Dr. Dragon Issue #5

Dr. Dragon

HSMSE’s Math, Science and Engineering Magazine

What’s Inside: Self-Driving Cars

Hokusai and the Julia Set The Mathematics of Paradoxes fractal Landscape And Much More!

Interview Marcus Mitchell

Senior Engineering Director, Google

14 Spring

Dr. Dragon Dear Readers, Thank you for reading the Spring 2014 issue of Dr. Dragon! We are so proud of our entire staff for their hard work and dedication and interesting articles. In our magazine, you’ll be able to read about math, science and engineering topics that are not necessarily covered in class at HSMSE. Our writers have the opportunity to pick any subject related to those three core topics, explore it, learn about it and write about it. We’d love to have more students write for us, so please come to a meeting or talk to a member if you are interested. You can also check out our website at “Bit.ly/drdragon”.

Also, we have to thank Mr. Choi for being an amazing advisor!

Enjoy!

Michaela Palmer, Editor-in-Chief Hajin Yang, Club President

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Polar Vortex

Inspired by Nature

Emily Chen

Sharon Young

STAFF Editor-in-Chief Michaela Palmer

President

Interview : Marcus Mitchell Ethan Bless Wint

Writers Art Director Ethan Bless Wint

Fundraising Manager

Hajin Yang

Terry Ye

Treasurer

Special Thanks

Emily Chen

The HSMSE PTA

Sharon Young

Ronald Choi

Secretary

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Faculty Advisor

Ethan Bless Wint Emily Chen Jonathan Cheng Issac Elysee George Gurgis Irene Ok Michaela Palmer Yael Saiger Vincent Sangpo Hajin Yang Terry Ye Sharon Young

11 12 14 Artificial Skin

Fractal Landscape

Self-driving cars

George Gurgis

Yael Saiger

Jonathan Cheng

16 18 20 3d Printing

Chocolate: Hokusai and Science in every bite the Julia Set

Hajin Yang

Irene Ok

yael saiger

23 24 26

How does The Mathematics a dog’s scent work? of Paradoxes

The Scientific Basis for Psychopathy

Vincent Sangpo

Michaela Palmer

27

Isaac Elysee

Shattered Screens

Terry Ye

&

Puzzles

Michaela Palmer Dr. Dragon• Spring 2014

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Polar Vortex This past winter has been one of the most harsh winters that many of us have ever experienced. The biggest factors of this winter’s drastically low temperatures were the multiple polar vortexes that hit the Northeast. For many consecutive days temperatures were as low as 5° in the New York area. Although the phrase “polar vortex” has popped up on almost every website and newspaper article, many people do not actually know what a polar vortex is. Simply, a polar vortex is an area of low-pressure air found in the Northern Hemisphere between the troposphere and the stratosphere, the two closest layers of atmosphere to the earth’s surface. Specifically, this vortex hovers in the region of Canada's Bafin Island and northeast Siberia. The vortex that hit New York City this winter came from the Arctic.

This mass of air is kept in its place in the polar region by jet streams – strong strips of quick-moving wind. However, during the winter this large gust of air can be pushed around or broken apart by other atmospheric pressures from other regions of the Earth. The vortexes that hit southern Canada, 4

Dr. Dragon • Spring 2014

and the northern Plains, Midwest and Northeast of the US, were caused by a large amount of high-pressure air. This block of air originated from the Pacific and stretched to the North Pole, forcing a piece of the vortex down to Canada and the US. This caused negative double-digit temperatures in the Plains and Midwest, and close to 0° temperatures in the Northeast. This meeting of low-pressured air and high-pressured air results in precipitation because each mass of air has a front that carries different temperatures, winds, and moisture. When a high-pressured or warm front meets a low-pressured or cold front, the warm air from the warm front slants upward over the cold front, which forms either snow or rain, depending on the temperature.

• Emily Chen

“What is a polar vortex?” AccuWeather. n.p., n.d. Web. “Polar vortex facts and myths.” Weather.com. n.p., n.d. Web. “Basic fronts.” CRH. n.p., n.d. Web.

Inspired by Nature

From the elegant silk of a spider web to the armor of a turtle shell, nature’s materials are mesmerizing. Nature has the ability to produce features unrivaled by those that are man-made. No wonder engineers are turning to nature for inspiration for designing new materials.

Every year, the clothing industry deposits more than 300 thousand tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and factories use over 200 tons of water to wash fabric dyes. Factories located in developing countries have loose laws to prevent dye pollution, a hazard for the environment and presenting myriad health issues. This is especially problematic in factory-heavy regions, where the rivers sometimes turn purple and blue from the chemi-

cal run-off of dyes.

Engineers from many different countries have tried to tackle this issue, turning to an unlikely solution - the blue morpho butterfly. The vivid color from the morpho’s distinct blue wings referred to as “living jewels,” is a trick of the light. The surface consists of microscopic scales and proteins that reflects light, creating an illusion of an array of colors. From this research chemical engineers from Teijin Limited, a Japanese based company, developed Morphotex - the world’s first dye free, chromogenic nanofiber.

Morphotex mimics the scaled pattern of morpho wings. It is made from layers of film with varying thicknesses. Each layer contains 61 nylon and polyester fibers. The thickness can range from 70-100 nanometers. Managing the thickness of each layer allows material engineers to control which of the basic colors - red, green, blue, and violet - will be present in the material.

Australian fashion designer, Donna Sgro, attracted worldwide attention when she created a dress entirely of

Butterfly picture: wikimedia.org A dress fashioned from Morphotex textile.

Dress: ecouterre.com

Morphotex fibers. Sgro describes the dress’s ability “to create meaningful ways for scientific innovation” and how it inspires “conversation about science and innovation and the ways it impacts our daily lives.”

The production of this textile requires no dyes or pigments, thus saving energy and minimizing industrial waste that traditional methods would cause. With Morphotex, a wide range of colored fabrics can be created without using a single drop of dye. This is suitable for replacing dyes in nearly everything: from nail polish to fishing rods! There might just be a day where chemicals and dyes will be rendered obsolete, and we’ll be able to use beautiful, natural materials in their place.

• Sharon Young Chua, Jasmin Malik. “10 Eco-Fashion Garments Inspired by Nature and Biomimicry.” Ecouterre.Ecouterre, TV+ Chen, Annabelle. “Shine Bright Like a Morpho.” Engineer Girl. National Academy of Engineering, Sept. 11, 2013. Web. “World’s first non-dyed, structurally colored fibers.” Yet2.com. n.p., n.d. Web. Dr. Dragon• Spring 2014

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Interview :

Marcus Mitchell Senior Engineering Director, Google Greater New York City Area | Computer Software

M

arcus Mitchell is an Engineering Director in Google's New York engineering center in Manhattan. He works in the Ads & Commerce product area focusing on payments products, particularly Google Wallet. Previously at Google, Marcus has worked on the global payments platform that underpins Google's consumer commerce efforts: Google.org projects in NY such as the Crisis Response team, search projects such as web history, personalization, recommendations, and infrastructure. He was part of the team that launched Google Checkout, one of Google's first non-advertising commerce initiatives. In addition he acts as an advisor for some of Google's initiatives to increase diversity in computer science and engineering.

What is your job? What do you do?

I’m an engineering director at Google.

What that means is I manage teams of engineers who design, implement, launch and maintain different Google products and infrastructures. I work in the ads and commerce area. In Google a lot of the projects that I work on [are] centered on Google wallet and our payments infrastructure. So for example we have a Google wallet website wallet. google.com that is a place that you can go on the web to see a representation of transactions that you’ve made with Google, payment instruments, coupons that you have clipped and generally manage your consumer account with Google. The team that builds that website is one of my teams.

Before joining Google, Marcus worked at BEA Systems and Plumtree Software, (acquired by BEA in 2005). At Plumtree, Marcus was a Vice President of Engineering where he led development for research, collaboration, content publishing, and business process management software for enterprises. Earlier in his career Marcus led software development at a search engine startup (Ripfire, acquired by Plumtree in 2001) and at a special effects company (Digital Domain) focusing on big budget films and commercials. Marcus holds a PhD from Caltech in Computation and Neural Systems and a B.A. degree from Harvard University in Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering.

Was there any high school experience that directed you into the area of work you do today?

How did your college experience influence your choices that led you to work at Google? What lead you Not really. In high school I was actu- to pursue a PhD? How many years ally really interested in physics… and did it take?

I’m still interested in physics but at the time if you asked me what was [I] gonna be when I grow up I would have been more likely to say a physics professor than computer scientist. I was particularly interested in the mathematics associated with gravity and space time so that was really what I did in high school. I think what did influence me in high school was a general interest in science, mathematics and technology.

I shifted [towards computer science] when I started college. Freshman year I took a computer science course but I was interested in - at least flirting with the idea of becoming a physics major.

But I got more interested in computer science and artificial intelligence in particular so that was the big driver for me. The problem of how to make computers that can intelligently understand speech - that was really interesting to me. So I took courses in college not just in artificial intelligence but [also] Dr. Dragon• Spring 2014

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in psychology and neurobiology at the time [I] was in college. It was the late 80’s and this was a time when a lot of programs were popping up around the country thinking about how to marry neurobiology, computer science and mathematics to have new ways of modeling and understanding the brain.

And so I was very interested in those topics in college at a time when graduate school programs were popping up all over the country so when I went to grad school I didn’t have the goals to pursue a PhD specially, I had a goal to study this topic. And so I went to CalTech (California Institute of Technology) which had started a department called computation and Neural Systems a few years before that was run by a combination of a neural-biologist, a physicist and a computer scientist. It was a interdisciplinary program that was perfect for my combination of interests.

When did you decide to go for the full PhD?

When I started the program I never thought of it as a “partial” commitment so I suppose you could say at the time that I applied — the way the program is structured you spend the first two years taking courses and developing your proposal for PhD topic and at the end of those two years you take oral exams and a review of your PhD topic and write your dissertation and do additional research. The total time for me was about seven years. After I finished my oral exams I might have slacked off a bit [laughs] and then really in the last couple of years bore down in order to complete the program.

Francisco area, one acquiring the other is was I did for a while. These companies all had products essentially for business users, with a little bit of work for products associated with consumers and I was very interested in getting more involved in products that would be associated with consumers and in general working at a more consumer focused company. At the same time I wanted to move from the West Coast back to the East Coast. Google was building an office in New York so it was a good opportunity to make that change and to join.

Not one of the questions I listed here, but I remembered while I was doing a little bit of preliminary research on you I noticed there were a lot of citations under your name for papers involving Speech Analysis — Not me. My twin. [Laughs]

Oh. [Pauses] Twin?

I think for anybody who has worked in both a big company and a small company (e.g. a startup) that they are not interchangeable. Google more than any company I’ve worked at has done an amazing job sticking to its startup roots and keeping a relatively flat organizational structure and encouraging innovation but it is still a very large company. I would say that that’s the thing that — I don’t necessarily know if I would say I find that frustrating but an aspect of the environment that is part of life. It’s not the same as a fifteen person startup in teams of the dynamics and the things you can do.

What do you see as Google’s contribution to history?

Pass. [Laughs] Good try though.

What is you’re division’s goal for the future? What kind of services you do want to provide five years from now? Twenty years from now?

Not a twin. Not a twin at all. There is a Linguistics and Speech Analysis Researcher named Mitchell P. Marcus.

Well, your question is part product aspiration and part organizational. I’m not going to talk about the product aspirational part.

Oh. [confused]

I’m guessing that’s NDA?

[Laughs]

That’s confusing.

I first came across his work when I was in college. He was a prominent researcher at that time and a friend of one of my professors in college Barbara Grosz, who went on to be prominent professor at Harvard. So yeah… Mitchell P. Marcus If you saw us together you would not be confused.

[Laughs]

We try to keep those kinds of future prediction statements to a minimum and through authorized folks at Google.

As a Director of Engineering, do you supervise a team working on one project, or do you supervise multiple teams working on multiple projects?

Multiple projects. As for the organizational structure we like to organize How did you end up at Google? things in terms of small teams of engiAfter grad school, my PhD had neers who are small as lets say… three evolved into thinking about simulato five, five to seven, who could work tion and robotics and that led me to on some project. So of course there is topics in computer graphics. So after A lot of people are always going thousands of people at Google so that grad school I went to a company called all crazy about wanting to work at means taking a project and breaking it Digital Domain when I worked in spe- Google but there is always going down into chunks so that you can have cial effects and computers. What kind to be some drawback. What about a relatively small teams of engineers of special effects? Special effects working at Google that you find tackle a part of it. Google is organized under Larry Page and into a number for commercials and films. I worked most frustrating? there for a few years, and then did a Well Google is a big company, and of different product areas. One parstartup. So a chain of startups in San with tens of thousands of employees— ticular product area is called Ads and 8

Dr. Dragon • Spring 2014

Commerce. So my area, Payments and Google wallets is within that. We have goals as a broad organization and goals as a for smaller subsets of organization and so on down until you get the level of a work group made up of a few engineers who work together to design products and launch stuff.

How much freedom do you have when you are organizing your teams? How much do you have to cater to what your executives tell you to do and how much freedom do you have to manage your own teams to what you want the vision to be?

It’s a balance. One of the things I have to try and do to be a good manager is to not micromanage my teams and tell them exactly what to do. What a good manager tries to do is set a direction, set a context, and let the teams figure it out. One of the things we talked about with management at Google is that one of our primary goals is to remove obstacles for the team, not tell them what to do. With engineering director in particular you don’t direct, you try to help. The same thing is true for the leadership above me. In other words we have the leadership of the company setting broad direction, stating goals about the kinds of things that they want to see happen, not dictating small details of how it should be executed. We try to leave those things to the teams as much as possible so it’s a balance.

More people are becoming self taught via the Internet. When looking for potential engineers, does Google always look for people who have received formal education, or does Google also seriously consider people who are self taught, but have no college experience?

We are interested in capabilities, so while the capabilities that we require typically call for an abstract computer science education and a lot of more formal programing experience. It’s not always the case we get resumes and

referrals and we see people across the whole spectrum.

there are fewer African American computer scientists at all levels of these companies. At least certainly fewer than their representation in the populaWhat’s the environment at Google tion. We are really committed to finding like? talent wherever it is and nurturing it It’s great — I mean a lot has been and thats something really important written in public and in the press for any company in this space. To have about the Google work environment so diversity of views, perspectives, backI won’t repeat that stuff. It’s generally grounds. Everything that we know about regarded as a great environment and developing products tells us that [diverI enjoy it and I think that the teams I sity in teams] makes for better products. work with enjoy it and so I think the Some of the kinds of things that I pernumber one think I enjoy about the en- sonally get involved in to encourage vironment is the caliber of the people.

Extremely smart, very driven people, very friendly, very collaborative people and that’s what more than anything else makes it a fun place to work.

There are not many people of color at Google, how are they trying to balance out the racial demographic?

Why do you say there are not many people of color at Google?

Well if i remember correctly the ratio is kinda skewed.

Remember. How? [Laughs] I’m messing with you a little bit but I’m curious, as to what gives you that impression.

I think I clarified this but just to be sure - I’m probing to understand your impressions, not making any assertion about the number of people of color at Google. Also you may be aware but Google has just recently released formal numbers on diversity, you should take a look if you haven’t seen it.

I remember reading an article about you in which you talked a bit about how there are not as many Black engineers out there compared to white engineers.

At Google or in general?

Both.

I will speak generally because is certainly a topic that I’m really interested in. Across the tech community and especially for at least in terms of what seems to be publicly released data about technology companies is that

“

There are fewer African American computer scientists at all levels of these companies.

„

that— In Google we have something called the Black Googler Network (BGN) which is one of a number of employee resource groups in which folks can discuss these kinds of topics internally and think about different kinds of initiatives. We do things ranging from recruiting effort and awareness efforts, [to a] yearly service campaign in which a private team will pick a location and maybe go and engage in some kind of a service project. The employee research groups are a really powerful way to foster a sense of community internally and to make people not just inside the group but across Google aware of concerns and initiatives around diversity.

Recruiting is obviously a big area — one of the programs we are engaged in— we just had a Google Google Sponsored “Hackathon” at Howard University which was very well attended by both Googlers and by a number of students there. I have tried to come and participate in some of the kinds of events that HBC used to encourage students Dr. Dragon• Spring 2014

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along the path of computer science. We try to reach out to these communities and schools for some of our internship programs and our university programs group has developed a range [of projects]. Some appropriate for high school students, some appropriate for [college] freshmen, some appropriate for [college] sophomores and juniors to try and encourage all sorts of people to get involved in computer science and see it as a viable career.

What is the most common misconception about engineers that discourages youths from pursuing a career in software engineering?

tures would be valuable to folks, and the range of what we call “cross functional” interactions that you have to have so it’s not just writing code but thinking about product requirements : thinking about user interface design, thinking about the legal aspects, operational aspects; there are quite a range of both career opportunities and interactions. It’s a classic stereotype that I find many students have and it’s quite untrue. If it were true I think people would not really be able to be very effective in software engineering.

What do you think is responsible for the general skew in engineering Absolutely it’s the picture— the ste- against minorities?

reotypical picture of the antisocial programmer who spends fifteen hours a day in isolation staring at a computer screen. That is a stereotype or an impression that I have encountered over and over again as I’ve visited different schools and talked to people and this is sometimes talking to people who are freshmen or juniors in a computer science department. They have this impression of what we do as a very antisocial activity aend nothing could

I think you’ve pretty much touched base on most of the questions Say that again so I understand better I had. Is there anything else you what you mean. would like to add at this time?

What do you think the main reason is that there are less people of color in engineering then other disciplines. Do you think they just haven’t gotten interested yet or do you think there is something particular.

I think — I think that that’s a pretty complicated question and it’s hard to boil that down to “Okay here is a reason.”

I think when you look at — you could ask the same question, for example, about women and computer science or any demographic in computer science.

It’s something that evolves over time. I will say— I’ll speak personally. First of all a little background. My dad’s an architect and my mom was a nutritional scientist working for the Food and Drug Administration. Both very educated: Dad with masters Mom with a PhD, and so I grew up in an environment that very much emphasized education and certainly wasn’t afraid of science and technology in quantitative areas and emphasized the importance of that.

Even so, my parents didn’t ever talk be further from the truth. Whether it’s about computer science as a viable the team work and collaboration that’s area or as an area of encouragement. necessary to get almost anything done They talked about the idea of being a — especially in areas where you are doctor, being a lawyer, even being an working on consumer facing products, engineer, or being a scientist in an acyou are trying to understand what is ademic sense. But I think they didn’t it that people want, what kind of fea- really know that much about computer

“

The stereotypical picture of the antisocial programmer who spends fifteen hours a day in isolation staring at a computer screen....Nothing could be further from the truth

„

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Dr. Dragon • Spring 2014

science as a career so it wasn’t one of the top things they encouraged me [to pursue] — That was something that I discovered more on my own. Obviously with my kids — as you know I have a three year old and a seven year old — so I will probably have a different view and one that I can kind of encourage them more if that’s a path they are interested in taking. But at least for me personally I see some of it is just sort of generational. It’s an area that people know a lot more now then twenty years ago, or twenty years before [that] about this field.

If the folks reading you article are your high school peers and teachers, for example, I would repeat what we were talking about before which is computer science is an incredibly interesting area, an intellectually challenging area and a valuable one because of the way of thinking and breaking down problems and problem solving that it encourages. Studying computer science whether it’s in high school or college doesn’t necessarily mean that you have made a lifelong decision to have a career in that area.

I would encourage people to think of it as something that can be a viable career and as we can see from the explosion of the importance of technology in our lives and then in prominent companies, of which Google is only one — it’s obviously a very rich area in that regard. But even if you are not going to have a career related to computer science, it’s a really valuable way of thinking about the world and thinking about problems and complements to other kinds of coursework and the lessons you learn in college, so I would encourage people to get involved.

Interview conducted and transcribed by •Ethan Bless Wint

Artificial Skin

Skin is humans’ largest organ and it serves as our first layer of immune defense. The skin is made up of three layers: the epidermis, dermis, and the hypodermis or fat layer.

The epidermis is the outermost layer that keeps vital fluids in and harmful bacteria out of our bodies. The dermis is the inner layer of skin that contains blood vessels, nerves, hair follicles, oil, and sweat glands and is responsible for regulating body heat. The fat layer underneath helps preserve the heat in the body and acts as an insulator. Our skin serves a crucial role in protecting our bodies. When people experience burns or wounds that severely damage part of their skin, they can undergo skin graft surgery, in which a section of their healthy skin is transplanted to the damaged part. Some trauma victims, however, may not have enough healthy skin to serve as grafts for all of their damaged skin.

In these cases, skin grafts can be taken from another person and transplanted onto the patient. But this is risky, as there is a possibility of the patient rejecting the skin or the skin getting infected. To circumvent these problem, artificial skin can be used.

Synthetic skin was invented by John F. Burke, Chief of Trauma Services at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1981. He teamed up with Dr. Ioannis V. Yannas, a professor of fibers and polymers in M.I.T.’s department of mechanical engineering in order to create his artificial skin. The skin they invented contained two different layers: one synthetic layer made of synthetic-plastic polymers (a long chain of identical molecules), and one layer made of material from shark cartilage and cow tendons. The top layer would prevent dehydration and infection while the bottom layer would provide an environment for healthy skin cells to grow. This new invention could cover much larger areas of the human

body than traditional skin grafting could. One problem with this skin, however, is that it does not have any sweat pores, so the patients must not become too hot. Later, this product was patented and manufactured as Integra.

Now with today’s technology, scientists are researching artificial skin that can actually feel. Research in the chemistry field has discovered self-healing polymers and in 2008, researchers at ESPCI ParisTech discovered a designed rubber compound that could could recover its mechanical properties and heal itself after being broken. In the engineering field, researchers like Ali Javey and his team created sensors that could function much like human skin, as they had the ability to respond to pressure. In 2012 a Chemical engineer named Zhenan Bao of Stanford, worked with her team to create an artificial skin that had both the ideas of self-healing polymers and epidermal electronics. This artificial skin can actually feel, using electric sensors that can detect minute changes in pressure applied to the surface of the membrane - much like skin. This relies on nanotechnology with extremely small circuits and censors that can fit underneath this artificial skin and send electric signals to a device. This technology is still being experimented with and tested but with the progress scientists are making, we will soon be able to make skin that can act just like normal skin.

This innovation could change the lives of burn victims and people in need of healthy skin replacements.

• George Gurgis

Roos, David. “Skin Grafts.” How Stuff Works. How Stuff Works, Inc., n.d.

Web. Ingham, Richard. “Robotics breakthrough: Scientists make artificial skin.”

Phys.org. Science X Network, Sept. 12, 2010. Web. “Self-Healing Synthetic ‘Skin’ Points Way to New Prosthetics.” Wired.

Conde Nast, Nov. 12, 2011. Web. Dr. Dragon• Spring 2014

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“Fractal Landscape” Painted by Yael Saiger

Self-Driving Cars Computer vision systems are allowing cars to step closer to full autonomy.

A

s technology evolves, car manufacturers are designing vehicles with more advanced features. It seems as if we were just introduced to cruise control, rear view cameras and car proximity alarms, but there is a newer and more revolutionary technology around the corner. "Autonomous driving" or "self-driving" cars are beginning to appear. Google has been working for years to create the first functional self-driving car. As of April 29, 2014, Google’s self-driving cars have traveled a total of 700,000 miles with zero accidents. This is the result of combining the automobile technology we currently use and adding complex software.

A 64-beam laser developed by a technology company called Velodyne sits on top of the car and helps guide it. It creates a 3D map of the car's surroundings as it drives. The laser module is “the heart of the system” as Chris Urmson, the project leader calls it. Of course, there is a whole arsenal of sensors that work along side the laser range finder; there are four radars, a camera, a GPS, inertial measurement unit, and wheel encoder. With the imaging of the surroundings, combined with digital maps, the car can determine where to go and when to stop. The Velodyne system works very well, but costs over $70,000, and there are still faults with the system. The laser imaging system detects the presence of physical objects which may get in the cars way, but do not recognize any street signs with warnings for speed limits or construction. Computer vision and cameras are now taking on larger roles in self-driving cars because of their ability to see and understand signs. With these new technologies, cars will be able to recognize construction signs or even navigate a detour route around a blocked-off area instead of stopping because it detects an obstacle. When the car detects a railroad crossing, it will slow down as a precaution and only continue when it confirms that there is no train coming. The most significant aspect of the recognition software is its ability to recognize cyclists and understand their hand signals. Google's self-driving car is slowly but surely advancing into a safer car that can be used on long highways or the busy streets of cities. As of now, self-driving cars are allowed in California, Michigan, and Florida, but this list is sure to expand as autonomous car technology evolves and becomes safer and more reliable.

This field of technology is changing the way we see cars and transportation.

• Jonathan Cheng Gross, Doug. “Self-driving cars are mastering city streets.” CNN. April 28, 2014. Web. Anthony, Sebastian. “Google’s self-driving car passes 700,000 accident-free miles, can now avoid cyclists, stop at railroad crossings.” Extreme Tech. Ziff Davis, April 29, 2014. Web. Guizzo, Erico. “How Google’s Self-Driving Car Works.” IEEE Spectrum. n.p., Oct. 18, 2011.

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3d Printing 3D Printing is a new technology that is primed to revolutionize production because it represents a whole new way of manipulating materials and prototyping products.

3D

Printing is a process of creating an object by layering successive layers on top of each other. A 3D printer can copy real, physical objects from a digital model. 3D machine technology is developing quickly and will soon be able to make copies of complicated objects such as organs. The object is first designed with a computer program known as CAD (computer aided design), and is then transferred to the 3D printers to produce 3D objects. In the past, 3D printed objects made from plastics and metals were used only for prototypes because of the materials’ weakness, quality and lack of structural integrity. However, new innovations in 3D printing technology are leading to high-quality 3D printed objects that can be used for many different purposes.

3D printing is very beneficial for the medical and dental industries. Prosthetic limbs and devices can be customized and printed to fit people perfectly, accommodating a patient’s measurements and gait. Crowns for teeth can be made without first creating a clay mold. Dentists may one day simply use a laser wand to scan teeth and send the scan to the printer to be made.

Someday soon, human organs will be created via 3D printing for people depending on an organ transplant. Live cells will be stacked on top of each other to create human tissue. The liver, for example, performs many functions critical for human survival. Tissue engineers have sought to develop replacement organs in a laboratory environment with the help of 3D printing. Live cells are pipetted into Petri dishes and attached to artificial scaffolds that the cells can adhere to temporarily. The scientists then put the created mixture into a 3D printer where they are formed into the correct shape. The printers are able to make artificial bones, organs, crowns for teeth, blood vessels, and other body parts.

3D printing has many potential applications deserving of further development.

As in the medical industry, the food industry utilizes 3D printing as well by stacking ingredients layer by layer to create edible sources. In the future, NASA may use 3D printers to provide astronauts with “real food” while they’re in space.

There are already plans to print pizza. The first layer would be dough. Then, a tomato paste that was initially in powder form would be laid down and mixed with water and oil. The astronauts will be able to have proper meals in space as well as maintain their health and minimize waste. This would be especially helpful on long trips, where traditional astronaut food may get boring and not provide enough nutrients. 3D printers help create new textures and can perform high levels of precision in food preparation that cannot be done by hand.

3D printers are expected by many experts and researchers to be found soon in every home. The possibilities are exciting and numerous, with the potential to change the world and help end problems facing humanity such as world hunger and the long waits for organ transplant.

•Irene Ok Jacobs, A.J. “Dinner is Printed.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, Sept. 22, 2013. Web.

“How 3-D Printing Is Going To Change The World.” Likes.com. n.p., n.d. Web. Leckart, Steven. “How 3-D Printing Body Parts Will Revolutionize Medicine.” Popular Science.

Popular Science, Aug. 6, 2013. Web. spread photo: Signe Brewster Dr. Dragon• Spring 2014 17

Chocolate:

Science in Every Bite 18

Dr. Dragon • Spring 2014

C

Beneficial chemicals in chocolate: Tryptophan

An amino acid used to make serotonin, a key brain chemical involved in regulating mood. Serotonin promotes feelings of calm and relaxation. Low serotonin levels can lead to depression.

Phenylethylamine

A chemical related to amphetamines, which are strong stimulants.

Phenylethylamine can help increase activity in regions of the brain that help with alertness.

Flavanol

An anantioxidant that helps with blood flow. It can help reduce inflammation and fight free radicals.

"The Story of Chocolate." National Confectioners Association's Chocolate Council. n.p., n.d. Web. "Flavonoids." The World's Healthiest Food. n.p., n.d. Web. "Is there something in turkey that makes you sleepy?" How Stuff Works. n.p., n.d. Web.

hocolate is complicated chemically. It is composed of hundreds of flavor components, in addition to stimulants and a variety of antioxidants. Making chocolate has to be very exact - the many ingredients all have to be kept at the right temperature. For instance, if you heat or cool chocolate and don’t control the temperature properly, then the crystallization of cocoa butter will distort with different sizes or shapes of crystals, and it will appear matte and will be covered with white patches.

Chocolate is not purely junk food - there are many nutritional benefits to consuming the sweet snack. For starters, cocoa beans are rich in a type of organic chemical called flavonoids. One type of flavonoid, epicatechin, increases and facilitates blood flow in the brain and prevents the formation of protein clumps that can lead to conditions such as Alzheimer’s. There are other substances like tryptophan, phenylethylamin and flavanol that can help your body function better.

You might have heard that not all types of chocolate are healthy - that is true. Different types of chocolate from different companies will each contain chemicals at different levels. However, dark chocolate is typically healthier than milk chocolate since it contains more cocoa and less fat from milk and sugar. Most of the beneficial substances that are mentioned above are from cocoa.

Cocoa is one of the healthiest beans commonly eaten by people. Scientific studies have proven that there is a link between cocoa consumption and cardiovascular health - reduced risk of blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks. Food scientists at Cornell University found that cocoa powder has twice the antioxidants of red wine, and three times the antioxidants in green tea.

The fat in cocoa butter is made up of oleic, stearic, and palmitic acids. Oleic acid is a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. Though it is a saturated fat, stearic acid has a miniscule effect on cholesterol levels. Palmitic acid has a larger effect, but it not found in very high concentrations in chocolate.

Chocolate research is still ongoing. At the University of Bath in the UK, scientists have been studying rodent brain cells grown in the lab. “Our research has shown that epicatechin and related flavonoids have promising protective actions in brain cells,” says Dr. Robert Williams, a neuroscientist at the university. “But whether we could achieve the levels required to replicate these effects in humans by eating chocolate is uncertain.”

It is too early to conclude that chocolate is healthy enough to become an essential food for everyday consumption. You should also be wary of the extra ingredients that can add lots of extra fat and calories. But, we do know that you no longer need to feel guilty if you enjoy a small piece of dark chocolate once in a while. There are a number of clear advantages.

•Hajin Yang Dr. Dragon• Spring 2014

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Hokusai

and the Julia Set The paper is filled with curves, spirals and sharp edges, fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle. Each line is perfectly placed and perfectly shaped.

Together, they form the beautiful image of menacing clouds over a quiet cluster of houses that is Hokusai’s Fuji in a Thunderstorm.

The intricate houses are perfectly detailed. The trees are made of tiny individual leaves. The outline of the shadows of the clouds is a self-similar curve. Everything is in place. Except one thing. Across the beautifully accurately image, is a jagged, broke, sloppy, line. This depiction of lightning looks as if it was randomly slashed across the page, and stands in sharp contrast to the almost mathematical precision of the rest of the print. So why?

Katsushika Hokusai, the Japanese artist who created Fuji in a Thunderstorm, lived between 1760 and 1849. As art historian Jennifer Lanski points out, he did not yet have access to photography.

He could spend hours, days even, observing the trees, houses and clouds that captured in his prints. Hokusai had only the instant that lightning flashed across the sky to observe its shape.

The representation of the lightning is surprising because of the contrast.

Hokusai captured images and patterns in his artwork that were produced by technology only after he did his work.

One of the recurring themes in Hokusai is self-similarity. Many of the shapes in Hokusai’s shadows, clouds, water and plants are self-similar. Decades

later, technology caught up to him.

In the early 1900s, Gaston Julia experimented with feedback loops. In the 1970’s, Benoit Mandelbrot used Julia’s concepts, along with computer graphics to develop fractal geometry.

Through fractal geometry, Mandelbrot produced graphical representations of iterative functions that bore striking resemblance to the shapes carved out by Hokusai a century earlier.

The Great Wave of Kanagawa Katsushika Hokusai (Japan, 1760-1849) courtesy Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Hokusai’s most famous piece is The Great Wave of Kanagawa. In this piece, each ripple on the large wave is essentially a smaller version of the larger wave. Another piece, called Fuji from the Seashore has even more in common with fractals, and to a specific one: the Julia Set Pieces of both the dark and the light in the shadow on the ground are incredibly similar to these mathemati-

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are functions defined by the following, where C is a constant: f(z)=z^2+C zn+1 = zn2 + c

The Julia set puts every starting point of the function into one of two sets. One set is the starting points which have orbits that are unbounded; Fuji from the Seashore the values in the orbits move towards Katsushika Hokusai (Japan, 1760-1849) infinite, and this set is called the escally generated shapes. cape set. The other set is starting

The Julia set is a fractal points that have bounded orbits. The defined by iterative functions, or feed- values in these orbits do not move toback loops. You begin with a complex wards infinite and this set is called the number and define that as n0. This is prisoner set. The Julia set is the border your starting value. You then plug that between these two sets. The filled Julia number into a given function, and take set is this prisoner set, the set of startthe output of that function as n1. Then ing points for a given c value whose you plug in n1 and take the output as orbits do not escape to infinite. n2. The output of the previous iteration becomes the input of the next, and you can define f(nx+1) in terms of f(n). This creates a sequence of numbers beginning at n0, then n1, n2 and continuing on infinitely. The sequence of numbers from n0 onward defined as the orbit of that starting point under the function.

Each Julia set analyzes the behavior

In visual representation, points of the orbits of different starting points in the filled Julia set (or the prisoner under a certain function. The most set) are often colored black. Points widely known cases of the Julia Set in the escape set are assigned differ22

Dr. Dragon • Spring 2014

ent colors based on how quickly they diverge, or go to infinity. Each c value, or each different function, then results in a unique and beautiful image.

It is these images that are echoed in Hokusai’s Fuji from the Seashore, as well as several of his other prints.

Though fractals can be generated with mathematical formulas, self-similarity is a natural phenomenon. Ferns, coastlines, shells and clouds all have self-similar property. Hokusai worked with his hands to represent reality; Mandelbrot and Julia used formulas and then computers to represent a mathematical phenomenon. Yet somehow, with disparate methods and with a century between them, Hokusai and Mandelbrot produced almost the same fractal shape.

•Yael Saiger Devaney, Robert L. Unveiling the Mandelbrot Set. plus.math.org. Visited 27 April 2014. Web. Hokusai. classes.yale.edu. Visited 27 April 2014. Web. Katsushika Hokusai. Drawing Fuji from Life (Shashin no Fuji): Half of detatched page from One Hundred Views of Mount. Harvard Art Museum. Harvardartmuseums.org. Visited 27 April 2014. Web. McGoodwin, Michael. Julia Jewels: an Exploration of Julia Sets. mcgoodwin.net. March 2000.

Web. Spitznagel, Carl R. Vignette 15: Julia Sets. jcu. edu. Visited 27 April 2014. Web.

How does a dog’s scent work?

Dogs are a critical part of the military and the police. How have they been able to achieve this importance?

Dogs have long been regarded as “man’s best friend”.

However, they have also been very helpful in the military and police forces. In today’s world, they are used to track hidden bombs, traces of criminals, and illegal substances - all with their noses. But how do they accomplish this?

Dogs have an extraordinary sense of smell. They can distinguish things by smell up to 100,000 times better than we can. This is possible because of several factors, including their olfactory recess, their fast rate of sniffing, and their respiratory region.

This is how a dog’s smelling function works: A dog can sniff five times per second. Scents smelled by the dog go through either of its two nostrils and an airflow pattern forms. While the air of the scent goes through the nostril to the lungs of the respiratory system, the molecules that are part of the scent’s odor go to the olfactory recess. This section of the dog’s nasal system is connected to its brain through neurons. Receptors allow the odor molecules to go through these neurons to the brain, where they are distinguished and identified.

There is another olfactory system that allows such detailed and strong smelling. It is an organ called the Jacobson’s organ or a vomeronasal organ. Located in the nasal cavity, it allows dogs to identify and find odors that cannot be detected by other parts of the nasal cavity.

As a way to prevent debris and other things from entering inside the nasal cavity,dogs have “filters” that trap these particles. This is because of the paranasal sinuses, which eventually create a layer of mucus that acts as the filter.

The location of the scent does not affect the efficiency of the nasal cavity; dogs can do “air-sniffing”-sniffing for scents in the air, and can sniff on a surface.

This is how the dog has proven its reliability as an item tracker-by using its sense of smell to identify the unidentified.

With these qualities, dogs can distinguish unusual scents in seemingly normal ones in a variety of areas. For instance, they can be used to detect tumors in patients, trails left by missing people for search-and-rescue teams, and hidden IEDs for the military. They show huge potential for saving lives and improving the quality of life for others. They are truly “teammates” in every kind of detection for the past, present, and the future.

• Vincent Sangpo

Tyson, Peter. “Dogs’ Dazzling Sense of Smell.” Nova. PBS Online, Oct. 4, 2012. Web. Kidd, Randy. “The Canine Sense of Smell.” The Whole Dog Journal. Belvoir Media Group, LLC., 2004. Web.

The nasal cavity of a dog. Air carrying the scent goes through the nostrils into it. While the air itself goes to the respiratory region (i.e. lungs), the molecules that make up the scent travel to the olfactory region, which contains the olfactory recess. The scent is received by receptors and carried to the brain through neurons for inspection and identification.

The snout of a dog. The arrows indicate the flow and direction of the air into the nostrils, and the colored areas identify the force of the air, with blue being the least amount of force, and red being the highest.

The direction of air flows through the nasal cavity of the dog. The red paths are the molecules containing the scent, while the blue ones are all of the other molecules of the air.

There is a variety of dogs which have different qualities in tracking scents.

Dogs with longer snouts tend to have more scent-tracking cells than dogs like these, which have less. Still, they all carry more of these cells than us.

Dr. Dragon• Spring 2014

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The Mathematics of Mathematical Paradoxes People tend to like things that are consistent and coherent. Practical and concrete ideas normally take precedence over nonsensical and abstract ones.

However, there are many things that are confusing, to say the least.

Paradoxes are one of these things that do not seem to make sense. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a paradox as “an argument that apparently derives self-contradictory conclusions by valid deduction from acceptable premises”. Basically, a paradox is a statement that is believed to go against common sense, but may be true. Although paradoxes are seemingly self-contradictory, there are often many theories as to how they can be overcome. As a result, paradoxes are always a topic of discussion amongst scientists, mathematicians, and just about anyone who enjoys being confused. In this article, we will explore some basic mathematical paradoxes and various theories used to understand them.

To get the gist of what a paradox really is, think about the statement “this sentence is false.” On first glance, this seems like a simple sentence, but it is not. Let’s say that “this sentence is false” is (P). If (P) is true, then “this sentence is false” is also true. However, this means that (P) is false. If (P) is false, then “this sentence is false” is false also, meaning that the statement is true. On one hand the statement can be true, but on the other hand it can false. That duality is the paradox. This paradox is called the “liar’s paradox” and it is quite confusing.

Pinocchio, the boy whose nose grows when he lies, is also an example 24

Dr. Dragon • Spring 2014

of this paradox. He says that his nose will grow. If his nose does grow, it grows, independent of whether he is lying or not. But, if Pinocchio’s nose does not grow, he is lying. As a result, his nose will grow. However, since Pinocchio’s nose grew because he was lying, he could not have been lying in the first place, since he said his nose would grow. These two examples encapsulate the premise of just about all paradoxes; they are self-contradictory statements.

“

Think about the statement: ‘this sentence is false.’

„

However, there are proposed ways to overcome both of these paradoxes. For the liar’s paradox, one idea for solving it is that not every statement has to be either true or false. In this way, the seemingly equivalent statement “this sentence is not true” could always be true. In Pinocchio’s case, a way to solve it is by defining the time given for the statement to be true. If Pinocchio says his nose will grow in one minute and after a minute it does not, then he is lying and his nose would grow after the one minute period. As long as his nose did not grow within the allotted time, his statement would be a lie in every case. In this way, the statement

could not be contradictory.

As stated before, paradoxes show up in mathematics as well. One such paradox is Russell’s paradox. In 1901, Bertrand Russell, a British mathematician showed the contradiction that is now called Russell’s paradox and suggested a way to solve it.

The paradox is this: R is defined as the set of all sets that are not part of themselves. Russell stated that if R is not part of itself (set R), then that means that R must contain itself. If R contains itself then it goes against its own definition, as the set of all sets that are not part of themselves. This is an example of a lf-contradictory statement and thus, it is a paradox. Russell, in an attempt to solve his paradox, had to make an assumption. He assumed that no set can contain all sets, because if such a set existed, there would be no set that contains that set. Therefore, even a set that seemingly includes all sets will never be complete, as there would be something always left out. The set R in this example can never be a complete set and therefore the paradox cannot exist. Russell’s paradox is very confusing to say the least.

Zeno’s paradoxes are mathematical paradoxes that are more practical and tangible than Russell’s paradox. Zeno was a Greek philosopher who supposedly came up with these ideas. The first one we will explore is called the dichotomy paradox.(illustration above) Assume someone is trying to catch a stationary bus. The person starts a certain distance away and to get to the bus, he must first go half of the distance between him and the bus. However, before he gets halfway to the bus, the person needs to go halfway from the start to the halfway point, one-fourth of the way to the bus. But he must go halfway to that point also, one-eighth of the point. What the person must end up doing, according to Zeno, is an infinite number of tasks, as the person must move halfway of the first distance, then halfway to the halfway point, and so on. This is represented by

the sequence {…1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1}. Every distance is divided by a half.

There are really two paradoxes to the dichotomy. The first is that the person must do any infinite number of things which is impossible. The second is that the walk or run to the stationary bus is impossible to even begin. It was concluded that one cannot possibly pick a finite starting distance to begin with, as any finite distance can be divided by two again. Thus, Zeno concluded that

toise is on during the race and Achilles has to keep on getting to those points, he can never pass the tortoise. Again, as experience shows, we can past someone who is going slower than us if they start ahead of us. However, many Greek philosophers found that this can be overcome using simple physics. The formula, distance=velocity*time, when done for both of the racers, shows that Achilles will pass the tortoise because the time is constant, and Achilles has

paradoxes can give insight into mathematics and physics, as well as a host of other areas, such as logic, science, and philosophy. When new scientific or mathematic discoveries are made, people tend to accept what they hear from other sources. Many ideas that seem consistent and coherent are not dispute. But they are just that – ideas.

Paradoxes provide a way to disprove theories that are wrong and draw light upon a particular subject of specula-

all motion is impossible and that motion is an illusion. However, we know from experience that we can get from a starting point to a stationary object.

So, French philosopher Henri Bergson came up with an idea to overcome this contradiction, by suggesting that neither time or distance are truly divisible.

Here is another one of Zeno’s paradoxes. This one is called Achilles and the Tortoise. Imagine a race between a man, Achilles, and a tortoise. Naturally, the man would give the tortoise a head start of 200 feet, since tortoises are extremely slow. But he should not.

Assuming that they both move along at a constant speed, Achilles obviously at a much faster one than the tortoise, Achilles will, at some point in time, reach the starting point of the tortoise, which was at 200 feet. The tortoise has also moved in that time period some distance but a smaller distance than Achilles, maybe 20 feet. Now during the next time period, we stop when Achilles has is also moving and has gone another small distance and is still ahead.

The next time Achilles reaches the point where the tortoise was, the tortoise has already moved from that point. As a result, Achilles always has some distance to run, albeit very small ones ones, to go where the tortoise has been. Zeno concluded that since there are an infinite number of points which the tor-

the greater velocity. Also, Bergson’s logic, that time and distance are indivisible, can be applied here, as distance is being broken up.

Here is one last paradox from Zeno.

The arrow paradox, again, suggests that motion is really impossible. For motion to happen, an object has to change its position. Now, if we take a visual “screenshot” of the arrow at any time between its starting point and its endpoint, the arrow is stopped and not changing its position. Since time has stopped, the arrow cannot continue in the direction it was moving in. Therefore, there is no motion at any instant in time. Zeno consequently stated that since time is a composition of instantaneous moments and there is no motion at an instant, motion is impossible. Once again, Bergson’s suggestion can help to solve what seems to be a contradiction to laws or motion and physics. In the arrow paradox, Zeno was dividing time into successive points and that cannot be. While many of Zeno’s paradoxes are considered to be inaccurate now, they changed the way mathematicians saw finiteness and infinity.

Paradoxes are very interesting to think about. They throw ideas that we have about certain happenings away and make us think about contradictions in our world. What is really important is that while they are quite mind-boggling,

tion, by highlighting contradictions and inconsistencies. Therefore, it is important that we do not avoid paradoxes because of their complexity but embrace them for their roles in so many different fields.

• Isaac Elysee “What Is a Paradox?” Www.curiouser.co.uk. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. <http://www.curiouser. co.uk/paradoxes/definition.htm>.

Panoff, Robert M., and Michael J. South. “The Role of Paradox.” The Role of Paradox. N.p., n.d.

Web. 26 Mar. 2014. <http://www.shodor.org/ ssep/pae/editorials/paradox.html>.

“Understanding Paradoxes and Why They Are Important.” Web log post. Doctor of Management in Organizational Change. N.p., 18 Mar. 2010. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. <http://askeland.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/understanding-paradoxes-and-why-they-are-important/>.

Dehaan, Mike. “Zeno’s Paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise.” Decoded Science. N.p., 12 July 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. <http://www. decodedscience.com/zenos-paradox-of-achilles-and-the-tortoise/1945>.

“What Is Russell’s Paradox?” Scientific American Global RSS. N.p., 17 Aug. 1998. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. <http://www.scientificamerican. com/article/what-is-russells-paradox/>.

Moerder, Adam. “17 Mind-Bending Paradoxes That Will Hurt Your Brain.”BuzzFeed. N.p., 02 Aug. 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://www. buzzfeed.com/moerder/17-mind-bending-paradoxes-that-will-hurt-your-brain>.

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The Scientific Basis for Psychopathy The term “psychopath” is used frequently in movies, on TV and in the media.

levels of activity in an area of the brain called the ventral striatum, a brain region involved in pleasure.

Another study was conducted by three researchers at the People think of psyInstitute of Psychiatry at chopaths as scary, King’s College London. violent people, prone They studied a tract in to murdering and the brain called the raping. The label is Uncinate Fasciculus synonymous with vi(UF) that connects two olence and depravity. regions of the brain - one Psychopathy, however, of which is known to deal is not simply a term for with emotions and aggresa criminal or frightening sion and one of which individual, but indicates is known to deal with a severe mental illness. decision making. In psychoPsychopathy is a personalpaths, the scientists found ity disorder characterized by that the particles that make up antisocial, manipulative and the UF had significantly reduced deceptive behavior, in addition integrity. They also found that the to a lack of remorse and empathy. degree of abnormality of the partiResearchers estimate that 1% of cles was strongly correlated to the the population is made up psychodegree of psychopathy. paths, in contrast to 23% of prison

These disturbing test reinmates. sults suggest that psychopaths are

A recent study published in actually neurologically and biologically Frontiers in Human Neuroscience exwired to have decreased empathy and to plored the differences in the brains of derive pleasure from other people’s pain. psychopaths and non-psychopaths in an efNumerous other studies support these findfort to identify a scientific basis for the strange ings. Perhaps these results will cause changes in disorder. Scientists studied the brains of 121 inthe understanding of criminology and psychology, mates in an American prison. They were divided into as research begins to support the idea that psychopaths three groups based on their results when given the PCL-R have little control over the way they think and feel. Their test (a commonly-used psychopathy diagnostic tool): highly, brains are simply built differently than ours - not that that moderately or weakly psychopathic. The inmates were then constitutes a sufficient excuse for crimes they may commit. shown images of painful situations such as a finger stuck A deeper understanding of psychopaths could help psycholin a door while an MRI machine was taking an image of ogists discover new ways to treat them, whether preventively their brains. Next, the participants were asked to imagine or after the fact. New insights into the minds of psychopaths the painful scenarios happening to themselves and happen- could start to alter the way we think about dangerous criming to others. The highly psychopathic inmates experienced inals and the way we understand their actions. typical neurological responses when they imagined the pain• Michaela Palmer ful thing happening to themselves. Brain regions that play a role in empathy for pain, such as the anterior insula and Neurological basis for lack of empathy in psychopaths.” Science Daily.

ScienceDaily, LLC, Sept. 24, 2013. Web. the anterior midcingulate cortex were activated. These re- “Brain Difference In Psychopaths Identified.” Science Daily. ScienceDaily, gions showed very low levels of activity, however, when the LLC, August 5, 2009. Web. participants were instructed to imagine the painful things “Psychopathy: A Misunderstood Personality Disorder.” Psychological happening to others. Chillingly, these individuals had high Science. Association for Psychological Science, n.d. Web. 26

Dr. Dragon • Spring 2014

“Psychopathy: An Important Forensic Concept for the 21st Century.” FBI. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, July 26, 2012. Web.

Shattered Screens Of all the phones broken each year, 29% were dropped. Many of those phones have shattered screens. In the past decade, researchers have been working hard to develop shatterproof glass to reduce the frequency of screen breakage. Shatterproof glass merges two sheets of glass with plastic or resin to prevent shattering.

The current glass constituting smart phone screens embodies a coating of indium tin oxide, or ITO, which is conductive and transparent. The glass, however, however it is brittle and can easily be broken. In recent studies, sci-

entist Yu Zhu, at the University of Akron in Ohio, developed a new solution for preventing broken screens. The new development is a polymer film coated in electrodes that can impede screen damage.

This recent discovery could possibly lead to a breakthrough in smart phone screens. The polymer screen will definitely become a competitor of ITO. Since the polymer screen is flexible and durable it may soon be preferred over ITO, which is fragile and can be easily broken. â&#x20AC;˘Terry Ye Dr. Dragonâ&#x20AC;˘ Spring 2014

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About Dr. Dragon Dr. Dragon is a student-produced magazine that focuses on math, science, and engineering. The mission of this magazine is to give HSMSE students the opportunity to take the school's core subjects and explore subtopics that particularly interest them. Students on the magazine staff research and write about subjects of their choice. They are also involved with the production of the magazine, and learn about everything from design to fundraising and budgeting.

If you are an HSMSE student and want to contribute your thoughts, please talk to our officers or our faculty advisor, Mr. Choi.

Contact information: Dr. Dragon email: hsmsedrdragon@gmail.com Mr. Choi: RChoi@hsmse.org Also, you can read our previous magazines, and check the answers to crossword puzzles and Sudoku puzzles by visiting our website: sites.Google.com/site/hsmsedrdragon/

Copyright © 2014 by Dr. Dragon All rights reserved. Published by Dr. Dragon No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means without prior written permission by the publisher.

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Dr. Dragon • Spring 2014

Crystal Bonds, Principal