Two reports from 2024 and two sessions Editor in Chief Adam Bruns experienced at the ECMC Foundation’s CTE Leadership Collaborative Convening in the fall shed light on paths forward for career pathways.
In an update of a Site Selection Online Insider published in the fall, Tractus General Manager Herminio Andres Alija explores how synergy between Western innovation and Chinese production capabilities will be pivotal to making green technology accessible and affordable worldwide.
Risk avoidance, continuity and opportunity are watchwords for corporate leaders, no matter what year it is. But this year might matter more than others.
An artist’s rendering shows the US-ELTP Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on the left and the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) on the right, both featuring their laser guide stars activated.
US-ELTP (TIO/NOIRLab/GMTO)
The U.S. National Science Foundation recently issued a statement after a panel of independent experts commissioned to evaluate the readiness of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) and the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), components of the U.S. Extremely Large Telescopes (U.S.-ELT) program recommended advancement into Final Design Phase — pending continued extremely large funding, of course.
National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan Photo courtesy of NSF
“The Extremely Large Telescopes are exceptionally important projects that remain among the highest priorities of the astronomy community,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan in December. “They are also key to the United States’ continued leadership in astronomy and place at the vanguard of innovation in science and engineering. NSF agrees with the panel’s findings that the success of the U.S.-ELT program hinges on securing the necessary resources from Congress. NSF is grateful for the sustained significant bi-partisan support and looks forward to continuing to work with the White House, Congress and the community to be able to advance to the next phase of the process.”
In September 2012, Adam Bruns looked into the science and controversy around the siting of the Thirty Meter Telescope in Hawaii in “Seeking First Light.”
CEOs and other business leaders in this state of 3 million people say that when they do business here, they find an ecosystem that responds favorably to their needs.
Among the many data centers Meta has announced since 2022 is this site in Temple, Texas, located in the same state where the company this week said it is moving its trust and safety teams.
Rendering courtesy of Meta
Hidden in the 1,500-word memo Meta Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan issued on Tuesday about ending its third-party fact-checking system and leaving such matters to users were these 92 words pertaining to Site Selection’s specialty — the physical location of workplaces:
“We also demote too much content that our systems predict might violate our standards. We are in the process of getting rid of most of these demotions and requiring greater confidence that the content violates for the rest. And we’re going to tune our systems to require a much higher degree of confidence before a piece of content is taken down. As part of these changes, we will be moving the trust and safety teams that write our content policies and review content out of California to Texas and other U.S. locations.”
Which “other U.S. locations”? Does the moving of the teams mean moving individual people, or moving the job function to those other places where it will be filled by other individuals? How does moving these functions out of California help “tune our systems” better than leaving the functions in California would? I asked a Meta press contact these questions. No answers yet. But we can tell you this: Site Selection’s Conway Projects Database has tracked 94 major facility investments by Meta Platforms since 2015, including 16 data centers since 2022, which in turn include the $10 billion project reported on by Gary Daughters and Ron Starner in this space earlier this week in “Data Centers Moving South.” This news blog from Meta keeps the public updated about the company’s many data center projects. — Adam Bruns
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Photo courtesy of California State Parks, 2025
The Los Angeles Times reports that such famous Pacific Palisades structures as the Getty Villa (the part of the J. Paul Getty Museum devoted to the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria) and the modernist Eames House have survived this week’s fires intact. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the Will Rogers ranch home (pictured), part of Will Rogers State Historic Park, which was destroyed. Built in the 1920s, the home had 31 rooms with 11 bathrooms, a golf course and stables across a 360-acre property, all of which became a park and museum in 1944.
Late last night, CBS News posted this list of organizations accepting donations to help wildfire victims.
