SCIENCE & TECH| 7
TBL | April 9-15, 2014
Café KITP: Eat, THINK, and Be Merry!
Photo by Madison King | Staff Photographer Lowell Miller, local Santa Barbara resident, poses a question about scientist Matteo Contiello’s astrophysical research. by Devin Martens-Olzman STAFF WRITER The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) held their first discussion–dubbed Café KITP–on Wednesday, April 2, to promote science through a modern cultural lens. The event was held at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club on State Street, and is planned to take place every two months. The event is meant to reach out to the people who are less familiar with the advancements of science, and plans to delve into modern science’s newest and most profound discoveries in new,
interactive ways. Last week’s Café KITP centered on the topic of stars and astronomy. The lead lecturer was Matteo Cantiello, an astrophysicist at KITP with a particular interest in the relationship between the theory of music and the stars above us. He began by explaining a few common facts about stars, such as the fact that they are powered by nuclear fusion, which turns lighter elements into heavier ones. This process, which heats our entire solar system, is one million times more efficient than burning fossil fuels. After the Big Bang, only light elements (such as hydrogen and lithium) were formed. In the early stages of the universe,
only stars formed heavier elements like carbon, a basic building block of life on Earth. When stars subsequently die, Cantiello explains, some of them will release their content into the space. For this reason, Cantiello says, “Stars are the building blocks of the universe.” Caniello also related stars to the strings on a guitar in a very unique way. When a guitar string is plucked freely, that is, without a finger holding it down, it vibrates with a “resonant frequency,” which is called the “first harmonic.” The sound differs depending on factors such as the material and length of the string. Similarly–but on a much more complex scale–stars have their own “resonant frequency” where oscillations will travel throughout the star. Their “oscillation modes,” as defined by Cantiello, are very complicated but can be “inscribed” into light waves that travel to Earth, which ultimately gives scientists like Cantiello the ability to see what is inside distant stars. Cantiello went on to describe the planet-finding satellite Kepler, which was launched in 2009. The purpose of the satellite is to find earth-like planets in the universe. Astoundingly, scientists working with Kepler recently estimated that on average, there is a planet orbiting every star in the Milky Way galaxy. Even more amazing is the notion that 20 percent of those planets are in the so-called “habitable zone,” meaning they are an appropriate distance away from the sun to feasibly contain liquid water and are about the same size as Earth. Considering that there are around 100 billion galaxies in the universe, the existence of planets that harbor life seems more and more probable. With this fascinating statistic, Matteo turned the talk to questions from the audience. One member of the crowd asked, “What is the relationship between science and religion, and do you think there can be both?” After a pause, Matteo replied, “I think that, above all, the scientific method must not be impaired. There are things we do not, as scientists, know, and some choose to insert God there, which is okay, but the science itself cannot be changed.” The evening was capped with the audience being invited to sing a song containing an allusion to the stars. Prizes were given out to those brave enough to stand up and sing. The next Café KITP will be held in two months, and the topic can be seen at www.kitp.ucsb.edu/outreach/cafe–kitp.
Society of Undergraduate Biologists Organizes Professor-Student Meet-and-Greet by Mimi Liu STAFF WRITER The Society of Undergraduate Biologists (SUB) hosted their biggest event thus far, the Spring Professor-Student Luncheon, on Friday, April 4, at Corwin Pavilion. “Do you want to get to know your Biology professors outside of the lecture hall and office hours?” the email invitation from SUB asked. About a dozen professors from the MCDB and EEMB departments attended this two-hour event, as well as close to 50 undergraduates. “We want to make you feel like more than just a name and a perm number,” Professor Kathy Foltz said. “At one point, all of us have had the same questions you have–and someone helped guide us.” Foltz, a member of the MCDB department, has been active in reaching out to and mentoring undergraduates. Her research involves studying the mechanisms controlling fertilization in marine invertebrates. “It’s always helpful to know who’s in your classes,” Marissa Perry, the programming chair of SUB says. “The Society of Undergraduate Biologists is useful for networking, and provides a support group for students.” Classes can contain up to hundreds of students, and it is often difficult to receive personalized attention in classes or to get to know professors outside of classes. “Biology is one of the biggest departments on campus, and it’s growing every year,” Abby Barry, the secretary of SUB said. “In my core classes, I often didn’t know how to reach out to other students.” Last spring, two friends and biology majors – Jessie Wong, and Kristina Gard, decided to take steps towards fixing this problem. “There was no biology club on campus,” Jessie Wong, co-chair of SUB says. “We just wanted a biology club where we could all meet and discuss classes, study together, and help each other out.” SUB is currently the only official biology club on campus. It had been established previously but had expired until Wong and
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Gard decided to revive it. “We wanted to turn the biology department into a community,” Barry said. “We want to get to where students and faculty both know who we are, and what SUB is about.” Earlier this year, SUB hosted several events, such as Freshman Welcome Week and an informative speaker event presented by Foltz about medical and graduate schools. The group plans to make the Spring Luncheon a bi-annual event, according to Barry.
“SUB usually holds meetings Wednesday at 8 p.m.,” Barry said. “We either plan upcoming events, watch and discuss TED talks, or host speakers.” For more information regarding the Society of Undergraduate Biologists, students can like their Facebook page or join the Facebook group. Future events will also be publicized through the Biology Department’s regular emails. The Society of Undergraduate Biologists can be reached at ucsbsub@gmail.com.
Photo by Lorenzo Basilio | Staff Photographer
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Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology Professor Ruth Finkelstein shares her experiences during the SUB Meet and Greet last Friday, April 4.
It’s always helpful to know who’s in your classes. The Society of Undergraduate Biologists is useful for networking, and provides a support group for students. -Marissa Perry, programming chair of SUB
Virtual Reality Headsets: Gaining a New Perspective on the Video Game Industry by Travis Taborek STAFF WRITER Any long-time gamer could tell you that an essential part of any game is its ability to immerse the player. Video games differ from other forms of art in that they are necessarily interactive experiences. The hallmark of a truly great game or the redeeming factor of an otherwise mediocre one lies in its capacity to fully engage the player and provide them with the necessary atmosphere and investment of being an active part of a story and environment, one in which their actions further the progression of the plot or otherwise have an impact on the fictional world they temporarily inhabit. Under these parameters it may initially seem obvious that the future of gaming platforms lies in the development of virtual reality consoles, yet it was not long ago that the concept was generally regarded as nothing more than either a far-off pipe dream or a running joke synonymous with frustrated ambition and failure (see Nintendo’s failed Virtual Boy console). The long-established stigma against previous attempts of simulating virtual reality as being gimmicky, nausea-inducing, or otherwise non-functional has done little to deter a legion of entrepreneurs, inventors, programmers, engineers, and game developers who have stood up to meet the challenge over the last couple years. The virtual gaming system that has garnered the most media attention and is generally regarded as the most likely candidate for ushering in a new era of gaming is known as the Oculus Rift.
Developed by the Irvine-based company Oculus VR, the Oculus Rift was initially funded by a Kickstarter campaign that gained over $2.1 million to start with in 2012. Although the headset is not intended to be available for consumer purchase until later this year, Oculus VR has sold over 60,000 developer kits worldwide, according to Tech Crunch, which has resulted in a library of over 200 games compatible with the device. These titles range from ports of already popular titles such as “Team Fortress 2” to novel experiences such as “Guillotine Simulator,” which runs the player through the experience of a public execution. The device is primarily intended to be used for PC gaming, and an improved version of the developer kit prototype, dubbed DK2 on Oculus VR’s main webpage, is set for release on July of this year. Lido Giovacchini, a third-year game design major at California State University at Monterey Bay, attended the annual Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco late last March, where he had the opportunity to participate in a two-game demonstration of the Oculus Rift. Giovacchini’s first experience with the device, a dog-fighting simulation that takes place in the universe of EVE Online, situates the player in a cockpit as they fight enemy ships. “My first thought was whoa!” said Giovacchini, when relating his first impressions, “you put on the headset and suddenly you are completely immersed.” His immediate impressions did not continue to be completely favorable, however. As he continued playing EVE Valkyrie, he noted having difficulty with the interface and targeting system, which he described as being occasionally overwhelming.
Oculus VR has not been without its share of negative press, however, due to Facebook’s announcement in late March that it intended to acquire the company with an offer of $400 million in cash and $1.6 billion in Facebook stock, according to The Escapist. The buyout provoked the public outcry of Oculus VR’s fan base, especially the original Kickstarter funders, who felt their contributions had been rendered pointless. The Oculus is not without its competition either. During this year’s Game Developer’s Conference, Sony Entertainment announced their own take on the virtual reality headset, under the working title of Project Morpheus, for the PlayStation 4, complete with working prototypes available for demonstration. Morpheus offers a comparable experience to that of Oculus Rift with a few notable deviations. According to the Verge, Project Morpheus’ field of vision is slightly smaller, offering 90 degrees of mobility compared to the Rift’s 100, and they both offer roughly the same axis rotation. They both offer the same resolution; however, Oculus has the advantage of utilizing OLED for a sharper image compared to Morpheus’ LED. Modern virtual reality systems for consumer use, being a fledgling industry, do not as of yet offer serious contenders for market distribution. However, alternatives do exist, such as the Infiniteye, which offers an impressive 210-degree field of vision. Another product still in beta testing is the Avegant Glyph, a multi-media home theater headset that uses a virtual retinal display to project images directly onto the eyes. As the industry takes shape, the current line of systems stands to change the way we see games as an interactive medium.