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When Mount St. Helens erupted, 40 years ago this week, I was an intern at Bell Labs. Immersed in my work, I hadn't been tracking the geological warning signs that the majestic, snow-covered volcano might be on the verge of its first eruption in more than a century. Nor had I followed the protests by nearby residents who were angry that state and local authorities had carefully heeded scientists' warnings and banned public access to the surrounding area.
Then came the sudden, explosive blast that ripped a two-mile scar in the landscape and transformed volcanology forever. The eruption claimed the lives of 57 people, including U.S. Geological Survey volcanologist David Johnston, and demonstrated the pressing need to better understand the complex subterranean workings of these fascinating, dangerous geologic structures.
Today, I am honored to work beside some of the world's most renowned volcanologists, whose ambitious research is bringing us important new insights into the forces that shape eruptions. Earlier this year, we were proud when staff scientist H?l?ne Le M?vel journeyed to the Villarrica volcano in Chile to lead a field expedition that included staff scientist Diana Roman and postdoc Kathleen McKee. They succeeded in deploying an array of gravimeters, infrasound sensors, seismometers, and other sophisticated instruments around the crater rim before the global COVID-19 pandemic forced them to interrupt their work. Despite this frustrating delay, I know that their endeavors ultimately will yield an invaluable trove of new data about volcanic structure and dynamics.
To learn more about the massive Mount St. Helens eruption that held the world spellbound 40 years ago, I recommend this dramatic feature story by the New York Times. For a more detailed report, the Smithsonian Institution offers this deeper dive into the history of the eruption and its long-term impacts on the science of volcanology. Especially in these challenging times, I think you will be encouraged by these accounts of the ways that a cataclysmic event led to transformational new science.
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"Elegant" Explanation of the Universe''s Structure
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How did the structure of the universe evolve? Staff Scientist Dan Kelson and his colleagues have been probing this mystery by analyzing a decade's worth of data covering tens of thousands of galaxies. In their just-published article in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, they describe using an innovative analytical framework, and its empirical validation, to discern how gravity drove the inherently non-linear growth of galaxies from the very beginnings of the universe.
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Two Carnegie Postdocs Win NASA Hubble Fellowships
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Two of our outstanding postdocs, Ylva G?tberg and Thomas Holoien, have been selected for NASA's prestigious Hubble Fellowships, which provide up to three years of support for postdocs pursuing independent research in space science. Only 24 of these fellowships are awarded each year, so the selection of two Carnegie astronomers for this program demonstrates the continuing excellence of our postdoctoral program. We're very pleased to have the opportunity to work alongside these talented young researchers, whose accomplishments continue to extend the scientific legacy of Carnegie's own Edwin Hubble.
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Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter names Tim Strobel "Emerging Leader"
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I was pleased to see that staff scientist Timothy Strobel has been acknowledged as an "emerging leader" by the Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter. Tim's group studies the physics and chemistry of materials under extreme pressure and temperature conditions, as well as synthesizing novel materials for energy and other applications.
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Regions of unsurvivable heat, humidity double since 1979
In a troubling new Science Advances article, researchers at Caltech/JPL, Columbia University, and the UK's Loughborough University tracked global reports of life-threatening extremes of heat and humidity. They found that that global warming is inflicting episodes of unsurvivable humid heat at a much swifter pace than climate models had predicted. They further warn that these steamy weather conditions-which can be fatal even under ideal conditions of perfect health, total inactivity, full shade, and unlimited drinking water-could begin occurring regularly in South Asia and the Middle East within the next 50 years.
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Spanish physicists create possible dark matter particle detector
A group of physicists in Barcelona have developed a new sensor that could be used to detect axions, one of the possible components of dark matter. These tiny particles, which were first proposed in 1977, are believed to be billions of times less massive than electrons. The detector, called a Bose-Einstein Condensate Comagnetometer, relies on two different quantum states of ultracold rubidium atoms to cancel out noise from ambient magnetic fields. Although no axions have been detected yet, it is hoped that this new gadget could provide clues to some of the fundamental mysteries of the universe.
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Making music-of a sort-with AI
The Artificial intelligence research laboratory OpenAI has trained a model, named Jukebox, to make music. Using convolutional neural networks to encode and compress raw audio, they actually succeeded in making a model that generates lyrics as well as melodies and chords. While the compositions aren't likely to earn Jukebox a Grammy nomination any time soon, the results are fairly impressive. It's worth taking a listen.
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In Memoriam: JHU professor James Taylor
We were deeply saddened to hear of the death last month of our Johns Hopkins University colleague James Taylor, who served as the Ralph S. O'Connor Professor of Biology and Professor of Computer Science. Professor Taylor was renowned for his work in computational biology and genomics research, and his sudden death at age 40 is a tremendous loss. JHU's biology department has set up a memorial site, and the research community has been invited to share their recollections and make donations in his honor.
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