This Week's Sci-light

A New Twist on Place-based Education...

 I was surfing the internet for organizations that support students interested in STEM when I came across an article by Judy Lin entitled, "UCLA Engineers work to keep Watts Towers from cracking."  For those of you not from LA, the Watts Towers are an iconic monument in south LA, created by an Italian immigrant, Simon Rodia, between 1921 and 1954.  For more history about the artist and the tower, visit the Watts Tower website.  (Even reading the history of this website will be interesting.)

From UCLA Today, August 21,2013

The tallest tower rises to the height of 99.5 feet and all are an intricate lattice work of concrete and steel ornamented with broken glass, sea shells, and tiles.  But there are problems.  This is where art meets science.  The towers are cracking and some of the ornamentation is falling away.  Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), that preserves the towers, has been working on a solution.  But repairs have not held.  A grant from the National Science Foundation brought in a team of UCLA engineers, Robert Nigbor and Ertugrul Taciroglu along with undergraduate and graduate students, to collect data and analyze the reasons for the problems. 

The referenced article from UCLA Today outlines the instruments used and documented tremors detected in the structure as well as recorded changes in even the properties of the tower that occur simply from sunrise to sunset. 

Beyond the fascination with history and the science of conservation, this article reminds me that the application of science is not just for far away places like the Great Barrier Reef or Yellowstone National Park.  It is right in our backyards and neighborhoods, available for brilliant minds who like the coal miner and construction worker by day and artist by night, Simon Rodia, can see potential in the 'found items' of our environments.

Use your knowledge of science, engineering, technology or mathematics to advance and protect your place in the world!