Computing Now: Two experts in the software systems used to control oil rigs examine the possibility, raised in a congressional hearing in June, that the faulty software either caused or failed to stop the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. Don Shafer, the chief safety and technology officer of the Athens Group, and Phillip Laplante, a professor of software engineering at the Pennsylvania State University, don’t reach any conclusions, but their analysis of what could have gone wrong with the calibration and operation of software-controlled alarms is instructive and illuminating.
The finding that the Saturnian moon may host layers of icy slush instead of a global ocean could change how planetary scientists think about other icy moons as well.
Modeling the shapes of tree branches, neurons, and blood vessels is a thorny problem, but researchers have just discovered that much of the math has already been done.
January 29, 2026 12:52 PM
Get PT in your inbox
PT The Week in Physics
A collection of PT's content from the previous week delivered every Monday.
One email per week
PT New Issue Alert
Be notified about the new issue with links to highlights and the full TOC.
One email per month
PT Webinars & White Papers
The latest webinars, white papers and other informational resources.
