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The 12th Annual World Science Festival Announces 2019 Programming and Invites New Yorkers to ‘Awaken Their Inner Genius’
The World Science Festival has unveiled its 2019 program lineup, which presents many of the world’s leading scientists, pioneers, artists, and influential thinkers – bringing science to life in imaginative ways throughout the five boroughs of New York City.
The Festival, beginning Wednesday, May 22nd, celebrates science with original programming that includes discourse, debate, theatre, film, workshops, and interactive installations as well as events for young innovators, scientists-in-the-making, and families. The Festival transforms the city and brings the world’s leading scientists to advance our understanding and appreciation of everything from quarks to the cosmos.
Tracy Day, Co-Founder and CEO of the World Science Festival, has long been an advocate of bringing significant scientific discussions to wider audiences. “We are thrilled to offer an exciting line-up of programming, with leaders in their fields engaging the public in conversations that encourage all to be champions of scientific truth and human curiosity.”
“This year we are celebrating the anniversaries of both the confirmation of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and also the Apollo moon landing, two gratifying moments of insight and exploration,” said Columbia University physicist Brian Greene, Co-Founder of the World Science Festival. “These astonishing milestones are an opportunity for us all to recognize the enormous capacity of humankind to achieve the seemingly impossible.”
Kicking off this year’s festivities, The World Science Festival Gala will be held on May 22nd, 2019, featuring an original production of Light Falls: Space, Time, and an Obsession of Einstein, which tells the dramatic story of Einstein’s electrifying discovery of the General Theory of Relativity. The production, narrated by Brian Greene, features an all-Broadway cast, innovative 3D visuals designed by the Tony Award-winning 59 Productions (“An American in Paris“), and an original score by Jeff Beal (“House of Cards”). In partnership with WNET, on May 29th— the 100th anniversary to the day of Einstein’s Theory being confirmed through astronomical observations—PBS will air Light Falls nationwide. Please check local listings for times.
Now in its 12th year, the World Science Festival continues to bring the power of science to new audiences. This year’s programming will feature some of the most brilliant scientists, seasoned explorers, and influential performers, including Apollo astronaut Michael Collins, inventor of CRISPR Jennifer Doudna, chess icon Garry Kasparov, Grammy-winning composer Eric Whitacre, commander of the International Space Station Scott Kelly, actress and activist Marlee Matlin, renowned AI researcher Yann LeCun, and more.
A few highlights from the Main Stage will include:
Rethinking Thinking: How Intelligent Are Other Animals?: Intelligence was once thought to be uniquely human, but what is intelligence? Why do some species get an extra dose? And just how special are humans, really? Participants include: biologist Simon Garnier, neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel, and marine mammalogist Denise Herzing. Author, journalist, and comedian Faith Salie will moderate.
Physics in the Dark: Searching for the Universe’s Missing Matter: For nearly a century, evidence has mounted that the gravitational pull necessary to keep clusters of galaxies intact, as well as stars within galaxies from flying apart, requires far more matter than we can see. Problem is, such “dark matter” has also eluded one specially designed detector after another. Which raises the big question: What if we have failed to find dark matter because it isn’t there? Participants include: physicist Mariangela Lisanti, astrophysicist Joseph Silk, physicist Erik Verlinde, and astrophysicist Risa Wechsler. Physicist and author Brian Greene will moderate.
The Richness of Time: Time on Earth elapses at a uniform rate, so why does the human experience of time seem so varied? How do various neurological afflictions change the perception of time? And underneath it all, how does human language impact our ability to think about time and fully experience its rich and mysterious contours? Participants include: cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky and neuroscientist Dean Buonomano. Physicist and author Brian Greenewill moderate.
Loose Ends: String Theory and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory: Thirty-five years ago string theory took physics by storm, promising the coveted unified theory of nature’s forces that Einstein valiantly sought but never found. In the intervening decades, string theory has brought a collection of mind-boggling possibilities into the lexicon of mainstream thinking—extra dimensions of space, holographic worlds, and multiple universes. Some researchers view these developments as symptoms of string theory having lost its way. Others argue that string theory, although very much still a work in progress, is revealing stunning new qualities of reality. Participants include: physicists Lara Anderson, Michael Dine, Marcelo Gleiser, and Andrew Strominger. Physicist and author Brian Greene will moderate.
Revealing the Mind: The Promise of Psychedelics: Nearly every culture throughout history has used chemicals that alter consciousness for spiritual exploration. In the 20th century these drugs caught the attention of scientists. Join scientists and “psychonauts” who are now picking up where research left off 50 years ago, experimenting with LSD and other psychedelics to heal—and reveal—the mind. Participants include: psychologist Alison Gopnik, addiction psychiatrist Stephen Ross, and neuroscientist Anil Seth.
Making Room for Machines: Getting Ready for AGI: The “thinking machines” that Alan Turing postulated in 1950 have already vaulted beyond us in specific arenas like chess and Jeopardy. But if we achieve artificial general intelligence, it may take only seconds for our creation to surpass us in every other arena as well. Will humans fight to restrain such super intelligence, or join forces, perhaps bringing about a new utopia? Or, will we simply and quietly become irrelevant? Participants include: writer, activist, and chess champion Garry Kasparov, computer scientist Yann LeCun, roboticist Hod Lipson, and AI ethicist Shannon Vallor.
The Right Stuff: What It Takes to Boldly Go: Fifty years ago, as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin bounced on the moon’s surface below, Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot Michael Collins briefly disappeared behind the lunar disk, becoming the first person to experience space entirely alone. As we set our sights on the stars, space travelers will need to cope with ever longer stretches in the lonely environs of the cosmos. What will that take? How will it affect who we are? Participants include: astronaut Michael Collins, astronaut Scott Kelly, and astronaut Leland Melvin. Journalist and producer Miles O’Brien will moderate.
Fun, fascinating, and FREE activities for all ages will include:
Saturday Night Lights: Stargazing in Brooklyn Bridge Park: Immerse yourself in stargazing and storytelling. First, step up to a professional telescope for an intimate look at the Moon, Jupiter, and beyond. Then, sit on the grass for “Deep Field: The Impossible Magnitude of our Universe,” created by Grammy® Award-winning composer Eric Whitacre. This short film experience reveals the galaxy from the perspective of the Hubble Space Telescope as 100 members of the LaGuardia High School Senior Chorus provide a celestial soundscape. Stay for an engaging discussion with astrophysicists and the film’s creators.
City of Science: A larger-than-life touring event where the magic of science, technology, engineering, and math collide! Filled with interactive demonstrations, hands-on activities, and engaging exhibitions, this free program unleashes everyone’s inner scientist.
Great Fish Count: From Lemon Creek in Staten Island to the shores of the Bronx River, New York’s waterways are teeming with life—and it’s up to you to find it! Led by top marine scientists and biologists in 16 sites across New York’sfive boroughs, Yonkers, and New Jersey, the Great Fish Count gives attendees of all ages the chance to strap on a pair of waders, cast a net, and discover the underwater world in their own backyard.
The full program lineup for the 2019 World Science Festival can be found at https://www.worldsciencefestival.com/festival/world-science-festival-2019/, where tickets for Festival events can also be purchased.
To apply for media credentials to the Festival, please fill out the request form here.
Light Falls: Space, Time, and an Obsession of Einstein is sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation with additional support from the John Templeton Foundation.
The Big Ideas Series is supported in part by the John Templeton Foundation.
City of Science is presented by Con Edison.
The Great Fish Count is produced in partnership with the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory and the New York StateDepartment of Environmental Conservation and supported by the Bezos Family Foundation.
SOURCE World Science Festival
Blockchain
MapMetrics expands to peaq from Solana following addition of Solana compatibility to peaq’s Multi-Chain Machine IDs
peaq, the blockchain for real-world applications, announces the expansion of its ecosystem and product offering. MapMetrics, a Web3 drive-to-earn navigation app, will leverage peaq as part of its decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) powering a Google Maps-style service. The development comes as peaq adds Solana compatibility to its Multi-Chain Machine IDs.
A Solana-originating project, MapMetrics will leverage the now Solana-compatible peaq IDs to build functions of the MapMetrics DePIN on peaq. These will include assigning peaq IDs to the navigator devices on its DePIN, using these IDs to authenticate the data collected by these devices, and a community voting mechanism.
Free navigation apps have become trusty companions for countless people around the world, with Google Maps alone boasting over a billion users. But despite a lack of an upfront cost, they come with a price of their own. When something is free, you are the product; when navigation is free, your personal data is being monetized. From leveraging the user’s position data for valuable insights on specific locations to serving them targeted location-based ads, the companies behind such apps profit from our sensitive data, sometimes without giving much thought to its privacy and protection. And in the case of massive companies like Google, they combine this data with the data sourced from all other Google-related data points to create digital models of ourselves, able to predict our behavior than ourselves.
MapMetrics is changing the equation by putting navigation on Web3 rails. It uses location trackers that enable users to share their anonymized data with the network, earning cryptocurrency and NFTs as rewards. While featuring its own ad engine, it makes sure that no private user data is exposed to the advertisers and shares the ad revenue with the community. It boasts 3,500 devices in the network and 5,000 users across 73 countries.
As part of its integration with peaq, MapMetrics will use peaq’s Multi-Chain IDs to enable devices to connect with the peaq network. It will build and deploy some of the core functions powering its navigation DePIN on peaq, using peaq IDs to authenticate and sign the anonymized data that the devices collect. It will also tap peaq to build a community voting pallet — a building block that other projects will be able to use as well — which will enable the community to contribute to its Google Maps-style navigation service by adding the locations of speed cameras and other objects and validating it with votes.
This comes as peaq expands the compatibility of its peaq IDs to include Solana. Enabling this is an address map running as part of the peaq storage pallet, pallets being modules for building blockchains in the framework that peaq runs on. This map works like an address book, linking addresses of different standards used on various networks and thus enabling cross-chain communication and information exchanges.
For example, with this integration, a solar panel with an ID on Solana will be able to connect to an energy marketplace on peaq. The previous updates made peaq IDs compatible with Binance’s BNB Chain, Ethereum Virtual Machine, and Cosmos. peaq’s steps toward its Multi-Chain vision have already eased the transition for projects coming from Algorand and Polygon, and will now unlock new opportunities for MapMetrics and other projects in the Solana ecosystem.
The peaq ID compatibility expansion enables teams originating on Solana to expand and leverage peaq’s DePIN functions without friction or fragmentation. With peaq Multi-Chain IDs, Solana-originated projects can easily tap peaq for some of their crucial functions.
“With its DePIN-focused functions and economics, peaq is the perfect home for DePINs,” says Brent van der Heiden, CEO of MapMetrics. “We are excited to be joining this bustling ecosystem, and the newfound compatibility between peaq IDs and Solana addresses is making this process significantly more convenient.”
“We believe in an open, Multi-Chain Web3 with seamless communication and value exchange between a plethora of protocols,” says Till Wendler, co-founder of peaq. “By making peaq IDs compatible with Solana, we take another step toward bringing this vision to life — and it’s invigorating to see excellent projects such as MapMetrics use this technology to solve real business problems with the DePIN model.”
Blockchain
Global Blockchain Market Report 2023-2028 – Profiles of Key Players IBM, Oracle, Infosys, Wipro, Bitfury and More
The “Global Blockchain Market: Analysis by Component, By Type, By Enterprise Size, By Application, By Industry Vertical, By Region Size and Trends And Forecast To 2028” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.
Blockchain technology has been gaining immense traction in recent years due to its potential to enhance security, transparency, and efficiency across various industries. The global blockchain market, valued at US$11.02 billion in 2022, is expected to surge to a staggering US$265.01 billion by 2028, reflecting the growing demand for blockchain solutions and services.
Several key factors are driving this surge in demand for blockchain technology:
- Digitalization: As industries continue to digitize their operations, blockchain is emerging as a crucial tool for enhancing data security and efficiency.
- Favorable Government Initiatives: Governments worldwide are recognizing blockchain’s potential to improve transparency and security in sectors like land registration, identity management, and voting.
- Diverse Industry Adoption: Blockchain is finding applications across various sectors, including BFSI, retail, healthcare, and more, driving its widespread adoption.
- Decentralized Applications: The rise of decentralized applications and services is fueling the need for blockchain solutions.
- Cryptocurrency Usage: The increasing use of cryptocurrencies is boosting blockchain’s significance.
- Data Protection Awareness: Growing awareness of data protection and the need to safeguard against cyber threats like malware is contributing to blockchain’s growth.
Additionally, notable trends such as the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with blockchain, Blockchain as a Service (BaaS), the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) boom, and the growth of DeFi (Decentralized Finance) are shaping the blockchain landscape.
Market Segmentation Highlights:
- Component: The global blockchain market comprises two main components: Solutions and Services. Solutions, offering essential technological infrastructure, customization options, and security features, claimed the majority of market share in 2022. Services, which provide specialized expertise for navigating blockchain complexities, are the fastest-growing segment.
- Type: Blockchain is classified into three types: Public, Private, and Hybrid. Public blockchains, known for decentralization, transparency, and open access, dominated the market in 2022. Private blockchains, offering faster transactions and scalability, are the fastest-growing segment.
- Enterprise Size: Large enterprises, with their complex processes and data management needs, held the majority of the market share in 2022. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the fastest-growing segment, attracted by blockchain’s scalability, accessibility, and potential for process optimization.
- Application: Blockchain applications span seven segments: Payments, Exchange, Smart Contracts, Documentation, Digital Identification, Governance, and Others. Payments, revolutionizing cross-border transactions and remittances, accounted for the majority of market share in 2022 and are the fastest-growing segment.
- Industry Vertical: Seven industry verticals are served by blockchain technology: BFSI, Government, Travel, Healthcare, Retail, Telecom, and Others. BFSI, aligning strongly with blockchain’s principles, leads in market share and is also the fastest-growing segment.
Regional Insights:
- North America: The region, with a vibrant blockchain startup ecosystem, recorded the highest market share in 2022. The U.S., home to major players like IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon, holds a competitive advantage.
- Asia-Pacific: Rapid growth in this region is attributed to government support, a burgeoning financial sector, and a tech-savvy population. China, with nationwide digital transformation and heavy tech investments, leads in the Asia-Pacific region.
Competitive Landscape and Recent Developments:
Key players in the global blockchain market are:
- IBM
- Oracle Corporation
- Infosys
- Intel Corporation
- Wipro Ltd
- NTT DATA
- Huawei Investment & Holding Co. Ltd.
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise
- Amazon
- Accenture
- ConsenSys
- LeewayHertz
- Bitfury
- ScienceSoft
As blockchain continues to evolve and disrupt industries, it is poised for exceptional growth with a projected CAGR of 69.9% during the forecast period of 2023-2028. Blockchain technology’s blend with AI, coupled with its diverse applications, makes it a key driver of innovation in the digital age.
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rgypes
Spool DAO, or Spool, the platform allowing institutions and users to build customizable risk-managed DeFi products, launches its V2 upgrade. Spool’s new platform expands its original DeFi infrastructure and tools, with heightened decentralized access and new capabilities. Institutions of all sizes can now leverage its slate of new features and interface updates to build, manage, and explore DeFi products with unparalleled flexibility, risk reduction, and security.
Despite crypto’s whirlwind year, DeFi’s blue-chip protocols managed to largely withstand the industry-wide chaos. But that doesn’t mean the DeFi landscape hasn’t changed at all. Looming regulatory steps, such as the new bipartisan bill entering the U.S. Senate, aim to monitor DeFi apps similarly to banks, setting the stage to accommodate increasing interest from legacy financial institutions. Banks and institutions clearly see potential in crypto and DeFi’s financial possibilities, but they lack the proper tools to enter it easily, compliantly, and on their terms.
To meet this institutional need, Spool now provides a completely rebuilt platform for risk-managed and automated DeFi yield. Created from the ground up to be faster, more efficient, more composable, and easier to use than its predecessor, V2 represents a leap for Spool and institutions expanding their DeFi presence. The upgrade expands upon Spool’s core offering and introduces several key features to maximize the effectiveness of institutional DeFi investment. These features and enhancements include:
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- Multi-Asset Smart Vaults: Institutions creating Smart Vaults can now build them to contain a range of yield strategies using multiple assets. Multi-asset Smart Vaults enhance functionality in addition to Spool’s classic auto-swapping and auto-rebalancing capabilities. Investors can simply create or pick an existing Smart Vault that matches their investment preferences, and send the assets they have available. The assets are then automatically swapped and implemented in audited and battle-tested smart contracts to attain the best yields possible while allowing funds to be withdrawn at any time.
- Smart Vault Guards: Institutions building Smart Vaults can now dictate which users can deposit or withdraw from the Vault based on specific criteria, mirroring traditional investment funds. This helps institutions tailor DeFi offerings not only to regulatory compliance but to their specific client needs as well. Institutions can create KYC and AML-compliant Smart Vaults, for example, and only allow access to vetted investors through whitelisted wallets. Other parameters include NFT or Token Gating (where a user must hold a specific NFT or token amount to access the vault), and Time Locks.
- Actions: Spool builders can now implement customizable actions tied to user activities such as entering or exiting a Smart Vault that is configured during its creation. Actions help support institutions by creating a framework that feels familiar to traditional finance and includes features such as deposit or withdrawal fees, deposit insurance fees, and automated asset swaps that help streamline the once-manual process for yield farming.
- Liquid Staking Derivatives (LSDs) Support: LSDs are tokens issued in return for staking cryptocurrency through a staking provider. This comes in handy for networks such as Ethereum, where validators must hold a minimum of 32 ETH to access staking and validator privileges. LSDs also allow users to withdraw staked ETH, which validators cannot do. As strategies using LSDs become more popular and prevalent, adding support in V2 enables greater convenience.
- Advanced Automation: One of DeFi’s major obstacles lies in manual asset management within yield farms. V2 improves upon Spool’s original automation features while maintaining decentralization and self-custody. Once assets are within a Smart Vault portfolio, V2 automatically rebalances them between various strategies configured in the Vault. Spool also now offers automated collateral conversion, meaning clients investing in a Smart Vault can utilize any underlying asset they have available. Spool automatically converts the asset before investing, granting increased ease and choice.
- Deposit NFTs (dNFTs): D-NFTs provide users with an immutable NFT receipt of their Smart Vault deposits, enabling the withdrawal of funds. ERC-20 Smart Vault Tokens (SVTs) are created by burning D-NFTs and act as yield-bearing stablecoins, which can be easily transferred or traded on a secondary market, creating a new liquid financial instrument.
Check out Spool’s video here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/150B6sSdX9gMAjdig-5675nLfftciWidJ/view
More detailed video with features overview can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uIr_AJ_iHKErkHR5lFaUWk39A4-NUtEo/view?usp=drive_link
Among these new features, Spool V2’s completely redesigned interface allows institutions and asset managers to have a birds-eye view of their Smart Vault portfolio. The platform champions accessibility while providing the comprehensive tools and oversight that institutions require. This includes tools for easily white-labeling Smart Vaults for client access with their own branding and unique insights into Smart Vault performance based on customizable KPIs.
By enabling the codeless creation of financial services and products backed by audited financial primitives, institutions that don’t have DeFi-specific teams are now able to easily access DeFi. The upgrade’s capabilities set the stage for large-scale institutional partnerships in the pipeline for Spool, following a steady stream of integrations and collaborations leading up to its launch.
“We are incredibly proud to launch Spool V2 after countless months of our team developing, testing, and listening to the feedback and needs of our institutional partners,” says Philipp Zimmerer, Lead of Token Strategy of Spool. “This lands at a pivotal moment in crypto in a year that has been all about responsibly rebuilding the industry and forging a new path for DeFi. Improving access, flexibility, and security will not only garner further institutional support but set a new standard for what DeFi can make possible for any investor.”
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