Getting Inside My Head

Fun stuff:  About a week ago I participated in a rather lengthy and extensive personality test for a management training course I’m taking.  The current section of the course is teaching students to assess their management style, with the intention of helping us individually tailor our training. Part of the assessment is to determine which side of our brains we rely on most when we reason, form arguments and communicate our thoughts and feelings – the left or right.

Not knowing very much about how side-dominance affects personality, I just assumed that being a biogeek meant I was left-sided.  Also, I write with my right hand.  But, according to the tests, I overwhelmingly exhibited right-side dominance in most of the subject areas.  Huh.

When I asked questions to increase my understanding, the professor was quick to dismiss the myth that mental aptitude in science and math are strictly a left-sided thing.  “It’s a stereotype,” he said.  “Both sides are responsible for numerical analysis and scientific understanding.”  Oh, okay.  So, what things for me rang more true as a right-brainer, rather than left?  Well, this (admittedly rather unscientific) blurb from a quiz/article I found on the web summarizes several of the points my class discussed:

Right brain dominant individuals are more visual and intuitive. They are better at summarizing multiple points, picking up on what’s not said, visualizing things, and making things up. They can lack attention to detail, directness, organization, and the ability to explain their ideas verbally, leaving them unable to communicate effectively.

I can definitely say that I fall under this description more often than not.  This is in comparison to Left-brain dominant people, who tend to be:

…more orderly, literal, articulate, and to the point. They are good at understanding directions and anything that is explicit and logical. They can have trouble comprehending emotions and abstract concepts, they can feel lost when things are not clear, doubting anything that is not stated and proven.

Also, despite loving science and math, I’ve always been dubbed as being “atypical” by my peers: rather than pursue science for the logic of it, I am compelled by what I see as the art behind the science, and it’s expressed in a number of complex and abstract ways.  This view of the world has led to tremendous comfort moving in and out of several not-so-scientific hobbies and social circles.  I use science as an example because of my industry, but I guess the reverse can be said for those who work in the liberal arts.

So, does all this mean that I’m going to quit the engineering industry and run out to join an artist’s colony?  No.  My passions are still in tact and in order, and the brain uses both the right and left sides to perform the millions of tasks required of it on a daily basis.  However, it does mean that I have a clearer picture of how I think, feel and communicate as an individual, and working to better understanding oneself is the second-most noble of pursuits.  What Life requires is balance, and knowing my natural tendencies will help me be more effective while working in a leadership role and in acheiving my personal goals.

Accolades, again!

I was very pleased to read recently that Vanessa Northington Gamble, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed as University Professor of Medical Humanities at George Washington University, effective earlier this month. As a physician, historian, and activist, Dr. Gamble is an expert in the fields of medical history and humanities, bioethics and health care disparities, and is the first woman to hold this prestigious faculty position.

Early in my academic career I spent hours in the stacks of the local university’s library reading anything I could get my hands on that dealt with the history of race and ethnicity in medicine and public health in this country. Scholars such as Dr. Gamble fueled my passion, with writings and publications that vociferously addressed the state of health care as I observed it within my community, and presented to me a priceless body of knowledge from which I have drawn from over and over again.

Dr. Gamble directed the National Center for Bioethics and Research in Health Care at Tuskegee University and has served as head of the Division of Community and Minority Programs at the Association of American Medical Colleges. She is also an associate professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Many congratulations to her and to the faculty that will benefit tremendously from her wisdom.

Moving Forward in Science Policy

On August 13th, Dr. Nina Fedoroff, of Pennsylvania State University, was sworn in as the newest Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State (Ms. Condoleezza Rice). While in this position, Dr. Fedoroff will have a key influence on the future of American science policy and international scientific cooperation–

“The position of Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary (STAS) was created in 2000, to serve as the Department’s chief scientist and principal liaison with the national and international scientific and engineering communities. Dr. Fedoroff is the third person to hold this position. The Adviser is responsible for enhancing the science and technology literacy and capacity at the State Department, increasing the number of scientists and engineers working in Washington and missions abroad, strengthening and building bridges to the scientific and engineering communities, and providing advice on current and emerging science and technology issues as they impact foreign policy.” (excerpted from the U.S. Department of State’s website)

Dr. Fedoroff has been a favorite researcher of mine for quite some time because of her work with genetics and molecular biology and her studies on the societal impacts of genetically modified crops. She brings to the position an impressive body of knowledge and a well-respected plethora of experience, which includes memberships to the National Science Board and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She also served as founding Director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State and is a National Medal of Science laureate.

I look forward to hearing the dialogue her office will bring to the public policy round table.

Flight of the Torus

It’s quite hot outside today – 99°F by my last check. Although I enjoy warm weather, it can make one feel enervated from time to time In light of all of that, I decided to spend the afternoon putting my feet up and catching up on some reading I’d fallen behind on.

During my time off this summer, I’ve been taking a somewhat objective look at research possibilities after graduation. I’ve know for quite some time that my preferred program (Bioastronautics) is realizing a support crisis right now, due to low priority initiatives and a lack of funding. This is mostly due to the Shuttle program ending in 2010, with priority shifting away from the space life sciences to vehicle development and deployment. Getting to space takes precedence over living in space, for right now at least. Projections estimate that priorities will remain reversed for quite a number of years into the future – 15 or more, in fact. There are many exciting discoveries to be made, as clearly outlined in this interesting article published in the latest issue of Aerospace America; however, as the article also points out, there are several political hurdles to overcome in the next decade.

Keeping that bit of a reality check in mind, my thoughts turn to other interests I have in the areas of science, technology and public policy – namely, alternative energy and science policy. I’ve taken a particularly strong interest in nuclear fusion energy and international cooperation efforts toward nonproliferation. The idea of developing a virtually unlimited energy supply, coupled with the desire to use nuclear energy for peaceful applications, is an extremely attractive career option for me. In the future, with sufficient research and development, groundwork may be put into place for space applications, too.

Again, however, we are talking several years out before any significant developments are likely to be made. The plus side is that nuclear energy research is being heavily supported, at the domestic and international levels, and I have a strong desire to work on multilateral initiatives.

So, the deeper research has begun to see if this what I really want to pursue. I’ve been looking at published papers to see who is doing what and to update myself on what has already been done, and I’ve been brushing up on current technology – in particular, the lovely torus (the shape of the plasma chamber used inside tokamak fusion reactors).

I dare say, I’ve become fascinated.

Saturday

It’s gorgeous outside–the sun is out shiny and bright, it’s a balmy 60 degrees and there isn’t a cloud (that I can see) in the sky. I woke up early and feeling tired this morning, but the thought of all the astronomy homework I have to get done this weekend snapped me out of bed pretty quickly To alleviate some of the foreboding gloom of doing school work on such a beautiful day, I decided I would treat myself to breakfast at the local tea house. Yummy.

After eating, I walked over to the library and reserved one of their study rooms–they’re gorgeous, have floor to ceiling windows that fill two walls, and are on the second floor (which means you can see most of downtown). The rooms are also sound-proof! The one I got this time also happens to face the train tracks, and it’s fun to watch the cars when they go by–lots of people gather around to see them. Unfortunately, despite the great view, the library’s wireless internet connection wasn’t working (grrrr) and I needed it to do some research. After muddling through limited or no connectivity for about an hour, I walked over to the librarian and told her about the problem. “Oh, yeah,” she said, “a few others have come to me about it in the last couple of days. I should probably report that to someone.” Huh?!?! I walked back to the room, gathered my things and went home.

Although we’ve got internet at home, the last thing I wanted to do was be in the house all day, so I considered other options. As it just so happens, days like this make me want to either open all of the windows and doors in the house and get to scrubbin’, or get under the hood and work on the car. Since I felt lazy this morning, I opted out of the cleaning bit and drove over to the nearest Auto Zone to check my fluid levels and buy a few things. I’m glad I did because the power steering fluid level was nearly bone dry (something I thought I could feel while out driving yesterday, so I checked it first). After topping that up and checking for leaks (there were none), I added a bit of washer fluid to the reservoir, checked the tire pressures and topped up on coolant. Everything else was in good shape. With a smile of mechanical satisfaction, I pulled off and headed to campus to get busy on astronomy.

Right now I’m working through a tutorial and a short essay on Io, one of Jupiter’s moons. I’ve been pretty surprised at how much I’m feelin’ this class. I always thought star-gazing was cool, but learning the deeper aspects of what we see when we look up at the sky has been very satisfying. Tonight I’ve work to begin on a constellation project, so I’m probably gonna head out after dark and find a mountain top somewhere. With the moon nearly new, it’ll be a perfect night for viewing.

Green Building Design…Day Three

Whew, what a weekend! Today ended what has been an extremely intense, but wonderful, 3-day course on Green Building Techniques, presented by environmental scientist and green builder Dan Chiras at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Our agenda today covered:

• Passive Cooling Design: Principles and Guidelines
• Residential Renewable Energy Technologies: Part 1 (Solar Hot Water – Solar Hot Air – Solar Electric – Wind Energy – Microhydro)
• Residential Renewable Energy Technologies: Part 2 (more in-depth discussion of Part 1 technologies)
• Green Remodeling (Guest Lecturer, Larry Kinney, Synertech Systems Corp., Boulder)
• Natural Building: Why Build with natural materials? (Guest Lecturer, Larua Bartels, GreenWeaver, Inc. , Carbondale) (Straw bale – Adobe – Rammed Earth – Wattle & Daub – Cob – Straw Clay – Natural Plasters)
• Creating Sustainable Communities: Rebuilding Existing Communities

I am extremely pleased with the outcome of this course–we met our goals as a group and enjoyed ourselves in the meantime. Now that the course is over, I’m one step closer to being Green Building Certified (a process I began about 2 years ago). More details on that as it happens later in the year. For photos on some of the other projects I’ve worked on, follow this link.

Perhaps, the most important point I walked away with was this:

“Truly appropriate technology doesn’t make people or their communities dependent on systems over which they have no control.” –David Eisenberg

Green Design (Building, and Technology) is really, for me, about being good to myself, empowering my community and ensuring the prosperity of future generations…all children of all species for all time. (William McDonough) How can I do this? By being mindful and intentional with what is within my control–little by little, today, tomorrow and every day.

Many thanks to Dan, Mark Shueneman (of the Colorado Straw Bale Association, Boulder), Laura Bartels and our guest speakers for an amazing weekend!

Green Building Techniques…Day Two

Day Two of the Green Building Techniques course presented by Dan Chiras was phenomenal!

An outstanding feature of this lecture is that Chiras is teaching us from his proven methods of success, and also from the mistakes he made when designing and building his own home. He often refers to things he didn’t consider at the time and passes along a note of caution on how to avoid danger in the future. That perspective makes what he’s teaching even more cohesive and practical.

Today’s Topics:

• Green Building Practices, Materials and Technologies: Part 2 (Accessibility – Ergonomics – Adaptability – Earth-sheltering – Energy Efficient Design – Renewable Energy – Water Efficiency – Recycling Waste Water – Water Management – Landscaping for Wildlife – Integrated Design)
• Green Building Programs: What are they and why are they valuable? (Earthcraft, Green Built Colorado, LEED)
• How much does it cost to go green?
• Green Built Production Homes (Guest Lecturer, Jeff Medanich, McStain Neigborhoods, Boulder)
• Energy Efficient Design and Construction (Guest Lecturer, Larry Kinney, Synertech Sytems Corp. and SunFlower Corp., Boulder)
• Passive Solar Heating: Design Guidelines
• Passive Solar Heating: Avoiding Mistakes
• Builder Guide for Windows (BGW2004) Software (Guest Lecturer, Fred Roberts, Solaequis, Fort Collins)
• Radiant Heating, Hydronics, Solar Cooking and many more…!

And the main point that Chiras couldn’t stress enough was: DESIGN FOR EFFICIENCY!!!

During one of the design lectures, I brought up the notion that dome structures are increasing in popularity and asked what considerations one should make when trying to design. Chiras mentioned several advantages, such as stability, efficiency, etc., but also pointed out a few concerns around design complications, such as dome structures creating passive solar heating design complications. He also referred me to his book, The New Economical Home, which we all received a free copy of, where he makes mention of building domes. Surprisingly, the gentleman I met yesterday, the one who is designing a vacation home for him and his wife, currently lives in a house that has a dome feature incorporated into the center! Great! We talked at length about why he chose to do this, as dome living has been a passion of his for a long time. He also explained some of the complications he’s had, and recommended incorporating a dome structure into a larger floor plan (part of my observation/viewing dome ideas anyway). Another woman in our group, who’s actually researched dome living extensively, overheard our conversation and approached me afterwards. She gave me all kinds of links and resources for dome kits, monolithic domes, etc., and updated me on some of the benefits of domes when used as a primary dwelling.

Chiras also showed slides of gorgeous, spacious, brightly daylit interiors. I became interested in Daylighting techniques several years ago after learning about how incredibly easy it is to brightly light an office, classroom or home with natural daylight and little or no electric light. I call natural daylight “happy light”–our brain needs natural sun light each day to produce chemicals that promote feelings of health and well-being. Ever suffer from “cabin fever” in the winter? Shorter days mean less exposure to that vital dose of sunshine. Not only are bright, cheery spaces more fun (and much more productive) to be in, they are necessary for sufferers of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). And, as are all green design techniques when well-implemented, daylighting is extremely cost effective. Less money spent on electric lighting means more money in the bank.

A few buzz phrases I’ve been hearing:

“Design is an indication of intent.” –William McDonough

“Air Tight, Ventilate Right!” –Larry Kinney

and perhaps my favorite…

“When we build, let us think that we build forever.” –John Ruskin

Reporting Live from Green Building Techniques…Day One

I’ve just ended my first day in a three-day short-course on Green Building Techniques, given through the University of Colorado at Boulder. Our facilitator and main presenter is Dan Chiras, who, for many reasons, is fast becoming one of my personal heroes. He’s had a long and exceptional career, with roots in the biological sciences, and he is an expert in the fields of environmental science and green design. He is also living in a home he sustainably designed and built, and has lived off the electicity grid for over a decade.

Today’s lectures were nothing less than intense–A LOT of material was covered in our first session. We discussed topics on :

• The History of Green Building
• The Growing Popularity of Green Building (Guest Lecturer, Laura Bartels, GreenWeaver, Inc., Carbondale, CO )
• Why Build Green?: The end of cheap oil and natural gas
• Overview of Green Building Practices, Materials and Technologies: Part 1 (Site selection – Site restoration – Energy Efficiency – Renewable Energy – Healthy Building – Green Building Materials – Landscaping for Energy and Environment – Waste Recycling – Building a Healthy Home – Reducing Wood Use and Advanced Framing Techniques)
• Green Building Materials (Guest Lecturer, Jeff Scott, SolSource, Inc., Denver)
• Environmental Justice and Affordable Sustainability (Dignity Village, and The Intertribal Council on Utility Policy)

The class participants have arrived from all over the country to hear Chiras give this lecture; oddly enough, I’m the only one here from the engineering field (there were about 25 of us in today’s session). Most of the attendees are environmental designers, architects and builders, and several are would-be do-it-yourselfers who have dreams (or signed contracts!) to design and build green homes of their own. I fall into the latter category, as I’ve had big dreams of designing and building my own house for a long time. And this course is just encouraging me to dream bigger! Geez, just what I need! So far, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know a young couple from Colorado, who are renovating their existing home, an architect in Denver, who works in commercial government contracts, a young woman who just bought land in the mountains, and is looking to build her first home from the ground up , and a retired gentleman from South Carolina, who is just beginning the process of designing a vacation home for him and his wife in the mountains of North Carolina (who couldn’t find a contractor in his area that would touch a green design project–unbelievable!).

The course is certainly designed for the self-starter looking to bring green building techniques into their home; also pointed out, however, were several segues into commercial applications and professional considerations. As an engineering student focusing (in the larger scope) on space, environmental and biological systems, I am totally geeked over how applicable these techniques are in the areas of sustainable life support systems and habitats–the subjects of energy, air quality, lighting, waste/water treatment, and heating and cooling are all extremenly relevant to the design of well-contained, durable and healthy environments, whether built on this planet or circling above it.

More from the from the scene, as it happens, tomorrow…

From Bones to Batteries

(aka, what I spend time thinking about when there are more important, even urgent, matters to attend to)

Systems Biology and Emergent Properties

During the course of this semester, I’ve had the pleasure of learning about recent advances made in the field of Biological Engineering. Many efforts are being made to link the fields of traditional science and engineering, with the hope that innovation and scientific discovery will be found where they meet. One promising junction is systems biology, or the study of how the order of living biological systems (from the macroscale down to the nanoscale) determines an organism’s function. Biological systems are all around and in us: the cells in our bodies are organized to function together as a heart, or a lung, and these organs in turn function together to allow us to breathe and use oxygen; individuals within a species together make up a population, that in turn functions as an entity within an ecological niche, which in turn builds an ecosystem…the levels of organization go as high as our solar system, and beyond.

The fascinating discovery seen within these layers of life is how, as one progresses up through the levels of organization from the least to the most complex systems, properties begin to emerge that aren’t seen at lower levels. This is the idea of emergent properties.

For example, when scientists observe nerve cells under the microscope, there are many parts of the cell one can distinguish. Each cell as an individual , however, remains fairly uninteresting. But, if one gathers together many cells and forms a specific tissue, say brain tissue, suddenly those uninteresting cells, collectively, exhibit new behavior. As a result of higher organization humans can experience thoughts, memories and emotions. Systems biologists ask, what biologcal mechanisms are responsible for emergent properties?

As one whose higher education has its foundations in biology and chemistry, and who now has transitioned into engineering and space systems, I’ve become really interested in learning about how this field can improve space science and engineering. A researcher by the name of Dr. Angela Belcher at MIT has pioneered some very interesting studies into the use of biological components (viruses, proteins), which already exist in every living thing, for the manufacturing of materials essential to us. For example, using cells that are already “programmed” (via their DNA instructions) to make bone tissue to instead make silicon composites for use in solar cells. The mechanism for manufacturing is already there, but by introducing the raw materials necessary to make other composites the cells become factories of a different economy, if you will.

The reasons I find this research so novel are: 1) as a global community our energy needs require new, innovative solutions; 2) naturally occurring systems are by design clean, efficient and self-sustaining, and thereby impose minimal environmental impact (they have to be to have survived these many billions of years); 3) by mimicking the mechanisms that already occur in nature we are following a well-established and time-tested model. There are many factors to consider here, that is for sure, but I think there really is something to all of this.

Even more interesting is the scale at which most biological systems fundamentally operate: nano. This means that as the “nano-age” continues to unfold even more opportunities for scientific discovery will emerge.

Goodbye Pluto, it’s been real.

After a many-years-long debate, it’s been decided that Pluto is to be classified as a dwarf planet, as it will no longer be considered a major planet in our Solar System. The International Astronomical Union in Prague voted in favor of the reclassification, citing Pluto’s funky orbit around the sun as the main reason. To be classified as a major planet, one of the qualifications is, a body’s orbit must be clear of other objects. Not to mention it’s small size and steep incline when compared to other orbits in our System, Pluto’s orbit crosses Neptune’s once every couple hundred years or so (but with an almost negligible chance of ever colliding). Also, given recent discoveries, Pluto seems to mimic much more closely the behavior of several other bodies known as Trans Neptune Objects (TNO’s), which are found in the nearby Kuiper Belt. Other known objects, such as the icy 2003 UB313 in the Kuiper Belt, the huge asteriod Ceres, and Pluto’s own moon, Charon, have fallen into the new dwarf planet classification as well.

I’ll admit, I’m a bit sorry to see the little guy go, but, such is the way of scientific progess. Sorry to all the students out there–it’s all new text books next year!