Archived ECHO Projects
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Since 2001 the Echo project (Exploring and Collecting History Online) has used the Internet to collect and present the recent history of science, technology, and industry. As a laboratory for experimentation in this new and unperfected field, we have, among other objectives, worked to foster communication and dialogue among historians, scientists, engineers, doctors, and technologists. We also host free workshops and offer free consultation services to assist other historical practitioners in launching their own websites. In addition, Echo provides a centralized guide and portal for those seeking websites on the history of science and technology. This guide helps researchers find the exact information they need while also granting curious browsers a forum for exploration.
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Browsing Archived ECHO Projects by Author "The Echo Project"
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Item Building the Washington Metro(Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, 2007-02-26T20:44:56Z) The Echo Project; Schrag, Zachary M.This site tells the story of the Washington Metro, a 103-mile rapid transit system serving Washington, D.C., and the surrounding areas of Maryland and Virginia. Planning for Metro began in the 1950s, construction began in 1969, and the first segment opened for operation in 1976. Metro is one of the largest public-works projects ever built, and it is the second-busiest rail transit system in the United States. This site was researched and written by Zachary M. Schrag, author of The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006). Hosted at chnm.gmu.edu/mars/metro.Item Claude Shannon: the Man and His Impact(2007-02-26T20:45:02Z) RRCHNMThe Claude Shannon project seeks to preserve the memory of the man whose mathematical theories laid the groundwork for the digital communication technology underlying the Internet. Shannon’s ideas, initially applied to telephone switching systems and early computing, proved tremendously useful in other scientific fields including genetics, encryption, and quantum physics. Shannon, dubbed the father of modern information theory, also applied his theoretical work to one of his favorite hobbies, juggling. His famous juggling machines illustrated his creativity, inveterate tinkering and great powers of invention.Hosted at chnm.gmu.edu/mars/shannon.Item Day Trading(2007-02-19T18:35:36Z) The Echo ProjectOver the past forty years the world of finance has changed dramatically, and one way to trace this evolution is through the technology that mediates the interaction between man and his money. The advent of Instinet, the creation of Nasdaq, and the popularity of SOES, E*Trade, and Real Tick mark distinct and important periods in the history of stock market culture. The present-day evolutionary descendent of these technological developments is day trading — a phenomenon that has brought instant fortune and instant ruin to many by allowing individuals to control their own finances online in real time. Hosted at chnm.gmu.edu/mars/daytrading.Item Project Bionics(2007-02-19T18:17:36Z) The Echo ProjectAn important and timely undertaking, this medical history project aims to preserve and present the people, ideas and devices instrumental in the innovation and realization of artificial organs. Project Bionics' mission is: To recognize individual and corporate contributions to artificial organ history; To identify the pioneers and their contributions to improved quality and length of life; To document the experiences of scientists, engineers, clinicians and patients developing and using artificial organs; To link these past accomplishments to present and future developments; To encourage education, scholarship, and research on artificial organ history. Hosted at chnm.gmu.edu/mars/bionics.Item Remembering Columbia STS-107(2007-02-26T20:44:11Z) The Echo ProjectThe Columbia STS-107 mission lifted off on January 16, 2003, for a 17-day science mission featuring numerous microgravity experiments. Upon reentering the atmosphere on February 1, 2003, the Columbia orbiter suffered a catastrophic failure due to a breach that occurred during launch when falling foam from the External Tank struck the Reinforced Carbon Carbon panels on the underside of the left wing. The orbiter and its seven crewmembers (Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, David Brown, Laurel Blair Salton Clark, Michael P. Anderson, Ilan Ramon, and Kalpana Chawla) were lost approximately 15 minutes before Columbia was scheduled to touch down at Kennedy Space Center. This site presents information about the STS-107 flight, as well as information related to the accident and subsequent investigation by the formal Columbia Accident Investigation Board.Item Remembering the Moonwalk(2007-02-26T20:45:00Z)On July 20, 1969, at 10:56 pm (EDT), Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. Around the world, people stayed up late, woke up early, and stopped their work to watch their televisions or listen to their radios to witness this riveting milestone in the history of science and technology. Now, emblazoned in the popular consciousness, are Armstrong’s words: “That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” As part of the Echo Project, this website was intended to collect and preserve the public memory of the 1969 moon walk. Hosted at chnm.gmu.edu/mars/moonwalk.Item Remembering the Washington Metro(Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, 2006) The Echo Project; Schrag, Zachary M.This document records user-submitted responses to questions asking readers to share their memories about the Washington Metro between 2001 and 2006. It was an interactive part of an online exhibit, "Building the Washington Metro," archived here: http://hdl.handle.net/1920/2049. The site tells the story of the Washington Metro, a 103-mile rapid transit system serving Washington, D.C., and the surrounding areas of Maryland and Virginia. Planning for Metro began in the 1950s, construction began in 1969, and the first segment opened for operation in 1976. Metro is one of the largest public-works projects ever built, and it is the second-busiest rail transit system in the United States. The site was researched and written by Zachary M. Schrag, author of The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006). Previously hosted by the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at chnm.gmu.edu/mars/metro.Item The Accident at Three Mile Island(2007-02-26T20:45:15Z) CHNM; The Echo ProjectOn March 28, 1979, one of the reactors at Three Mile Island, a nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, overheated. A combination of human error and a string of technical failures triggered a partial meltdown of the plant’s radioactive core and the consequent leakage of radiation into the environment. In the dramatic days following the accident, engineers, scientists and mechanics worked to minimize further release of radiation and to prevent a total meltdown of the core. Meanwhile, state and federal government officials hurriedly tried to come up with emergency response measures. Two days after the accident, Governor Richard Thornburgh advised preschool children and pregnant women within five miles of the plant to evacuate the area. Residents within a ten-mile radius were asked to stay at home, turn off their air-conditioners, and close their windows. Confused and frightened by conflicting information and sensationalist media reports, more than 100,000 people fled the area. Twelve days after the accident, the Governor declared the situation under control. According to officials, “no significant amount” of radioactive iodine and cesium had leaked into the environment; a considerable amount of radioactive noble gases, however, had been released into the air.(1) An extensive clean up of the highly contaminated plant took more than a decade. The radioactive debris and the melted core were shipped to Washington State and Idaho. Three independent government commissions investigated the accident, and several public health studies were conducted. Most studies found no increase in cancer mortality rates of the population living within a five-mile zone of the plant, though an epidemiological study published in 1997 concluded that cancer rates among the population downwind of the plant have increased since 1979. The debate over the medical effects of the TMI accident continues.(2) The TMI partial meltdown, which was the worst accident at an American commercial nuclear power plant, both altered nuclear regulation policies in the United States and shook the public's confidence in nuclear technology. Echo developed an online survey, which invited people to share their thoughts about the TMI crisis. We aimed to collect entries from a broad spectrum of people, ranging from residents who lived near the plant to people who lived in a different part of the country (or in another country) and followed the events through the media. Our aim was to build a free and public archive that serves as a resource for activists and scholars alike. As part of the Echo Project, this website was intended to collect and preserve the public memory of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. Hosted at chnm.gmu.edu/mars/tmi.Item The History of USENET(2007-02-26T20:45:18Z) The Echo ProjectUsenet, an Internet discussion board pioneer, marks its 25th anniversary in 2004. Users from around the world have gathered at Usenet’s virtual roundtables to discuss topics ranging from aeronautics to zoology, in the process creating vibrant global communities surrounding thousands of subjects and fields. To honor Usenet’s place in the Internet revolution, Echo created this site to gather important recollections of Usenet history. Hosted at chnm.gmu.edu/mars/usenet.Item Video Store Project(2007-02-26T20:46:21Z) The Echo Project; Greenberg, JoshuaThis site was part of a larger dissertation project on the history of video retail and shifting attitudes toward motion pictures in America in the 1970s and 1980s. The person responsible for both the design and maintenance of the site (as well as the dissertation) is Joshua Greenberg, a PhD student in the Department of Science & Technology Studies at Cornell University. The site is hosted by the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, who also supported work on this project through workshop and grant opportunities. This research was also funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. This project was conducted under the supervision of the Cornell University Committee on Human Subjects.Item Women's Careers in Science and Engineering(2007-02-26T20:46:28Z)Echo's Women in Science and Engineering project at George Mason University documented the career experiences of women in science and engineering in recent memory. Our online survey allowed women to tell about their career's in their own words, recording the experiences of women scientists and engineers permanently. The ascent of women in science and engineering has been dramatic during the past decades. More women than ever enter undergraduate and graduate programs and pursue careers in science and engineering. Women's career experiences are still distinct, however, characterized by obstacles and various ways of discrimination. Our aim was to create a rich public database, serving as an educational resource for scientists, scholars, corporate managers and historians alike.