Blog - Mark Marchand blog

‘I’m being followed by a Moon shadow…’

Post published:August 25, 2017

(Headline: Lyric from "Moon Shadow," written and sung by Cat Stevens, 1971) It's Aug. 21, 2017, and much of the Western Hemisphere is glued to TVs, the sky, and computer screens. Let's meet our players for the afternoon's drama. First there's the sun, the fiery provider of heat and light to our precious planet. Our own personal star is hurtling through the cosmos at a relative speed of about 45,000 miles per hour. The second participant is our faithful satellite, the moon. At a distance of about 240,000 miles from its mother…

Detail of the surface of Pluto, from NASA' New Horizons space probe. 2016

Scientists gather in Boston to discuss research and battle anti-science political agenda

Post published:March 7, 2017

In the city that helped launched the great democracy experiment known as America, scientists from around the world gathered last month to discuss and share their latest research — and to draw battle lines against the ideological, anti-science platform of the new administration in Washington.

America’s ballparks: Living time capsules

Post published:January 16, 2017

They Built Them; I Came Major league baseball stadiums are like time capsules — living time capsules that preserve the game Americans have loved since the mid 19th century. Within stadium walls, dazzling plays come to pass, the sometimes plodding nine-inning script proceeds without time constraints, fans cheer, fans boo, beer and peanuts are consumed, one team wins, and one loses. All of this and more occurs without any thought to the world outside. Time capsules, after all, maintain things as they are for future generations to see. And with some exceptions,…

Climate Change: Avoiding the ‘natural variations’ pitfall

Post published:November 29, 2016

“Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” For over a century, this comment has served as the standard retort when a friend or colleague laments hot and humid weather or complains about a massive snow storm. But when University at Albany Interim President James R. Stellar uses it to talk about work at UAlbany’s Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Studies (DAES), he’s not grumbling. He uses it as a setup line before he talks about what he, his colleagues, and many others in academia are actually doing about the weather as…

L-R: Joe Lahiff, Phil Santoro, Ed Torres, and me, Mark Marchand

Descending Into Liverpool to discover The Beatles’ origins

Post published:September 20, 2016

As Joe and I walk into the vestibule of a rather ordinary house, Phil follows quickly and closes the house door behind us. The front door is already shut, so we're temporarily sealed in a confined space. Phil starts to lead us in an a cappella version of the early Beatles song, "I Saw Her Standing There." "Well, she was just 17 You know what I mean And the way she looked was way beyond compare So how could I dance with another (Ooh) When I saw her standing there..." We trail…