Take Stephen Wolfram's theory of the universe, add a dash of symmetry, and what do you get? Snowflakes. Cellular automata—the basis of Stephen's theory—typically operate on rectlinear grids. But with suitable automata rules and a simple geometric transformation, you can achieve patterns with six-fold dihedral symmetry, the symmetry of snowflakes. My colleague Ed Pegg Jr. showed that idea nicely in his Demonstration "Snowflake-Like Patterns”. I started with his Demonstration; added some ideas from Matthew Szudzik's related Demonstration, "Snowflake Growth”; and fine-tuned the rendering to recall Bentley's classic snowflake photos, arriving at this interactive snowflake generator.

Mathematica 8 introduced powerful new advances in technical computing. Among them: free-form input and Wolfram|Alpha integration; fully integrated, specialist technical functionality in a number of application areas; tools to develop faster and more powerful applications; and the Computable Document Format (CDF). At the Wolfram Technology Conference 2011, the Wolfram directors who led the development of these new capabilities presented a Mathematica 8 Year in Review:

Touch Press, the digital publishing company founded by Stephen Wolfram, Theodore Gray, and Max Whitby, continues to push the boundaries of what's possible in the world of ebooks. A big part of the company's success is due to its use of Mathematica. Touch Press developers have used Mathematica in the production of nearly all of its highly popular titles, including The Elements, Solar System, and its latest title, March of the Dinosaurs. At the Wolfram Technology Conference 2011, Gray gave an inside look at the Mathematica tools used in the company's current and future ebooks and described why Mathematica makes Touch Press perfectly positioned to redefine the future of publishing.

The Mathematica One-Liner Competition at last year's Wolfram Technology Conference was such a popular success that we did it again this year. As readers of this blog may recall, last year's winning entry, submitted by Stephan Leibbrandt, was a complete, animated simulation of particles coalescing under gravitational and repulsive forces. This year's winner takes advantage of the integration of Mathematica and Wolfram|Alpha that debuted in Version 8. The rules were the same this year as last: produce the most stunning output you can with 140 or fewer input characters, typeset 2D expressions are allowed, and white space doesn't count. The entries were once again all over the place, from anagrams and fractals to abstract graphics and astronomical charts. Eighteen participants submitted 33 one-liner entries. Five of those merited Honorable Mentions. One got a Dishonorable Mention. And of course, prizes went to Third, Second, First-and-a-Half, and First Places.

At the recent Wolfram Technology Conference 2011, Stephen Wolfram presented the first annual Wolfram Innovator Awards to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to their fields through the innovative use of Wolfram technologies. This year's winners were nominated by Wolfram employees and selected by a panel of Wolfram technology experts.