University of Washington ASM Materials Science Camp
This summer I had the opportunity to travel to Seattle, Washington to attend a ASM Materials Science Camp at the University of Washington. To kick off the camp, Professor Sarikaya, a materials scientist, gave a talk about the multitude of applications for this field. One of his main points was the application of materials science to other fields. He spent most of is career researching the ways that nature (biology) has created some of the strongest materials known. His goal is to learn how scientists can replicate these natural materials into buildings and technology. After, we had a series of labs. In these labs we learned the basics of glass manipulation, metal working, polymers, and fatigue. My favorite lab as the tensile strength lab. After breaking a series of metal bars, we has the opportunity to observe them under an electronic microscope. Dr. Tuesday who runs this lab at the University of Washington was a great source of information.
The other big part of the camp was our mentor field trip. My group and I were paired up with Jason Zhou, an engineer at Pacific Metallurgical Inc.. We toured their facilities in Kent, Washington and observed the metallurgists at work heating, cooling, and testing various airplane and automobile parts. Jason stressed the importance of the reliability of these parts. For example, if the hook on the jets that are sling shotted off airplance carriers fails, the jet and the pilot go down. Using what Jason taught us, we compiled a presentation that was given to our parents and the other students on the last day.
Over all this camp was a great eye-opening experience for me. I learned that biology and materials science can come together. This is now something I am considering studying, I look forward to keeping in touch with my mentors and Professor Sarikaya so that they may educate me more on what I may want to study.
The other big part of the camp was our mentor field trip. My group and I were paired up with Jason Zhou, an engineer at Pacific Metallurgical Inc.. We toured their facilities in Kent, Washington and observed the metallurgists at work heating, cooling, and testing various airplane and automobile parts. Jason stressed the importance of the reliability of these parts. For example, if the hook on the jets that are sling shotted off airplance carriers fails, the jet and the pilot go down. Using what Jason taught us, we compiled a presentation that was given to our parents and the other students on the last day.
Over all this camp was a great eye-opening experience for me. I learned that biology and materials science can come together. This is now something I am considering studying, I look forward to keeping in touch with my mentors and Professor Sarikaya so that they may educate me more on what I may want to study.
Nuclear Science Day At The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
On Saturday, me and my friend Pearl attended a Nuclear science day for Girl and Boy Scouts. In the beginning presentation, we learned about Ernest Lawrence and his contribution, along with the Berkeley team, to the periodic table of elements. They have discovered 14 new elements! Next, we went to a class room and learned about the power of static energy and what really happens when you rub a balloon against your hair. We also looked at a cloud chamber and saw how the radioactive material conducted the electricity and created the "clouds" of alcohol. After lunch, we were actually able to go in the building with the particle accelerator. This building contained the last cyclotron that Ernest Lawrence built. A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator in which charged particles accelerate outwards from the center along a spiral path. The particles are held to a spiral trajectory by a static magnetic field and accelerated by a rapidly varying (radio frequency) electric field. It was so cool to be able to go and look at the various experiments that were being done at the time. It was also an unique experience because that building is not usually open to the public. We got to finish off the event with liquid Nitrogen frozen Snickers bars! Yum!
Passive Solar Home Ribbon Cutting!
The passive solar home is officially open and ready for use!
Cisco live!
I was able to attend the Cisco Live! event in the city through the Girl Scouts. I met some inspiring men and women that are working to open the doors for women to work in science fields all over the world. It was amazing to hear the speakers talking about their struggle throughout their lives and how they overcame them and became successful scientists.
Class Trip to medtronic
On Friday, the STEM classes visited the Medtronic Cardiovascular Facility. We went to learn about heart stents. We visited various stations and learned about how heart stents are designed, tested, and implanted. My favorite station was the heart station. There was a collection of pig hearts that we were able to pick up and examine. (with gloves of course!)
We also visited the fatigue labs. This is where all of the new heart stents are tested for how long they will last. The heart stents are vibrated 38 million times (how many times a heart beats in ten years) in various ways to simuThe data is recorded and then sent to various boards around the world for approval. One interesting thing that we learned is that Japan has the strictest guidelines in the world.
We also visited the fatigue labs. This is where all of the new heart stents are tested for how long they will last. The heart stents are vibrated 38 million times (how many times a heart beats in ten years) in various ways to simuThe data is recorded and then sent to various boards around the world for approval. One interesting thing that we learned is that Japan has the strictest guidelines in the world.
Introduce a girl to engineering day
Last weekend, I attend Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day at Agilent Technologies. It was a great opportunity to meet some amazing people and potential mentors. At the event, there was guest speaker, Debbie Senesky who is a professor at Stanford. When she s not in the lab researching the effect of harsh environments on various materials and instruments, she teaches astronautics and aeronautics. Her presentation was very motivating. She discussed her road to her career and how girls can do the same.
The main event of the day was the building challenge. We were challenged to build a course for a marble to roll down. The team that had the slowest run would be chosen as the winner. Since I have done a similar project in STEM, this was a great opportunity for me to put what I learned to use.
My group and I decided a gradual slope would work to slow down the ball but still keep it in motion. During the judging period we had some slight complications. Our funnel that we were using to start off the course was not working! That was disappointing because we were unable to see what are time would have been with out that issue.
When the results came, we were not expecting to win anything. But we did! My group won for best teamwork and best single step. (The malfunctioning funnel) We won little wind up toys...
The main event of the day was the building challenge. We were challenged to build a course for a marble to roll down. The team that had the slowest run would be chosen as the winner. Since I have done a similar project in STEM, this was a great opportunity for me to put what I learned to use.
My group and I decided a gradual slope would work to slow down the ball but still keep it in motion. During the judging period we had some slight complications. Our funnel that we were using to start off the course was not working! That was disappointing because we were unable to see what are time would have been with out that issue.
When the results came, we were not expecting to win anything. But we did! My group won for best teamwork and best single step. (The malfunctioning funnel) We won little wind up toys...
Marin Pirates Swim-A-Thon
This year I will be participating in my swim team's fourth annual swim-a-thon. Our goal is to raise $25,000. My personal goal is to raise $200! Please help me reach my goal!
Hi Friends and Family,
I have been a swimmer for a while now and I often get asked how can you swim back and forth, endlessly, staring at the black line at the bottom of the pool? Truth is, I really don't have a great answer.
What I can tell you is that I am in awesome shape. Most people I know can hardly swim a single lap of a pool. I am VERY proud of my accomplishments! In the end, I know that swimming is making me a better person. More capable. More confident. More everything. I can't imagine not swimming for my team. I have great lane mates and love training and racing. I just love swimming!
All said, the reason you're reading this is my swim team is running a fundraising event called a Swim-A-Thon to raise critical money that will be used to benefit all of our team. We will give it our best effort to swim for 2 hours or up to 200 lengths of the pool, which ever comes first.
Donating is really simple. Just click the red link below and fill-in the information on my swim team's website. Any amount is greatly appreciated. Thank you for supporting me!
Hi Friends and Family,
I have been a swimmer for a while now and I often get asked how can you swim back and forth, endlessly, staring at the black line at the bottom of the pool? Truth is, I really don't have a great answer.
What I can tell you is that I am in awesome shape. Most people I know can hardly swim a single lap of a pool. I am VERY proud of my accomplishments! In the end, I know that swimming is making me a better person. More capable. More confident. More everything. I can't imagine not swimming for my team. I have great lane mates and love training and racing. I just love swimming!
All said, the reason you're reading this is my swim team is running a fundraising event called a Swim-A-Thon to raise critical money that will be used to benefit all of our team. We will give it our best effort to swim for 2 hours or up to 200 lengths of the pool, which ever comes first.
Donating is really simple. Just click the red link below and fill-in the information on my swim team's website. Any amount is greatly appreciated. Thank you for supporting me!
Wings Over Marin
I had the opportunity to hear ,Dr. Yvonne Cagle an astronaut, talk about her experiences as woman in the field of aerospace medicine. We talked about the STEM program and how she wishes she could have ad the opportunity to participate in it when she was in high school. (she went to Novato High school :( ....) Dr. Yvonne Cagle told me that she wanted to go to space when she watched the astronauts walk on the moon with her father and how she uses that moment to remind herself that the things that she first thought were impossible became a reality.
http://www.gnossfield.org/events/wom/
http://www.gnossfield.org/events/wom/
I went to LinkedIn in San Francisco. I went through girl scouts and meet many people that have awesome jobs at LinkedIn. We learned about the importance of networking and making connections with important people. We also learned about how many aspects of a company there are. I met the marketing people, graphic design people, and financial people. I had a great time. Thank you LinkedIn!