compare and contrast:

this article "Turning Practicality into Passion" about a new male BYU faculty member and this article "Developing a Taste for Research and Mini-Muffins" about a new female BYU faculty member.

Stacey is awesome and a fantastic scientist, and I'm really happy for her that she got this position. However, I'm really disappointed in how they wrote about her. From the college's facebook description (how I found the article), "I'm not sure which I like more: Research? Or Muffins? For Stacey Smith, she may have found a way to combine both!" First of all, it's misleading. I thought she was randomly doing some sort of food science research at first, which would be strange considering her training is all in hardcore physical and materials chemistry. Second of all, it undermines her scientific accomplishments. Two thirds of the article is about her life outside of science, compared to maybe a sixth of the male professor's. What is she going to be researching at BYU? Who knows, but she does enjoy running!

It reminds me of the first paragraph of the New York Times obituary for Yvonne Brill, a brilliant rocket scientist:

"She made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her husband from job to job and took eight years off from work to raise three children. 'The world’s best mom,' her son Matthew said."

Now, this is not to say that I'm anti-muffin or think we should ignore female scientists' lives outside of science. I'm sure that Yvonne Brill considered being Matthew's mother one of her greatest accomplishments, and motherhood should never be trivialized. I just don't like that whenever we talk about female scientists we have to remind everyone that they're female or make them cutesy and domestic. Muffins! Beef stroganoff! Can you imagine a NYT obituary for a male scientist talking about his cooking skills in the first paragraph? No, because the story would be about his SCIENCE. As it should have been for Yvonne and Stacey. As it should be about any scientist, regardless of gender. That's all I ask. 

astronauts deserve a lot of capitalized letters

I know I'm like 3 days late on this, but THIS VIDEO:

I'm obsessed, probably because in junior high I wanted to be an astronaut. And, after watching that video three times today I still kind of do. I mean, crying in space:

DOES IT GET ANY COOLER THAN THAT?

i did it. i forked over $7.50 for a dang pumpkin.

Behold. The spirit of Halloween lives in our house.

I got this pumpkin last weekend somewhere in Manyunk (maybe? or a town that started with an R) on my way home from an outreach activity with PAGES (Philadelphia Area Girls Enjoying Science). A bunch of female grad students put together some demos and hands-on experiments for 60 6th grade girls to do, and it was a blast. Those girls had so much enthusiasm! I have hope for the future now. And another sentence to add about broader impacts in my NSF essay.

Getting out of deep Philly was kind of nice, too. (Not that I don't love the city, I really do.) I saw lawns and garages and beautiful trees and hills. It's too bad the leaves haven't really turned color yet or it would have been perfect. We've had a spurt of great weather lately (mid 70's), and it's been awesome.

Aaron has tests this week, but when he finishes on Friday, we are carving that pumpkin and roasting its seeds. After that, all it'll take for me to recreate an Andrus Halloween is a hideous plastic pumpkin centerpiece with fall leaves growing out the top of it. Scary!

Edit: This is the crazy centerpiece. Posted by my mom on Facebook this morning.

Does anyone have any great sugar cookie recipes? My chemistry friends and I are baking 118 sugar cookies to make the periodic table this weekend, and we want it to be a delicious experience.

Happy Monday!

good bye apathy

I think it's interesting!

Did you know that if you can lower the conductivity of your tin dioxide gas sensor (maybe by doping it with some other compound) you can increase its surface interactions with a reducing gas like hydrogen and therefore its sensitivity? Isn't that cool? I still don't understand band bending (except that it makes me think of water, air, earth, and fire bending...uh...I mean...), but this topic is starting to come alive for me, a little bit at a time. I'm not dragging myself tonight. Hallelujah! And guess what else. I made those SnO2 particles! And I'm going to measure their heat capacities! And then someone else can make them into a gas sensor that can detect carbon monoxide and save someone's life.

Science is awesome!

*cue ASL sign for applause*

white

It is the first day of December, and it has yet to snow and stick.

Perhaps I will convert to global warming after all.*

Happy Tuesday (oops, it's now past midnight, make that Wednesday) everyone!

*I still think Al Gore is ridiculous, and so is all of the political hype surrounding global warming.

Oh, and with that footnote, I just reminded myself of a thought.

Anyone else share my disbelief and anger that Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize?

Ridiculous.

Especially when people like Greg Mortenson were nominated.

Grrrr.

Have a "Horrible" Halloween!

I know I've posted this once before on this blog, but I think it's fan-freaking-tastic and Halloween-y enough to repost:

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

You must invest approximately 42 minutes of your time to fully enjoy this. It is all worth it.


Happy Halloween!

I clicked my ruby heels together and look what happened

I'm HOME!!!!
It feels so good to be back. Will post something about Philadelphia and DC later...it's a little daunting to think of how much I have to say about the last week and tour as a whole...

For now though, I read this in the InStyle magazine that I bought to get rid of money on my per diem card in the airport:
"Straightening your wet strands with a traditional flatiron is damaging-the water actually boils inside the hair's cortex. However, dedicated wet-to-dry flatirons use technology that converts the H2O in your hair to steam."

"Converts the water to steam"....isn't that...boiling?

Could someone explain the difference to me?

The thoroughbred of sin? I meant Gandhi.

Tonight I was introduced to the magic known as Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog (thanks Kurt).

Experience the drama for yourself:

Click here

Not much to say, but a whole lot to think

This is getting to be ridiculous. Gas just keeps going up and it's never going to come down. People cannot keep paying $4+ a gallon. Something's gotta give. And to anyone who says, "Well people in Europe pay $6+ a gallon!" this is my response: Europe actually has public transportation. There are trains, buses, subway stations, etc. They don't need to drive cars! People in Utah can't live like that! There are no trains or metros here! The sad truth is you need a car to get places. And yet we still can't drill in Alaska. We're heading toward a crisis, but oh no, we need to save the lemmings or whatever the heck lives there. Gah, stupid environmentalists.
Honestly though, with all the technology we have nowadays, you'd think we could come up with a solution to this problem. Here's your conspiracy theory for the day: I bet someone's paying off the scientists who've already discovered it. Ok, not really, but it is a little frustrating. The best thing we can come up with is fuel from corn, which apparently creates another problem in and of itself? There's got to be something better out there.
Think about it, think, think about it. :)

WHY ARE PEOPLE SO STUPID?!

GAHHH.

Click here.

I cannot believe people. Filing a lawsuit against the Large Hadron Collider is absolutely ridiculous. People have been smashing atoms for nearly half a century and guess what. We're all still here! No catastrophes! Driving a car is more dangerous than a particle collider, so why don't you sue Ford?

Stop interfering with science already, and let the scientists make the world a better place in peace!

She Blinded Me With Science

I got my chemistry test back today.

My score:
91 out of 100.

Silly boys, science is for girls :P

"I not only think that we will tamper with Mother Nature, I think Mother wants us to." - Willard Gaylin

Happy Friday everyone! I absolutely love, love, love this day of the week because I only have one class that requires thinking (math). Other than that I have team rehearsal and technique class which are zero stress and very enjoyable. Hmmm, what else to say? I'm trying to avoid working on my math homework right now...it's so easy to procrastinate because it's not due until Monday, and I'm not obligated to do anything until 6:40 tonight (I have an audition with a potential partner for next year! woot!) You know what I decided? I really like cooking. Recently I've made sauteed chicken with a mustard cream sauce, peach and blackberry cobbler, and berry scones. Yummm yummm yummm. Maybe if this whole chemistry/ballroom/BYU thing doesn't work out, I'll go to cooking school in France.

The cookbook that Kristen and I "borrowed" from Mike and Brad.
The subject of whether we're going to return it or not is still under debate.

Oh! I know something I can discuss. I read an article in the New York Times this afternoon talking about how more and more parents are choosing not to immunize their children because they think it increases their risk of asthma, autism, and immunology. How about how not immunizing their children increases their risk of meningitis, small pox, measles, pertussis, etc? Gahhhh it bothers me so much when people who have no scientific training and who've gotten all their information from studies of questionable credibility and the internet go about making these ridiculous claims! Not vaccinating your child puts everyone else's at risk. Death by measles in children has dropped 68% from 2000 to 2006 alone. Guess why-vaccines! Hmm, yeah, I think we should definitely get rid of them. Look at that risk. Your child could not die from measles.
Here's a quote: "Some parents of unvaccinated children go to great lengths to expose their children to childhood diseases to help them build natural immunities. In the wake of last month's outbreak, Linda Palmer considered sending her son to a measles party to contract the virus. Several years ago, the boy, now 12 contracted chicken pox when Ms. Palmer had him attend a gathering of children with that virus." (uhhh not sure how to cite this...today's New York Times. "Rising Risk to Public Health Is Seen as More Parents Are Rejecting Vaccines". Harris, Gardner....ok I think that's good...) How about you just give him a freaking vaccine and then he doesn't have to be sick with a potentially life-threatening disease?

This brings up another point, sort of not related, but in my mind it is. "Organic food vs. genetically altered food." Bunch of crap, that's what it is. Technically "organic" just means contains carbon, so by that definition all food is organic. There is nothing wrong with genetically altered food! I would think it'd make sense to have crops that will survive early freezing or whatever. Hardier crops=more food. More food should equal less hungry people. Everyone wants less hungry people, right? End world hunger? Maybe a good idea? Not with genetically altered food apparently.

I remember in fifth grade we read an article about this in "Time For Kids." (hehe, remember that little magazine? I loved getting those things.) After reading it, almost my entire class was convinced that genetically altered food was bad, bad, bad. Then I went home and asked for my dad's scientifically influenced opinion (o chem prof at byu, ye-eah! uh ok, I promise to never type anything like that again) and he told me that genetically altered food is completely safe. He was very angry that "Time For Kids" was pushing its liberal agenda on easily swayed, naive fifth graders. Meh.

Anyway, sorry this isn't very well thought-out, and I know I've got lots of holes in my arguments (mostly they are just rants) but I'd like to know your opinions on these things. I miss doing those little debates in Mr. M's fifth grade class and biology with Hodges in ninth grade...virtual debate anyone?