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News from the Library: Looking for materials properties? Find the answer in CINDAS databases

Materials properties databases are a crucial source of information when doing research in Materials Science. The creation and regular updating of such databases requires identification and collection of relevant worldwide scientific and technical literature, followed by the compilation, critical evaluation, correlation and synthesis of both existing and new experimental data.

The Center for Information and Numerical Data Analysis and Synthesis (CINDAS) at Purdue University produces several databases on the properties and behaviour of materials. The databases include:

– ASMD (Aerospace Structural Metals Database) which gives access to approximately 80,000 data curves on over 220 alloys used in the aerospace and other industries

– the Microelectronics Packaging Materials Database (MPMD), providing data and information on the thermal, mechanical, electrical and physical properties of electronics packaging materials, and

– the Thermophysical Properties of Matter Database (TPMD), covering the properties of over 5,000 materials with approximately 50,000 data curves.

Trial access to these resources is available until 31 August 2012, so you are very welcome to try these databases and send us your feedback at library.desk@cern.ch.

Online access to the databases here.

Filed under: CERN,Ciencia,Cosmologia,Fisica,Fisica de alta energia,Fisica de Materiales,Fisica de particulas,LHC,Matematicas,Materia,Mecanica cuantica,Science,Sincrotrón | | |No Comments

Ombuds’ Corner: Social exclusion

In this special video edition of the Ombuds' Corner, Vincent Vuillemin takes a look at a social exclusion at CERN. Please note that the characters and situations appearing in this work are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons or events is purely coincidental.

Filed under: CERN,Ciencia,Cosmologia,Fisica,Fisica de alta energia,Fisica de Materiales,Fisica de particulas,LHC,Matematicas,Materia,Mecanica cuantica,Science,Sincrotrón | | |No Comments

Thinking machines, the creation of the computer

Episode of the television program History Channel "Modern marvels" in 1995. Traces the history of the computer from Charles Babbage’s Victorian counting machine to the desktop models of the 1990s.

Filed under: CERN,Ciencia,Cosmologia,Fisica,Fisica de alta energia,Fisica de Materiales,Fisica de particulas,LHC,Matematicas,Materia,Mecanica cuantica,Science,Sincrotrón | | |No Comments

Academic Training Lecture Regular Programme: How Large-Scale Civil Engineering Projects Realise the Potential of a City

How Large-Scale Civil Engineering Projects Realise the Potential of a City (1/3), by Bill Hanway (Excecutive Director of Operations, AECOM Europe).

Wednesday, June 6, 2012 from 11:00 to 12:00 (Europe/Zurich)
at CERN ( 80-1-001 – Globe 1st Floor )

In this series of three special lectures, leading experts from AECOM would explore the impact of a trio of major projects on a single city.
In common with every metropolis, London has run-down districts and infrastructure in need of upgrading. The lectures propose to cover three of the biggest challenges: regenerating run-down areas; reducing congestion and transporting people more efficiently; and improving water and wastewater systems.
Each project contributes to a collective public aim – to realise the potential of a growing city, and ensure its healthy, sustainable and competitive future.

Lecture 1: Into the lecture series and The London 2012 Olympic Games
Most cities share a group of common complex challenges – growing populations, ageing infrastructure, and mitigating the effects of climate change. These require similar responses to find the most appropriate solutions to make sure that all urban dwellers can have the basics of food, warmth, clean water and shelter. In addition, they must have the ability to lead full and productive lives being able to travel around easily and effectively, that they have homes, jobs and places to enjoy their leisure time. To achieve all of this requires a holistic vision and collaborative approach involving all stakeholders from local, regional and national government and utility companies, to private business and local communities.

To provide an example of the holistic approach to reworking old cities, this series begins with a dynamic first-hand account from a key player in one of Europe’s largest regeneration projects. The Lower Lea Valley in East London was a rundown and melancholic place in 2000, but its radical transformation has created an exemplary setting for the 2012 Olympic Games. In the spirit of previous London developments based around green spaces, the parkland created for the Games (the setting for 35,000 homes) is designed to act as a catalyst for improvement The legacy masterplan is crucial for this and the speaker’s team has gone on to win the Olympic masterplan competition for Rio 2016.

Find details on the subsequent lectures here.

Filed under: CERN,Ciencia,Cosmologia,Fisica,Fisica de alta energia,Fisica de Materiales,Fisica de particulas,LHC,Matematicas,Materia,Mecanica cuantica,Science,Sincrotrón | | |No Comments

History of Computing with images of CERN

Filed under: CERN,Ciencia,Cosmologia,Fisica,Fisica de alta energia,Fisica de Materiales,Fisica de particulas,LHC,Matematicas,Materia,Mecanica cuantica,Science,Sincrotrón | | |No Comments

Browsing the Internet: good-bye anonymity!

Do you consider browsing the Internet to be your private business? When visiting random web-sites, how far do you assume you are anonymous? Would it matter to you that Google or Facebook can profile your browsing behaviour in order to better target you with advertisements? Did you notice that you already get targeted ads when you are logged on to Google or Facebook even if you are visiting completely different websites? If matters to you, note that browsing anonymously on the Internet is far from easy.

When you are connected to the Internet, you give away a variety of information: your PC’s IP address, some browser settings like language or screen size, and, probably, your login information. So how private is private?

You might argue that your current IP address has been picked from a pool of addresses and therefore regularly changes, so it does not necessarily always pinpoint you. On the other hand, with the dawn of IPv6 there is no need any more for shared IP addresses as the pool of IPv6 addresses is considered non-exhaustive. With IPv6, you might get a permanent IP address assigned. Privacy… game over. The best chance regarding this will be legislation. Already today, IP addresses are considered to be personally identifiable information (PII) in some European countries, which means that storing IP addresses for profiling purposes is illegal. However, to be sure, your best option is to use so-called “anonymisation services”, but this depends how much you trust them!

Then there is the too talkative browser. Depending on which browser you use, it already exposes lots of information: the local language, time zone, screen size, installed plugins, available system fonts, etc. As these settings can vary a lot, it means that the probability of you and I having exactly the same settings is very low. Ergo, this information can be used to pinpoint your browser and uniquely identify you when browsing the web… If you don’t believe it, check out Panopticlick and note that some browser plug-ins like “Stealther”, or security settings like “In Private” browsing might change the odds in your favour.

Finally, your login. If you are logged in with your Google or Facebook account, they can profile your activity even outside their domains. This is mainly due to the wide usage of Google Ads/Analytics and Facebook’s “Like”-button: the embedded code directly feeds back into your Google and Facebook profile… For a bit more privacy here, log out whenever you don’t need to be logged in, and consider installing something like the “Ghostery” plug-in in your browser.

So what else can you do? Not much, as I am not suggesting that you change your browsing habits. There is no silver bullet. I just wanted to take away the illusion that you browse the Internet anonymously. You don’t and you hardly can.

For further information, please check our web site or contact us at Computer.Security@cern.ch.

Filed under: CERN,Ciencia,Cosmologia,Fisica,Fisica de alta energia,Fisica de Materiales,Fisica de particulas,LHC,Matematicas,Materia,Mecanica cuantica,Science,Sincrotrón | | |No Comments