Science Cheerleader

Check out this terrific ad campaign from the Union of Concerned Scientists (the same organization that, in the past, has over-employed fear as a centerpiece of its messaging tactics). Here we are able to connect on a personal level to individual scientists as we learn more about their work and how it directly relates to climate change. I, for one, was drawn to this picture largely because my four young kids play baseball and, much like the child pictured here, one of them also seems “just as interested in catching butterflies” in the outfield.  Bravo UCS! (Thanks to the king of effective science communication strategies, Randy Olson , for the heads-up.)

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been asking questions about the birds and the bees. How do they fly? What do they eat? Now that I’m a trained scientist, my questions may be more sophisticated, but the passion is the same. I wonder what climate change is doing to the life cycle of wildflowers, and how bumblebees and hummingbirds are reacting to those changes. The bug’s-eye view shows me that our world is warming like never before. My name is David Inouye, and I’m a concerned scientist.
To learn more about my work, visit http://www.ucsusa.org/evidence

The careful tracking of bloom times over many years provides an important indicator of climate change. Consider volunteering to help researchers observe and record bloom times around the country by joining one of several “citizen science” projects. Learn more about these projects and how how you can get involved on SciCheer’s sister site: Science For Citizens.

While we’re talking about effective science communications, let me ask this: What do you envision when I say: “a National Academy of Engineering Communications Officer”…?

Think again. Check out this short, entertaining video starring the NAE’s communications team! It was used during last week’s Communications Conference at the National Academies as a preamble to the team’s introduction. Clever way to, again, connect to “real” people. Bye-bye-bye!

Wrote this post calling for the White House, National Academy of Engineering, and others, to create an Emergency Response 2.0 system to pre-wire the nation so we can rapidly and effectively respond to the next natural disaster.

As of this evening, it’s been Tweeted out, Facebooked, and Dug over at Digg nearly 400 times already. Looks like we’re rattling some cages. Let’s hope this attention and excitement results in action. I’ll continue to keep you posted.

Read the post that got this party started.

Just wrote this for DiscoverMagazine.com

Who get the credit for the BP container cap? YOU do.

Do you have thoughts on how we can pre-wire our nation for a better–more rapid–response to the next catastrophe? Share them via the Discover “comments” section, following the post.

Nice feature in the May edition of the American Chemical Society’s magazine:

Momentum for technology assessment based on input from everyday citizens who are not experts in a particular topic, or participatory technology assessment, is just beginning to build in the U.S. To get the conversation started, a group of institutions, universities, and science museums, as well as a former Philadelphia 76ers cheerleader turned science policy enthusiast (C&EN, Jan. 12, 2009, page 56), have teamed up and proposed a network dedicated to the process.

Called Expert & Citizen Assessment of Science & Technology (ECAST), the project is envisioned to be a geographically distributed network of complementary institutions that are independent of government. Nonpartisan policy research organizations would help broadly disseminate information to decisionmakers. Universities would both help assess technology and develop new ways to assess it. And science museums would help educate the public and inform society in user-friendly ways.

Read the full article, here.

Another gem from our own Occam’s Razor. Take it away, Occam!

I am, like the rest of the country, caught up in soccer fever, where the fever in my case manifests itself in a soothing warmth that puts me directly to sleep.  No, this will not be another commentary about how inferior a sport soccer is – for one thing, that puts me on the wrong side of the intelligentsia (not that that’s always a bad thing), and for another, three billion people probably can’t be wrong.  And certainly any sport that inspires fans to stomp and thrash each other (investigated by scientists here) must be thrilling, though has anyone ever suffered a heart attack over a missed header?

I was in the gym a couple of weeks ago and just happened to glance up from my reading to see a game on the TV winding down and locked in a scintillating 0-0 tie.  This score seemed to cause a lot of excitement among soccer fans in the room, one of whom even remarked, enthralled, that the game featured two of the World Cups best scorers. This would be like getting excited about Peyton Manning and Tom Brady play to a scoreless game and I just don’t get it. After all, Americans are generally fans of the double-o football, where our highlight packages are sliced together into videos that contain cuts approximately every .8 seconds. (Seriously…I counted and in this 180-second highlight package there were over 200 seperate shots.)  Can a Twitter society be expected to sit there and watch 0-0 ties without being bored??

Science is split on the issue of boredom, depending on who you talk to. Being bored is certainly not bad for you, as it’s during these moments, scientists say, that we have introspection and bursts of creativity.  As you sit there bored in some dark bar watching a soccer game, drinking Belgian beer with your sophisticated soccer friends – babbling endlessly about ball handling and offensive strategies (score one goal and win!) – you might actually be creating new stuff in your head.   Einstein reportedly came with E=mc2 while staring off into space during a Switzerland-Germany match.  Over the long term, however, as Occam noted in a previous post, a recent study showed that you can literally be bored to death. Read the rest of this entry »

Meet Summer, a former Houston Texans cheerleader who now spends her days developing space flight hardware. This interview is part of a series of Science Cheerleader’s nationally recognized efforts to playfully challenge stereotypes.

SciCheer: Please tell me when/how you first became interested in engineering.

Summer: When I was a freshman in high school I watched Apollo 13 in my Earth Science class and felt immediately inspired to become an engineer at NASA.

SciCheer: What  type of engineer are you and what turned you on to this field?

Summer: I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering.  My interest in atmospheric flight and beyond fueled my desire to pursue Aerospace Engineering.

SciCheer: Do you find that your looks (or being a former cheerleader) helped or hindered your studies or professional experiences? (Were you taken seriously?)

Summer: I recall a few students and professors looking at me as if I were lost as I proceeded through the halls of the engineering building at school for the first few weeks.  At work, there was some negative reaction to the fact that my part-time job was on the sidelines of a football field.  It could have hindered me, had I allowed it but I pressed on and, in the end, I was taken seriously.  Beauty can be both a curse and an advantage in a woman’s professional life.

SciCheer: Tell me a little about your favorite courses you took to prepare for your work?

Summer: I absolutely loved learning engineering!  My favorite courses were Aerospace Propulsions, Space Dynamics, Aerospace Design, Flight Mechanics and Controls and Aircraft Accident Investigation.  Though my career has taken me in a direction in which I do not commonly use the technical specifics of these courses they prepared me in other ways.  The course work enhanced my critical thinking and problem solving ability as well taught me presentation skills and engineering professionalism.  The variety of classes really opened my eyes to previously unimaginable possibilities for a career in the engineering world.

SciCheer: Can you describe a “typical day” at work?

Summer: There is no typical day at work in my current position.  There is always something new, which I enjoy.  I spend 90% of my time in laboratories where engineers and technicians are working to develop and sustain space flight hardware containing electronics.

SciCheer: Do you have any advice for middle or high school girls who might feel torn between following one dream (cheerleading or dancing) associated with beauty or following another (science/engineering/medicine) usually associated with, well, geeks?

Summer: There is no reason why you cannot do both! Learn good time management skills and develop healthy habits (proper eating, sleeping & exercise) so you can physically, mentally and happily pursue the dual role.  These dreams can collide and create huge success for you.

SciCheer: Best cheerleading experience?

Summer: It is very difficult to choose one moment as my best cheerleading experience.  Aside from every game day performance, my best experiences lie in what I got to do off of the field as a cheerleader.  An appearance on ESPN Cold Pizza and 1 vs. 100 game show, starring in NFL Presents: Rocket Science, being a key note speaker at the 2009 Super Sci-Tech Saturday Conference and flying on a KC-135 during a mid-air refueling mission with the Texas Air National Guard are a few experiences that really stand out.

SciCheer: Best engineering experience?
My best engineering experience was watching the project I worked on for 4 years – International Space Station Crew Quarters – launch on Space Shuttle Endeavor in November 2008.  I stood with my project team as we watched Crew Quarters blast off on Endeavor into a beautiful night sky aiming for their final destination, the International Space Station, to be used by astronauts for years to come. It was what I deemed my first engineering success and best engineering experience.

SciCheer: Anything you’d like to add that you want people to know?

Summer: While I was earning my engineering degree I also earned my Private Pilot’s license. In addition to an academic scholarship that I received from Cessna Aircraft Company, I participated in pageants through the Miss Kansas Organization to earn scholarship dollars for my education.  The pageants involved interview, talent, swimsuit and evening gown competitions as well as promoting a platform.

SciCheer: What is your current position?

Summer: My position changed just under one year ago.  Formerly, I was a project engineer in the Crew and Thermal Systems Division at NASA – Johnson Space Center.  I currently work as the contractor Sustaining Engineering Lab Manager in the Avionic Systems Division.

SciCheer: Which team(s) did you cheer for and when?

Summer: Houston Texans – 2005, 2006, 2007

[Meet Summer and a dozen other Science Cheerleaders--procheerleaders-turned-scientist--as they perform live at the U.S.A. Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C., Oct 23-24. Then, back at the Science Cheerleader/Going Pro Entertainment exhibit, get their autographs and hear first-hand how they bridged two seemingly different worlds. Interested sponsors should contact darlene@sciencecheerleader.com.]

Check out the federal government’s new crop of smart phone applications!

Find alternative fuel locations, on the go with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fueling Station Locator. The locator works on any mobile Internet-ready device and allows drivers to find the five closest biodiesel, electricity, E85 (etha­nol), hydrogen, natural gas, and propane fueling sites. It uses familiar, easy-to-navigate Google technology to map fueling stations, list contact information and business hours, and provide detailed driving directions and an instant phone connection..

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Now you can SHOW and tell little Johnny why sunblock is needed on any given day with this app for real-time UV index rating. Use your mobile device to check the UV Index and air quality ratings wherever you are. .

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Before you reach for that cake, check your Body Mass Index with this app. One of the most popular tools on the NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Web site is the BMI (Body Mass Index) calculator. BMI is a reliable indicator of total body fat, which is related to the risk of disease and death. The NHLBI BMI calculator receives 1.6 million visitors a month and ranks #1 on Google. This mobile application provides results right on your phone along with links to healthy weight resources on the NHLBI Web site. .

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Be a virtual bounty hunter with you spare time this summer using the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted App. With information provided directly from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, this application includes: the Top Ten Most Wanted, Most Wanted Terrorists, and Missing Children. A picture and background information is provided for each individual. The application also provides a link to submit tip information directly to the FBI. This application allows you to quickly identify Most Wanted criminals or missing children. Additionally, it provides the means to submit a tip, conveniently from your iPhone or iTouch device while you are on the go.

More government apps can be found here. (Hat tip to Jeffrey Levy, EPA, @levyj413)

Quest for a Living World.
Now THIS was a fun event. Great discussion (now featured in Discover and on DiscoverMagazine.com, see below). It’s also where I met some terrific Science Cheerleader fans!

From Discover Magazine: Bad Astronomy blogger Phil Plait moderates a panel discussion between astronomers who are searching for earthlike worlds elsewhere in the universe. The event cosponsors are Caltech, Discover, and Thirty Meter Telescope.

Join me on July 14th when Discover Magazine, the National Science Foundation, and two prominent professional engineering societies (ASME and IEEE) present: The Road to the New Energy Economy on Capitol Hill. (I head up these and other discussions on behalf of Discover Magazine where I’m a senior advisor and occasional writer.)

This second annual, four-part, lunchtime, Hill series “aims to garner Congressional support for innovation to allow us to shift to a more efficient, lower-carbon energy future.” View online video highlights and read about the inaugural series here.

First up this year: Natural Gas.  Email events@discovermagazine.com for more information.

In September, the topic will be Nuclear Energy. I’ll post the e-vite for that event here, sometime in August.

In our continuing effort to playfully challenge stereotypes, we present Lindsay!

S.C.: Please tell me when/how you first became interested in science.

Lindsay: When I started to become serious about dance, I became very interested and in tune with how the body works and I wanted to know more about the physiology behind it. My passion inspired me to learn more about the science:  why and how my body moves. Science fascinates me!

S.C.: What is Kinesiology and what turned you on to this field?

Lindsay: Great question! We had shirts made up in our department with the definition of Kinesiology on them because we were asked this question so frequently! Kinesiology, by definition, is the study of human movement. The practice of Kinesiology involves the assessment of movement, performance, and function to maintain, enhance, and rehabilitate the body in the areas of sport, recreation, work, exercise, and general activities of daily living. I was turned on to this field at my initial college orientation meeting, when I debating whether or not I wanted to become a dance or an education major. The department of Kinesiology made a small presentation at the meeting and I knew right away that this was the field for me! It is so relevant to everyone, not just athletes. We ALL move, just in different ways!

S.C.: Do you find that your looks (or being a former cheerleader) helped or hindered your studies or professional experiences? Were you taken seriously? Read the rest of this entry »