got science?

We ended last week with eating lunch with Dr. Tu. It was interesting hearing how students heard about COSMOS and why they chose Cluster 1. It was also nice to have lunch close to our classroom, since the CSE (also called EBU3) is next to EBU 2.

Monday I tagged along with the second group that went over to the CalIT2 building to a lab. Rajesh arranged for us to visit one of his labs. There is a remote controlled helicopter that is equipped to charge sensors in a bridge. The bridge sensors relay bridge data to help scientists/engineers determine if the bridge is safe. This system would be implemented after an earthquake, for example. It was really nice to see an interdisciplinary lab - they had different engineering disciplines working in the same lab. Very cool work and research.

Today, we started looking at data and how it's used in the "real-world" and in research. We also had a discovery lecturer who spoke on stem cells. I must say, I learned a lot. I knew about stem cells, in general. I'm not a biologist, I'm a computer engineer, but it was very interesting and accessible.

We ended the day by attending the Science Buddies presentation. Ken shared the various science competitions that students can compete in - Intel Science Talent Search, Siemens Science, Math and Technology competition and Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, to name a few. Ronit came and shared her Intel ISEF and science fair experiences with the clusters. Ronit is a COSMOS alum and two time Intel ISEF finalist from San Diego. It was a great presentation because of the various videos clips that really highlighted what the experiences are with these competitions and shows that the students involved are "regular" students. These are students that our COSMOS students are and know. I have to admit, I really loved the part where the STS finalists are in New York and see their pictures and names in the big bright lights in Times Square. They got pictures of themselves with the big broadcasted pictures of themselves above them. How cool is that?! Who wouldn't love to see their picture and name in lights in Times Square? I got a chance to talk "shop" (science fair shop) to Ken a bit before and after the presentation. It was great to meet him and discuss science fair stuff. During the presentation, Ken mentioned various skills that students should know/excel at to be successful in the competitions. The skills mentioned are those that are taught and practiced in the Science Communication class. The Sci. Comm. class is designed to hone those skills and prepare them to be successful in scientific and engineering research projects.

Last night, I had a cooking class. It was entitled, "Steaks, Steaks, Steaks!" What do you think the focus was on? It was a lot of fun. I learned A LOT about steaks - the cuts, recipes, and techniques. It was my second cooking class this month. Last Thursday, I had a "Berry Desserts" class. That was all on various desserts which included strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc. One of the best recipes was a blackberry sorbet. I made the blackberry sorbet on Sunday at home. Very yummy. The next one I'll try is the tart. My cluster TAs are after me to make something I've learned for them. I just want to practice the recipe before I share it with others. My lucky husband gets to be the guinea pig on my recipes -- lucky for him, it usually turns out good, I just sometimes have to work on the presentation/visual of it. You are never to old to learn something new. As a friend of mine says, "You learn something old, every new day." One of the things I like about taking classes for myself, it constantly reminds me how my students must feel when I share something that I know and is second-nature to me, but new to them. We all struggle with learning different things, new things and at different rates. Sometimes, it comes easy for us, and some times it doesn't. As a student, you sometimes struggle with understanding what is going on and try to make meaning out of it. When I go and take classes, I really remember that. I don't like taking that feeling forgranted - when I do, I think it makes me less of a teacher.