18 Matching Annotations
  1. Sep 2024
    1. PROCERAM GmbH & Co. KG saw this challenge as an opportunity, and set itself the goal of mass-producing affordable aerogels. If they could create an affordable, non-combustible mineral insulation material that was a more effective insulator than alternative fossil-based materials, it would revolutionize the insulation sector.

      for - sustainable building manufacturer - PROCERAM GmbH & Co

  2. Jun 2023
    1. KIOSK BUILDERS IN DUBAI

      Shop smarter with NAAM Creations - the premier retail kiosk manufacturer! From mall kiosks to outdoor kiosks, we have the perfect solution for your needs. Let us customize your kiosk today and promote your brand to a whole new level.

  3. Jun 2022
    1. What happens in Indonesia when a textile manufacturer illegally dumps dye waste!

      This is an example of the manufacturer / consumer dualism created by the Industrial Revolution. Since manufacturers have become a separate layer that no longer exist as part of the community, as artisans once did, along with globalized capitalism, the consumer does not know the life history of the product being consumed. The sensory bubble limits what a consumer can directly know.

      One answer is to promote a trend back to local and artisan production. Relocalizing production can empower consumers to inspect producers of the products they consume, holding them accountable.

      Another answer is to develop globalized trust networks of producers who are truly ethical.

      Cosmolocal production has networks by the commons nature can promote such values.

  4. Feb 2022
    1. Prof Claire J. Horwell 😷. (2021, December 2). With UK regs changing to mandatory #masks, here’s a short 🧵to answer the question: Can you wear a disposable #facemask more than once? The answer is YES. Many manufacturers state that masks should be disposed of after 8 hours but this is not true. Read on to find out why ... 1/ https://t.co/f9jXCKq3LT [Tweet]. @claire_horwell. https://twitter.com/claire_horwell/status/1466400270137630727

  5. Jan 2022
  6. Nov 2021
  7. Jul 2021
  8. May 2021
  9. Jun 2020
  10. Dec 2019
  11. Jun 2016
    1. Title: The dying breed of craftsmen behind the tools that make scientific research possible - LA Times

      Keywords: government-funded research opened, snake glass coils, fuse glass beakers, organic chemistry, research hubs, world war, experienced glassblowers, glassblowers remain, church laboratory, befallen glassblowing, glass manufacturer, glass technicians, cost-cutting world, jobs tend, entry-level jobs

      Summary: Hunkered down in the sub-basement of the Norman W. Church Laboratory for Chemical Biology, underneath a campus humming with quantum teleportation devices, gravity wave detectors and neural prosthetics, Rick Gerhart chipped away at a broken flask.<br>Peering into the dancing flames, he examined his work for wrinkles — imperfections invisible to the untrained eye.<br>“It not only should be functional,” he said, smoothing the rim with a carbon rod, “it has to look good.”<br>Here in Caltech’s one-man glass shop, where Gerhart transforms a researcher’s doodles into intricate laboratory equipment, craftsmanship is king.<br>In a cost-cutting world of machines and assembly plants, few glassblowers remain with the level of mastery needed at research hubs like Caltech.<br>“He’s a somewhat dying breed,” said Sarah Reisman, who relied on Gerhart to create 20 maze-like contraptions for her synthetic organic chemistry lab.<br>Rick Gerhart, scientific glass blower at Caltech, has been helping to make scientific research possible at the campus since 1992.<br>(Dillon Deaton/Los Angeles Times)<br>Similar fates have befallen glassblowing at UCLA and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.<br>Across the U.S., those who land such jobs tend to stay until retirement.<br>He chuckled: “Looks like we have to steal somebody.”<br>To master scientific glassblowing, proper training and apprenticeships are key.<br>In addition to the hands-on training, which requires a knack for precision as well as coordination, students must take courses in organic chemistry, math and computer drawing.<br>So it really takes a long time to get to a position like Rick’s.”<br>Gerhart enrolled in the Salem program in 1965, after dropping out of college to give his father’s profession a try.<br>The craft, which dates back to alchemy in the 2nd century, took hold in America by the 1930s and 1940s, after World War I cut off glassware supply from Germany.<br>The profession peaked after World War II, when booms in oil and government-funded research opened up numerous glassblowing jobs in many a lab.<br>At first, Gerhart hopped around a number of firms and worked alongside more experienced glassblowers at TRW Inc. and UCLA.<br>When he settled at Caltech in 1992, the glassblower before him handed over the key to the shop and said, “Good luck.” On his own, Gerhart pieced together his patchwork of experience to twist and fuse glass beakers and snake glass coils over vacuum chambers.<br>“That’s when I really started learning.”<br>Social media videos have sparked new interest in the craft, Briening said.<br>But while his students have no trouble getting entry-level jobs at companies like Chemglass Life Sciences, a glass manufacturer, and General Electric Global Research, rarely are universities willing to budget the overhead costs for more than one glassblower, if any.<br>“Years ago, all the universities had two or three people,” Briening said.<br>One of the few resources left for the next generation is the American Scientific Glassblowers Society, a close-knit group that hosts national workshops and swaps ideas when a researcher’s custom order stumps one of its members.<br>Its members also serve as Caltech’s best — and possibly only — options once Gerhart leaves.<br>“Rick’s one of those glass technicians that I put in the top 5%,” Ponton said.<br>