Science in the making

Stanford Libraries’ annual donor appreciation program on April 7 featured three projects that highlight the research services of our science and engineering libraries. Whether it is freeing data from analog records, facilitating the 3D printing of microscope prototypes, or bringing public health resources to nomadic tribes in southern Ethiopia—they all have one common denominator—Stanford Libraries!

Amanda Whitmire, head of the Harold A. Miller Library, speaks about crowdsourcing and other efforts to unlock historical oceanographic data collected by students and researchers at Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove. Comparison of the historical data, often handwritten, with recent measurements have helped reveal gradual or dramatic changes in ocean conditions and climate.

Engineering librarians Zac Painter, Joseph Maloba Makokha, and Michael Nack present the Mobile Maker Cart containing the latest tools for tinkering and prototyping. The cart, which can be checked out and taken home by students from Stanford’s Terman Engineering Library, provided active research support during the pandemic when campus makerspaces were closed.

Stace Maples, manager of the Stanford Geospatial Center at Branner Earth Sciences Library, discusses a collaborative project with Dr. Hannah Binzen Wild to assess the need for maternal healthcare to the Nyangatom pastoralists of southern Ethiopia by using satellite imagery, large screen arrays, and crowdsourcing.