Saturday Science Fairs: Journal Reviews - Shaping the next 50 years of STEM

This week’s Science Fair Saturday brings a triple-threat journal breakdown featuring three powerhouse research communities — from Toronto’s automated chemistry labs, to Bologna’s digital-twin heritage engineers, to Europe’s systems-biology education architects.

We’re diving into:

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⚙️ 1. ChemOS 2.0 — The Operating System of Tomorrow’s Self-Driving Labs

Featuring scientists from the University of Toronto, Vector Institute, Intel Labs, CIFAR, Acceleration Consortium;

Alán Aspuru-Guzik’s team shows how chemistry is entering a new era: automated synthesis robots, fog-computing orchestration, SiLA2 device control, and AI-driven experiment planning — all working together as a true laboratory OS.

🏛️ 2. Digital Twins for Cultural Heritage — Reproducibility for Museums of the Future

20+ scientists from Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna + Italy’s National Research Council;

This landmark 2025 paper proposes a fully reproducible workflow for 3D scanning, photogrammetry, metadata, and digital-twin creation. It’s the blueprint for building virtual museums, VR-ready exhibitions, and cultural preservation pipelines.

🧬 3. The European Curriculum of Systems Biology — Training the Next Generation of Interdisciplinary Scientists

25+ top researchers across Chalmers University, DKFZ, ETH Zürich, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam & more;

A full framework for what a real Systems Biology master’s program should teach: modeling, multiscale simulations, data integration, experimental workflows, and cross-disciplinary communication.

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Saturday Science Fairs are weekly hands-on technical sessions where members explore modern biotechnology, automation, data science, and experimental design. These are designed like mini research labs, focusing on applied science, engineering practice, and multidisciplinary problem-solving.

It’s a space for scientists, engineers, tinkerers, and technical learners to build, test, and analyze in an open, collaborative environment.

What Happens Each Saturday
• 🧪 Live demonstrations (tools, workflows, pipelines)
• 🔬 Group experiments or modeling sessions
• 📊 Data science breakout rooms (KNIME, ArcGIS, GIS, bioinformatics)
• 🤖 Prototyping & automation challenges
• 📚 Journal club & research review
• 🧩 Mini science competitions

Outcome

Participants walk away with:
• new technical skills
• hands-on experience with real tools
• progress on personal or group science projects
• portfolio pieces and reproducible workflows

It’s a community research lab without the lab—
a space to learn, test, create, and grow alongside other driven people.

Come with an idea or come to learn.
Either way, you leave with progress.