#117 - Hydropanels, 3D printers in Space, and Ancient Roman Scrolls!
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Impact Update
We’re super stoked to start the planning process for our annual summer conference: The Impact Summit! This year’s summit will most likely be held in San Francisco, and as we gear up for the event, we’re on the lookout for volunteers who are interested in joining the summit planning team! If you’re interested in learning how to orchestrate and organize an awesome event and want to work work with awesome people in the process, apply here!
In the News
🔍 Shining lasers onto tellurite glass turns the glass into a kind of photovoltaic cell.
🔥 Some people set fire to a Waymo in San Francisco after it tried to drive down a street filled with folks celebrating the Lunar New Year.
💧 A marvelous feat of hydro-engineering just came online in Senegal the other week, providing water for over 100,00 households.
🛰️ The first metal 3D printer designed for use in space is on its way to the ISS! Coooool!
💊 Results from a clinical trial revealed that a pharma company in Boston may have successfully designed a drug that blocks pain receptors, but only in the peripheral nervous system, making it extremely unlikely to lead to opioid addictions.
Opportunities
Asylum Connect (an initiative of InReach) is looking for volunteer software engineers to help them achieve their goal of ensuring that people in the LGBTQIA+ community who face discrimination can be matched with adequate, verified resources. This is an unpaid position, but we think it’s super valuable, and we would be thrilled if someone from the Impact Labs family filled the position. Indicate your interest with this form.
Another pro bono position: Universal Giving is looking for a Java developer to help them with their website. They reach thousands of people and help coordinate volunteering opportunities and donation matching campaigns.
Calling all British engineers interested in climate! TransitionZero is looking for a software engineer to join their team. In their words “We are a climate analytics not-for-profit established in 2021. We build open energy transition products without usability compromises and partner with mission-aligned organisations to help scale a global standard for energy transition planning.”
CableLabs has open applications for their summer internships, and they’re looking for an AI security engineer. This is a good entry level position for people interested in the intersection of cybersecurity and AI applications. We believe that R&D labs like these could develop cascading technological innovations that radically improve the world.
What We’re Watching
New AI techniques might help us decipher the Herculaneum scrolls, which could completely upend our understanding of the Roman world.
These hydropanels can pull water out of thin air, and they’re more affordable and produce more water than most other commercially available units.
Texas’ renewable energy game is strong, with renewables sometimes powering the complete grid for hours at a time.
Quotes We Love
“I believe art is utterly important. It is one of the things that could save us.”
- Mary Oliver
That’s all for now! See you in your inbox in another 2 weeks!