Hello,
This blog is started with two goals. First, it will serve as an unofficial lab book where I will document my progress with lab methods as my research group and I work toward our research goal (more on that later). Second, I intend to log my thought processes, questions and possibly emotions as we work on the problem.
I am participating in a program funded through the NSF that allows teachers to gain research experience in university labs. This Research Experience for Teachers (RET), exposes teachers to real research/lab work that they may or may not have in their undergraduate preparations. The second component of this program will take place next summer. I will work on a curriculum project that will bring methods, ideas and general "nature of science" processes to the classroom (citation to come). I do not know as many details about RET part II, but that will be the focus of later posts as I get more information. Frankly, the focus of this summer is almost entirely research, and that will encompass the vast majority of the early posts.
About myself--I teach high school science (chemistry and general science). I have a wide range of interests, and when I go to the beach, I enjoy reading Inorganic Chemistry textbooks just as much as the candy-reading standard arc plot thrillers that grace the New York Times' Best seller list. That's enough about me for now. Since this is a diary of sorts, any readers will gain exposure to my thoughts over the course of the summer. Writing a paragraph about myself is as tedious as weighing a solid reagent to a precision of four decimal places. Not my favorite thing to do, but I will as much as I need to.
My research mentors, partners and I work in Ram Seshadri's Materials Research Lab at UCSB. Our specific work will be synthesizing, analyzing and creating an application for superconducting material. The materials science itself is not cutting edge. The compound (YBa2CU3O7) has been around since 1986 and is quite well known because it is one of the few high temperature superconductors. High temperature meaning about 90 K or -183 degrees Celsius. Liquid nitrogen can accomplish this. Liquid nitrogen is also known as "one of the funnest lab materials around." So I'm looking forward to working with that.
The creative component to this project comes after the compound is synthesized. As a professor, Ram participates in many science nights at local schools. One of his favorite "magic tricks" is to take advantage of the magnetic repulsion property of superconductors when the material is at or below its critical temperature. This trick entails floating a magnet over the superconducting material. It literally hovers and is quite astonishing the first time you see it. Our project is to devise a vehicle that will not just float, but will also move down a track. Once the synthesis aspect is completed, this project will transform into an engineering exercise, which will be a challenge. My understanding is that Ram will then have this contraption to use at science nights to captivate the imaginations of area students, thus piquing interest in science-- and I am all for that.
At this point, I think that is a sufficient introduction to the project. More will follow as I catalog my own progress, successes, and failures.
This blog is started with two goals. First, it will serve as an unofficial lab book where I will document my progress with lab methods as my research group and I work toward our research goal (more on that later). Second, I intend to log my thought processes, questions and possibly emotions as we work on the problem.
I am participating in a program funded through the NSF that allows teachers to gain research experience in university labs. This Research Experience for Teachers (RET), exposes teachers to real research/lab work that they may or may not have in their undergraduate preparations. The second component of this program will take place next summer. I will work on a curriculum project that will bring methods, ideas and general "nature of science" processes to the classroom (citation to come). I do not know as many details about RET part II, but that will be the focus of later posts as I get more information. Frankly, the focus of this summer is almost entirely research, and that will encompass the vast majority of the early posts.About myself--I teach high school science (chemistry and general science). I have a wide range of interests, and when I go to the beach, I enjoy reading Inorganic Chemistry textbooks just as much as the candy-reading standard arc plot thrillers that grace the New York Times' Best seller list. That's enough about me for now. Since this is a diary of sorts, any readers will gain exposure to my thoughts over the course of the summer. Writing a paragraph about myself is as tedious as weighing a solid reagent to a precision of four decimal places. Not my favorite thing to do, but I will as much as I need to.
My research mentors, partners and I work in Ram Seshadri's Materials Research Lab at UCSB. Our specific work will be synthesizing, analyzing and creating an application for superconducting material. The materials science itself is not cutting edge. The compound (YBa2CU3O7) has been around since 1986 and is quite well known because it is one of the few high temperature superconductors. High temperature meaning about 90 K or -183 degrees Celsius. Liquid nitrogen can accomplish this. Liquid nitrogen is also known as "one of the funnest lab materials around." So I'm looking forward to working with that.
The creative component to this project comes after the compound is synthesized. As a professor, Ram participates in many science nights at local schools. One of his favorite "magic tricks" is to take advantage of the magnetic repulsion property of superconductors when the material is at or below its critical temperature. This trick entails floating a magnet over the superconducting material. It literally hovers and is quite astonishing the first time you see it. Our project is to devise a vehicle that will not just float, but will also move down a track. Once the synthesis aspect is completed, this project will transform into an engineering exercise, which will be a challenge. My understanding is that Ram will then have this contraption to use at science nights to captivate the imaginations of area students, thus piquing interest in science-- and I am all for that.
At this point, I think that is a sufficient introduction to the project. More will follow as I catalog my own progress, successes, and failures.
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