Friday, 27 August 2010
Thursday, 19 August 2010
Salam Ramadhan at UTMotion
APA DIA UTMotion...???
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UTMotion (http://utmotion.utm.my) merupakan sistem perkongsian audio dan video yang diwujudkan khas untuk warga UTM oleh Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) dengan sokongan rakan-rakan di CICT, HEK, PSZ dan lain-lain unit yang berkaitan. Ianya juga terbuka untuk ditonton oleh masyarakat luar kampus. Warga UTM (staf dan pelajar) boleh menggunakan akaun ACID masing-masing untuk memuat naik video yang ingin dikongsikan. Buat masa ini terdapat lebih daripada 500 video yang telah dimasukkan oleh warga kampus serta dikategorikan ke dalam 8 channel utama iaitu:
1. Creative Works
2. Library Resources
3. Research and Development
4. Student and Staff Activities
5. Teaching and Learning
6. University Events
7. University on Press
8. ZOOM UTM
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UTMotion (http://utmotion.utm.my) merupakan sistem perkongsian audio dan video yang diwujudkan khas untuk warga UTM oleh Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) dengan sokongan rakan-rakan di CICT, HEK, PSZ dan lain-lain unit yang berkaitan. Ianya juga terbuka untuk ditonton oleh masyarakat luar kampus. Warga UTM (staf dan pelajar) boleh menggunakan akaun ACID masing-masing untuk memuat naik video yang ingin dikongsikan. Buat masa ini terdapat lebih daripada 500 video yang telah dimasukkan oleh warga kampus serta dikategorikan ke dalam 8 channel utama iaitu:
1. Creative Works
2. Library Resources
3. Research and Development
4. Student and Staff Activities
5. Teaching and Learning
6. University Events
7. University on Press
8. ZOOM UTM
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Mathematicians rival octopus in World Cup final prediction
Mathematicians rival octopus in World Cup final prediction
A network representing England's game tactics.Using the mathematical technique called graph theory, they have revealed the gaping holes in England's tactics against Germany and made predictions about the Netherlands-Spain final that may just rival the psychic octopus.
For each national side, López Peña and Touchette have drawn up a network of passes between players throughout the tournament and analysed how these networks compare between teams. Touchette explains: "Each player in the network is given a score called centrality, which measures how vital they are to the network. The higher the centrality score, the bigger the impact if that player wasn't there. This method is most commonly used to make computer networks more robust, but it can also be used to plan football strategy."
The Netherlands-Spain prediction
The networks reveal that Spanish players have made a strikingly high number of passes in this tournament, almost 40% more than Germany and twice as many as the Dutch. "The team relies on swift passes that are well distributed among all players, especially between those playing mid-field," said López Peña.
Conversely, the Dutch game play is clearly offensive, involving a very low number of passes between players, most of which are aimed at the strikers. López Peña said: "The low number of passes shows the Dutch prefer quick attacks and counterstrikes rather than intricate playing. Their goals are often scored from set pieces such as free kicks and they use their physical presence to beat their opponents."
The England-Germany match
The analysis shows the English squad to have a balanced line-up with no single player more important than the team as a whole. López Peña said: "The good midfield work of Frank Lampard (number 8), Steven Gerrard (number 4) and Gareth Barry (number 14) doesn't appear to transfer very well to the forwards, with Wayne Rooney (number 10) receiving on average three times more passes than Jermain Defoe (number 19). This makes the English attack very predictable and easily stoppable by blocking Rooney, who is usually forced to give the ball back to Gerrard."
For more graphs and more information see the researchers' website.
Adapted from press release by Matt Parker and Simon Levey
Source: http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/may-aug10/football/index.html
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Research University Status for UTM
Thursday, 10 June 2010 07:48
Kuala Lumpur, June 10th: UTM was announced as a Research University by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak in parliament when he presented the 10th Malaysia Plan on June 10th, 2010.
In an interview with the UTM Vice Chancellor Prof. Dato Dr. Zaini Ujang, he expressed his utmost gratitude to the government on behalf of all the staff and students of UTM for the trust and recognition given to UTM as the new Research University in Malaysia in addition to the current four.
“This well deserved attainment is a timely acknowledgement of UTM’s effort and achievement as it undergoes a dynamic transformation process these past few years towards becoming an innovation-led Research University. The strategic action undertaken by the university is in tandem with Malaysia’s aspiration towards becoming a knowledge-based, innovation-led economy grounded in creativity and innovation with high value creation” said Zaini.
Zaini further highlighted that the transformation of UTM is based on organisational strategy, structure and culture, three vital elements crucial to the success of any organization. Through a comprehensive and integrated Strategic Plan, UTM functions and operates on a KPI-based management system with clear goals and targets set to achieve its strategic objectives.
Furthermore, through the transformation of its organisational structure in relation to teaching and research activities, UTM stays focused in creating a vibrant academic culture and fertile intellectual ecosystem that inspire creativity and innovation. At the same time, a stimulating research culture exists in UTM through the creation of 11Research Alliances in strategic disciplines in an effort to make publication more dynamic.
UTM is also actively engaged in research collaboration with renowned institutions such as Harvard University, MIT, Imperial College of London, University of Cambridge, Tokyo University and Meiji University on areas of mutual interests. To facilitate further engagement and networking in academic and research undertakings, international satellite offices have been established in Tokyo, and already in the pipeline are plans to establish satellite offices in Doha (Qatar), Madinah (Saudi Arabia), and in Boston (USA).
Zaini also highlights that UTM views innovation as central to its core value, with the innovation culture permeated across all dimensions of the university including teaching and learning, research and development, writing and publication, management and administration, staff and student development, consultancy and professional services, not to mention university social responsibility. Innovation is expedited by the university community through concerted effort and strong team spirit with shared mission and purpose.
It is worth noting that UTM has the highest number of postgraduate students in engineering and technology, which is one of the important components in contributing towards the development of an innovation-led economy.
UTM is also the three-time winner for the National Intellectual Property Award. This is viewed as necessary in response to the global challenge which requires universities to leapfrog in terms of innovation and high value creation to remain relevant and competitive.
In tandem with this, UTM has embarked on commercialisation efforts through branding and marketing of its expertise, research products and services by reengineering the UTM business wing into the UTM Holdings since June 1 this year. The UTM Innovation Centres have also been established in its main campus in Johor Bahru and International Campus in Kuala Lumpur as well as the future UTM Innovative Centre for Agritechnology for Bioprocessing in Pagoh.
At the same time, UTM’s continuous effort in global outreach and strategic alliances with established and renowned universities abroad has enhanced its visibility and reputation among peers in the region and also at international level.
Source: http://www.utm.my/news/news/284-research-university-status-for-utm.html
Kuala Lumpur, June 10th: UTM was announced as a Research University by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak in parliament when he presented the 10th Malaysia Plan on June 10th, 2010.
In an interview with the UTM Vice Chancellor Prof. Dato Dr. Zaini Ujang, he expressed his utmost gratitude to the government on behalf of all the staff and students of UTM for the trust and recognition given to UTM as the new Research University in Malaysia in addition to the current four.
“This well deserved attainment is a timely acknowledgement of UTM’s effort and achievement as it undergoes a dynamic transformation process these past few years towards becoming an innovation-led Research University. The strategic action undertaken by the university is in tandem with Malaysia’s aspiration towards becoming a knowledge-based, innovation-led economy grounded in creativity and innovation with high value creation” said Zaini.
Zaini further highlighted that the transformation of UTM is based on organisational strategy, structure and culture, three vital elements crucial to the success of any organization. Through a comprehensive and integrated Strategic Plan, UTM functions and operates on a KPI-based management system with clear goals and targets set to achieve its strategic objectives.
Furthermore, through the transformation of its organisational structure in relation to teaching and research activities, UTM stays focused in creating a vibrant academic culture and fertile intellectual ecosystem that inspire creativity and innovation. At the same time, a stimulating research culture exists in UTM through the creation of 11Research Alliances in strategic disciplines in an effort to make publication more dynamic.
UTM is also actively engaged in research collaboration with renowned institutions such as Harvard University, MIT, Imperial College of London, University of Cambridge, Tokyo University and Meiji University on areas of mutual interests. To facilitate further engagement and networking in academic and research undertakings, international satellite offices have been established in Tokyo, and already in the pipeline are plans to establish satellite offices in Doha (Qatar), Madinah (Saudi Arabia), and in Boston (USA).
Zaini also highlights that UTM views innovation as central to its core value, with the innovation culture permeated across all dimensions of the university including teaching and learning, research and development, writing and publication, management and administration, staff and student development, consultancy and professional services, not to mention university social responsibility. Innovation is expedited by the university community through concerted effort and strong team spirit with shared mission and purpose.
It is worth noting that UTM has the highest number of postgraduate students in engineering and technology, which is one of the important components in contributing towards the development of an innovation-led economy.
UTM is also the three-time winner for the National Intellectual Property Award. This is viewed as necessary in response to the global challenge which requires universities to leapfrog in terms of innovation and high value creation to remain relevant and competitive.
In tandem with this, UTM has embarked on commercialisation efforts through branding and marketing of its expertise, research products and services by reengineering the UTM business wing into the UTM Holdings since June 1 this year. The UTM Innovation Centres have also been established in its main campus in Johor Bahru and International Campus in Kuala Lumpur as well as the future UTM Innovative Centre for Agritechnology for Bioprocessing in Pagoh.
At the same time, UTM’s continuous effort in global outreach and strategic alliances with established and renowned universities abroad has enhanced its visibility and reputation among peers in the region and also at international level.
Source: http://www.utm.my/news/news/284-research-university-status-for-utm.html
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Call for 'time out'
The Star - Sunday May 9, 2010
Call for 'time out'
by Prof James Campbell
UNIVERSITY rankings seem notoriously fickle and wide open to dispute. Modern universities are diverse and complex places where a multitude of tasks and activities take place.
Some are easily measurable while others are more difficult to capture.
For critics of currently constituted university rankings, simply reducing this complexity to a number - university X is better than university Y - can be damaging.
The complexity of what different higher educational institutions offer to students, and the possibility that these institutions cater to students in different ways, is lost when we reduce this to a simple number in a rankings scale.
The notion that one can have such a precise and accurate rendition of a higher educational institution's value with reference to a ranking would be amusing, if not for the fact that the consequence of believing in such a measure is not so serious.
Dubious data
Finally, dubious data and even more dubious methods for collecting and assessing such data suggest that university rankings as currently constituted are open to serious doubt.
No better illustration of this issue can be found than in the current mea culpa put forward by Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, and deputy editor of Times Higher Education (THE) Magazine.
Baty's article which appeared in StarEducation last week under the heading “Flawed Rankings”, was an apology.
It may have come as a shock to some, but for those of us who have studied and debated the issue of university rankings over the years, the sentiments and information put in by Baty's article comes as no surprise.
He went on to point out that, “Those who have used our rankings to cast judgment on the state of Malaysian higher education (and many, in very senior positions have done so), must be told that the annual tables had some serious flaws - flaws which I have a responsibility to put right.”
Such honesty and forthright criticism is welcome and his openness has provided critics of the current rankings system with a real chance to make their case.
For example with respect to peer reviews as used by the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) survey he argues: “QS achieved only a tiny number of respondents to this survey.
“In 2009, around 3,500 people provided their responses – a fraction of the many millions of scholars throughout the world.”
Given the critique presented by Baty, there is a temptation for us to accept on face value the claim that the new Thomson Reuters survey instrument which THE plans to use will be “a massive improvement” over the QS survey instrument.
However, we should consider the response by Nunzio Quacquarelli of Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) to the criticisms offered of his methodology.
Quacquarelli writing in an article in the QS Top Universities website claimed that: “THE consistently praised the QS methodology throughout the six-year publishing collaboration.
Quacquarelli also interestingly points out the institutional shift that THE has made in changing from the QS system, which draws its data from with the Scopus database of Elsevier, to its new partner, the Thomson Reuters' academic citation database.
New ammunition
It seems that critics of THE are gaining new ammunition in their understanding of the limitations of rankings by the public dispute that has now erupted between THE and QS.
Quacquarelli in another article in the QS Top Universities website argues that “it seems that THE believes the only way to legitimise producing its own new rankings is to pretend dissatisfaction with QS”.
Are we seeing a business dispute and fight over market position, or a true argument over legitimate methodology? What are we to make of it all?
Perhaps rather than blindly accepting a new rankings system which may or may not “be a massive improvement”, we ought to take time to ponder why we follow rankings in the first place, and of what use they are to us.
In the Malaysian context, we need to ask ourselves: what is it that we want Malaysian higher educational institutions to do?
The extent to which rankings help Malaysian higher educational institutions reach their goals may be of some use.
However, we ought to pause and reflect the extent to which rankings produce behaviours that are counter-productive to institutional goals and interests.
Indeed, the confusion and uncertainty that surrounds current rankings, and the strong reservations that accompany our understanding of rankings, raises a few questions.
Is it not time for institutions of higher education to take charge of this debate?
Do we need “time out” from the current rankings discourse?
Should we not consider some breathing space to let rankings agencies get it right, rather than continuously participate in a system that from its most articulate advocates is deeply flawed?
Should we consider approaches more in keeping with the values, needs and interests of Asian universities such as the Alternative University Appraisal System, which is being developed and implemented by among others the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, TERI University in India, United Nations University-Institute of Advanced Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Yonsei University (Korea)?
It is clear that the critics of rankings, and in particular the critics of the THE rankings have been vindicated.
The question before the higher educational institutions in Malaysia is whether they rush headlong into accepting the new THE ranking game, or call for time out and insist that if rankings agencies want Malaysian participation, they should prove if their methods are valid and if they fit the Malaysian context.
The opportunity for Malaysian institutions to engage and lead this debate has been provided by the revelations of the THE and QS. It is an opportunity that may not present itself again.
Prof James Campbell who is from Deakin University in Australia, is a visiting researcher at Universiti Sains Malaysia's Centre for Policy Research and International Studies.
Source: Call for 'time out'
Call for 'time out'
by Prof James Campbell
UNIVERSITY rankings seem notoriously fickle and wide open to dispute. Modern universities are diverse and complex places where a multitude of tasks and activities take place.
Some are easily measurable while others are more difficult to capture.
For critics of currently constituted university rankings, simply reducing this complexity to a number - university X is better than university Y - can be damaging.
The complexity of what different higher educational institutions offer to students, and the possibility that these institutions cater to students in different ways, is lost when we reduce this to a simple number in a rankings scale.
The notion that one can have such a precise and accurate rendition of a higher educational institution's value with reference to a ranking would be amusing, if not for the fact that the consequence of believing in such a measure is not so serious.
Dubious data
Finally, dubious data and even more dubious methods for collecting and assessing such data suggest that university rankings as currently constituted are open to serious doubt.
No better illustration of this issue can be found than in the current mea culpa put forward by Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, and deputy editor of Times Higher Education (THE) Magazine.
Baty's article which appeared in StarEducation last week under the heading “Flawed Rankings”, was an apology.
It may have come as a shock to some, but for those of us who have studied and debated the issue of university rankings over the years, the sentiments and information put in by Baty's article comes as no surprise.
He went on to point out that, “Those who have used our rankings to cast judgment on the state of Malaysian higher education (and many, in very senior positions have done so), must be told that the annual tables had some serious flaws - flaws which I have a responsibility to put right.”
Such honesty and forthright criticism is welcome and his openness has provided critics of the current rankings system with a real chance to make their case.
For example with respect to peer reviews as used by the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) survey he argues: “QS achieved only a tiny number of respondents to this survey.
“In 2009, around 3,500 people provided their responses – a fraction of the many millions of scholars throughout the world.”
Given the critique presented by Baty, there is a temptation for us to accept on face value the claim that the new Thomson Reuters survey instrument which THE plans to use will be “a massive improvement” over the QS survey instrument.
However, we should consider the response by Nunzio Quacquarelli of Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) to the criticisms offered of his methodology.
Quacquarelli writing in an article in the QS Top Universities website claimed that: “THE consistently praised the QS methodology throughout the six-year publishing collaboration.
Quacquarelli also interestingly points out the institutional shift that THE has made in changing from the QS system, which draws its data from with the Scopus database of Elsevier, to its new partner, the Thomson Reuters' academic citation database.
New ammunition
It seems that critics of THE are gaining new ammunition in their understanding of the limitations of rankings by the public dispute that has now erupted between THE and QS.
Quacquarelli in another article in the QS Top Universities website argues that “it seems that THE believes the only way to legitimise producing its own new rankings is to pretend dissatisfaction with QS”.
Are we seeing a business dispute and fight over market position, or a true argument over legitimate methodology? What are we to make of it all?
Perhaps rather than blindly accepting a new rankings system which may or may not “be a massive improvement”, we ought to take time to ponder why we follow rankings in the first place, and of what use they are to us.
In the Malaysian context, we need to ask ourselves: what is it that we want Malaysian higher educational institutions to do?
The extent to which rankings help Malaysian higher educational institutions reach their goals may be of some use.
However, we ought to pause and reflect the extent to which rankings produce behaviours that are counter-productive to institutional goals and interests.
Indeed, the confusion and uncertainty that surrounds current rankings, and the strong reservations that accompany our understanding of rankings, raises a few questions.
Is it not time for institutions of higher education to take charge of this debate?
Do we need “time out” from the current rankings discourse?
Should we not consider some breathing space to let rankings agencies get it right, rather than continuously participate in a system that from its most articulate advocates is deeply flawed?
Should we consider approaches more in keeping with the values, needs and interests of Asian universities such as the Alternative University Appraisal System, which is being developed and implemented by among others the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, TERI University in India, United Nations University-Institute of Advanced Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Yonsei University (Korea)?
It is clear that the critics of rankings, and in particular the critics of the THE rankings have been vindicated.
The question before the higher educational institutions in Malaysia is whether they rush headlong into accepting the new THE ranking game, or call for time out and insist that if rankings agencies want Malaysian participation, they should prove if their methods are valid and if they fit the Malaysian context.
The opportunity for Malaysian institutions to engage and lead this debate has been provided by the revelations of the THE and QS. It is an opportunity that may not present itself again.
Prof James Campbell who is from Deakin University in Australia, is a visiting researcher at Universiti Sains Malaysia's Centre for Policy Research and International Studies.
Source: Call for 'time out'
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
MIT Open Courseware
Video Lectures - Lecture 10
Topics covered:
Concepts covered in this lecture begin with the restoring force of a spring (Hooke's Law) which leads to an equation of motion that is characteristic of a simple harmonic oscillator (SHO). Using the small angle approximation, a similar expression is reached for a pendulum.
Instructor/speaker:
Prof. Walter Lewin
Topics covered:
Concepts covered in this lecture begin with the restoring force of a spring (Hooke's Law) which leads to an equation of motion that is characteristic of a simple harmonic oscillator (SHO). Using the small angle approximation, a similar expression is reached for a pendulum.
Instructor/speaker:
Prof. Walter Lewin
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Monday, 18 January 2010
Ibn al Haytham - The First Scientist - Alhazen - Ibn al Haitham - Biography - Bradley Steffens
Ibn al Haytham - The First Scientist - Alhazen - Ibn al Haitham - Biography - Bradley Steffens
Known in the West as Alhazen, Alhacen, or Alhazeni, Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham was the first person to test hypotheses with verifiable experiments, developing the scientific method more than 200 years before European scholars learned of it—by reading his books.
Born in Basra in 965, Ibn al-Haitham first studied theology, trying unsuccessfully to resolve the differences between the Shi'ah and Sunnah sects. Ibn al-Haitham then turned his attention to the works of the ancient Greek philosophers and mathematicians, including Euclid and Archimedes. He completed the fragmentary Conics by Apollonius of Perga. Ibn al-Haitham was the first person to apply algebra to geometry, founding the branch of mathematics known as analytic geometry.
A devout Muslim, Ibn al-Haitham believed that human beings are flawed and only God is perfect. To discover the truth about nature, Ibn a-Haitham reasoned, one had to eliminate human opinion and allow the universe to speak for itself through physical experiments. "The seeker after truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them," the first scientist wrote, "but rather the one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration."
In his massive study of light and vision, Kitâb al-Manâzir (Book of Optics ), Ibn al-Haytham submitted every hypothesis to a physical test or mathematical proof. To test his hypothesis that "lights and colors do not blend in the air," for example, Ibn al-Haytham devised the world's first camera obscura, observed what happened when light rays intersected at its aperture, and recorded the results. Throughout his investigations, Ibn al-Haytham followed all the steps of the scientific method.
Kitab al-Manazir was translated into Latin as De aspectibus and attributed to Alhazen in the late thirteenth century in Spain. Copies of the book circulated throughout Europe. Roger Bacon, who sometimes is credited as the first scientist, wrote a summary of Kitab al-Manazir entitled Perspectiva (Optics) some two hundred years after the death of the scholar known as Alhazen.
Ibn al-Haytham conducted many of his experiments investigating the properties of light during a ten-year period when he was stripped of his possessions and imprisoned as a madman in Cairo. How Ibn al-Haytham came to be in Egypt, why he was judged insane, and how his discoveries launched the scientific revolution are just some of the questions Bradley Steffens answers in Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist, the world's first biography of the Muslim polymath.
Midwest Book Review calls Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist a "fine blend of history and science biography." Booklist concurs, praising Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist as a "clearly written introduction to Ibn al-Haytham, his society, and his contributions." Kirkus Reviews touts Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist as "an illuminating narrative...of a devout, brilliant polymath." Children's Literature adds, "Steffens deftly weaves an overview of Islamic history into this biography. Writing for The Fountain, Dr. Ertan Salik adds: "I congratulate Bradley Steffens for his beautiful work about Ibn al-Haytham and his advancement of experimental science."
Critics are not the only ones praising Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist; casual readers are lauding it as well. Abdul Jabbar Al-Shammari, the director of the Ibn al-Haitham Center for Science and Technology in Amman, Jordan, writes: "I enjoyed reading about the events in the life of the first scientist, Ibn al-Haitham. I congratulate Bradley Steffens on writing a fantastic and accurate book.” A. Nor of Ohio adds, "I find the book interesting, for it accords and recognizes a Muslim scientist his proper place as the first scientist who is responsible for advocating experimental work in verifying conceived scientific ideas (hypotheses)."
Source: Bradley Steffens at http://www.ibnalhaytham.net/index.em?pid=570430
Known in the West as Alhazen, Alhacen, or Alhazeni, Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham was the first person to test hypotheses with verifiable experiments, developing the scientific method more than 200 years before European scholars learned of it—by reading his books.
Born in Basra in 965, Ibn al-Haitham first studied theology, trying unsuccessfully to resolve the differences between the Shi'ah and Sunnah sects. Ibn al-Haitham then turned his attention to the works of the ancient Greek philosophers and mathematicians, including Euclid and Archimedes. He completed the fragmentary Conics by Apollonius of Perga. Ibn al-Haitham was the first person to apply algebra to geometry, founding the branch of mathematics known as analytic geometry.
A devout Muslim, Ibn al-Haitham believed that human beings are flawed and only God is perfect. To discover the truth about nature, Ibn a-Haitham reasoned, one had to eliminate human opinion and allow the universe to speak for itself through physical experiments. "The seeker after truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them," the first scientist wrote, "but rather the one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration."
In his massive study of light and vision, Kitâb al-Manâzir (Book of Optics ), Ibn al-Haytham submitted every hypothesis to a physical test or mathematical proof. To test his hypothesis that "lights and colors do not blend in the air," for example, Ibn al-Haytham devised the world's first camera obscura, observed what happened when light rays intersected at its aperture, and recorded the results. Throughout his investigations, Ibn al-Haytham followed all the steps of the scientific method.
Kitab al-Manazir was translated into Latin as De aspectibus and attributed to Alhazen in the late thirteenth century in Spain. Copies of the book circulated throughout Europe. Roger Bacon, who sometimes is credited as the first scientist, wrote a summary of Kitab al-Manazir entitled Perspectiva (Optics) some two hundred years after the death of the scholar known as Alhazen.
Ibn al-Haytham conducted many of his experiments investigating the properties of light during a ten-year period when he was stripped of his possessions and imprisoned as a madman in Cairo. How Ibn al-Haytham came to be in Egypt, why he was judged insane, and how his discoveries launched the scientific revolution are just some of the questions Bradley Steffens answers in Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist, the world's first biography of the Muslim polymath.
Midwest Book Review calls Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist a "fine blend of history and science biography." Booklist concurs, praising Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist as a "clearly written introduction to Ibn al-Haytham, his society, and his contributions." Kirkus Reviews touts Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist as "an illuminating narrative...of a devout, brilliant polymath." Children's Literature adds, "Steffens deftly weaves an overview of Islamic history into this biography. Writing for The Fountain, Dr. Ertan Salik adds: "I congratulate Bradley Steffens for his beautiful work about Ibn al-Haytham and his advancement of experimental science."
Critics are not the only ones praising Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist; casual readers are lauding it as well. Abdul Jabbar Al-Shammari, the director of the Ibn al-Haitham Center for Science and Technology in Amman, Jordan, writes: "I enjoyed reading about the events in the life of the first scientist, Ibn al-Haitham. I congratulate Bradley Steffens on writing a fantastic and accurate book.” A. Nor of Ohio adds, "I find the book interesting, for it accords and recognizes a Muslim scientist his proper place as the first scientist who is responsible for advocating experimental work in verifying conceived scientific ideas (hypotheses)."
Source: Bradley Steffens at http://www.ibnalhaytham.net/index.em?pid=570430
How to get your event on UTM website?
Any event and news about conference, roadshow, exhibition or any academic activity organized by research groups, faculty, department or centre in UTM can be displayed on 'Calendar of Events' and 'News' box on UTM Main Official Website (www.utm.my)
How to get your event on UTM website?
- Send email with graphics image (mini banner, etc.), date, time, venue and brief description of the event to:-
Ahmad Hilman Borhan - ahilman@utm.my
or
Nor Idiana binti Hamidi - idiana@utm.my
How to get your news on UTM website?
- Send email of complete news write-up (in English) to :-
Sabri Ahmad - sabri@utm.my
or
Rohizai bin Zainal - rohizai@utm.my
or
Rohizai bin Zainal - rohizai@utm.my
Thank you.
NOR IDIANA HAMIDI
IT OFFICER
IT OFFICER
WEB UNIT
OFFICE OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS
UTM
OFFICE OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS
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