I found this pretty fascinating: A cross-disciplinary team including a two Penn State researchers, an archaeologist, and a hydrologist found the earliest known example of engineered water pressure in the new world in the Mayan city of Palenque, an aqueduct and tunnel system, probably used to power a fountain or wastewater system. This predated the arrival of Europeans. [Link]

“Under natural conditions it would have been difficult for the Maya to see examples of water pressure in their world,” said Christopher Duffy, professor of civil and environmental engineering. “They were apparently using engineering without knowing the tools around it. This does look like a feature that controls nature.”

This morning NPR featured a story about architectural photographer Julius Shulman, whose photographs of great L.A. homes are “so distinctive that they are consulted by movie designers, collected by museums and cherished by homeowners who commission them.” Shulman’s photos made the work of great architects, mostly in Southern California, visible. “Shulman’s focus is on the building — how it sits in its environment, the feeling it evokes.”

The Getty Research Center acquired Shulman’s archive. In 2005-2006, The Getty Center had a show called “Julius Shulman – Modernity and Metropolis.” They have a Julius Shulman Resource Page.