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Science & Technology

The Strange Saga of Columbia’s Nuclear Reactor
photo-illustration of Alma Mater holding atomic symbol
Science & Technology

The Strange Saga of Columbia’s Nuclear Reactor

A plan to build an atom-splitter in Mudd Hall divided the campus. Was the uproar an overreaction? 

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Beneath Bangladesh, a Tectonic Time Bomb
Illustration

Beneath Bangladesh, a Tectonic Time Bomb

The earthquake will come. No one can say when. But scientists warn that it could be huge

America’s Great Climate Migration Has Begun. Here’s What You Need to Know.
People sitting on a car during a flood

America’s Great Climate Migration Has Begun. Here’s What You Need to Know.

Columbia researchers are developing innovative ways to protect communities most vulnerable to floods and other disasters

25 Columbia Ideas and Innovations that Changed the World
Illustration of a person with a brain full of ideas

25 Columbia Ideas and Innovations that Changed the World

From antibiotics to blood banks, radio waves to video calls, we spotlight the biggest scientific breakthroughs in medicine, technology, and more

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The Gas Menagerie
A natural-gas drilling site in northeastern Pennsylvania
Science & Technology

The Gas Menagerie

In his documentary Gasland, Josh Fox '95CC warns that natural-gas extraction will have disastrous effects on our environment

How Low Can We Go?
Rendering of NYC land bridge between Lower Manhattan and Governor's Island
Science & Technology

How Low Can We Go?

Columbia researchers propose what would be the city’s most ambitious land-reclamation project yet

Known Unknowns
Illustration of brain
Science & Technology

Known Unknowns

A Columbia class called "Ignorance" invites researchers to publicly expose the gaps in their knowledge

Old-School Tools
Ancient hand axes
Science & Technology

Old-School Tools

The Homo erectus used advanced tool-making methods at least 300,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to a new study

Parks and Re-creation: African American Village Unearthed
Madeline Landry and Ashton Dorminvil researching the remains of Seneca Village
Science & Technology

Parks and Re-creation: African American Village Unearthed

Anthropologists dig up artifacts from Seneca Village, one of Manhattan's early African American settlements

New Crop City
Illustration of city with greenhouse buildings
Science & Technology

New Crop City

Can Dickson Despommier’s radical vision for urban agriculture take root in the United States?

Survival Islands
Beach on the Marshall Islands
Science & Technology

Survival Islands

If an entire nation is made uninhabitable by rising seas, what is owed to its people?

Waste-to-Fuel Project Launches in Ghana
Sewage treatment technicians in Accra, Ghana
Science & Technology

Waste-to-Fuel Project Launches in Ghana

Environmental engineer Kartik Chandran has developed an unusually efficient way to turn nitrogen and other organic compounds from human waste into biodiesel

In the Shape of a Fruit, a Blueprint for Robotics
Xi Chen
Science & Technology

In the Shape of a Fruit, a Blueprint for Robotics

What Bugs Mosquitoes?
Szabolcs Marka in lab
Science & Technology

What Bugs Mosquitoes?

Szabolcs Marka is developing a virtual mosquito net with infrared light vibrating at wavelengths that will irritate the insects

What Happened to Angkor?
Mountains in Cambodia
Science & Technology

What Happened to Angkor?

Columbia tree-ring scientists journey to a remote forest in Cambodia to search for clues about the demise of a lost civilization

Meet the Flockers
Cartoon illustration of anthropomorphized birds in a living room
Science & Technology

Meet the Flockers

At Columbia’s Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, weather meets feather, beak meets beaker, and the past becomes a forecast

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