In what promises to be a screwball ceremony at Harvard University tomorrow night, the science-humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research will award its 15th annual Ig Nobel Prizes, which pay tribute to research that "cannot or should not be reproduced."
The Igs, as they are known, honor achievements “that first make people laugh and then make them think,â€? according to Marc A. Abrahams, editor of the magazine. Past prizes have celebrated the pink plastic flamingo, Murphy’s Law, the comb-over, and the first scientifically recorded case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck. The awards are timed to coincide, more or less, with the Nobel Prize announcements, and they are given to proud (or embarrassed) recipients by actual Nobel laureates from past years.
Tomorrow night’s ceremony will feature a mini-opera about infinity, a Win-a-Date-With-a-Nobel-Laureate contest, and the group’s traditional 24/7 lectures, in which scholars describe their fields of research first in 24 seconds and then in 7 words.
A Webcast of the event, which will take place in Harvard’s Sanders Theater, will begin at 7:15 p.m. U.S. Eastern time.
Developing online and blended learning programs requires research and collaboration. Learn how top technology companies are partnering with campuses across the country to advance online learning as it becomes an increasingly important aspect of higher education.