Good Morning 🌞

What does it really feel like to jump from the edge of space? This week, we’re revisiting one of the most extreme human feats ever attempted: Felix Baumgartner’s 2012 freefall from the stratosphere. He broke the sound barrier, spun into a near-disaster, and lived to tell the tale.

Innovation

Light Beam Powered Robots

Engineers at Rice University have created a soft robotic arm that operates entirely without internal electronics or wires, relying instead on laser light for control. The arm can perform tasks like navigating around obstacles or striking a ball with precision. “This was the first demonstration of real-time, reconfigurable, automated control over a light-responsive material for a soft robotic arm,” said Elizabeth Blackert, a Rice doctoral alumna and first author of the study. The key innovation lies in the use of azobenzene liquid crystal elastomer—a material that contracts under blue laser light and returns to its original shape when the light is turned off.

“When we shine a laser on one side of the material, the shrinking causes the material to bend in that direction. Our material bends toward laser light like a flower stem does toward sunlight,” Blackert explained. The team used a spatial light modulator to split a single laser beam into multiple beamlets, which can be precisely targeted, adjusted in intensity, and toggled on or off to control the robot's movement. Though the current version only moves in two dimensions and remains flat, future versions could operate in 3D and include integrated sensors or cameras.

To enable more complex motion, the researchers employed a convolutional neural network—an AI typically used for image recognition—to train the system on how various light patterns affect movement. “A major challenge in using soft materials for robots is they are either tethered or have very simple, predetermined functionality,” said Hanyu Zhu, assistant professor of materials science and nanoengineering. “Building remotely and arbitrarily programmable soft robots requires a unique blend of expertise involving materials development, optical system design, and machine learning capabilities,” he added. According to the team, this type of laser-guided soft robotics could be applied to everything from biomedical implants to industrial automation. “This is a step towards having safer, more capable robotics for various applications ranging from implantable biomedical devices to industrial robots that handle soft goods,” said Blackert.

Culture

Homelands are Returned!

In a historic land return, 76 square miles east of the Klamath River in Northern California have been transferred back to the Yurok Tribe, marking one of the largest such restitutions in U.S. history. The area includes Blue Creek, a vital cold-water tributary for coho and Chinook salmon, and land traditionally used by the Yurok for fishing and hunting before it was taken during the gold rush and later exploited by logging companies. Barry McCovey Jr., director of the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department, remembers sneaking past locked gates as a child to fish the waters. “To go from when I was a kid and 20 years ago even, from being afraid to go out there to having it be back in tribal hands … is incredible,” he told the Associated Press.

Now, the Yurok Tribe is leading restoration efforts across the region, focusing on prescribed burns, native prairie rehabilitation, removal of invasive species, and reversing damage from decades of industrial logging—including dismantling culverts and old logging roads. “And maybe all that’s not going to be done in my lifetime,” McCovey said. “But that’s fine, because I’m not doing this for myself.” The land return follows the tribe’s success in leading the removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River, a 20-year campaign that culminated last September. The removal reopened upstream spawning grounds, and by November, salmon had already returned. “Seeing salmon spawning above the former dams fills my heart,” said Yurok Chairman Joseph L. James. “Our salmon are coming home.”

The Yurok have also become the first tribe to co-manage a national park, partnering with the National Park Service at Redwoods National Park. A nearby land acquisition by Save the Redwoods League was handed to the Yurok for stewardship and has since been integrated into public trails. At Blue Creek, non-native conifers once planted for logging are being removed, with some repurposed as log jams to support wildlife habitats. The $56 million land deal was made possible by the nonprofit Western Rivers Conservancy, leveraging private capital, low-interest loans, tax credits, grants, and carbon credit sales. It forms part of the growing Land Back movement, which advocates for the return of ancestral tribal lands as a means to promote ecological restoration. So far, Land Back efforts have restored about 4,700 square miles across 15 states—roughly 1.5 times the size of Yellowstone National Park.

History

The Real Face of Queen Elizabeth I

Artist Mat Collishaw is working to strip back the polished image of Queen Elizabeth I, offering a portrait that confronts the tightly controlled branding she maintained throughout her reign. His latest project looks past the idealized "Mask of Youth" to ask: who was the real woman behind the crown?

Collishaw’s work points to the extreme precision with which Elizabeth was portrayed. According to Royal Museums Greenwich, her image—down to posture and expression—was choreographed to project power, youth, and stability. The "Mask of Youth" refers to the standardized portraits of Elizabeth I that erased aging and imperfection. These portraits weren’t just art—they were propaganda tools.

Using animatronic technology, Collishaw has built a mechanical mask that mimics Elizabeth’s face. The aim isn’t flattery, but a more lifelike, less filtered look at a queen whose image was carefully managed. Rather than just reshaping how Elizabeth looked, Collishaw’s work pushes viewers to consider how much of what we “know” about her was performance—and what might have been deliberately hidden.

Mind Stretchers

⁉️

I rise without motion,
I stand without rest.
Crowned in cold silence,
With secrets in my chest.
What am I?

Yesterday’s Mind Stretchers:

I stand still but slowly fade,
Giving light while I'm unmade.
The more I work, the less you'll see—
Until there's nothing left of me.
What am I? — A candle! Chris Hostetler got this correct early 🌞 

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