Portfolio 5

PORTFOLIO 5 Li Lu
Potential Unethical Abuses of Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing populations of genetically-identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. When we mention human cloning, we usually refer to the creation of a genetically identical copy of an existing or previously existing human.
Although the practice of cloning has been widespread for several thousands of years in the form of horticultural cloning, the recent technological advancements that have allowed for cloning of animals (and potentially humans) have been highly controversial. Many people believe it is unethical to fully develop the technology of human cloning due to the following two reasons.
Firstly, the procedure of asexual reproduction will totally destroy people’s concept of generation. Cloning breaks down the conventional pattern of procreation and change the traditional thought that females can only give birth to children after sexual intercourse with males. In this way, it can topple down people’s knowledge of moral principles and change our worldview. Once the sexual reproduction is expanded to asexual reproduction, it has a deep influence on every one and may lead to the disappearance of many fundamental relationships in the society such as husband and wife, or father and son. As a consequence, it results in a negation of humanity.
Secondly, human cloning does harm to people’s dignity. “Coping People” may be of great significance in the science and technological field, but it brings along a very important problem----it challenges human dignity. Human beings are produced in a lab just as common goods storing in a container, and the production----the so-called “cloning people” are not real humans, but an automatic machine with a human shape. Every life is unique and each of us has different personalities, which is totally exploited while cloning.
The two reasons above are the potential unethical abuses of human cloning. In my opinion, the best way to minimize these abuses is the prohibition of human cloning. After all, although it is technologically possible, it may not get a good result in the society. However, we can still benefit a lot from this advanced technology. For example, we can clone more food so that people can get rid of starvation. What is more, if we can manage this procedure well, we will be able to reconstruct functional DNA from extinct species and consequently, the diversity of the nature will recover, which has been a dream of human beings for decades.

Portolio 6

Article:
Converting Sunlight To Cheaper Energy
ScienceDaily (Aug. 25, 2008) — Scientists are working to convert sunlight to cheap electricity at South Dakota State University. Research scientists are working with new materials that can make devices used for converting sunlight to electricity cheaper and more efficient.

Assistant professor Qiquan Qiao in SDSU’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science said so-called organic photovoltaics, or OPVs, are less expensive to produce than traditional devices for harvesting solar energy.
Qiao and his SDSU colleagues also are working on organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs.
The new technology is sometimes referred to as “molecular electronics” or “organic electronics” — organic because it relies on carbon-based polymers and molecules as semiconductors rather than inorganic semiconductors such as silicon.
“Right now the challenge for photovoltaics is to make the technology less expensive,” Qiao said.
“Therefore, the objective is find new materials and novel device structures for cost-effective photovoltaic devices.
“The beauty of organic photovoltaics and organic LEDs is low cost and flexibility,” the researcher continued. “These devices can be fabricated by inexpensive, solution-based processing techniques similar to painting or printing."
“The ease of production brings costs down, while the mechanical flexibility of the materials opens up a wide range of applications,” Qiao concluded.
Organic photovoltaics and organic LEDs are made up of thin films of semiconducting organic compounds that can absorb photons of solar energy. Typically an organic polymer, or a long, flexible chain of carbon-based material, is used as a substrate on which semiconducting materials are applied as a solution using a technique similar to inkjet printing.
“The research at SDSU is focused on new materials with variable band gaps,” Qiao said.
“The band gap determines how much solar energy the photovoltaic device can absorb and convert into electricity.”
Qiao explained that visible sunlight contains only about 50 percent of the total solar energy. That means the sun is giving off just as much non-visible energy as visible energy.
“We’re working on synthesizing novel polymers with variable band gaps, including high, medium and low-band gap varieties, to absorb the full spectrum of sunlight. By this we can double the light harvesting or absorption,” Qiao said.
SDSU’s scientists plan to use the variable band gap polymers to build multi-junction polymer solar cells or photovoltaics.
These devices use multiple layers of polymer/fullerene films that are tuned to absorb different spectral regions of solar energy.
Ideally, photons that are not absorbed by the first film layer pass through to be absorbed by the following layers.
The devices can harvest photons from ultraviolet to visible to infrared in order to efficiently convert the full spectrum of solar energy to electricity.
SDSU scientists also work with organic light-emitting diodes focusing on developing novel materials and devices for full color displays.
“We are working to develop these new light-emitting and efficient, charge-transporting materials to improve the light-emitting efficiency of full color displays,” Qiao said.
Currently, LED technology is used mainly for signage displays. But in the future, as OLEDs become less expensive and more efficient, they may be used for residential lighting, for example.
The new technology will make it easy to insert lights into walls or ceilings. But instead of light bulbs, the lighting apparatus of the future may look more like a poster, Qiao said.
Qiao and his colleagues are funded in part by SDSU’s electrical engineering Ph.D. program and by National Science Foundation and South Dakota EPSCoR, the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.
In addition Qiao is one of about 40 faculty members from SDSU, the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and the University of South Dakota who have come together to form Photo Active Nanoscale Systems (PANS).
The primary purpose is developing photovoltaics, or devices that will directly convert light to electricity.

summary:
Scientists are working on organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) to convert sunlight to cheaper energy. These technologies, consisting of thin films of carbon-based polymers and molecules as semiconductors instead of traditional inorganic semiconductors, are cheaper to produce and have larger potentials due to their mechanical flexibility. However, to fully absorb the photons of solar energy, scientists have to overcome many challenges. First of all, in the process of OPVs, they have to focus on new materials with variable band gaps currently. According to one expert, Qiquan Qiao in this group, visible sunlight which we are now using contains only about 50 percent of the solar energy. So in order to capture the entire spectrum of sunlight, some scientists suggest using multiple layers of polymer films. They conceive photons that are not absorbed by the first film layer pass through to be absorbed by the following layers and in this way can all the spectrum of sunlight from ultraviolet to visible to infrared be converted in electricity. As to OLEDs, scientists need new materials to improve the light-emitting efficiency of full color displays. They are trying to expand the LED technology to residential lighting from the current signage displays. In the future, this new technology will be able to insert lights into walls or ceilings, making lighting apparatus look like a poster rather than light bulbs we use today. With the rapid development of technology, we can get more benefits from these environmentally friendly energy resources so that we will no longer have environmental problems and at the same time, the lack of fossil fuels will be solved as well. After reading this article, I feel very excited because from here we can see that the naissance of every new technology must rely on the development of materials. So as a student majoring in material science and technology, we can certainly make a difference in the future!

Reference:
Science Daily. (August 25, 2008, n.d.). Converting sunlight to cheaper energy. Retrieved September 20, 2008, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080821212854.html

Portfolio-4

Portfolio 4 Li Lu

Whenever I have to do my engineering assignment, I always find it a difficult and frustrating task. This is not only because to write an academic essay, we must have a certain amount of technical background and professional knowledge, but also because we have to form the academic style. Sometimes I really have something to write or to say, but what makes me crazy is to find the best way to show it in proper academic English. I have problems in writing logically and cohesively, so it is challenging for me to convince my readers.

While writing academic English, I have problems mainly in the following three aspects:

First, I find myself deeply influenced by my mother tongue. I grew up in China and received my previous education there. So my previous knowledge about engineering and techniques are all in Chinese sentence structures, deeply rooting in my head. When I am using that information, I am quite afraid that my sentences are heavily influenced by Chinese structure. In order to ensure that my readers canS understand them, I sometimes have to see the English sentences from the original sources very often, and in this way I may trap in the plagiarism.

Second, it is not easy to illustrate what I mean precisely. In an informal talk, a listener can always interrupt and ask for clarification and most of these conversations deal with topics of shared and developing ideas. However, in academic writing, this is not possible as we usually do with professional issues in a certain field which may not be familiar with ordinary people. So how to express my ideas as exactly as possible worries me a lot.

Third, it seems very confused for me to write according to the conventions of the subject. Because of the difficulty of the content, different fields have developed different habits of thought and expression to help communication. So as students, we have to learn the technical vocabulary of the subject, which takes a lot of efforts.

Besides the three challenges above, to fulfill the academic requirements, we have to get references and look for reliable sources, and I think it is also a nightmare because it may take a lot of time.

Although facing so many obstacles, I will not give up. I try to solve them by reading more academic essays and remember some useful sentence structures. Moreover, there are many sources in SELF and the book “Focus on Vocabulary” is especially designed for our vocabulary problems. By reading more about these books as well as participating in EF1471, I am sure I can have a great progress in writing academic English.

Portfolio 3

Portfolio 3 Li Lu
Science and technology on the front line against terrorism
Winning the war on terrorism and securing the homeland will require innovative science and technology solutions. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is in an excellent position to develop science and technology for strengthening America's ability to defend itself against terrorism.
For years, our scientists and engineers have worked on identifying and understanding proliferation and terrorism signatures, systems to collect materials, sensors to quantify and characterize these materials and techniques that assist in analyzing possible terrorism events. The Laboratory has made significant contributions to counterterrorism and infrastructure protection. We have teamed with organizations to ensure our air and seaports are protected from terrorist attacks. Around the globe and at home, we've trained border enforcement officials--as well as U.S. Customs inspectors--to thwart the smuggling of chemical, biological, or nuclear materials across borders.
Laying the groundwork for innovation
The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001 have elevated the need to develop and move technologies into use to combat terrorism and secure the homeland. As a leader in homeland security within the region and nationally, PNNL has established a Homeland Security Program Office to serve as a contact for our diverse homeland security-related research.
PNNL also is establishing the Northwest Center for Excellence for Homeland Security Science and Technology, which includes creating a national center for visual analytics in collaboration with the University of Washington, Washington State University and Oregon State University. In addition, the Laboratory is forming the Northwest Homeland Security Consortium with industry and government partners.
Finally, we're expanding capabilities at the Marine Sciences Laboratory in Sequim, Wash., to include a Coastal Security Institute. Through this institute, researchers will develop new technologies to meet national and international challenges associated with protecting marine and coastal environments.
Developing intelligence and counterintelligence tools
To anticipate the next generation of information visualization tools in today's information-rich environment, we need to integrate information from multiple sources, interpret the data and make decisions quickly. A key thrust at PNNL is Sensors and Information Analytics (SIA) --the processes for collecting, managing, synthesizing, analyzing and communicating raw data into knowledge, which enables discovery of the unexpected. Our aim with SIA is to develop breakthrough analytic technologies to improve the probability of detecting and preventing strategic surprise.
We're also leveraging our reputation as world leaders in atmospheric monitoring and research to support the nation's counterterrorism efforts. PNNL, in conjunction with the federal government, is making a large investment in developing infrared sensors to detect and identify chemicals in the atmosphere and on surfaces, and to measure aerosols, particulates, winds, water vapor and temperatures in the atmosphere. Developing these sensors is key to detecting proliferation of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.
Streamlining the military
PNNL is supporting the military as it moves from a Cold War environment with well-known adversaries to a warfare environment with many potential adversaries that are not well known, such as the many groups involved in the war in Iraq. We are helping the Army define its future support and logistics needs, both from an operations and technology standpoint.
In addition, we're helping the nation face the challenges associated with keeping weapons systems in inventory much longer than originally anticipated. By focusing on automated prognostics and diagnostics, we are inserting new technologies that allow weapons systems or subsystems to continuously monitor themselves and provide valuable information about their health and readiness. These technologies provide assurance that aging systems are in good working order or can alert people to potential problems so maintenance or repairs can be scheduled.
Taking a systems approach
The scientists and engineers behind our research are exceptional at accessing and integrating the broad technology base and capabilities that exist throughout PNNL. The power of this Laboratory is our ability to bring all of our capabilities together in multidisciplinary teams focused on our clients' needs.
Our ability to integrate across disciplines allows us to take a systems approach to solving problems. We can focus on one aspect of a problem or come up with a systems solution that addresses various aspects of the problem, ranging from early detection to decision-making and taking action.
Winning the war on terrorism and securing our homeland will take many years. To ensure that we grow our pool of scientists and engineers, who bring with them new ideas and new perspectives, we implemented a pilot program this year to train more people. The National Security Internship Program attracts and trains students in nuclear science, electrical engineering, computer science, physics and chemistry. Fostering young minds will ensure the security of this nation's future.
http://www.eurekalert.org/features/doe/2004-02/dnnl-sat021704.php
U.S. Department of Energy
RESEARCHNEWS


Summary:
This article mainly illustrates how Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) works in developing science and technology to strengthen America to defend itself against terrorism from the following five aspects. First of all, it helps to identify terrorism signatures. After receiving its training, border enforcement officials are more efficient in preventing smuggling of chemical or nuclear materials across borders, and its wonderful organizations with advanced systems and sensors can also protect air and seaports from being attacked. Secondly, PNNL is responsible to lay the groundwork for innovation. At this aspect, it not only provides contacts among many homeland security—related research centers but also is establishing its own department with the help of science, technology, industry and government to enable the country to meet the challenge of terrorism. Thirdly, PNNL can collect, manage, synthesize, analyze and communicate data from multiple sources and in this way can the next generation of information visualization tools be anticipated. Fourthly, apart from the functions mentioned above, the significant part it plays in rationalizing the military cannot be ignored, either. There are two points here: One is that with its assistance in defining future support and logistics needs, the Army is more capable in adapting to the warfare environment in which many potential adversaries rather than actual enemies just like the cold war environment exist; the other role it serves here is to keep weapons systems in inventory longer and check their health automatically through new technology. Last but not the least, PNNL can take a systems approach to solving problems, which means just focusing on one aspect of a problem but coming up with a solution addressing various aspects. In summary, with so many scientific and technical advantages, PNNL plays a significant role in helping America fight against terrorism.


Reference:
Science and technology on the front line against terrorism. (2004).
Retrieved February, 2004, from
http://www.eurekalert.org/features/doe/2004-02/dnnl-sat021704.php

Portfolio 2

Portfolio 2: Li Lu
Tense
Grammatical tense is a temporal linguistic quality expressing the time at, during, or over which a state or action denoted by a verb occurs. Since I first began to learn English, verb tense has become a great problem to me. So I will introduction something about tense in English now.
In English, there are three basic tenses: present, past, and future. Each has a perfect form, indicating completed action; each has a progressive form, indicating ongoing action; and each has a perfect progressive form, indicating ongoing action that will be completed at some definite time.
Here is a list of examples of these tenses and their definitions:
Simple Forms Progressive Forms Perfect Forms Perfect Progressive Forms
Present take/s am/is/are taking have/has taken have/has been taking
Past took was/were taking had taken had been taking
Future will/shall take will be taking will have taken will have been taking
Present Tense Simple form
Present tense expresses an unchanging, repeated, or reoccurring action or situation that exists only now. It can also represent a widespread truth.
Example Meaning
The mountains are tall and white. Unchanging action
Every year, the school council elects new members. Recurring action
Pb is the chemical symbol for lead. Widespread truth

Past Tense
Past tense expresses an action or situation that was started and finished in the past. Most past tense verbs end in -ed. The irregular verbs have special past tense forms which must be memorized.
Example Form
W.W.II ended in 1945. Regular -ed past
Ernest Hemmingway wrote "The Old Man and the Sea." Irregular form

Future Tense
Future tense expresses an action or situation that will occur in the future. This tense is formed by using will/shall with the simple form of the verb.
The speaker of the House will finish her term in May of 1998.
The future tense can also be expressed by using am, is, or are with going to.
The surgeon is going to perform the first bypass in Minnesota.
We can also use the present tense form with an adverb or adverbial phrase to show future time.
The president speaks tomorrow. (Tomorrow is a future time adverb.)

Progressive Forms

Present Progressive Tense
Present progressive tense describes an ongoing action that is happening at the same time the statement is written. This tense is formed by using am/is/are with the verb form ending in -ing.
The sociologist is examining the effects that racial discrimination has on society.

Past Progressive Tense
Past progressive tense describes a past action which was happening when another action occurred. This tense is formed by using was/were with the verb form ending in -ing.
The explorer was explaining the lastest discovery in Egypt when protests began on the streets.

Future Progressive Tense
Future progressive tense describes an ongoing or continuous action that will take place in the future. This tense is formed by using will be or shall be with the verb form ending in -ing.
Dr. Jones will be presenting ongoing research on sexist language next week.

Perfect Forms
Present Perfect Tense
Present perfect tense describes an action that happened at an indefinite time in the past or that began in the past and continues in the present.This tense is formed by using has/have with the past participle of the verb. Most past participles end in -ed. Irregular verbs have special past participles that must be memorized.

Example Meaning
The researchers have traveled tomany
countries in order to collect more At an indefinite time
significant data.
Women have voted in presidential elections since 1921. Continues in the present

Past Perfect Tense
Past perfect tense describes an action that took place in the past before another past action. This tense is formed by using had with the past participle of the verb.
By the time the troops arrived, the war had ended.

Future Perfect Tense
Future perfect tense describes an action that will occur in the future before some other action. This tense is formed by using will have with the past participle of the verb.
By the time the troops arrive, the combat group will have spent several weeks waiting.

Perfect Progressive Forms
Present Perfect Progressive
Present perfect progressive tense describes an action that began in the past, continues in the present, and may continue into the future. This tense is formed by using has/have been and the present participle of the verb (the verb form ending in -ing).
The CEO has been considering a transfer to the state of Texas where profits would be larger

Past Perfect Progressive
Past perfect progressive tense describes a past, ongoing action that was completed before some other past action. This tense is formed by using had been and the present perfect of the verb (the verb form ending in -ing).
Before the budget cuts, the students had been participating in many extracurricular activities.

Future Perfect Progressive
Future perfect progressive tense describes a future, ongoing action that will occur before some specified future time. This tense is formed by using will have been and the present participle of the verb (the verb form ending in -ing).
By the year 2020, linguists will have been studying and defining the Indo-European language family for more than 200 years.




Exercise:
The Great St. Bernard Pass 1 (connect) Switzerland to Italy. At 2473 meters, it is the highest mountain pass in Europe. The famous monastery of St. Bernard, which 2 (found) in the eleventh century, 3 (lie) about a mile away. For hundreds of years, St. Bernard dogs 4 (save) the lives of travelers crossing the dangerous Pass. These friendly dogs, which 5 (be) first bought from Asia, 6 (use) as watchdogs even in Roman times. Now that a tunnel 7 (be) built through the mountains, the Pass is less dangerous, but each year, the dogs 8 (be) still sent out into the snow whenever a traveler is in difficulty. Despite the new tunnel, there 9 (be) still a few people who rashly 10 (attempt) to cross the Pass on foot. During the summer months, the monastery is very busy, for it 11 (visit) by thousands of people 12 (cross) the Pass in cars. As there are so many people about, the dogs have to 13 (keep) in a special enclosure. In winter, however, life at the monastery is quite different. The temperature 14 (drop) and very few people 15 (attempt) to cross the Pass. The monks 16 (prefer) winter to summer for they have more privacy. The dogs 17 (have) greater freedom, too, for they 18 (allow) to wander outside their enclosure. The only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers who go there at Christmas and Easter. These young people, who love the peace of the mountains, always receive a warm welcome at St. Bernard’s monastery.

KEY:
1. connects 2.was founded 3.lies 4.have saved
5. were 6.were used 7.has been 8.are
9. are 10.attempt 11.is visited 12.crossing
13.be kept 14.drops 15.attempt 16.prefer
17. have 18.are allowed


The above is a simple explanation of the verb tenses. As long as we pay enough attention when we use them, I am sure we can learn it very well sooner or later!

Portfolio 1

Detection of Earthquakes: A Great Challenge for Human Beings
On May 12th, 2008, a terrible earthquake happened in Sichuan, China. When people are engaged in helping the unlucky compatriots, they all have the same questions in their hearts: “Didn’t we notice any exceptional things happening before the earthquake occurred? Why couldn’t we predict it?” After reading passage 1, I have some ideas about the detection of earthquakes. Actually, an accurate detection of earthquakes has long been a dream to people all over the world and no country has found anything really associated with the occurrence of earthquakes till now because of the insufficient convincing symptoms before an earthquake. There are two aspects to explain this. One is because that the gestation of an earthquake is extremely complicated and we have not fully understood its intrinsical principles yet just at the current technological level. As is known to all, to detect a particular earthquake is to predict the accurate time and location of it, and also we have to estimate its magnitude and the damage it will bring to us. However, all these things still rank high on the list of unmet challenges now. The other reason is that since the slight change caused by an earthquake usually happens in an underground circumstance and it is always of low probability, a reliable signal to show when and where an earthquake will occur is still unavailable because the existing predictions are mostly based on people’s living experiences, which are born with unavoidable limits. Even though we have noticed something strange happening before an earthquake, we cannot tell that an earthquake is about to come because some human behaviors, the change of environment and climate may also result in uncommon things. Although we are not able to make perfect detection of earthquakes at this moment, fortunately, with the development of science and technology, we are gradually getting to know more about such natural disasters and trying to find ways to avoid them or decrease their damages. I believe that it will not take long before we solve this global problem completely. Modern technology will surely overcome this challenge!