technology

In America, helium is running out of gas. The element that lifts things like balloons, spirits and voice ranges is being depleted so rapidly in the world’s largest reserve, outside of Amarillo, Texas, that supplies are expected to be depleted there within the next eight years.

Helium is drifting away.In America, helium is running out of gas. The element that lifts things like balloons, spirits and voice ranges is being depleted so rapidly in the world’s largest reserve, outside of Amarillo, Texas, that supplies are expected to be depleted there within the next eight years. This deflates more than the Goodyear blimp and party favors. Its larger impact is on science and technology, according to Lee Sobotka, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Streaming video can make for a very authentic form of communication.While most businesses pay lip service to the importance of communication in managing change, few successfully do it. A business professor from Washington University in St. Louis says using the internet to stream short videos every week from the CEO is the first step toward smooth transitions.

Washington University in St. Louis is creating a new International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability (I-CARES) to encourage and coordinate university-wide and external collaborative research in the areas of renewable energy and sustainability — including biofuels, CO2 mitigation and coal-related issues. The university will invest more than $55 million in the initiative, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton.

Recovering from a recession doesn’t include the entire economy.The “jobless recovery” that befuddled observers after the recession in the early 2000s was no fluke. It’s actually a pattern that we can expect to continue thanks to technology’s uneven impact across sectors of the economy. What’s more, this new trend in business cycles is as important in making policy decisions as it is in ensuring the stability of the country’s economy. More…

Courtesy Missouri Historical Society Photographs and Prints Collections.Lee DeForest (seated) sending wireless telegraph message from the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Photograph, 1904.April 30, 2004, marks the 100th anniversary of the 1904 World’s Fair, an event that showcased science advancements that startled the imagination a century ago and foretold technology still in place today. The fair was headquartered on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, where significant scientific developments continue today, most notably at the nation’s second-ranked medical school but also across many science and engineering disciplines.

The Olin School of Business has launched its new “Olin Cup” entrepreneurship competition with an emphasis on life sciences, medicine, and technology start-ups, as well as other student started ventures. Start-up companies will vie for $70,000 in seed capital funding for their new businesses. Entrepreneurs and students can now review the program guidelines and register for the competition online.