Critical and Cultural Studies Commons^™

S5e4: What Can Mud Reveal About The History Of Oceans?, Ron Lisnet, Katherine Allen

The Maine Question

Oceans serve as the dominant feature of the Earth. They sustain life, which began in their salty waters, and influence weather and climate.

Despite the significance of Earth’s oceans, much of their history remains a mystery. Katherine Allen, and assistant professor from the School of Earth and Climate Sciences at the University of Maine, looks to literally dig up that history, which can be found in mud along the ocean floor and the many objects embedded in it. Dredging up the record of Earth’s oceans from the seafloor requires detective work, and provides exciting adventures.

In this episode of “The …

S4e9: How Can We Get The Most Out Of Technology?, Ron Lisnet, Richard Corey, Nicholas Giudice, Caitlin Howell

The Maine Question

Refrigerators tell us when we’re out of juice. Digital assistants schedule appointments and alert us to the weather forecast. Driverless cars slide into tight parallel parking spaces. Today, many of us increasingly rely on devices, apps and artificial intelligence in our daily lives.

How can technology be designed to do the most good? How can scientists make it easy to use and put people, rather than the technology, in charge? This is the work of the University of Maine VEMI Lab. VEMI stands for Virtual Environment and Multimodal Interaction. This week, directors Rick Corey, Nick Giudice and Caitlin Howell talk …