the Oxford Hotel, circa 1930-1945 [Image: Digital Commonwealth] A Small Office With Expansive Freedoms Located across a few floors in a former apartment building, GISS has never been a well-outfitted office. Until recently, it was a shithole, said Schmidt, who noted that even though a long-overdue renovation was just finished, the air-conditioning system is still pretty much nonfunctional. But the office decor was never the attraction. It was the people you could bump into. Named after rocketry pioneer Robert Goddard, the institute was established in 1961, and initially called the Institute for Space Studies. It was led by Robert Jastrow, a celebrated researcher and public figure who would help millions of Americans learn about space via prolific writings and TV appearances. Locating in New York City helped attract the leading lights of academia from surrounding universities. Jastrow said the institutes goal was to arouse the interest and enlist the participation of this rich scientific community. It became a hotbed for debate and ideas, hosting seminars and talks that are credited with birthing the concepts behind black holes, quasars, and plate tectonics. A sidewalk bookseller who specialized in sci-fi books positioned himself nearby to pick up business from the high concentration of astrophysicists. Jastrow could be a competitive and energetic bosshe would push researchers to pull all-nighters and even get them to run laps with him around Central Parkbut academic freedom remained paramount. GISS, from the very beginning, was set up as a place with a light federal presence, said Schmidt, who took the reins at the institute in 2014. There would be civil servants, but most of the people there would be postdocs early in their caeer. The idea was to have this kind of fervent, enthusiastic, free from programmatic responsibilities [space]. It wasnt an operational center. We had a lot of workshops. In the 70s, Hansen and others helped work on projects that sent probes to other planets, including Venus and Jupiter. By the early 80s, NASA changed its focus to what was called mission Earth; the agency realized it knew more about the polar ice caps on Mars than it did the polar ice caps on Earth, and sought to rectify that. In analyzing Earths climate, the previous GISS work on other-planetary atmospheres came in handy. Those frameworks could be applied to Earths climate, and its change over time. In addition to that deep bench of multifaceted scientific talent, GISS also had the gear. At the time, it had one of the most powerful computers in operation. While it still used punch cards and spinning disks, it enabled researchers to create the most sophisticated models of climate change that had been done thus far. McKibben remembers spending time by this machine, as Hansen explained what was being computed. I would have been there in the late 80s, right before or after Hansen’s testimony [before Congress], he said. I went a bunch of times, and he showed me around the mainframes and interpreted for me what they were spitting out. It was classic big science of that eraspinning disks and all. Circa 1985 Why Its Climate Models Remain So Valuable Having that technology, steady support, and a revolving cast of experts made it a perfect place to perfect climate modeling. According to Schmidt, as the task of analyzing the climate became more and more complicated, there basically ceased to be university-based climate modeling to predict future temperature shifts a few decades ago. Everything globally is done at labs like GISS, and it offers a substantial benefit to research around the world. The institutes famous temperature series, which it has maintained since the 1980s and provides monthly surface temperature data back to 1880, is provided free. Its not even a line-item in the GISS budget; Schmidt says it comes out of general operating expenses. And GISS continues to be one of, if not the most, influential organizations in the field, Schmidt argues, because it’s cutting edge without being rigid. Its a small, nimble group of roughly 130 researchers without a strict hierarchy, so new ideas and research can quickly be vetted, tested, and applied to the model to improve its accuracy. Circa 2023 [Photo: Robert Schmunk/GISS/NASA] GISS continues to refine and improve its model. Earlier this year, NASA launched a long-delayed satellite project called PACE that will explore phytoplankton growth on the ocean surface, algal blooms and aerosols, and other factors impacting temperature shifts. The institute also remains at the forefront of using machine learning to create models that chart the possible course of climate change. What happens to this work when GISS leaves the only home its ever known remains to be seen. Obviously, it is not our idea, Schmidt said, adding that he doesnt think itll save money or lead to increased efficiency. The lease termination notice does say the work will continue in a new home. Is this going to impact our mission? Yes, of course, he said. Schmidt has made some progress in his search for a new location, but hes far from finished. Hes essentially begging for desks in the neighborhood, looking to find a home at Columbia University, New York University, or the Natural History Museum. He doesnt have any budget, so he cant pay rent and he fears theres a limit to how generous people will be. If you want to bring in people who are going to have interesting ideas and who are going to pursue those ideas, they have to have freedom to do so, he said. They can’t be so drowned with proposal writing or doing operational stuff or having to do some bullshit thing for somebody else. If you want to keep the smart people and creative people, you have to give them autonomy.
Category:
E-Commerce
Donald Trump said on the campaign trail ahead of his election that he intended to be the crypto president. But his vision and reality have collided in a way that could ultimately do more harm than good to cryptos broader adoption in the years ahead. Last week, the U.S. Senate dealt the cryptocurrency industry a significant setback, voting to block further advancement of the GENIUS Act, a bill aimed at establishing regulatory guardrails for dollar-pegged stablecoins by classifying them as securities under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The surprise collapse of the actwhich had passed through the Senate Banking Committee with Democratic supportstems from several factors, says Timothy Massad, a former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. One major issue, according to Massad, is the bills quality. It didnt address some key concerns, he tells Fast Company. Bipartisan negotiations to refine the bills language were ongoing, he adds, but a larger obstacle loomed: the president of the United States. Trump is a vocal supporter of crypto, so much so that some view him as too deeply involved in the industry and too likely to benefit financially from any policy decisions he makes to be a neutral actor in shaping crypto adoption. First, World Liberty Financiala crypto firm run by Trumps sonsannounced that its new USD1 stablecoin would serve as the conduit for a $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabis MGX fund into Binance, the worlds largest exchange. At the same time, the presidents $TRUMP meme coin, launched in January and already responsible for $320 million in trading fees, stands to gain from favorable crypto regulation. In March, Trump also named five tokens that the U.S. would begin stockpiling as part of a new crypto strategic reserve. Critics argue that these ventures blur the line between policymaker and market participant. Trump has been so brazenly self-dealing and corrupt that it has given some Democrats pause, says Corey Frayer, a former Senate Banking Committee aide. Massad agrees. Both the activities of the president that many people feel are corrupt and entirely inappropriate, coupled with the weaknesses in the bill, led Democrats to say, We cant support this, he says. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has stated that the president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws. But the perception of personal benefit has already derailed what many saw as cryptos best chance at mainstream legitimacy. Its a source of incredible conflict and potential bribery, Massad says. Trumps involvementand the potential for him to profit from crypto-related policy decisionshas forced lawmakers to scrutinize their choices more carefully, including whether to legitimize stablecoins. Stablecoins dont do anything that we dont already do more efficiently in the financial system, Frayer says. That doesnt necessarily mean the bill is dead, or that Trump will get a pass for what critics see as self-serving actions. Theres been this basic agreement that it is bad when politicians use their position to benefit themselves, Frayer says, referencing support for legislation to ban lawmakers from trading stocks based on insider knowledge. This is the exact same type of issue, he continues. It crosses party lines. At least up until now, there has been a bright line at corruption. But the key phrase, as Trump knows all too well, is up until now.
Category:
E-Commerce
As automakers look to get more people in electric vehicles, they continue to make advancements in EV batteriesdevelopments that add range, speed up charging times, or lower costs, all of which entice customer adoption. Now, General Motors says it has developed a new kind of EV battery that provides a higher range at a more affordable price, and that it aims to become the first carmaker to deploy the technology. Called lithium manganese-rich (LMR) prismatic battery cells, these batteries use a higher amount of less-expensive minerals, like magnesium, rather than more of the most expensive minerals like cobalt and nickel. Most EVs in the U.S. use lithium-ion batteries, which contain cobalt and nickel, minerals that have seen price increases as EV battery demand soars. GM and LG Energy Solution plan to start commercial production of these batteries in the U.S. by 2028. [Photo: Steve Fecht/General Motors] In addition to cutting costs, LMR batteries also offer more power. Engineers at GM and LG Energy Solution say their LMR prismatic battery cell has a 33% higher energy density than lithium iron phosphate based cells. This means GM could offer an electric truck with more than 400 miles of range at a more affordable price. In 2024, GM said lithium iron phosphate batteries could cut $6,000 from the cost of battery packs in its electric trucks and full-size SUVs. With this new LMR battery technology, the company expects to achieve even more savings. Its not exactly clear yet what that will translate to for a vehicles sticker price. (GMs Chevrolet Silverado electric truck, with a max range of 492 miles, currently starts around $73,000 but can go above $87,000.) GMs work to develop LMR prismatic battery cells began in 2015, but researchers were studying LMR technology long before that. Though they promised high range for a lower price, historically LMR batteries have been marred by shorter life spans. GM says it has solved this issue, and that its new LMR battery cells match the life span of current high-nickel batteries. The LMR batteries contain virtually no cobalt, per GM, but do still contain nickel, just at a lower percentage than typical battery cells. GM prototyped these LMR batteries at its Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center in Warren, Michigan. The batteries are called LMR prismatic cells because theyre rectangular, whereas most EV lithium-ion batteries are cylindrical or, increasingly, pouch-shaped. (GM has been using pouch cells for years in the U.S., while using cylindric cells in China.) With a rectangular design, GM says the cells can be more efficiently packaged into trucks and SUVs. These battery cells also use fewer components; with LMR batteries, GM says it can reduce the number of parts in its battery packs by 50%, which can cut weight from notoriously heavy EVs. GM expects to save hundreds of pounds in battery mass with LMR batteries. GMs announcement comes weeks after Ford announced its own LMR battery breakthrough. Charles Poon, Fords director of electrified propulsion engineering, announced at the end of April that the automaker is currently producing LMR cells at its pilot production line, and is working to scale LMR battery cell development and include these batteries in future vehicles within this decade.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||