Lab

Yes, come on in. This section of my Web site is the virtual alter ego of my laboratory, a place where really cool stuff is done and made.

 

 

Social Project "Rules"

 

Science Project "Foundation"

2013 -   2014

I'm currently planning for a worldwide social initiative of making certain complexities more easily understandable through accessible visualizations. This project has been much informed by my long sabbatical in Africa.

 

Appreciating the rising cost of attending one of the world's leading higher education institutions, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), I'm mobilizing alumnae and alumni in Switzerland for the establishment an endowed fellowship to support students on a financial need basis. For this purpose, a foundation with a starting endowment of more than CHF 50'000 is being established.

 

 

Science Project "3D Surface Morphometrics"

 

Public Advisory "Expeditions"

2012 -2014   2012 - 2014

My research hypothesizes that with an effective "whole 3D surface ordination" technique statistically significant variation in vertebrate morphologies can be quantified even from small, isolated and feature-poor post-cranial bone elements to permit the consistent identification of genera respectively species. I aim to find a new technique for using regular geometric morphometrics without resorting at all to anatomically homologous landmarks. Even the latest attempts to incorporate entire 3D surfaces in geometric morphometrics, such as Eigensurface Analysis (Polly and MacLeod), use at some step user-specified landmarks. These may not be placeable either because the bone is fragmentary or indeed does not have such features. Hence, I've chosen to test out the hypothesis with fossilized talus bones (pl. astragali, sg. astragalus) of vertebrates mainly from the Bovidae family from the limited geographical and temporal range of the African Pliocene and early Pleistocene epochs (5.3 to 1.4 million years into the deep past). Astragali have few anatomical features on which landmark points can be consistently placed but are central to locomotion and are often found during surface fossil surveys because of their compact form.

 

The Expeditions to Prehistoric Sites (XPS) Program is a national initiative under patronage of the National Museums of Kenya through which educational, tour, corporate, civic and other groups are led by Museum scientists, researchers and specialists to famous archeological sites throughout Kenya to learn about the deep history of humankind through immersive activities. The Program's objectives are to increase the public understanding of human origin and to foster an appreciation of the interdependence between human societies and the natural environment. It does so by providing innovative opportunities for a more direct and immediate participation of the general public in archaeology.Kenya is home of a large number of important archaeological sites and holds one of the world's largest and most diverse collection of fossils of human ancestors and artifacts from the dawn of time, documenting the fascinating history of humanity. This heritage has established the unique role of Kenya within Africa as the "Cradle of Humankind".

 

 

Science Project "Radio Sky"

 

Personal Activity "Electronic Circuits and Robotics"

2014 -   2013 -

I joined a group of amateur radio astronomers who are making precision, low noise observations of hydrogen emissions from the Milky Way. Our group uses the 3.7m parabolic dish telescope located near Andover, United Kingdom. The dish itself was originally used for the development of satellite television. Recent improvements to the H Line feed and LNA arrangements have yielded a system noise temperature of about 56K.

 

When I was a child, I loved to take things apart, play with my Maerklin model railroad and construct with Lego and Meccano. Like in many males of my generation, my inner child has never really grown up. I'm rather enjoying  myself in learning about electronic circuits as a member of the growing professional and amateur Arduino community and about robotics through the Mindstorms platform.