A Seminary Co-op Notable Book
A BBC Sky at Night Best Book

“An impressively comprehensive bird’s-eye view of a research topic that is both many decades established and yet still at the very cutting edge of astronomy and physics.”
—Katie Mack, Wall Street Journal

“Schilling has craftily combined his lucid and accessible descriptions of science with the personal story of those unlocking the finer details of the missing mass mystery. The result is enthralling…A captivating scientific thriller.”
—BBC Sky at Night

“Fascinating…A thorough and sometimes troubling account of the hunt for dark matter…You will come away with a very good understanding of how the universe works. Well, our universe, anyway.”
—Michael Brooks, New Scientist

When you train a telescope on outer space, you can see luminous galaxies, nebulae, stars, and planets. But if you add all that together, it constitutes only 15 percent of the matter in the universe. Despite decades of research, the nature of the remaining 85 percent is unknown. We call it dark matter.

Physicists have devised huge, sensitive instruments to search for dark matter, which may be unlike anything else in the cosmos—some unknown elementary particle. Yet so far dark matter has escaped every experiment. It is so elusive that some scientists are beginning to suspect there might be something wrong with our theories about gravity or with the current paradigms of cosmology. Govert Schilling interviews believers and heretics and paints a colorful picture of the history and current status of dark matter research. The Elephant in the Universe is a vivid tale of scientists puzzling their way toward the true nature of the universe.

The Research Laboratories of the GEC were conceived in 1916, started work in 1919 and moved to their well-known buildings in Wembley in 1922.

An empowering guide for students in STEMM that demystifies the process of securing undergraduate research experiences.
 
Conducting research is an important foundation for many undergraduates on STEMM career paths. But landing an extremely competitive research spot that is also an enriching experience involves knowing how to present yourself effectively and an awareness of your goals and expectations. In this book, an expert lab manager and a longtime principal investigator share their secrets for obtaining these coveted positions.
 
Offering advice to students in a wide variety of STEMM fields at both research-intensive universities and primarily undergraduate institutions, Getting In helps students navigate the hidden curriculum of academia, unofficial rules that disproportionately affect first-generation college students and those from low-income backgrounds and communities historically underrepresented in science. The authors provide not only an overview of STEMM research and lab opportunities but also specific strategies for the entire application process—including how to write emails that get noticed by busy professors, how to ask for a research position during office hours, and interview questions to prepare for—so students can claim their place in research settings.
 
With its emphasis on the many interpersonal and professional benefits of research experiences, Getting In equips all STEMM undergrads with the tools they need both to secure these valued positions and to develop habits that will build productive relationships with their future research mentors.

As an undergrad, Getting In will help you:
 

• determine how much time you can spend on research by evaluating your current activity level and goals.
• find the time to do research without giving up your social life or risking your GPA.
• avoid common mistakes in the search, application, or interview that make it harder to find a research experience.
• write emails that get you noticed by busy professors by customizing the included templates.
• prepare for tough interview questions so you’ll impress the interviewer with your answers, and be able to determine if the position is right for you.

As a research mentor, Getting In will help your students:
 

• navigate the hidden curriculum of finding a research experience in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEMM).
• set realistic expectations for their research experience.
• understand why conducting research requires effort and will include some failure and other challenges.
• be active participants in their success in the lab.

Life in a research lab can be daunting, especially for early-career scientists. Personal and professional hurdles abound in bench research, and this book by two seasoned lab professionals is here to help graduate students, postdocs, and staff scientists recognize stumbling blocks and avoid common pitfalls.
 
Building and maintaining a mentoring network, practicing self-care and having a life outside of the lab, understanding that what works perfectly for a labmate might not work for you—these are just a few of the strategies that lab manager and molecular biologist Paris H. Grey and PI and geneticist David G. Oppenheimer wished they had implemented far sooner in their careers. They also offer practical advice on managing research projects, sharing your work on social media, and attending conferences. Above all, they coach early-career scientists to avoid burnout and make the most of every lab experience to grow and learn.  
 

This important and first-of-its-kind collection addresses the emerging challenges in the field of media art preservation and exhibition, providing an outline for the training of professionals in this field. Since the emergence of time-based media such as film, video and digital technology, artists have used them to experiment with their potential. The resulting artworks, with their basis in rapidly developing technologies that cross over into other domains such as broadcasting and social media, have challenged the traditional infrastructures for the collection, preservation and exhibition of art. Addressing these challenges, the authors provide a historical and theoretical survey of the field, and introduce students to the challenges and difficulties of preserving and exhibiting media art through a series of first-hand case studies. Situated at the threshold between archival practices and film and media theory, it also makes a strong contribution to the growing literature on archive theory and archival practices.

Flexible Polyurethane (PUR) foams, in use since the 1950s and familiar from furniture upholstery and other domestic textiles, can be found in museum collections in numerous art and design objects. However, these exhibits pose severe conservation problems due to the ageing of the foam caused by photo-oxidation, leading to discoloration, loss of strength and fl exibility, and fi nally the crumbling of the object. This defi nitive work outlines the most up-to-date methods of restoring fl exibility of older foams and protecting new foams from degradation by coating them with stabilising systems acting effectively as a ‘sunblock’. The author, an experienced conservator, describes the research involved in developing the new methods and their impact on the visual, textural and chemical properties of treated PUR foams. One of the chapters details the preparation and application of the light stabilizing system to PUR foams.