This story originally appeared in the December issue of Discover magazine as "Scientist in Toyland." It's easy to pin labels on Chuck Hoberman, but hard to stick with just one. He's a toymaker -- the brains behind the colorful, expanding Hoberman sphere, which you and your kids have been playing with since the early 1990s (and which earned a place in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection). Physically, he works sometimes from an airy room on the second floor of a house-turned-office-suite near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Cambridge office is tidy, with white walls and plenty of light. The surfaces are usually cleared, but today they're cluttered with the material expressions of his geometric dreams: Models made of two-dimensional pieces, hinged together to form 3D structures that deform, bend or otherwise fold in prescribed ways.

When it comes to insurance, an industry rich in data but a laggard in digitization, a software-as-a-service startup founded by former MetLife Global CIO Gary Hoberman believes a solution is at hand. Looking to establish accountability across disparate project teams? Trying to automate processes or allow for lean methodology support? Hoping to enable business consequence modeling or real-time reporting? If you answered'yes' to any of these questions, then you need to download this comprehensive, 68-page PDF guide on selecting, managing, and tracking IT projects for superior service delivery.

British AI talent is about to be given a boost after Founders Factory, a company specialising in growing startups, announced today that it will receive a "multimillion pound" investment from a top Chinese private equity firm. CSC Group is one of China's largest private equity firms, specialises in tech investment, and has previously pumped 400m into AngelList, an US startup accelerator. Now, the firm is turning its attention to the UK. CSC has agreed to a five-year deal with Founders Factory to invest in and scale five AI startups and co-create two new companies every year. "The partnership will build a bridge between AI talent in Europe and China; giving Founders Factory startups access to the Chinese market and Chinese talent the opportunity to enter the European tech ecosystem," Founders Factory said.