Magnitude and Direction — Issue #182
Single player air hockey, singing fish, and bamboo windows
Welcome to the latest installment of my bi-weekly newsletter, covering some of my favorite new developments in the fields of biotech, data science, engineering, and more. If this is your first issue, it's great to have you! For everyone else, thanks for coming back!
If you like this email, forward it to a friend (I can't encourage this enough) and if you're seeing it for the first time, subscribe here to get it regularly. As always, if you come across something cool you'd like to share, send me a note.
Notes
Nothing much to share in this edition’s Notes section, so we’ll move right on to the font: it’s called Lexend Giga.
Jobs
Lab Manager Opportunity (Part-Time)
Harlem Biospace is looking for a lab manager…
Hardware, Prototyping, and Fabrication
💨🏒 Air hockey now has 2-Player and 1-Player options.
🪱 This robot worm might be as good for your energy bill as regular worms are for your soil.
Software and Programming
🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘 Moon.
🧑💻 I don't know if it's ever been easier to interface with the web through code (at least using Python).
🎶🐟 Remember those wall-mounted fishes that would sing a song? Well, this one will sing any song you give it.
Science, Engineering, and Biomedicine
🎍 Planning to get new window treatments for the new year? You might want to consider using bamboo.
🔦🧲 You've probably used a magnet to "transform" another piece of metal into a magnet, but now it's possible to do the same trick using only light.
😴 Much like people, black holes appear to sometimes take a “nap” after they have a big meal.
Mapping, History, and Data Science
🪑🧍 Are you a sitter or a stander? (I'd like to think of myself as a hybrid, personally.)
🪫 Unfortunately, this is NYC-specific, but for those of you who do reside in the city and want to feel less guilty about the way you dispose of batteries and other e-waste, this interactive map will show you your closest safe drop-off location.
Events and Opportunities
Reports are coming in from all corners of the city that, quote, “we are so back”…
⭐ TOMORROW, 2/1 Mouthy Baby at Arlene’s Grocery (Plus a Special Surprise!). It’s been a minute since we’ve taken the stage, but following a winter break focused on new music (and a little bit of recording 👀) Mouthy Baby is back at one of our favorite venues, Arlene’s Grocery for a headlining show featuring a special announcement from the group. Whether you’re a longtime Teether or still looking to get out to a show, this is one you definitely can’t miss.
Note: Pre-sale tickets are currently sold out, but additional pre-sale tickets will go live at 10am tomorrow, and additional tickets will be available at the door (but plan to show up about an hour ahead of our 10pm set!)
Friday-Sunday, 2/7-2/9 Cornell AI Hackathon. Cornell, Cornell Tech, and other partners from the local technology ecosystem are bringing together minds of all kinds to dive into the frontiers of artificial intelligence. For this weekend-long hackathon, participants are encouraged to explore the applications, considerations and advantages of AI in academia. From pedagogy to education, from how we learn and what is taught, join for this novel game-changing hackathon where students work alongside university faculty, staff, and decision makers!
Monday, 2/10 NeuroNYC Happy Hour. Join the NeuroNYC community for a fun evening of networking and mingling in person. It's a great opportunity to meet fellow neuro enthusiasts and professionals in a relaxed setting. Whether you're working with, investing in, developing, using, or researching neurotechnology, this event is perfect for making new connections and sharing your passion. Come unwind after work and chat about all things brain-related with like-minded individuals.
Thursday, 2/13 Construction Robotics Summit: Automation at Work. Join Contech Alliance and New York Robotics Network for a can't miss discussion and exhibition on construction robotics. The Construction Robotics Summit: Automation at Work is a must-attend for anyone seeking to gain a comprehensive understanding of the transformative impact of robotics on the construction industry. Discover cutting-edge technologies that are reshaping the way we build and design, and explore how robotics is revolutionizing various aspects of construction, from site surveying and layout to material handling and quality control. Learn from industry experts and innovators about the latest trends, best practices, and real-world applications of robotics in construction projects of all scales.
Sunday, 2/16 DeSciNYC: The Science of Supplements. Dr. Kirten Parekh, a board-certified podiatric surgeon and clinical nutritionist who serves as CMO of Dosable and Co-Founder of Tangl and Klora, joins the DeSciNYC group to talk about the science and challenges behind supplementation, as well as some of the supplements that can potentially rise above the pseudo-scientific noise of the industry.
Wednesday, 2/19 Women in Robotics NYC Meetup. Join the NYC Women in Robotics group for an exciting event at local 3D printing manufacturer Makelab! This gathering is open to everyone—from seasoned robotics professionals to curious newcomers. The agenda for the evening will include hands-on workshops, networking opportunities, and food and drink.
Friday, 2/21 CUSP x Transit Techies | Christian Casazza on The Open Data Stack. The Center for Urban Science + Progress (CUSP) at NYU Tandon and Transit Techies welcome you to attend a talk by software engineer Christian Casazza on The Open Data Stack. Christian will speak about The Open Data Stack and show attendees how to use these open-source tools to ingest transit data from government data portals/3rd party APIs, run a SQL transformation pipeline, and visualize the results as a live web app (all for free from your laptop!). Then, learn how to work with an LLM like ChatGPT to write ETL code, build SQL queries, and create frontend apps.
Tuesday, 2/25 Charting a Path for Compliance in Life Sciences. Join PTP and AWS for an interactive and educational event tailored for biotech leaders seeking to ensure security compliance while leveraging the power of AWS. This session will dive into the critical elements of designing secure, scalable, and compliant systems for biotech operations, from research and development to clinical trials and beyond.
Wednesday, 2/26 NY Hardware Meetup. The 103rd iteration of New York’s long-running hard tech meetup heads over to City Tech in Downtown Brooklyn for a deep-dive into the medtech ecosystem. Featuring a lineup of speakers covering everything from BCI to 3D printing (including one speaker you might have heard of before… 👀), this can’t-miss meetup will span the bridge between two of NYC’s most exciting emerging fields.
Sunday, 3/2 Future of Care 2025: Innovation for the Next Generation. Organized by the medical and graduate students of Weill Cornell Medicine and open to attendees from all corners of the life sciences, the 2025 Future of Care conference will serve as a comprehensive introduction to the cutting-edge world of healthcare technology, biotechnology, and entrepreneurship. The conference will feature interactive sessions, expert speakers, and networking opportunities designed to inspire and educate those looking to make their mark in healthcare innovation. Whether you're a student eager to explore career possibilities or a clinician seeking to expand your involvement in medical entrepreneurship, Future of Care 2025 promises to be an unparalleled opportunity to connect, learn, and innovate.
Tuesday, 3/4 Sh!t Pitch Live. Kind of a pitch version of “two truths and a lie”, join a collection of founders, funders, and innovators for this nationally recognized pitch event — as seen on CNBC — where founders showcase their adaptability, communication skills, and more to top-tier investors. Three up-and-coming founders pitch their real Pre-Seed or Seed round ideas—plus one hilariously FAKE business concept to keep everyone on their toes. It’s the ultimate test of grit, creativity, and charm!
Friday-Sunday, 3/7-3/9 Cornell Tech Health Hackathon. One of the longest running health tech events in NYC is back for the tenth iteration of this annual hackathon. Over 100 students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and a variety of universities will descend upon NYC for a weekend of rapid proto-typing with guidance from industry experts. On Sunday teams demo their proof-of-concepts for awards and accolades. Applications to participate are still open and participants from any institution are welcome to join!
Friday-Sunday, 3/14-3/16 MIT Hacking Medicine Grand Hack. The start of spring means hackathon season and with it, the hackathon that started them all. Bringing together participants from around the country and world, this weekend-long hackathon will focus on three topic areas of health — Assistive Technology, Heart Health, and Transformative Intelligence — to inspire a marathon of prototyping, pitching, and problem-solving. Participants from all institutions are welcome to apply to this premier hackathon, which has on multiple occasions served as the jumping-off point for new healthcare technology ventures.
Other events coming up you think I should know about? Let me know here!
Map of the Month
🚗🚙⏱️ This is not a traditional map, but the NYC Congestion Pricing Tracker does certainly correspond to geographic locations and it might be one of the more important websites to check in with over the course of the next four weeks.
Odds & Ends
🚀🌌💸 Not even going to outer space can save you from the taxman.