EMD Perfomance Group supplies the materials that are in tech items and other everyday products.
Once again this year, I was given the opportunity to visit the team from EMD Performance Materials Group at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas January 7-10. (Full disclosure, the trip and this post were sponsored by EMD Performance Materials Corp., a business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany). I visited them last year as well, and I wrote about that HERE.
EMD Performance Materials Group are responsible for supplying specialty chemicals and high-tech business materials, so many of the tech items one can find at CES 2020 most likely contains some of their products.
The EMD Performance Group’s booth featured a barista so anyone could stop by for a variety of coffees. Photo by JM
This year, their booth was bigger and better and was housed in the Smart Cities portion of CES 2020. They had a barista and were providing free coffee and lattes (with an optional bit of ephemeral 3D printed foam with the team’s logo) for anyone who stopped by, chairs and tables for conversations and interviews, and a stage to hold four informative panels during the convention. All panels were moderated by Ashley Hamer and Cody Gough from the Curiosity Podcast.
Each of the four panels had representatives from various divisions of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and special guests from other companies who are known experts in their fields and quite adept at explaining the respective technologies.
What follows is a brief preview of the panels. All panels were recorded, those recordings can be accessed HERE.
Panel 1
Advanced Digital Living—From Smart Cities to the Most Remote Places on Earth
#CES2020 EMD Performance Group Panel on Smart Cities. Photo by JM
#CES2020 EMD Performance Group panel on Smart Cities featured, from l to r:
Kai Beckmann, Member of the Executive Board & CEO Performance Materials, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany;
Gottfried Wastlbauer, Head of Global Marketing Display Solutions, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and
Rory Moore, CEO & Co-Founder, EvoNexus
These experts defined what a future smart city would look like. A smart city is not just about energy efficient and smart buildings, but also includes intelligent traffic systems and methods for reducing CO2 emissions during transportation. A smart city is involved with the health of its inhabitants and smoothly monitoring and executing the automated systems that control the environment. All of this requires data and computing which requires semiconductors, and that’s where EMD Performance Materials and affiliates come in, providing the materials to make the concepts move forward.
Superconducting Quantum Computing, From Chips to Full Systems
#CES2020 EMD Performance Materials Group panel on Superconducting Quantum Computers
The #CES2020 EMD Performance Group panel on the future of Superconducting Quantum computing featured, from 1 to r:
Daniel Franke, Associate Performance Materials Fund, M Ventures;
John Levy, Founder & CEO, SeeCQ
John Langan, CTO Performance Materials, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
EMD Performance Materials is partnering with SeeQC to develop the first superconductive digital quantum computing platform that is designed to be commercially scalable and power problem-specific quantum computing applications.
Quantum computing is a complex topic so I’d like to share a video recently produced to help everyone understand what it is, exactly, at a level everyone can understand.
Panel 3
The Future of Displays: Brighter, Sharper, More Flexible
#CES2020 EMD Performance Group panel on the Future of Displays
#CES2020 EMD Performance Group panel on the Future of Displays featuring from l to r:
Gottfried Wastlbauer, Head of Global Marketing Display Solutions, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany;
Seamus Blackley, Founder & CEO, Pacific Light & Hologram (Yes, the “Father of the X-box“)
Bob O’Brien, Co-Founder & President, DSCC (Display Supply Chain Consultations)
This was an interesting and lively panel about what technology can provide and also what consumers want in the future of displays. Much of the panel agreed that the limitations of holograms and more realistic displays are limited by video and film producers who may not see the investment in the further technology on their end to be worth it.
I found this interesting primer on displays from Tech Insider on LEDs, OLEDs and flexible screens, if you want to know more.
Panel 4
Opportunities for Neuromorphic Computing
To no one’s surprise, engineers are often looking to biology to create the most intuitive and interesting advances. The human brain is a marvel at problem solving and identifying patterns. Neuromorphic computing uses the brain as a model to create a 100-fold to 10,000-fold improvement in efficiency of computing, opening opportunities for more advanced AI.
#CES2020 EMD Performance Group panel on Neuromorphic Computing, The hosts of the panels, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer from curiosity.com, are seen in the foreground.
The final panel on Neuromorphic Computing featured, from l to r:
John Langan, CTO Performance Materials, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
Wei Lu, Professor of the University of Michigan and CEO & Co-Founder, MemryX
Owen Lozman, Head of Performance Materials Fund, M Ventures
While the panel gave a great explanation of what Neuromorphic Computing is during the panel, I will not do a summary justice, so instead, I provide this very clear explainer video on the topic.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn more from the esteemed experts during this event.
The above video of then 8th grader Michael Koehler from Pennsylvania explaining Bernoulli’s Principle was my first introduction to the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, the nation’s premier science competition for middle school students. At that time, in 2008, the students were asked to explain scientific principles and Michael was a finalist for his submission, moving on to the in person competition. I was charmed by his presentation and shared it originally on my first incarnation of Joanne Loves Science.
Does the world of engineering excite you? Are you able to create an inspiring 1-2 minute video about one of the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges? If so, consider entering the Engineering For You 2 Video Contest for a chance to win $25,000!
I’ve been chomping at the bit for months to see The Imitation Game. It arrived in larger cities well before it appeared here in central Illinois, even being postponed further because the theaters bumped it to show The Interview. Theaters disappoint me with their skewed priorities!
You may have heard the buzz around this movie about British mathematician Alan Turing as played superbly by Benedict Cumberbatch, which is based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma: The Book That Inspired the Film “The Imitation Game”. As a piece of filmmaking, this movie is absolutely spectacular. The elements of the movie– the filming, directing, editing, acting, clothing, the music– all worked together to create a seamless film that engages you from start to finish. I highly recommend going to watch it! Sure, it has mathematicians and computers and no gratuitous sex or violence, but it won’t leave you bored, I promise. It is certain to win some of the awards at upcoming ceremonies.
My super short synopsis: a group of mathematicians are recruited to break a code that the Germans were producing in World War II using their Enigma machine. The code would change daily which made figuring it out each day an impossible chore. Alan Turing wanted to build a machine that would be able to break the code faster, which he and his team ultimately did, resulting in the war shortening by about two years. The movie isn’t perfect, as I doubt very many historically base ones are. One of my favorite places to check up on movies is History vs. Hollywood, which does a level-headed analysis of comparing movies with the historical facts. They have analyzed the facts in The Imitation Game, so I won’t spend time nitpicking the movie in that regards here. There are also numerous articles about the perceived shortcomings of the film on the internet if that interests you, too.
Since I watch movies through my science worldview filter, let’s take a look at my very subjective sense of the film. I made a handy flask rating system for a quick tl;dr.
…is greater than the science known by liberal artists.”
This is a direct quote from Neil Degrasse Tyson in a talk given at the World Science Festival in 2010. (Video upload by Kristopher Hite) That quote starts at 4:39, but the entire video is worth watching.
Joe Hanson, who authors the It’s OK to be Smart blog, shared an article from The Washington Post titled, We’re way too obsessed with pushing science and math on our kids. The author claims that our insistence that we focus on STEM topics means we will forego other fields of study, particularly the liberal arts. Liberal arts and science are not mutually exclusive, in fact, many colleges and universities have Liberal Arts and Science designated schools.
What you see here is a screenshot from a short embedded tutorial that demonstrates the depths to which the different wavelengths of light penetrate the skin. It is a part of L’Oreal’s Skin Science page, a very extensive resource that will help you learn much about your skin and the science L’Oreal does for R&D of their products.
To view this tutorial, you will need to go to this page and click on the image. A pop-up will appear that will slowly demonstrate wavelength penetrating the skin. Helpful information to keep your skin safe and young looking for years to come.
Women in the public eye are constantly scrutinized for what they wear, whether it be a politician, a Hollywood starlet or even a scientist at the Nobel Prize ceremony. The male Nobel Prize recipients have it relatively easy, at least wardrobe-wise. They put on their tie and tails and they are good to go, but women have a few more decisions to make regarding color, style, accessories, appropriateness for the venue and so forth.
May Britt Moser’s sample dress as designed by Matthew Hubble
Educator and speaker, Angela Maiers shares two words she believes are essential to young women considering a career in STEM: “You matter.”
The essence behind what Angela has to say is backed by some research. In June 2008, a report was released by the National Academy of Engineering, called “Changing the Conversation: Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering,” on the best way to convince young people to go into engineering. The message? Tell them that they will make a difference. The four most effective statements they tested were:
–Engineers make a world of difference. –Engineers are creative problem-solvers. –Engineers help shape the future. –Engineering is essential to our health, happiness, and safety.
Last summer, I attended a new media professionals workshop at the Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) in Colorado to learn more about the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission which launched last November. This orbiter is specially equipped to discover “What happened to the atmosphere of Mars?” The answers can begin to be answered once the MAVEN maneuvers into Mars orbit tonight.
. As a piece of filmmaking, this movie is absolutely spectacular. The elements of the movie– the filming, directing, editing, acting, clothing, the music– all worked together to create a seamless film that engages you from start to finish. I highly recommend going to watch it! Sure, it has mathematicians and computers and no gratuitous sex or violence, but it won’t leave you bored, I promise. It is certain to win some of the awards at upcoming ceremonies.
EMD Performance Materials Looks to the Future at #CES2020
Once again this year, I was given the opportunity to visit the team from EMD Performance Materials Group at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas January 7-10. (Full disclosure, the trip and this post were sponsored by EMD Performance Materials Corp., a business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany). I visited them last year as well, and I wrote about that HERE.
EMD Performance Materials Group are responsible for supplying specialty chemicals and high-tech business materials, so many of the tech items one can find at CES 2020 most likely contains some of their products.
This year, their booth was bigger and better and was housed in the Smart Cities portion of CES 2020. They had a barista and were providing free coffee and lattes (with an optional bit of ephemeral 3D printed foam with the team’s logo) for anyone who stopped by, chairs and tables for conversations and interviews, and a stage to hold four informative panels during the convention. All panels were moderated by Ashley Hamer and Cody Gough from the Curiosity Podcast.
Each of the four panels had representatives from various divisions of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and special guests from other companies who are known experts in their fields and quite adept at explaining the respective technologies.
What follows is a brief preview of the panels. All panels were recorded, those recordings can be accessed HERE.
Panel 1
Advanced Digital Living—From Smart Cities to the Most Remote Places on Earth
#CES2020 EMD Performance Group panel on Smart Cities featured, from l to r:
These experts defined what a future smart city would look like. A smart city is not just about energy efficient and smart buildings, but also includes intelligent traffic systems and methods for reducing CO2 emissions during transportation. A smart city is involved with the health of its inhabitants and smoothly monitoring and executing the automated systems that control the environment. All of this requires data and computing which requires semiconductors, and that’s where EMD Performance Materials and affiliates come in, providing the materials to make the concepts move forward.
I’m always on the lookout for good books on any topic, so I’d like mention a book I’ve been meaning to read about smart cities. The Smart Enough City: Putting Technology in its Place to Reclaim Our Urban Future by Ben Green
Panel 2
Superconducting Quantum Computing, From Chips to Full Systems
The #CES2020 EMD Performance Group panel on the future of Superconducting Quantum computing featured, from 1 to r:
EMD Performance Materials is partnering with SeeQC to develop the first superconductive digital quantum computing platform that is designed to be commercially scalable and power problem-specific quantum computing applications.
Quantum computing is a complex topic so I’d like to share a video recently produced to help everyone understand what it is, exactly, at a level everyone can understand.
Panel 3
The Future of Displays: Brighter, Sharper, More Flexible
#CES2020 EMD Performance Group panel on the Future of Displays featuring from l to r:
This was an interesting and lively panel about what technology can provide and also what consumers want in the future of displays. Much of the panel agreed that the limitations of holograms and more realistic displays are limited by video and film producers who may not see the investment in the further technology on their end to be worth it.
I found this interesting primer on displays from Tech Insider on LEDs, OLEDs and flexible screens, if you want to know more.
Panel 4
Opportunities for Neuromorphic Computing
To no one’s surprise, engineers are often looking to biology to create the most intuitive and interesting advances. The human brain is a marvel at problem solving and identifying patterns. Neuromorphic computing uses the brain as a model to create a 100-fold to 10,000-fold improvement in efficiency of computing, opening opportunities for more advanced AI.
The final panel on Neuromorphic Computing featured, from l to r:
While the panel gave a great explanation of what Neuromorphic Computing is during the panel, I will not do a summary justice, so instead, I provide this very clear explainer video on the topic.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn more from the esteemed experts during this event.
5 years ago curiosity, Energy, Engineering