Three Words, Three Pictures

“Mathematicians Work Everywhere”

While in Cambridge, I had decided to check out(sneak into) the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences especially since he went to school in Cambridge. Inside they had chalkboards all over the building filled with complicated formulas scribbled all over them. Before I left the building I had decided to use the bathroom and was surprised they even had a chalkboard in there ready to be written on just in case someone had an idea while relieving themselves. I think it is also interesting to note during this time that Newton developed Calculus while working at home when the country was shutdown due to the Bubonic Plague, sound familiar?

“Hey There Liz”

After touring the Royal Society, we had a free day to do whatever so Brooke, Stephen, and I spontaneously decided that we would walk down to Westminster to check out the outside of the church and maybe see the Queen. When we approached we were met with security everywhere, protestors from Cameroon, and news cameras. Since we had got there somewhat early we were able to scope out a position where we could get the best view. After 90 minutes several police escorts came through and we were able to get a glimpse of the Royal Family and this happened to be Megan and Harry’s last event as royals before moving to North America.

“Pride of London(Chelsea’s Slogan)”

Growing up, I would watch European soccer all the time since I played competitively throughout high school, but I honestly never thought I would go to a game in England. I got pretty lucky planning this out because this was the only game in London while we were there and Chelsea was from favorite club growing up. I also got lucky because Chelsea sells all their tickets in the same section at the price whether they are in the very front or all the way up so I was able to get a front-row seat. Chelsea, the home team played an absolutely flawless game and beat Everton 4-0 with a couple of goals scored right in front of me. Overall, this was truly a dream come true for me.

Dr. Samir Mathur

I have been looking forward to this talk for a while since I saw information on Dr. Mathur’s research on the 150 innovations website. It’s pretty funny that they didn’t let him know that he was on the website, I would think they would send him an email or something. I have been fascinated by black holes and space for some time now. Growing up, my dad and I loved watching the movie Apollo 13 together. Every time that I’ve tried to learn what exactly a black hole is I would end up being confused so it was comforting knowing that even some of the greatest scientists in history didn’t exactly know how a black hole works. I also looked into String Theory a couple of times and I thought Dr. Mathur explained it very simply. I think it is very cool that we have a researcher like him on our campus, here, at Ohio State.

Dr. Douglas Kinghorn

First, I thought it was cool to listen to a talk from someone who was from England. His tips on crossing the roads in Britain and checking out the botanical gardens were informative. Everyone of our speakers thus far has been really into what they study, and you could tell the same applied to Dr. Kinghorn.

To me, the most interesting fact he said was that heroin was used medicinally for a brief period of time. When it comes to medicinal plants it seems that over time we have adopted the trial and error method in order to figure if these chemicals in plants could be beneficial to us. It seems like this field will always be expanding as we find new uses for the chemicals that we find in plants. For example, marijuana, which has always been associated in a negative way is now being used to treat muscle soreness through the chemical compound of CBD. It’s interesting because right before the talk I had just read something online about how investing in companies that make medicinal products from marijuana could yield very high returns.

Dr. Alber Reflection

Listening to the lecture about Louis Pasteur has definitely made me more excited to visit Arbois, France. Pasteur just seemed like a brilliant man. He was able to use his expertise and apply it to a completely different realm of science in order to discover fermentation. I think the slide of Pasteur’s timeline that Dr. Alber showed was really cool. He had one of the greatest 10 year runs where he was able to make breakthroughs in crystallography, discover fermentation, debunk spontaneous generation, discover the relation between germs and disease, and create pasteurization of course. This makes me wonder what would he have done if he didn’t suffer a stroke or if he wasn’t occupied by the Franco-Prussian War. I really hope we get to see his tomb in Paris if its a possibility.

Dr. Cogan Reflection

I found John Priestly’s life story really interesting. Like I can’t imagine having a deadly disease early on where it was thought that he was abandoned by God. I also found his college schedule kind of relatable. Every day is different for me so I do something similar where I lay out my schedule in the notes of my phone. I thought his conversation with Ben Franklin on his findings in the “fixed air” experiment was fascinating. It seems like some of the brightest minds in history were just ahead of their time and could almost predict the future. Ben Franklin is not notably known for predicting the carbon cycle or anything, but he was able to immediately realize that the environment is important to our well-being and that we must take care of it because it provides us with something valuable. That is still extremely relevant today and his letter to Priestly is a testament to his bright mind.

Dr. Breitenberger Reflection

I enjoyed listening to Dr. Breitenberger’s lecture on women in science. The women scientists in the last century were crucial in the women’s suffrage movement and fight for equality. I had heard of many famous women scientists like Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin but didn’t know exactly what their contribution to science was so it was cool to learn about their experiments. I especially thought the relationship between Marie Curie and her daughter and son-in-law was very interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing things related to Marie Curie in France and possibly visiting her museum.

Dr. Dale Gnidovec

Dr. Dale Gnidovec’s love for fossils and artifacts radiated from the way he talked about what he saw in the museums in London and Paris. First, I thought it was really cool to get some background info on Orton Hall. I always am inside because I love the library there, but I haven’t been anywhere else in the building. Right away his talk intrigued me when he talked about the Mastodon fossil he saw in London’s museum of Natural history from Big Bone State Lick Park. I’ve lived most of my life right next to Big Bone and have never realized what a big deal it was. I am also really excited to see the Rosetta Stone in France. My family is from Egypt and we actually have a small replica of the Rosetta Stone in our living room in Northern Kentucky so it will be very cool to see it in person. Just like Dr. Gnidovec, I grew up with a love for dinosaurs so I am excited to see in person what types of fossils we will see in the museums of London and Paris.

Dr. Anelli

Charles Darwin is a name that I have heard since probably middle school always in relation to the discovery of evolution and the Origin of Species. However, I have never spent the time to study his life in-depth other than his trip around the world. It was very cool to be able to watch the movie, Creation, and then speak about his life with Dr. Anelli. There were things about Darwin that I didn’t quite pick up in the movie that I learned during her lecture. For example, I had no idea he was going to become a priest. I also had always thought he went on his trip around the world with the intent of looking for evidence for evolution, I never realized that he formulated the theory after he came back. I am definitely excited to see his house when we are in London and the replica of the HMS Beagle.

Dr. Weisenberger

I thought this lecture was a great way to kick start our guest speakers. You could tell right away Dr. Weisenberger knew her stuff. She spoke very eloquently and didn’t really look at her notes even though she was telling a lot of stories of these notable Ohio State Alum with great detail. I found her story about the founders and first group of faculty very interesting. She was very descriptive in her story-telling so I could imagine them all in one building trying to make it work. I also thought it was really cool that researchers at OSU were involved in creating the drumstick because that is one of my favorite frozen treats.