It was a rainy but cozy evening last night at Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre, where an international group of primary and secondary school teachers, and Finnish education experts gathered for a ‘pikkujoulu’ (little Christmas in Finnish).

The highlights of the evening aside from the warm glögi (a Scandinavian drink of wine or fruit juice, laced with sugar, spices: cinnamon, cloves, etc.) was a presentation on Universarium, followed by a film “The Search for Life - Are We Alone?”, narrated in English by Harrison Ford.

Produced by the American Museum of Natural History in cooperation with NASA, a piece of sky came alive at Heureka’s Vattenfall Planetarium, one of the most modern digital planetariums in Europe. The biggest scientific question tackled in the short narrive was: Is there life anywhere else in the universe? The exciting 3D view took me to a few minutes of historical excerpts of mankind while being told that "people have been searching for signs of life from outer space, with no results so far." The pictures from the American Museum of Natural History provided by Heureka shows the most dramatic, breathtaking images: 

Jupiter and its moon Europa 

NASA’s Pathfinder probe on planet Mars

The amazing recent discovery of exoplanets

The synopsis: “The film begins the search for life from the depths of the oceans where sunlight cannot reach. For a long time people imagined that all living organisms obtain their energy from the sun. This perception was proven wrong in the 1970s after the discovery of the so-called black smokers, deep-sea hydrothermal vents surrounded by a thriving and diverse population of organisms living on chemical energy. If life can thrive on the ocean floor, can it survive in other extreme conditions? “ (Attached in this entry is a scientific paper produced on " Is there life anywhere else in the universe? ")

“Science Changing the World”

Meanwhile, visitors to Heureka will surely appreciate the new agreement it recently forged with European science centres to host an exhibit about the greatest achievements of science and their impact on society and everyday life. The exhibit featuring four scientific themes: Life and Mind, Towards Better Health, System Earth and Beyond the Visible, will also present research processes, scientists, and highlight ethical issues.

One of Heureka’s most famous visitors this year is The Millennium Technology Prize 2008 winner, Professor Robert Langer, who gave a lecture “How to win the Millennium Technology Prize?” (“How my innovation came into existence; the trials and triumphs of a young researcher – The applications of my innovation today and in the future”).

According to his Millennium Technology Prize profile: “Dr. Robert Langer has been cited as one of history's most prolific inventors in medicine. He holds 380 patents, has published 680 articles and 13 books, has licensed products to about 80 companies, and is known as the father of controlled drug delivery and tissue engineering. He also discovered advanced drug delivery systems that have had a significant impact on fighting cancer, heart disease, mental health illnesses and numerous other diseases.”

Professor Langer it seems was interested in educational achievement early on. “I got my degree in chemical engineering in 1974 and almost all my colleagues went into the oil industry, because there were so many jobs there at that time. But I wasn’t so excited about the industry - I was interested in education,” recounted Prof. Langer in the website reference.

At the awards ceremony of the Millennium Technology Prize at Finlandia House, Helsinki, Finland on July 11, 2008. In this photo, the writer with Professor David Payne, Millennium Technology Prize Laureate for "outstanding contributions to telecommunications through the invention and development of the erbium-doped fibre amplifier (EDFA) which enabled the global high-capacity optical fibre network.” In the next photo is Dr. Robert Langer (middle), and an unidentified guest. Dr. Langer is the Millennium Technology Prize Winner "for his invention and development of innovative biomaterials for controlled drug release and tissue regeneration that have significantly improved human health.”

Attached in this entry is the Millennium Technology Prize profile of Dr. Robert Langer. I hope you will enjoy reading them!