Month: November 2016

STEM Interview Report

The purpose of the STEM EE scholars’ interview assignment was to talk with an upperclassman, a graduate student, and a professor involved in a STEM field, about their experiences at The Ohio State University. I interviewed Alyssa DeMatteo, a second­-year STEM scholar, Ashley Conley, a mathematics TA, and Dr. Beatty, an astronomy professor. Alyssa is my mentor in the STEM scholars program, so it was easy to set up an interview with her. My interview with the graduate student was also easy to arrange, as I met with Ashley during her office hours. However, it was more difficult to find a professor to interview; I had to email many different professors and wait for a response. But after I got in touch with a professor, it was easy to set up a meeting.

Alyssa is a second year, pharmacology student. She was introduced to pharmacology at a middle school career fair and chose to major in it because of the potential to help people. From my interview with her, I learned how to successfully study for tests and exams. The most helpful tips Alyssa gave me were to start studying early to avoid cramming and to review practice tests. She also said that going to bed early before a test is a good idea, as well as setting aside time to relax in order to eliminate any stress.

Along with the helpful advice from Alyssa, my TA also gave me good tips for preparing for tests. Ashley stressed that you should review old quizzes and make sure there are no topics you do not understand. When I asked about finding a graduate school, she suggested to focus on finding professors who are researching a topic that I am interested in. The best advice she gave me was to major in a subject in which I am passionate, even if it is not something I’m especially good at. She explained that even if the work is time consuming and difficult, you will feel rewarded in the end. Ashley described graduate school as difficult and time ­consuming, but very rewarding once you figure out how to balance school and other parts of life. She suggested trying out opportunities that scare me because they may become something I love and continue to do throughout my life. Concerning research, Ashley said it is helpful to talk to professors and look at research forums. Both Alyssa and Ashley suggested finding clubs by talking with friends about common interests and then finding a related organization to join.

To find a professor, I used the library to find research papers on topics that interested me. It was difficult to read through the entirety of a paper because I do not have the academic background to understand the jargon. However, I was able to understand the overall concepts, and those were what I ended up discussing with my professor.

When interviewing Dr. Beatty, I asked him about his academic experiences and how he ended up a professor at Ohio State. We also talked about his research, which was very interesting. He studies energy in relation to cosmic rays and tries to answer questions like “how do subatomic particles get such high concentrations of energy?” and “where do these particles come from?” We talked about how undergraduates like me can get involved in research. Dr. Beatty’s advice was to ask for a position in a lab, under a graduate student, and to then be assigned to more complex tasks, eventually conducting research on my own. His advice regarding undergraduate studies was to focus on retaining the information you learn as opposed to focusing on getting an A in the class. He also said that the more math classes you take, the better off you will be in your career.

Overall, this assignment gave me an opportunity to get advice from people I would not regularly ask. I was able to learn methods of studying and how to organize and plan out study sessions in order to get the maximum benefit out of time spent. I also learned about how to set myself up for success in applying and going through graduate school. I plan on using what I learned through these interviews in my daily studies and throughout my college career.

COSI Volunteer Experience

COSI Logo

I volunteered with COSI during the fall semester of 2016-2017. While volunteering, I would engage COSI visitors with exciting experiments. One experiment was to test the interconnection of the sense of taste and smell by having a visitor pinch their nose while chewing a gumdrop. When the visitor un-pinched their nose, they would find out that the gumdrop tasted like cinnamon! I would then explain that because our senses are too connected, they could not taste the gumdrop without also smelling it. Another experiment related to the use of vacuums. I would ask the visitor to raise a wooden stool without directly touching it, but I would allow them to use a rubber mat with a hook attached to its center. Some visitors would catch on immediately, and others took a while to figure out the trick. By placing the rubber mat on top of the stool and then pulling up on the hook, they could raise the stool! Little kids loved this experiment and parents took the opportunity to explain in more detail about what vacuums could do. One example I gave often was the use of the household vacuum and how it created a vacuum in the machine to suck up all the dirt around the house. The last experiment was my personal favorite. I would use a bike wheel and metal chain to show inertia in action. By holding the wheel vertically and then spinning it very fast, I could keep it spinning exactly as it was, even when I held the wheel by the attached metal chain. I would also have the visitors hold onto the middle bar of the wheel and try to change its motion after I had gotten it spinning. They were always surprised to see how difficult it was to move!

I really enjoyed my time at COSI. I loved both the science part of the work and the interactions I had with COSI visitors. It was amazing to see the surprise on visitor’s faces when they un-pinched their noses, lifted the stool without touching it, and saw the wheel spin. Volunteering here made me more interested in pursuing an education-based career path. I am now working towards a minor in education, along with my major in astrophysics.