Zac M.
Year 1 in WISRD 2023-2024
Week of March 18th-22nd: Missed a day but have been editing pitches all week and journaling.
Week of March 11th-15th: Missed a couple of days this week but we are working on an EMG demo for the poster session.
Week of March 4th- 8th: Experiment delayed again (Low turnout)
Week of February 26th-March 1st: Cafiene experiment delayed to next week
Week of February 19th-23rd: This week, we prepped and tested for the caffeine lab
Week of February 11th-16th: Finished drawing of prototype and continued brainstorming ideas for future experiments.
Week of February 6th-9th: On Wednesday, I worked on my pitch reviews in class. I was absent on Thursday, so I planned to begin drawing a prototype of the device. The plan is to begin Friday.
Week of January 29th-February 2nd, I have been testing how things affect athletic ability. We have tested music, and now we are testing caffeine. We plan on conducting the caffeine lab with Max, and we are in the process of using the oximeter to conduct another lab.
Week of January 22nd-26th: Monday was rainy so we only tested the reaction time portion of the experiment. On Wednesday we completed the music lab with mixed results. Jake and I were not too happy with our subject, and the data was a bit underwhelming. On Thursday, Rhône was absent once again, so Jake and I discussed what was next on the agenda, along with looking at yesterday's experiment and Max’s.
Week of January 17th-19th: Short week and was absent one day. Ready to get to work on Monday
Week of January 8th-12th: Last week before the short week. Finalized the music lab and tested out some reaction tests and memory tests.
Week of January 2nd-January 5th: Continued research while discussing ideas. Made some experimental design notes along with future lab plans. Came up with an innovative long-term project.
Week of December 11th-December 15th: Finished the poster and had a great poster session. Got lots of new ideas and started research. Some ideas include the nervous system, stress levels, caffeine, supplements, oxygen/breathing, diet, heart rate, hydration, age, and environments effect on athletics. Next semester looking into soil collection too.
Week of November 27th-December 1st: Working on poster all week in Co-Lab. Getting good work done with Jake and Rhône. Discussed kinesiology posters with Max to best represent information for the lab.
Week of November 13th-17th: Finished the article and started to brainstorm the poster before break starts.
Week of November 6th-10th: I have been working on my Inquirer research and topics all week. I am going to write the article over the weekend. I researched how to have an interesting opening and closing in an article. I think I may try using a thesaurus to make my opening and closing less robotic and more poetic.
Week of October 30th-November 3rd: Post conferences and Dark Matter Day, Rhône, Jake, and I have been reconnecting and sharing future steps. We know the article draft is due, and posters are coming up. We mainly planned some experiments, and I did some research for my turf project.
Week of October 23rd-25th: Dark Matter day coming up this week. I have been prepped since last week, so I have been helping Rhône and Jake. Also, I have been working on the WISRD section of my conference.
Week of October 16th-20th: FINALLY! we figured it out after ordering parts, troubleshooting, and coding. The Arduino and EMG testing hardware is finally working. Jake and I planned some things, but with Rhône out and Dark Matter Day coming up, we have other things to work on.
October 9th-10th: Only a two-day week this week, so mainly worked on research. Came up with new study idea looking at carcinogens in turf fields.
Week of October 2nd-6th: Focused mainly on Arduino this week while adjusting some experimental designs. Continued research on future muscle studies.
Week of September 25th-29th: Started planning some experiments in the library today using the document Max created. Making some progress on the Arduino. Finally, figuring out the connections.
September 23, 2023 Update: Today, we continued to troubleshoot the Arduino. We also tested the radar gun. We can now begin our lab design based on speed.
Update on the EMG testing lab: Today, we did an inventory of our equipment and figured out what we need to conduct testing with a computer. We also wrote down our experimental design, and we are preparing for testing.
Statement of interest, Spring 2023: I have always been interested in science and love to explore the huge umbrella of topics that go along with it. Since elementary school, science and math have always been my favorite subjects, and I have always wanted to dive deeper into specific topics. When I heard about WISRD and the idea of working in a research lab, it immediately sparked ideas and wonderings about projects. Some of my favorite topics include chemistry, biology, physics, and astronomy. I love watching videos, reading articles, and talking to teachers to learn more about science and math in general. Since taking physics this year, I have opened up a new interest in astrophysics and overall how science works outside of earth. On earth, I am still curious about biology, and I have some ideas for projects that I could explore in WISRD. By far, my favorite subject is chemistry because of how it connects to other branches of science and math. The idea that I can combine my interests and look into things like biochemistry and astrochemistry is extremely exciting. These interests I have could help the radio astronomy group with its ongoing project, and I would be happy to collaborate with them. I know I want to explore a project on one of the topics I’ve mentioned, and I have already begun brainstorming. Given infinite funds, I would launch vessels into space and study planets along with their molecules. This lab could also double as an observatory, general chemistry, and physics lab. This would combine my primary scientific interests into an excellent rooftop lab. If this existed, I would spend most of my time exploring science in the lab.
