Save the date!

Found on the web. On twitter more precisely. Will you be going?

Save the Date! Le Congrès International UHPFRC se tiendra à Montpellier du 2 au 4 oct.

https://uhpfrc2017.sciencesconf.org/ 

#Béton #Innovation

Hurricane Harvey

In this article, the unfolding map is very impressive. Have a look at it.

https://qz.com/1064364/hurricane-harvey-houstons-flooding-made-worse-by-unchecked-urban-development-and-wetland-destruction/

WET LAND NEEDS WETLANDS

Houston’s flooding shows what happens when you ignore science and let developers run rampant

Since Houston, Texas was founded nearly two centuries ago, Houstonians have been treating its wetlands as stinky, mosquito-infested blots in need of drainage.
Even after it became a widely accepted scientific fact that wetlands can soak up large amounts of flood water, the city continued to pave over them. The watershed of the White Oak Bayou river, which includes much of northwest Houston, is a case in point. From 1992 to 2010, this area lost more than 70% of its wetlands

Print flexible solar cells

http://www.nature.com/news/print-flexible-solar-cells-1.21019

What the future holds!

Say what you think in the comments!

(On a le droit de rêver, non?)
Soon, well, January 11th. I can't wait!

The first woman to build a skyscraper. http://www.chicagoarchitecture.info/Building/913/Aqua.php http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/garden/jeanne-gang-the-chicago-architect-qa.html Pupils,at 01:18 in, Jeanne Gang speaks of Europe. What does she say about it? If you tell us in class, you'll be rewarded!

ONKALO = hiding place

A radioactive tale with giddy perspectives Nuclear waste is produced daily and has been for 50 years. The need for CO2-neutral energy sources is likely to increase the production in the coming decades. So far, all nuclear waste is in interim storages - most of which are on the surface, vulnerable to natural or man-made disasters. Safe and permanent ways to store nuclear waste are vital, and the world's very first attempt at a permanent repository is presently being dug into solid rock in Finland. The facility must last 100.000 years and be able to withstand climate change, seismic activity, rising sea levels, erosion, and ground water leakages that could spread radioactive and radiotoxic contamination. However, while the past can help us predict physical and geological future scenarios, it offers little help when it comes to human behaviour and cultural scenarios. What do we know about society 100, 500 or 1000 years from now? How will society be structured and who will be in charge of the facility? After an ice age or two - will anybody remember that it is there? Will anybody understand the nature of its payload? Do we have a moral obligation to warn future generations of the waste we left behind? How? How and where do we store the warning? Hopefully, someone will have come up with some answers by the time the facility is finished - 120 years from now. With stunning images from the facility, thought provoking interviews with the experts dealing with these questions, and a film inside the film aimed at the future, Into Eternity will take us on a journey filled with wonder, humour, and deadly serious questions.

Nuclear energy facilities

! A facility is a building, a place where you


PS: five definitions of the word "facility". Which one corresponds to its use in the video?
1: the quality of being easily performed
2: ease in performance : aptitude
3: readiness of compliance
4 a (1) : something that makes an action, operation, or course of conduct easier —usually used in plural
(2) : lavatory 2 —often used in plural
b : something (as a hospital) that is built, installed, or established to serve a particular purpose

Here is a link to a video

http://vimeo.com/5509898

Biogen Idec Contractor Safety - Cambridge from Matt Ferguson on Vimeo.

BIOGEN IDEC is not a building company! It is a pharmaceutical company
but their installations require state-of-the-art equipment and their safety regulations is very demanding.
Listen to the first three minutes of the video and say
1) What they transform discovery into?
2) What do they say about their products?
3) What do they say about their employees?
4) What are they proud of?
5) What do they strive for as far as their workplace is concerned?
6)Where should you wear your badge?
7) What should you do with it?
8) Where should materials be brought in?
9) Who must provide you with personal protective training and equipment?
10) What is the equipment composed of?
11) What is forbidden?
12) What is GMP ?
If you manage to answer those questions about the first three minutes, why don't you prepare other questions for your classmates with the remaining 11 minutes of the video?!