London: 3 Picture 3 Words Reflection

History is Everywhere
There were many times on this trip where I was genuinely mesmerized by the different locations and artifacts we saw. After diving deep into scientific history throughout the course, I was very appreciative of going to the locations of where various discoveries took place. This is a picture of one of the original copies of On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin that we got to hold and flip through at the Royal Society. I couldn’t believe that I was holding a book that made such a large impact on society from the time that it was published! From Stonehenge to Flemming to the many contributions from Cambridge, I was thrilled to be surrounded by such important history everywhere we went during the trip.

Tomorrow Never Knows
Once we learned that we would be staying in England for the remainder of the trip due to the rise of Coronavirus cases in France, I was nervous because of the spread of the disease and we weren’t familiar with the details about the remainder of our trip. However, that experience was a great lesson in staying flexible with the plan and making the most of our situation (while being healthy and safe, of course). I really wanted to visit Abbey Road while we were in England, but I didn’t think that I would have enough time based on our original itinerary. After learning that we’d be staying in England for the rest of the week, I was very excited to go see so many of the places that I wanted to visit prior to the trip. It was so great to see the entire group being so flexible and understanding of our situation, as well as making the most of the time that we had left abroad.

Keep on Walking
Some of my favorite experiences from this trip came from spontaneously planned walks around London. That was the best way for me to really dig into the sights and sounds (sometimes smells) of London, which turned into a deep appreciation for the city. During those walks, I would often go in and out of local restaurants, book shops, and record and instrument stores to really immerse myself in the area. This picture was taken while I was walking around Trafalgar Square right before the sunset. I remember looking around and being mesmerized by large statues of lions, the towering Nelson’s Column, and gorgeous buildings with architecture that you don’t see very often in the US, all while the citizens of London carried on with their evening. Moments like that are what I’ll hold onto after the trip and what will keep me coming back to discover more.

History of OSU Project Reflection

Prior to this project, I wasn’t very familiar with the history of research done at Ohio State. However, I had a lot of fun discovering interesting facts about the people and work that has influenced OSU in so many ways. This project definitely increased my appreciation for all that has been accomplished on this campus. I really enjoyed learning more about the life and achievements of Dr. Bertha Bouroncle, and I think everyone in the class did a great job of detailing the works of other researchers. Some of my favorite parts of the project was listening to the interviews conducted by students with the researchers at Ohio State. I thought that was a very unique way to learn more about achievements made at OSU. I also thought that the group that presented on the trip to Antarctica was extremely insightful and inspiring. Overall, I had a lot of fun with this project and learning more about the various accomplishments made at OSU.

Dr. Mathur Reflection

I really enjoyed Dr. Mathur’s talk! I’m really glad he focused on black holes during his lecture because I’ve always been fascinated by the topic. I didn’t even realize that Stephen Hawking’s work revolved around understanding black holes better. The way that Dr. Mathur presented the information was very digestible, even though the concept can be hard to understand at first. His lecture reminded me of reading about different scientific discoveries in “A Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bill Bryson.

I appreciated that Dr. Mathur began the lecture by describing exactly what a black hole is and the different research being conducted on black holes leading up to Hawking’s involvement with Roger Penrose. Imaging Hawking walking around the lawns of Cambridge University while thinking about black holes made me want to visit such a historic place. I definitely have a better understanding of Stephen Hawking’s work, Hawking radiation, and the information loss paradox after the lecture.

After seeing Dr. Mathur on the OSU 150 Innovations page, I was very glad that he explained his research to us. I haven’t looked into string theory before, but Dr. Mathur’s description of his work sparked my interest. I was also blown away by his explanation of the photo of the black hole that we discussed in class!

Dr. Kinghorn Reflection

My family comes from a culture that focuses on natural sources of medicine, so I was very interested by Dr. Kinghorn’s lecture on medicinal plants. I knew that there was a large amount of medicinal plants, but I didn’t realize that there are 10,000 known plants that could be used for medicine. I enjoyed Dr. Kinghorn’s description on the origins of plants being used to medicine from cultural remedies to the first use of opium. I was really interested in Dr. Kinghorn’s remarks about plants that are currently being researched to combat diseases, such as marijuana. I was aware of CBD and the benefits that have been been discovered about the compound, but Dr. Kinghorn emphasized that more research should be done on CBG to find its health benefits. I’m also excited to see how plants may be utilized in further research pertaining to analgesics and Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Alber Reflection

Prior to watching The Story of Louis Pasteur, I had very limited knowledge on his life and achievements. However, my appreciation for his work and accomplishments has grown tremendously in the few days after the movie and Dr. Alber’s presentation on Pasteur. I was very interested in learning about Pasteur’s work with germ theory and that his findings were often met with opposition because they contradicted societal norms. I also really enjoyed Dr. Alber’s explanation of the spontaneous generation experiment. Pasteur’s model and findings for debunking spontaneous generation was ingenious and provided a large influence in the study of microbiology.

Dr. Cogan Reflection

Dr. Cogan’s presentation of Priestly, Lavoisier, and the discovery of oxygen was very insightful and exciting! I really enjoyed talking about the characteristics of scientific revolutions and learning about perspectives that I had not previously considered, such as science as an industry during that time period. I always like learning about the history and biography of the scientists that we are discussing, so I was captivated by the lives of Joseph Priestley and Antoine Lavoisier. I was especially interested in Priestley’s process of discovering oxygen as a vital requirement for the livelihood of living beings. I was surprised to learn that Priestley would share his discoveries with Benjamin Franklin, who would then offer his own insight to further the understanding of Priestley’s findings. After our discussion, I’m excited to learn more about scientific revolutions and the people behind them.

Dr. Breitenberger Reflection

I really enjoyed Dr. Breitenberger’s presentation on women in science. I think understanding the societal aspects and difficulties that many women faced when attempting to pursue their career and personal goals was very important during our discussion. I was particularly captivated by the achievements of Caroline Herschel; I couldn’t believe she was able to spot and identify comets that seldomly pass the Earth! After the talk, I did a bit more research on comets and their orbits in our solar system (I didn’t know comets move in an elliptical orbit around the sun). I was also very interested in the work done by Mary Anning and her discoveries. I’m excited to do more research on the impact that women have had on the world of science.

Dr. Anelli Reflection

Prior to watching the movie and attending Dr. Anelli’s lecture, I was familiar with Darwin’s work with “On the Origin of Species”; however, I did not realize the societal implications his work had until Dr. Anelli’s very informative talk. I really appreciated that she took the time to explain Darwin’s history and early influences, such as Hutton and Paley. This allowed me to have more context regarding Darwin’s work and why his findings were so controversial during that time. I also liked that we discussed Darwin’s home and personal life and how that was impacted by his research. After Dr. Anelli’s lecture, I have a much deeper appreciation for Darwin and the sacrifices he made for his work.

Dr. Weisenberger Reflection

I really appreciated Dr. Weisenberger’s talk on the history of research at Ohio State! I looked through the 150 innovations website prior to her lecture, and I found some researchers that I was very interested in. I was really happy that Dr. Weisenberger dove deeper into some of those researchers and provided us with some more background information. I really enjoyed the lecture because I learned how the history of OSU connects to the campus and students today, which was a bridge that I had not came across yet. After her talk, I was happy to do more research on some of the people she talked about, such as Bertha Bouroncle and Norton Townshend. I have also been telling my friends that the chocolate at the bottom of a Drumstick was invented at OSU!