The system automatically writes optimized algorithms to encrypt data in Google Chrome browsers and web applications.

Nearly every time you open up a secure Google Chrome browser, a new MIT-developed cryptographic system is helping better protect your data.

In a paper presented at the recent IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, MIT researchers detail a system that, for the first time, automatically generates optimized cryptography code that’s usually written by hand. Deployed in early 2018, the system is now being widely used by Google and other tech firms.

The paper now demonstrates for other researchers in the field how automated methods can be implemented to prevent human-made errors in generating crypto code, and how key adjustments to components of the system can help achieve higher performance.

To secure online communications, cryptographic protocols run complex mathematical algorithms that do some complex arithmetic on large numbers. Behind the scenes, however, a small group of experts writes and rewrite those algorithms by hand. For each algorithm, they must weigh various mathematical techniques and chip architectures to optimize for performance. When the underlying math or architecture changes, they essentially start over from scratch. Apart from being labor-intensive, this manual process can produce nonoptimal algorithms and often introduces bugs that are later caught and fixed.

Researchers from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) instead designed “Fiat Cryptography,” a system that automatically generates — and simultaneously verifies — optimized cryptographic algorithms for all hardware platforms. In tests, the researchers found their system can generate algorithms that match the performance of the best-handwritten code, but much faster.

The researchers’ automatically generated code has populated Google’s BoringSSL, an open-source cryptographic library. Google Chrome, Android apps, and other programs use BoringSSL to generate the various keys and certificates used to encrypt and decrypt data. According to the researchers, about 90 percent of secure Chrome communications currently run their code.

“Cryptography is implemented by doing arithmetic on large numbers. [Fiat Cryptography] makes it more straightforward to implement the mathematical algorithms … because we automate the construction of the code and provide proofs that the code is correct,” says paper co-author Adam Chlipala, a CSAIL researcher and associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science and head of the Programming Languages and Verification group. “It’s basically like taking a process that ran in human brains and understanding it well enough to write code that mimics that process.”

Joining Chlipala on the paper are: first author Andres Erbsen and co-authors Jade Philipoom and Jason Gross, who are all CSAIL graduate students; as well as Robert Sloan MEng ’17.

Splitting the bits

Cryptography protocols use mathematical algorithms to generate public and private keys, which are basically a long string of bits. Algorithms use these keys to provide secure communication channels between a browser and a server. One of the most popular efficient and secure families of cryptographic algorithms is called elliptical curve cryptography (ECC). Basically, it generates keys of various sizes for users by choosing numerical points at random along a numbered curved line on a graph.

Most chips can’t store such large numbers in one place, so they briefly split them into smaller digits that are stored on units called registers. But the number of registers and the amount of storage they provide varies from one chip to another. “You have to split the bits across a bunch of different places, but it turns out that how you split the bits has different performance consequences,” Chlipala says.

Traditionally, experts writing ECC algorithms manually implement those bit-splitting decisions in their code. In their work, the MIT researchers leveraged those human decisions to automatically generate a library of optimized ECC algorithms for any hardware.

Their researchers first explored existing implementations of handwritten ECC algorithms, in the C programming and assembly languages, and transferred those techniques into their code library. This generates a list of best-performing algorithms for each architecture. Then, it uses a compiler — a program that converts programming languages into code computers understand — that has been proven correct with a proofing tool, called Coq. Basically, all code produced by that compiler will always be mathematically verified. It then simulates each algorithm and selects the best-performing one for each chip architecture.

Next, the researchers are working on ways to make their compiler run even faster in searching for optimized algorithms.

Optimized compiling

There’s one additional innovation that ensures the system quickly selects the best bit-splitting implementations. The researchers equipped their Coq-based compiler with an optimization technique, called “partial evaluation,” which basically precomputes certain variables to speed things up during computation.

In the researchers’ system, it precomputes all the bit-splitting methods. When matching them to a given chip architecture, it immediately discards all algorithms that just won’t work for that architecture. This dramatically reduces the time it takes to search for the library. After the system zeroes in on the optimal algorithm, it finalizes the code compiling.

From that, the researchers then amassed a library of the best ways to split ECC algorithms for a variety of chip architectures. It’s now implemented in BoringSSL, so users are mostly drawing from the researchers’ code. The library can be automatically updated similarly for new architectures and new types of math.

“We’ve essentially written a library that, once and for all, is correct for every way you can possibly split numbers,” Chlipala says. “You can automatically explore the space of possible representations of the large numbers, compile each representation to measure the performance, and take whichever one runs fastest for a given scenario.”

Libra, a simple global currency that people can use for their everyday needs, built on the Libra Blockchain. The evolution of the Libra Blockchain will be overseen by the Libra Association, an independent not-for-profit headquartered in Geneva. The association will be responsible for facilitating the operation of the Libra Blockchain and managing the reserve that backs the currency. The Libra Association will consist of geographically distributed and diverse businesses, nonprofit and multilateral organizations, and academic institutions. 

The problem which are being addressed… 

• 1.7 billion people – 31% of the global adult population – remain unbanked, meaning they do not have access to an account at a financial institution or to mobile money. – World Bank, 2017 Global Findex report

• Approximately 8.4 million U.S. households, made up of 14.1 million adults and 6.4 million children, were unbanked in 2017. – FDIC, 2015 National Survey on Unbanked and Underbanked Households 

• Women are disproportionately excluded from financial systems, with nearly 1 billion left out of the formal financial system. Additionally, there is a persistent 9% gender gap in financial inclusion in developing economies. – Gates Foundation 

By increasing access to financial services… 

• $3.7 trillion (or 6%) of GDP could be added to the economies of developing countries by 2025 through the widespread adoption and use of digital financial services. – McKinsey Global Institute, 2016 Digital Finance For All

• Including unbanked adults in the formal financial system could generate $110 billion in global economies. – Accenture Banking Inclusion report 

And harnessing increased adoption of mobile broadband and the Internet… 

• Mobile phones and the internet offer strong opportunities for increased access: globally, 1 billion financially excluded adults own a mobile phone and about 480 million have internet access. – World Bank 2017 Findex report 

• There has been a significant increase in the use of mobile phones and the internet to conduct financial transactions. Between 2014 and 2017, this has contributed to a rise in the share of bank account owners sending or receiving payments digitally, from 67% to 76% globally and from 57% to 70% in the developing world. – The Global Findex Database 2017 

To enable people to send money to anyone, from anywhere for a low fee… 

• A total of $613 billion was sent globally across borders in 2017, with $466 billion going to low- and middle income countries. – World Bank Migration and Development Brief 

• On average, the cost to send $200 across borders is 7.1%. This fee is generally higher in developing nations; for instance the cost is 9.4% in Sub-Saharan Africa. – KNOMAD 2018 Migration and Development Brief 

• $25 billion is lost by migrants every year through remittance fees. – UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report 

And empowering businesses around the world. 

• Access to finance is a key constraint to SME growth. Without access to capital, many SMEs languish and stagnate. SMEs are less likely to be able to obtain bank loans than large firms; instead, they rely on internal funds, or cash from friends and family, to launch and initially run their enterprises. – World Bank SME Finance 

• Approximately 70% of all micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in emerging markets lack access to credit. – World Bank SME Finance

New report on inequalities in access to water, sanitation and hygiene also reveals more than half of the world does not have access to safe sanitation services.

Billions of people around the world are continuing to suffer from poor access to water, sanitation and hygiene, according to a new report by UNICEF and the World Health Organization. Some 2.2 billion people around the world do not have safely managed* drinking water services, 4.2 billion people do not have safely managed sanitation services, and 3 billion lack basic** hand washing facilities.

The Joint Monitoring Programme report, Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2000-2017: Special focus on inequalities  finds that, while significant progress has been made toward achieving universal access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene, there are huge gaps in the quality of services provided.

“Mere access is not enough. If the water isn’t clean, isn’t safe to drink or is far away, and if toilet access is unsafe or limited, then we’re not delivering for the world’s children,” said Kelly Ann Naylor, Associate Director of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, UNICEF. “Children and their families in poor and rural communities are most at risk of being left behind. Governments must invest in their communities if we are going to bridge these economic and geographic divides and deliver this essential human right.”

The report reveals that 1.8 billion people have gained access to basic drinking water services since 2000, but there are vast inequalities in the accessibility, availability and quality of these services. It is estimated that 1 in 10 people (785 million) still lack basic services, including the 144 million who drink untreated surface water. The data shows that 8 in 10 people living in rural areas lacked access to these services and in one in four countries with estimates for different wealth groups, coverage of basic services among the richest was at least twice as high as among the poorest.

“Countries must double their efforts on sanitation or we will not reach universal access by 2030,” said Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. “If countries fail to step up efforts on sanitation, safe water and hygiene, we will continue to live with diseases that should have been long ago consigned to the history books: diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A and neglected tropical diseases including trachoma, intestinal worms and schistosomiasis. Investing in water, sanitation and hygiene is cost-effective and good for society in so many ways. It is an essential foundation for good health.”  

The report also says that 2.1 billion people have gained access to basic sanitation services since 2000 but in many parts of the world the wastes produced are not safely managed. It also reveals that 2 billion people still lack basic sanitation, among whom 7 out of 10 live in rural areas and one third live in the Least Developed Countries.

Since 2000, the proportion of the population practicing open defecation has been halved, from 21 per cent to 9 per cent, and 23 countries have achieved near elimination, meaning less than 1 per cent of the population is practicing open defecation. Yet, 673 million people still practice open defecation, and they are increasingly concentrated in ‘high burden’ countries***.  Worse, in 39 countries, the number of people practicing open defecation actually increased, the majority of which are in sub-Saharan Africa where many countries have experienced strong population growth over this period.

Finally, the report highlights new data showing 3 billion people lack basic hand washing facilities with soap and water at home in 2017. It also shows that nearly three quarters of the population of the Least Developed Countries did not have basic hand washing facilities. Every year, 297 000 children under 5 years die due to diarrhea linked to inadequate WASH. Poor sanitation and contaminated water are also linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A, and typhoid.

“Closing inequality gaps in the accessibility, quality and availability of water, sanitation and hygiene should be at the heart of government funding and planning strategies. To relent on investment plans for universal coverage is to undermine decades worth of progress at the expense of coming generations,” said Kelly Ann Naylor.   

Safely managed drinking water and sanitation services: Drinking water from sources located on premises, free from contamination and available when needed, and using hygienic toilets from which wastes are treated and disposed of safely.

Basic services: Having a protected drinking water source that takes less than thirty minutes to collect water from, using an improved toilet or latrine that does not have to be shared with other households, and having hand washing facilities with soap and water in the home.

High burden countries: More than 5 per cent of the population practiced open defecation in 2017 include: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan Philippines, Sudan, South Sudan, Togo, United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen.

Marketing is something no business that wants to establish its brand presence can escape. Given the prevalence of the internet today, digital will soon become the mainstay of digital marketing budgets and data will be in the driver’s seat. 

This is where new businesses can benefit by being the first to arrive. When it comes to digital marketing, Adrian Morrison is a name that you have most likely come across in the list of ‘those who made it big’. The young and successful entrepreneur has established himself as an expert and is now helping others achieve entrepreneurial success. Meanwhile, Adrian’s business relies on online marketing strategies that are sharpened by gleaning and utilizing digital data. That is a strategy he teaches other entrepreneurs as well as one of the definite pathways to success.

“Marketing without data is like driving with your eyes closed,” says Adrian. These aren’t just words he utters but he even lives by them. Over the years, not only has he been able to rise up the ranks to become a successful entrepreneur himself, generating eight-figure sales, but has even enabled businesses to reach eight-figure income targets. Now, Adrian is involved in training other entrepreneurs to benefit from the wealth of opportunities that digital provides while also being financially stable.

Adrian’s philosophy is to be adaptive to the ongoing changes in the digital world. “When you come across a new outlet, you have to step up your game and master it before anyone else does,” he says. Data utilization is something that marketers world over are still coming to terms with and it leaves a lot of opportunities for upcoming entrepreneurs to become experts. Whether that involves understanding Facebook ads or affiliate marketing, data can help entrepreneurs streamline businesses and this is what Adrian is teaching others through his own experiences.

The successful author also has a set of online courses and books to guide people on the right path towards ensuring profitable businesses. The eCom Success Academy course is Adrian’s way of showing people how to scale up their business using data. With its focus on using e-commerce as a business model, he educates people on how to study and apply statistics that you get from running Facebook ads and other digital metrics.

Succeeding in an e-commerce venture is no easy task. Adrian’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to keep aside personal opinions and rely on researched data and facts. Businesses can benefit from aligning consumers’ interest in products with the right advertising strategy for higher conversion of sales. When you depend on data to drive your goal, your rate of success has the potential to keep rising exponentially.

However, he advocates a fair use of user data. With privacy concerns on the rise, Adrian also advises caution in picking the data that can be monetized. Even e-commerce companies need to provide elements such as secured data storage and safety in order to build consumer trust. “While you should use data for marketing, you can’t invade people’s privacy for your profit. Don’t trade consumer trust for data,” he says.

What you can learn from Adrian is to effectively convert data points into usable statistics that will ensure customer satisfaction.

If you’re on social media, especially Instagram, you are most likely (even definitely) following at least one influencer. Even though it sounds easy and glamorous, being an influencer is nothing less than a dedicated full-time job. It requires hard work, patience, commitment and passion for creating your trustworthy persona. True to that statement, American Indian fashion blogger and influencer Alisha Taneja has given her blood, sweat and tears to this cause.

“I put 100% into everything that I do or else I don’t do it,” says the petite and curvy fashionista. Since blogging is not just her business now but was first her hobby, she doesn’t restrict her work to particular hours of the day and ends up working in the wee hours of the night as well. If you’re genuinely dedicated to a cause, that’s the kind of thing you’re likely to do effortlessly.

Although she blogs about fashion almost all the time, her aim is more than just influencing people’s fashion choices. “I want to do something that I love but also help people and I feel blogging achieves that,” she says. So you will find her talk about important issues like ethnic diversity in fashion, overcoming bullying and women empowerment.

It is this purpose that has made her one of the most successful influencers. Her blogging is about bringing petite and colored girls into mainstream brand choices. With a genuine wish to enable women to accept their uniqueness, Alisha has found a place in the hearts of many. She has 657,000 Instagram followers who swear by her mantra of acceptance. Returning the love to her supporters, Alisha indulges them with giveaways and partnerships with other bloggers to add value to peoples’ lives.

“People want to see engaging content, they want to see real people, and they want you to be genuine,” she says. Some of the brands she has partnered with include Boohoo, Hotel Tonight, Forever 21, Sachin and Babi, NYFW, Coordinates Collections, Simon Malls and Jurlique. Since Alisha ensures that she works with brands that reflect her own values, her followers trust her word. For brands, that is the best outcome of influencer marketing where such a value-driven partnership drives sales.

People might get the wrong impression that blogging is a piece of cake. But that is far from the truth. It wasn’t as if she ended up being a social media star overnight. She took a gamble in quitting a stable career to go for what she believed in. Not everyone with a smartphone can become an influencer. At times, the number of rejections you go through can be disappointing and demotivating. You can’t just post a picture today and expect to break the internet by tomorrow morning. “I think the number one mistake is to expect results fast. It takes time to grow and appreciate every little win. Don’t be in a rush,” advises Alisha.

From biology to political science to blogging, Alisha has come a long way in pursuing her dream and passion. Not only is she doing what she believes in but is also working to make a positive difference in people’s lives. From humble beginnings, Alisha has shown that hard work, passion and dedication go a long way in establishing yourself as an impactful influencer.

In the unbearable summer heat, a can of chilled beer is all you really need. But leave your drink for 10 minutes and it becomes warm and undrinkable. Dylan Jacob, who had already run two successful businesses by 2016 was surprised that nobody had come up with a solution for this problem. That’s when he decided to take matters in his own hands.

With his experience from previous businesses in product development, Jacob 

started BrüMate. In its first year itself BrüMate made $2 million in profit. The next year, the company recorded a 1000% growth with $20 million revenue. In its third year, BrüMate has a sort of monopoly in the market. Even though it’s been three years since Jacob started the business, there hasn’t been any real competition in the field.

“It’s important to talk to the customers to understand what it is that they expect from the product. There isn’t any real competition for BrüMate because a lot of other brands have stopped at regular koozies and flasks. When I first launched the Hopsulator TRiO, it wasn’t perfect. But with feedback from the customers, I was able to make the product’s functioning better and now it is one of the best-selling products we have. I believe that for an entrepreneur to stay ahead in the game, it’s important to listen to the customers and to give them more than just what they’re looking for,” the 24-year-old entrepreneur said.

The global drinkware market is expected to cross over $11 billion in the next few years. Jacob is focused and dedicated to making BrüMate one of the best drinkware brands not only in the United States, but also across the world. His thirst for developing and expanding his business has made BrüMate a million dollar company in less than three years.

But all of this didn’t come without obstacles. Jacob had to sell his house and max out his credit card to come up with enough money to get inventory for production. He used targeted Facebook ads to create enough buzz about the brand on social media, marketing the Winesulator as the perfect Christmas gift. The risk was tremendous but the reward was sweeter. BrüMate made over $2 million in the following months.

Jacob believes in the power of digital advertising and uses it to grow his business online. “Building a brand has never been easier than it is now compared to 10 years ago when it might take you 15-20 years to build a prominent brand and I’ve seen companies do it in one or two,” said Jacob. There aren’t many adult beverage drinkware brands in the market who are using social media as effectively as BrüMate is. Using social media to connect with customers and keeping them engaged is the new way of the world.

Which is why, Jacob uses Facebook to connect with his customers. They regularly conducts contests, do giveaways and give a taste of upcoming products to peak customer excitement. The page has over 400,000 fans who regularly engage with the brand. The effectiveness of the product, slick product design coupled with a fantastic marketing plan is really what’s making BrüMate a leader in the market and the competitors seem to have a lot of catching up to do.

“The World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights”, estimates that the next 30 years will see the global population add an extra 2 billion people to today’s figure of 7.7 billion, and, by the end of the century, the planet will have to sustain around 11 billion.

India will overtake China, sub-Saharan Africa population to double

India is expected to show the highest population increase between now and 2050, overtaking China as the world’s most populous country, by around 2027. India, along with eight other countries, will make up over half of the estimated population growth between now and 2050.

The nine countries expected to show the biggest increase are India, Nigeria and Pakistan, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt and the United States of America. In all, the population of sub-Saharan Africa is expected to practically double by 2050.

However, growth in these countries comes against the backdrop of a slowing global fertility rate. In 1990, the average number of births per woman was 3.2. By 2019 this had fallen to 2.5 births per woman and, by 2050, this is projected to decline further to 2.2 births: a fertility level of 2.1 births per woman is necessary to avoid national population decline over the long run (in the absence of immigration).

The population size of more and more countries is actually falling. Since 2010, 27 countries or areas have seen a drop of at least one per cent, because of persistently low fertility rates. Between now and 2050, that is expected to expand to 55 countries which will see a population decrease of one per cent or more, and almost half of these will experience a drop of at least 10 per cent.

In some cases, the falling population size is reinforced by high rates of emigration, and migration flows have become a major reason for population change in certain regions. Bangladesh, Nepal and the Philippines are seeing the largest migratory outflows resulting from the demand for migrant workers; and Myanmar, Syria and Venezuela are the countries where the largest numbers are leaving because of violence, insecurity or armed conflict. For those countries where population is falling, immigration is expected to plug the gaps, particularly in Belarus, Estonia and Germany.

Population report a ‘roadmap to action and intervention’

“Many of the fastest growing populations are in the poorest countries, where population growth brings additional challenges”, said Liu Zhenmin, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). These challenges include the fight to eradicate poverty, and combat hunger and malnutrition; greater equality; and improved healthcare and education. The report, he said, offers a “roadmap” indicating where to target action and interventions.

At the same time, growth is providing opportunities in many developing economies: recent reductions in fertility mean that the working-age population (25 to 64) is growing faster than other age ranges, which could improve the possibilities for faster economic growth. The report recommends that governments make use of this “demographic dividend” to invest in education in health.

Proportion of older people increasing, life expectancy still lower in poorer countries

There will be one in six people over 65 by 2050, up from the current figure of one in 11. Some regions will see the share of older people double in the next 30 years, including Northern Africa, Asia and Latin America.

By 2050, a quarter of the population in European and Northern America could be 65 or over. The higher proportion and number of older people is expected to put increased financial pressure on countries in the coming decades, with the higher cost of public health, pensions and social protections systems.

Although overall life expectancy will increase (from 64.2 years in 1990 to 77.1 years in 2050), life expectancy in poorer countries will continue to lag behind. Today, the average lifespan of a baby born in one of the least developed countries will be some 7 years shorter than one born in a developed country. The main reasons are high child and maternal mortality rates, violence, and the continuing impact of the HIV epidemic.

“The World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights”, is published by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and provides a comprehensive overview of global demographic patterns and prospects. The report is based on population estimates from 1950 to the present for 235 countries or areas, underpinned by analyses of historical demographic trends. The 2019 revision also includes population projections to the year 2100, that reflect a range of plausible outcomes at the global, regional and country levels.

Researchers have found a simple formula that could be useful for air purification, space propulsion, and molecular analyses.

When a raindrop falls through a thundercloud, it is subject to strong electric fields that pull and tug on the droplet, like a soap bubble in the wind. If the electric field is strong enough, it can cause the droplet to burst apart, creating a fine, electrified mist.

Scientists began taking notice of how droplets behave in electric fields in the early 1900s, amid concerns over lightning strikes that were damaging newly erected power lines. They soon realized that the power lines’ own electric fields were causing raindrops to burst around them, providing a conductive path for lightning to strike. This revelation led engineers to design thicker coverings around power lines to limit lightning strikes.

Today, scientists understand that the stronger the electric field, the more likely it is that a droplet within it will burst. But, calculating the exact field strength that will burst a particular droplet has always been an involved mathematical task.

Now, MIT researchers have found that the conditions for which a droplet bursts in an electric field all boil down to one simple formula, which the team has derived for the first time.

With this simple new equation, the researchers can predict the exact strength an electric field should be to burst a droplet or keep it stable. The formula applies to three cases previously analyzed separately: a droplet pinned on a surface, sliding on a surface, or free-floating in the air.

Their results, published today in the journal Physical Review Letters, may help engineers tune the electric field or the size of droplets for a range of applications that depend on electrifying droplets. These include technologies for air or water purification, space propulsion, and molecular analysis.

“Before our result, engineers and scientists had to perform computationally intensive simulations to assess the stability of an electrified droplet,” says lead author Justin Beroz, a graduate student in MIT’s departments of Mechanical Engineering and Physics. “With our equation, one can predict this behavior immediately, with a simple paper-and-pencil calculation. This is of great practical benefit to engineers working with, or trying to design, any system that involves liquids and electricity.”

Beroz’ co-authors are A. John Hart, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and John Bush, professor of mathematics.

“Something unexpectedly simple”

Droplets tend to form as perfect little spheres due to surface tension, the cohesive force that binds water molecules at a droplet’s surface and pulls the molecules inward. The droplet may distort from its spherical shape in the presence of other forces, such as the force from an electric field. While surface tension acts to hold a droplet together, the electric field acts as an opposing force, pulling outward on the droplet as charge builds on its surface.

“At some point, if the electric field is strong enough, the droplet can’t find a shape that balances the electrical force, and at that point, it becomes unstable and bursts,” Beroz explains.

He and his team were interested in the moment just before bursting, when the droplet has been distorted to its critically stable shape. The team set up an experiment in which they slowly dispensed water droplets onto a metal plate that was electrified to produce an electric field, and used a high-speed camera to record the distorted shapes of each droplet.

“The experiment is really boring at first — you’re watching the droplet slowly change shape, and then all of a sudden it just bursts,” Beroz says.

After experimenting on droplets of different sizes and under various electric field strengths, Beroz isolated the video frame just before each droplet burst, then outlined its critically stable shape and calculated several parameters such as the droplet’s volume, height, and radius. He plotted the data from each droplet and found, to his surprise, that they all fell along an unmistakably straight line.

“From a theoretical point of view, it was an unexpectedly simple result given the mathematical complexity of the problem,” Beroz says. “It suggested that there might be an overlooked, yet simple, way to calculate the burst criterion for the droplets.”

Volume above height

Physicists have long known that a liquid droplet in an electric field can be represented by a set of coupled nonlinear differential equations. These equations, however, are incredibly difficult to solve. To find a solution requires determining the configuration of the electric field, the shape of the droplet, and the pressure inside the droplet, simultaneously.

“This is commonly the case in physics: It’s easy to write down the governing equations but very hard to actually solve them,” Beroz says. “But for the droplets, it turns out that if you choose a particular combination of physical parameters to define the problem from the start, a solution can be derived in a few lines. Otherwise, it’s impossible.”

Physicists who attempted to solve these equations in the past did so by factoring in, among other parameters, a droplet’s height — an easy and natural choice for characterizing a droplet’s shape. But Beroz made a different choice, reframing the equations in terms of a droplet’s volume rather than its height. This was the key insight for reformulating the problem into an easy-to-solve formula.

“For the last 100 years, the convention was to choose height,” Beroz says. “But as a droplet deforms, its height changes, and therefore the mathematical complexity of the problem is inherent in the height. On the other hand, a droplet’s volume remains fixed regardless of how it deforms in the electric field.”

By formulating the equations using only parameters that are “fixed” in the same sense as a droplet’s volume, “the complicated, unsolvable parts of the equation cancel out, leaving a simple equation that matches the experimental results,” Beroz says.

Specifically, the new formula the team derived relates five parameters: a droplet’s surface tension, radius, volume, electric field strength, and the electric permittivity of the air surrounding the droplet. Plugging any four of these parameters into the formula will calculate the fifth.

Beroz says engineers can use the formula to develop techniques such as electrospraying, which involves the bursting of a droplet maintained at the orifice of an electrified nozzle to produce a fine spray. Electrospraying is commonly used to aerosolize biomolecules from a solution, so that they can pass through a spectrometer for detailed analysis. The technique is also used to produce thrust and propel satellites in space.

“If you’re designing a system that involves liquids and electricity, it’s very practical to have an equation like this, that you can use every day,” Beroz says.

This research was funded in part by the MIT Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation, BAE Systems, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering via MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the National Science Foundation, and a Department of Defense National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.

Today, fashion doesn’t only enclose the celebrities or the page 3 glitterati within its bracket. Nowadays, anybody who possess a fashion statement and sense of styling got choices to pick from. A trend that takes you along with its tide is carrying a look of your favourite celebrity. However, what ensemble would look complete without a perfect makeup? It is worth to know who the artists are involved behind the gorgeous pictures we see and drool over. Because at the end of the day, without a perfect makeup artist, those celebrities or models would not have a glow and the beauty we admire them for. 

With this, let’s meet and raise a toast to the success story of one such Celebrity Makeup Artist, Gomit Chopra, who hails from our Capital. 

A young lad who started off his journey in the year 2013; is now a successful Makeup Artist, Fashion Influencer, Trainer, Digital Media Expert, Photographer, Entrepreneur and, what not? In just half a dozen of year, the man could create his own empire and head up the industry of beauty and glamour.

Gomit Chopra – a name synonymous to the world of fashion and makeup – is an inspiration and a celebrity amongst the beauty buffs. He is the CEO of the Salon, Studio and Academy, that runs with his name – Gomit Chopra, at Yojna Vihar, Delhi. 

Also, he is the Founder and Director of Beauty Scoop India – a fastest growing Indian community for beauty and fashion lovers to connect with each other. The social media community has, presently, 60k active followers on Facebook and 13k on Instagram. The Beauty Scoop India is now planning to roll out the website too, very soon.

Trained under the World’s leading artists like Shafa at Azerbaijan, Makeup Forever Academy Singapore, Georgiy Kot, Helder Marucci, Alacantra, Samer Khouzami, Madehaa Artist at London, Goar Avestiyan, Kennedy Hoffman – Gomit Chopra has for himself rolled out as the most admired and highly recognized makeup artist in India who has by far conducted super successful masterclasses in Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Mumbai.

Apart from dolling up celebrities like Sana Khan, Geeta Basra, Mahima Chaudhary and many more; Gomit also contributes to editorial and fashion shoots.

Gomit Chopra has also worked as a M.A.C. Backstage team at India Couture Week. Here, he worked closely with India’s top models, photographers, and designers like Sabhyasachi, Manish Malhotra and Gaurav Gupta, to name a few.

Named as one of the most prominent makeup artist in India by several publishing houses, Gomit is recognized and appreciated by a pretty bunch of blogging community for his creative geniuses. Also, he has been rewarded a several times for his blending and modern vision in makeup. That’s saying something about him!

Gomit Chopra is a name that receives invitation as a VIP Guest to all the International Makeup Masterclasses that happens in India. Also, been invited as a guest faculty at Pearl Academy for Bridal Lecture goes to his credits.

Gomit Chopra, being an ambassador of the cutting edge professional cosmetic brand – Kiko Milano; launched the 1000th store of Kiko at the Ambience Mall, Gurgaon.

A Masterclass by the Top Hair Stylist in the World, Geaorge Kyot from Russia, was been organzied by Gomit at his academy in September 2017. The artists from all the around the World did attend the event.

Starting his journey from Pearl Academy, Naraina as Makeup and Hair Expert aspirant and following up as a M.A.C. Consultant; Gomit Chopra has, today, earned immense accolades for his work in the beauty and glamour industry. 

Not just he is an artist, but also a professional photographer who has his photography studio too running in his salon; he also is a Digital Media Marketing Expert, certified from Pearl Academy, presently running media marketing classes for all the aspiring makeup artist at his academy.

“My vision is to get everyone together and build the industry. I travel extensively for work, to carry out research, and to learn new techniques.” says Gomit. “The Beauty Market has a big niche that hasn’t been filled. I endeavour to make the most of it”, he adds.

The beauty industry sensation, Gomit Chopra, has been a jury member, rendering judgements at numerous makeup competitions, and has been addressed as ‘Makeup Motivational Speaker’ a couple of times.

Sofia Chaudry is back with her latest song called breathe. It’s also fresh sounding and has a good mix of English and Desi vibes. The music video is shot in India which makes it even more special. The video was released on her YouTube channel on February 2 and it has registered 1,025,043 views so far.

Sofia Chaudry is a Dutch-Pakistani singer and songwriter based in Amsterdam, Netherlands and she made her debut in Indian music industry with Bohemia’s song ‘Thinking about you’. Talking about working with the Punjabi rapper, she said that she is glad to be trained under him.

Singer Sofia Chaudry says that she was tensed when she met Punjabi rapper Bohemia for the first time that she was sweaty and nervous to make eye contact with the latter.

The singer said, “While there is no feeling better than living your dream, it isn’t easy. It seemed unreal and unbelievable when I saw the heartthrob Punjabi rapper Bohemia with whom I was supposed to shoot my debut song “Thinking about you”. I was sweaty and nervous, I couldn’t even make eye contact with him in fact I didn’t even say a word to him throughout the shoot and couldn’t bring myself to even tell him goodbye.”

Sofia Chaudry added, “However, Bohemia is such a humble person and a mentor that everyone wishes to have. I am glad that I got an opportunity to debut with him. This is something I will cherish all my life, my debut couldn’t have been better. Well if that was a story of my debut, the second was no less than an adventure.”

For the first time, Sofia Chaudry travelled to India to shoot for ‘Thinking about you’. Talking about her visit, she said, “While I thought my debut made me nervous, travelling to India had me panicking as it was my first time travelling here. It all happened so fast that it was all done at the last minute, even I visiting India was last minute decision.”

Sofia Chaudry added, “But once I landed in this beautiful land of culture, tradition, all my fears were gone. My team in India made me feel home as I ‘Breathe’. I am sure there is going to be a lot of such stories because I am not going to let anything come in the way of my dream. I am going to live my dream.”