BEYOND THE SPICE: THE EARLY CONSUMPTION OF CINNAMON

Cinnamon is an extraordinary commodity which has come to represent Sri Lankan culture far beyond its economic value. As a plant that is native to the island, cinnamon has a long-standing association with Sri Lankan culture and identity. Its unique aroma and medicinal and edible qualities have for centuries enabled it to capture the imaginations of individuals and empires. Cinnamon has been used as a multi-purpose spice due to its medicinal, preservative and edible qualities. The focus of this paper is an investigation of the early consumption of cinnamon around the world, beyond the shores of Sri Lanka. This study will provide a better understanding of cinnamon that goes beyond the cookery pot, whether as a spice in curries, or a flavour in baking. This discussion of cinnamon as something more than an attractive spice extends to comments about its cultural value and meaning, rather than its commercial value

MemSPICE: Automated Simulation and Energy Estimation Framework for MAGIC-Based Logic-in-Memory

Existing logic-in-memory (LiM) research is limited to generating mappings and micro-operations. In this paper, we present~\emph{MemSPICE}, a novel framework that addresses this gap by automatically generating both the netlist and testbench needed to evaluate the LiM on a memristive crossbar. MemSPICE goes beyond conventional approaches by providing energy estimation scripts to calculate the precise energy consumption of the testbench at the SPICE level. We propose an automated framework that utilizes the mapping obtained from the SIMPLER tool to perform accurate energy estimation through SPICE simulations. To the best of our knowledge, no existing framework is capable of generating a SPICE netlist from a hardware description language. By offering a comprehensive solution for SPICE-based netlist generation, testbench creation, and accurate energy estimation, MemSPICE empowers researchers and engineers working on memristor-based LiM to enhance their understanding and optimization of energy usage in these systems. Finally, we tested the circuits from the ISCAS'85 benchmark on MemSPICE and conducted a detailed energy analysis.Comment: Accepted in ASP-DAC 202

The EPSRC's policy of responsible innovation from a trading zones perspective

Responsible innovation (RI) is gathering momentum as an academic and policy debate linking science and society. Advocates of RI in research policy argue that scientific research should be opened up at an early stage so that many actors and issues can steer innovation trajectories. If this is done, they suggest, new technologies will be more responsible in different ways, better aligned with what society wants, and mistakes of the past will be avoided. This paper analyses the dynamics of RI in policy and practice and makes recommendations for future development. More specifically, we draw on the theory of ‘trading zones’ developed by Peter Galison and use it to analyse two related processes: (i) the development and inclusion of RI in research policy at the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); (ii) the implementation of RI in relation to the Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE) project. Our analysis reveals an RI trading zone comprised of three quasi-autonomous traditions of the research domain – applied science, social science and research policy. It also shows how language and expertise are linking and coordinating these traditions in ways shaped by local conditions and the wider context of research. Building on such insights, we argue that a sensible goal for RI policy and practice at this stage is better local coordination of those involved and we suggest ways how this might be achieved

Deliberating stratospheric aerosols for climate geoengineering and the SPICE project

Increasing concerns about the narrowing window for averting dangerous climate change have prompted calls for research into geoengineering, alongside dialogue with the public regarding this as a possible response. We report results of the first public engagement study to explore the ethics and acceptability of stratospheric aerosol technology and a proposed field trial (the Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE) ‘pipe and balloon’ test bed) of components for an aerosol deployment mechanism. Although almost all of our participants were willing to allow the field trial to proceed, very few were comfortable with using stratospheric aerosols. This Perspective also discusses how these findings were used in a responsible innovation process for the SPICE project initiated by the UK’s research councils

The Integral Role of Tulsa Community College in the Mathematics and Science Preparation of Prospective Teachers

The role of the two-year college in the mathematics and science preparation of prospective teachers is fast becoming a prominent influence on teacher education programs across the country. This article describes the multifaceted role of Tulsa Community College (TCC), Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the preparation of prospective teachers in math and science. Since 1987 Tulsa Community College has hosted many events, activities, and programs aimed at the sciences. TCC activities/programs have focused on five areas: (1) preservice and inservice preparation; (2) summer teacher institutes supported by state and federal grants; (3) recruitment and emphasis on underrepresented groups; (4) parateacher associate degree/certification program; (5) workshops, seminars, and other activities. This article presents the TCC role by examining these five areas in terms of assessment of successful strategies, significant collaborations, and impact of the TCC teacher preparation activities on students and the community. Also presented are the implications for future TCC programs and the TCC vision for the math and science preparation of prospective teachers for the 21st century and beyond

Fully CMOS Memristor Based Chaotic Circuit

This paper demonstrates the design of a fully CMOS chaotic circuit consisting of only DDCC based memristor and inductance simulator. Our design is composed of these active blocks using CMOS 0.18 µm process technology with symmetric ±1.25 V supply voltages. A new single DDCC+ based topology is used as the inductance simulator. Simulation results verify that the design proposed satisfies both memristor properties and the chaotic behavior of the circuit. Simulations performed illustrate the success of the proposed design for the realization of CMOS based chaotic applications

Geoengineering as Collective Experimentation.

Geoengineering is defined as the 'deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth's climatic system with the aim of reducing global warming'. The technological proposals for doing this are highly speculative. Research is at an early stage, but there is a strong consensus that technologies would, if realisable, have profound and surprising ramifications. Geoengineering would seem to be an archetype of technology as social experiment, blurring lines that separate research from deployment and scientific knowledge from technological artefacts. Looking into the experimental systems of geoengineering, we can see the negotiation of what is known and unknown. The paper argues that, in renegotiating such systems, we can approach a new mode of governance-collective experimentation. This has important ramifications not just for how we imagine future geoengineering technologies, but also for how we govern geoengineering experiments currently under discussion

Reliable SPICE Simulations of Memristors, Memcapacitors and Meminductors

Memory circuit elements, namely memristive, memcapacitive and meminductive systems, are gaining considerable attention due to their ubiquity and use in diverse areas of science and technology. Their modeling within the most widely used environment, SPICE, is thus critical to make substantial progress in the design and analysis of complex circuits. Here, we present a collection of models of different memory circuit elements and provide a methodology for their accurate and reliable modeling in the SPICE environment. We also provide codes of these models written in the most popular SPICE versions (PSpice, LTspice, HSPICE) for the benefit of the reader. We expect this to be of great value to the growing community of scientists interested in the wide range of applications of memory circuit elements