Megan’s Log
Daily COO notes, brainstorms, pictures…
24.8.19
Things to do to get the lab ready for the new year:
STEM to STEAM meeting
articulation meeting
wash dishes
clear out cabinets over bio area
clear off main table
put everyone on wisrd.com
make intro video for website
make sure laser cutter is working
will need to set up the WISRD 2.4GHz network again before the laser cutter can be tested again >:(
on server computer??
get 3D printers up and running again-
clean print heads on both U3 and U5
print David’s cart flags
24.8.6 Back in the lab!
changed 10 gal of FW tank
fixed SW tank pump
descaled distiller
listened to more of How To Know A Person, the summer book
interesting that the author mentions the difference between approaching science as a job and as a place to play- I appreciate this!
24.8.5 Worked from home:
updated WISRD syllabus for the new school year
signed up for and wrote outlines for CMIs
contacted bio-minded faculty folks about collaborating on CMIs
updated Slack with more channels
emails, emails, emails
24.7.29
Back in the lab! I have replaced 10 gallons of salt water in the urchin tank, and will be doing the same in the freshwater tank soon. The urchin tank had some weird white, filaments growing in it, on the macroalgae, which I want to look at under a microscope. I haven’t seen the shrimp in that tank today, I don’t know if they are hiding or dead.
I also added some water to the smaller freshwater tank.
I need to unpack the new materials that have come in, as well as complete the first aid/cpr online course assigned to faculty. I also need to put the dog wheelchairs we got from Marley’s Mutts back together, as the owner needs them back. There was a miscommunication in what we were allowed to do in our examination of these chairs, and I’d rather us work with a local organization moving forward.
2024.7.23
I am attending the Summer Carl Sagan Workshop series this week from home, zooming in to watch the talks on the science and technology involved in visualizing potentially habitable planets as well as far away stars. Interesting that this relates nicely to our Spring 2024 Poster Session speaker, JPL optical engineer Carey Weisberg.
I am also beginning to put together an order of consumables for the year- it occurs to me I should make either a list on Amazon or at least a google doc of these supplies.
23.9.19
I’m not sure how last week got away from me, journal-wise, but here we are.
I’m setting up prints for Charlie on the U3 (nose) and Ezri (PC2-2Cover) on the U5 today; both sent through Digital Factory cloud printing. Currently the best PLA for the U5 seems to be from Fiberforce- got some more on sale from MatterHackers that will arrive soon.
23.9.11
On Friday Dash figured out how to connect our Ultimaker 5 to the online digital factory! We tested printing from the web and it works, but only if the previous print has been cleared and confirmed on the machine.
New BB 0.4 printcores arrived, replaced the one in the Ultimaker 3, running XY calibration- first time I did this, it gave me an error about the active leveling sensor, but I was touching the nozzles while it worked, trying to dislodge PVA that was stuck to the new nozzle. I ran the active leveling test and it was fine, so I reprinted the XY calibration. Still concerned about the PLA nozzle…
Oli and Brian changed the filters in both tanks and learned how to do water quality tests.
Ridley showed Alessandra how to set up the hydroponics seedlings- need Max to check water levels when he comes in.
An urchin started releasing sperm during F block! Esme collected some.
23.9.6
Attended faculty meeting- remember back to school is Sept. 21, need to ask board to volunteer someone to attend and talk about WISRD.
Charlie’s first print completed, soaking in water to dissolve supports
Need to find one more foot for pump for hydroponics- suction cup, last seen on building table
I have found several companies that make small assay readers, have requested quotes from them.
Visa coding brought up to date- need to send purchases to Dash, though.
Packages arriving today:
-heater for brine shrimp hatchery
-bubblers for small tanks
23.9.5
Set up and printed Matteo’s last print, the clamps.
Set up two small tanks, added live sand, waiting for it to settle and clear the water.
Ordered a heater for the brine shrimp hatchery, which Oli and Brian set up.
Cleaned up a bit.
Wrote and assigned Inquirer pitch assignment. Spoke to A and B blocks about it, will speak to E and F on Thursday morning (still need to write the draft assignment, and editing assignment, as well as reviewer docs).
More visa coding
Began printing pieces for Charlie’s robot dog (progress spreadsheet here)
Met with WISL at lunch about collaboration during puppy time, to see how stress levels change in college-stressed seniors before and after exposure to dogs (need to look into a new emotiv, and fixing the broken one)
23.9.3
Came in to feed tanks and reset 3D printer. The piston caps printed well, now printing 8 clamps.
Also watered mushrooms for Oli- “8 spritzes”
23.9.1
Ultimaker 3 finished nicely. Ultimaker 5 finished the engine block for Matteo but with whiskering. Ultimaker 2 did not finish printing. Will try cleaning the print head next.
Joe came by to pick up Pasco stuff to take to Bhutan:
1 smart pulley (maybe included 2)
1 photogate (I think I included a couple)
1 picket fence (included big and small ones)
1 temp probe (includes probe interface and 4 probes)
1 volt probe (I think I gave him a couple)
1 interface box (with power cable and USB mini to USB cable)
Packages expected today:
-brine shrimp eggs and hatchery from Aquarium Co-op
-more seeds for hydroponics
Need to go to Home Depot to pick up soil components this weekend (Microgreen seeds, Miracle-Gro products: 6 qt. Indoor Potting Mix, 8 qt. Perlite, Sphagnum Peat Moss)
Ordered from Amazon today:
For resin printer: film, replacement screws
General lab supplies: glue guns, gloves (3 each of small, medium, large, x-large), sharpies
Soil: coconut coil
Jake: balloons
23.8.31
Gave Cole access to the logo folder so he can think about redesigns.
I need to print smaller posters to put up on our bulletin wall…
I need to add drill dates to my planner, and Jaimi meetings.
Need to gather and inventory Pasco equipment for Joe to take to Bhutan
Visa receipt coding- still more to do…
Released F block late, oops- thought release was 45 but it was 35. Emailed teachers.
Found a spare connection cable for the Ultimaker 3, replaced the old one and printed a calicat- looks perfect, no more weird holes!
I took apart the Ultimaker 2 nozzle and finally got the clog out!
Ultimaker 5 is whiskering, Dash will investigate (his community time will be spent as 3D print tech).
Amy will use community time to work as animal care specialist.
Ezri will use her community time to be WISRD’s robotics tech.
23.8.30
3D printer maintenance:
Ultimaker 3 threw this error: “The Z axis is stuck or the limit switch is stuck or broken. Go to ultimaker.com/ER16”- there was a chunk of dried filament in the limit switch area.
Changed the PVA in U5 to a new generic spool, loaded perfected with a lot of clean extrusion. Now running the XY offset- was great.
Printing today: Matteo’s engine files
Journal Reviews:
Need to talk to Luca about his ant ideas.
Need everyone to update their journals!
Members with no updates:
Ezri
Charlie
Zac M
Jack
Needs update:
Rowan
Chance
Ronan has a fun idea he should explore! Working on resin printer now.
Rowan should do some brainstorming about what she wants to investigate…maybe microbiology between our two tanks?
Rhone and Bowden- check Max’s proposal
Alessandra- look at hydroponics handbook about sensors, look through boxes
23.8.29
I am having trouble getting this site to let me embed pictures with the text, so every time I type more in my journal block, the pics move! Unacceptable, must fix. I think I’ll have to add a new section, instead of continuing one long section, to keep things organized.
Came in at 8:30, fed freshwater fish checked salt water tank- no new mortalities.
Cleaned the PVA print head on the U3 and the U5, set both to test print files with supports to check their print qualities. I also dusted the spooling motors on the U5 in case that was the issue.
-update: both failed, will make Dash work on it during his block.
Link for U5 code that the machine showed: https://support.ultimaker.com/s/article/1667412704163
Running XY calibration on both, took out rubber stopper because it was starting to burn and possibly impeding flow, manual leveling of U5, reloaded filament, now running XY calibration again to test both filaments- Dash’s hypothesis is that is a bed adhesion problem.
Cleaned print head again (PVA)
Next- set up wifi on U5
Ordered:
-amphipods and kelp for salt water tank
-brine shrimp and hatchery for fw tank
23.8.28
One dead urchin (one of the new ones), keeping an eye on a couple more.
I need to order new organisms for FW tank soon…done.
Ordered seeds for hydroponics
Package came in: air duster
New Ultimaker 5 keeps throwing an error about there not being material in the B nozzle even when there was- turned off the flow sensor and testing with a smaller print, if print quality is poor we will troubleshoot in different ways.
23.8.25
Esme ran pH on the salt water tank and it was above 8.4. I went and picked up 20 gal of new freshwater from LAX Aquarium, as well as 5 new tuxedo urchins. I changed 10 gal of water in the tank and added the urchins.
`Boards today:
23.8.24
E and F met this morning, A and B in the afternoon. I need to:
-set up a computer with the CNC software for Charlie (before F tomorrow)-note- he will do it!
-talk to Ivy and Ridley about adding to the hydroponics handbook (in A today)
-look into frames that are about 16x20, wood, so we can add D rings, to use for collaborations with Drawing class (front gallery, red wall, colab) and for framing Institute photos (colab and red wall)- order 15
23.8.23
First day of the new year! I met with A and B WISRD blocks, and we discussed how to access journals on this website, some norms, and did introductions. I talked more to the group than I will for the rest of the year.
Lunch group is smaller this year, but still going strong.
Several students who did not have class today came by to check in and reiterate or suggest new work for the semester. It will be a much more productive year, I feel! Very interested to see how new members will both integrate into established labs and differentiate themselves with original work.
Max AS came by to discuss a kinesiology group- this will mesh well with a couple other students who also have interest in sports science.
Marley Z has new sensors he wants to test out (he will send me link), and plans for how to use a camera; will also be testing different smoke systems to visualize aerodynamics. I need to print him more cars…he asked me to make sure no one touched the wind tunnel while he was away, I should train the other wind tunnel folks on the new 3d printer.
I need to remember to send Chance files of the logo, he wants to help us improve it.
I also need to finish my bio, and link this page to the members page.
Doodles found today:
Journal entries imported from the previous iteration of wisrd.org
22.7.25
met with Christina K: will be co-advising with Dr. Banks this year
need to write a proposal about urchin tank
made 3 more fly boxes for AMM
signs I need to make:
important dates in WISRD for the 22-23 year
WISRD observatory signage
22.7.18 to 22: vacation
22.7.6-14 organized lab, did trainings, helped build WISRD observatory (need to work on signage…)
22.7.5
things to do:
replied to Lukas’s email re: motors, etc
ask IT or EdTech about adobe access- Nick says they need to update something on IT’s end, so I’ll have to wait on Mark coming back from vacation. Using free trial for now
thinking about switching hydroponics and the 3D printers…then move the hydroponics table to where the current circuit table is (just switch spots) so it is closer to the sink and water source. Will then need to move the Jetson computer closer to the AR/VR computers- need to do some measuring
continuing to work on AM’s fly box- think I have it designed and ready to go but will wait until after Joe does his telescope work so the room doesn’t get too smelly when the acrylic is cut
call at 11 with Lili about finance stuff
22.7.1
I am officially the Director of the Wildwood Institute of STEM Research and Development!!
Bob came in to do some clean up from the building yesterday, and grab some supplies Joe will need next week when he finishes building the radio telescope box on Tuesday (I need to be here at 8, that’s when I told him I’d be here)- Bob will be gone next week for a conference in Ontario (Canada, not California)
need to think about signage for the radio telescope-should think about language elementary school teachers use, ask folk over there…
turns out accounting has no idea how Joe dealt with Bob reimbursements, so we’re figuring that out.
I will only be on campus two days next week (Tues and Wed) so I need to think about how that will affect what I do while here…
figured out basics of laser cutting, used red wood and it smells very nice
got specs for fly box for AM- basically a test-tube rack looking holder that will hold fly containers that are 3 cm in diameter, so need holes a little bigger than that, and fit in a space that is 20 cm by 26 cm, maybe 3 cm high.
ok the trouble is just figuring out how to make glowforge cut the file I found…need to use .svg file?
22.6.30: MLI workshops 9-2, then back to WISRD!
Joe and Bob are building a second holder for another radio telescope- both will be moved to elementary school campus next week.
I’m printing some posters for the 50th reunion stuff
22.6.24 through 29: MLI workshops
22.6.24
went on roof to get the AirSpy, look at set ups of weather station and radio telescope
took other radio telescope to the elementary campus to look at readings there- very clear. See notes in planner (on date page and page 245)
To test a new area, you need to bring:
radio telescope
pi with software installed
pi power supply
Airspy to cut noise
board that connects to airspy, to process its data (maybe? need to check what this was for)
power strip
extension cord
if on a network other than WISRD, can’t VNC in so will also need monitor with HTMI port, HTMI cable and adaptor for Pi, mouse, keyboard
to see if site a good one for the radio telescope:
set up in an area where you are not in the way or going to get run over, near where you hope to put the scope- in this case we were in the parking lot at the elementary campus, in an area with some open spaces and no entrance/exit to worry about traffic
set up telescope- connect small board directly to serial (maybe) port on telescope, then serial cable to this, then Airspy. Then HTMI cable connects to Airpy to Pi board, with power supply of Pi hooked up to power (might need a power strip and extension cord, we did in this case but forgot power strip so borrowed from Snow, security guy at elementary school): telescope can collect data now. To see this, connect monitor via cable with HTMI adaptor, and connect keyboard and mouse.
note: if pi has not been powered up and connected to Wifi, it will show the same data as the last time it was powered up- we found this when the data files were given as being on 3/21/22, but at least it was taking data!
good to start taking data on the hour, so when you look at specific data, you can search with easy wildcards
to see if data is good, you need to collect “hot” (pointed at ground) and “cold” data (pointed straight up at sky, or to north pole as it is the clearest part of the sky)
for hot data: set up software so that the elevation is -90 (press enter, don’t forget!), and do Survey and select Hot/Cold
click “average” to look at the curve to see if it is worth continuing.
when we were taking data, it would get both .hot and .ast files instead of just .hot files- Joe will check in with Glen (who wrote some of the code)
when you get ten consecutive .hot files, you can change from “survey” to “wait” then make sure hot/cold is clicked before you click “save”
for “cold” data-
change elevation to 90 (positive- don’t forget to push enter)
click “survey”
flip telescope over
hit “average” to make sure data is being taken and to look at the curve
collect 10 consecutive .ast files and save as above
once you have the hot and cold run, you can pack up and work on data in lab, out of the sun- don’t forget sunscreen next time!
So, looks like having the (or a) radio telescope at the elementary school would give us very clean data, so next steps:
got approval from Katie R, director of elementary school
get approval from Gerald R, head of facilities (who is coincidentally married to Katie) for safety, etc. reasons
got Mark G (IT) to open up a port for access to data- he is okay with this
get power to roof some how- is there an outlet up there? Or will we need to power through ethernet like we do at upper school?
create signage so the set up is also a learning experience for the students, advertising for WISRD, and a student retention opportunity for the school
used 50 ohm terminator to use AirSpy on data we collected from the telescope earlier- data is clean but much higher and less spread out than we are used to seeing…
Hmmmm need a reference manager software and would like one that students can use- several people suggested Mendeley, but school seems to block it, need to test at home or ask Nick for other options.
goals with radio telescope:
hydrogen map of sky
student engagement at elementary school
22.6.23
Got my Wildwood email! Time to register with so many apps and sites and organizations…
Want to start outline of WISRD Handbook today
Need to finish second RoCCS paper edits- done!
Need to go back and add in bit about rinsing charcoal bags in first RoCCS paper.
Would be nice to have a bulletin board or slide on a scrolling screen or the Wildwood social media pages that said “What is WISRD doing?” with each big research question, one per slide. Or link to Tweets
helped Pam with image scaling issue…or in process of helping
22.6.22
Microsoldering lesson with Bob!
Editing Ex situ coral growth: A technical report on tank lightning and water chemistry parameters for growth of small polyp stony (SPS) coral microfragments in a marine aquarium paper
meeting with CK at 11 to check in- take aways included getting a WISRD credit card, setting up key access, and establishing date of official email.
meeting at 1 with Randy to learn access to building
22.6.21
Need to find links to all the components for the new AR/VR computer
asked Tristan about finding computer parts for AR/VR- he got me links, so now I need to send to Joe to order
contacted glowforge about account access
working on Weatherlink access
article edits- sent email asking about active vs passive voice in methods
Bob got us some containers for wood scraps- need to ask Joe what we should have in stock
want to enclose the hydroponics, and maybe build a better base that does not depend on that shelf in the back supporting it
consult meeting with AM- see google doc
22.6.13 through 17
Quarknet teacher workshop- learned to use Python in Google Colabs in analysis of scientific data, and how to use with student projects
22.6.2 through 8, then took a couple days off
General organization of the lab and went to student presentations
22.6.1
Working on cabinets
22.5.31
Inventory begins! Going through big boxes under the hydroponics set up.
22.5.26
I’m in charge! What a rush…
Talks with Joe:
general notes
avoid thinking that people don’t know what they are doing- rather, provide opportunities and ask questions
our site is considered a working site- not a blog, because not looking to elicit comments, but a place were information is aggregated (via journals) and displayed (via publications)
Social media
podcasts- we have the ability, Ian used to do them. Need to find out if people are still interested
technically, Iz is the social media manager, but this may have fallen off her radar. Do we have anyone else interested in this? Or do can we find someone outside of WISRD who might be interested? Bring up at next board meeting
point is to highlight different groups and give members a chance to practice speaking about their work and research projects (esp in podcasts)
WISRD evolves because members grow it into what they need and want it to be (rather than solely based on what COO or the school wants)
journal is now called WISRD Research and Technology Journal
Notes for the beginning of the school year:
ordering shirts- do early
board chooses a t-shirt committee who picks three potential shirt colors, and then send them out to all members to vote on one
company used is customink.com updated the site with joe’s email as log in and my password
always give shirts to facility, also consider Lili (finances), IT folks
before start of year
set up access/pages on WP for each new student
uses normal WISRD password to log in, then they have to change it
reconsider the “change password every month” option
send email to parents with introduction and (very important) the dates of WISRD events!! That way they know far in advance.
Calendar
we have two clubs that meet on site (or will when campus is open again)
2nd Friday of every month: Astro club; 3rd Wednesday: Microscope club
meet in the theater but are very flexible, can meet in classrooms if theater is in use
important collaborators!
currently our campus is closed and these are held virtually- don’t know yet when (or if) campus will open fully again); they are looking for alternative spaces
kids can come to the clubs to present their data, the clubs love that
November Microscope meeting is a big deal- pondwater night, demo night- will need to use gallery space because theater is in use (but this also means theater goers will get to see their stuff…)
should I look into other clubs to invite to come here? More potential collaborators??
Oct 26: Dark Matter Day
Before this, go to the elementary school to do a presentation to spark interest
Like a physics circus but more of a chance for members to reach out, especially to younger students
uses gallery space (need to ask Laura who is in charge of this space)
last one was precovid, so not many current members have experienced this
admin loves a live feed of this
provide pizza and soda, at least
Smart and Final has dry ice we can put in the punch bowl (but have a net on cups so no one drinks the dry ice!)
lots of fun demos have been done in the past, including:
van de graaf
3D printer
laser cutter (cut names, etc)
CNC
microscopes (as set up by microscope society)
crush can
monkey and hunter
egg and sheet
standing waves
infrared camera
AR/VR
near Halloween, so can have a costume contest- do we want different age categories or just small kids?
November 7: Fall poster session
can’t do much later in the year because the calendar fills up
much like the spring session
22.5.25
Edited physiology group’s meeting notes with timeline, etc.
chatted with Joe about the trickiness of scheduling WISRD as an elective vs getting members who contribute.
this is another reason why making a rubric similar to Scott’s will be helpful for to aggregate evidence for each student (but will need to leave examples open, and call them evidence)
concerned this might restrict the ability to see overlaps…keep thinking, though
showed N how to replace Dremel head, let her use it and the vice clamp to shorten screws on her own, helped develop the language to describe this on her Vitae as adapting to a challenge
began editing RoCCs thermistor paper in earnest
anthology- Joe’s idea, WISRD anthology, book about implementing institute model, maybe do at 10th anniversary
22.5.24
Last minute prep for Joe’s lunch
weird thing happened where my card didn’t go through but the order did (thank goodness), so I was able to use the school’s card to pay for it
During Outro week, I’ll work with Joe to make sure everything is ready for the transition
go through folders on server to make sure it all makes sense (update Readme files)
Found some hydroponic papers to send the group
started IT course on codecademy
mcmaster-carr- where to order parts
Sparkfun- where to order EMG sensors- oops they have paused sales of the ones we want (Myowear 2.0) so checking other places- ordered from digikey
adafruit- another place to order things
in theory, we could use Christina’s card if they won’t give me one for WISRD purchases (Landis, Christina, Jose all have cards)
needed to make shorter screws- learned how to use dremel properly, showed Nnenna
want to read Shayna’s paper and provide sources for us both to learn about spectral astronomy
some videos to check out:
Classification of Stars: Spectral Analysis and the H-R Diagram
Blackbody Radiation, Modern Physics, Quantum Mechanics, and the Oxford Comma | Doc Physics
OpenStax Astronomy book section on Spectroscopy in Astronomy
want to think about a series of demos to explain this-
when I cut a screw with a dremel, it got really hot. If it got hotter, it would change color- it would emit light. We have this idea in our minds that when metal gets hot, it turns red and yellow, but then what colors do other chemicals turn?
chemical flame tests with diffraction- start with a match and examine what colors you can see, compare to stove tops, then go into different chemicals
Lily- bookkeeper- gets receipts
want to look for papers that validate use of emotiv in detecting stress response (or other events)
also need to look for easy cortisol tests
are there studies that corelate stress hormone and brain waves??
Think about how to relate the self efficacy part of what the prof was talking about (see card for info) and the stress tests the Emotiv projects
22.5.23
Editing L’s Cosmic ray paper
helping N with tapping some holes on her hand
chatted with Joe about middle school programs in the future- by being unofficial we can do more, but can’t have caps on the number of students involved. Something to consider for the future, as the middle school is lacking any kind of maker space, etc.
22.5.20
Starting a doc of things we need to make get transferred to me from Joe
interview with Hunter at 10 for “Giving Voices” Wildwood newsletter, to discuss “the evolution of WISRD, handing over the “reins” during this juncture, future goals and plans for WISRD, and the significance of female representation in STEM”
want to test compound microscope camera with the leaf slides from hydroponics
interesting pictures- hard to resolve at 40 and 100x probably due to the 3d nature of the surface of the leaf, but still interesting data to work off of.
need to put them in a folder and share with the hydroponics people
22.5.18
Grades are based on how students contribute to WISRD, vitae are more for the students to learn how to present themselves
seeing issues with students just listing what they did and not coupling to the standard or characteristic- instead of “Megan can make buffers” should be something like “Megan demonstrated lab safety and development of new techniques by learning how to properly prepare buffers.”
I should make examples of good and bad vitae sentences
We have a a seismometer from CalTech but our contact is gone,
project involved trying to set up a fiberoptic seismometer
Used to go to elementary school on their all school meeting day to do a presentation, we should start doing that again next year
For hydroponics, we should look at the range of salinities experienced in the San Juaquin valley- take pics of cellular damage, publish asap if we see differences
maybe also do taste tests of plants grown at different salinities?
I want to go through and take pics of all the old posters in our pile…will do after classes are out
borrowed a compound microscope with an optical camera from Anne Marie
chatted with Scott about how Wildwood does grades for a bit
Dr. BH stopped by to mention we need to have a sit-down with all WISRD folks to make sure we don’t miss anything in the transition
22.5.17
Installed Virtual Box and a virtual drive with Ubuntu to learn Linux via Codecademy
Very upsetting results in the LGBTIQ+ survey, need to really think about how to make sure everyone is feeling safe next year. Also applies to any race issues and other microaggressions I might be overlooking
Curious about WISRD-wide group gatherings- is there a tradition of this? We should do something to bring all three class periods together, beyond just poster sessions
talk to H and E about this…
Sat in on some performance reviews to see how Joe handles them
students update CVs with current work
Joe gets CVs at least 2 days in advance of appointment, makes comments, gives students time to review comments
students struggle with integrating old and current work
students might say they did something, learned, or improved…but do not necessarily say why or how- need evidence, or to write it so that the reader can make the judgement call
interesting conversation about PI responsibilities vs being a “boss”
are PIs held to a different standard in review?
should I make a wizard CV doc to act as an example?
appointments are in 15 minute increments, but might not be enough time, especially with PIs
three ways of citation in WISRD
inline (Noel)- where is the year?? Need to start using it, establishes when definitions were established as well as when data was presented.
footnote in each page
footnote at end of document
students might write about unpublished work apologetically, need to use more confident language
lots of big fat claims- need documentation
suggestions for students: brain dump (even talk to text) for journals, refine a journal entry for tweet, refine several tweets/journal entries for white papers, refine tweets/journals with data analysis for papers
22.5.16
To do today:
Work with Marley on Jetson file to allow USB 3.0- needed to find the code to make the extlinux.config be Jenson specific
Read/edit papers in progress
Chance
Honor
Sid/Roman?
Pictures taken at 10
talked to Bob and Joe about cosmic ray stuff
would be interesting in the future to think about weather-related projects- can we predict bad air days, or wildfire conditions, or changes in marine layer…
brainstormed with Anne Marie about mushroom projects for next year.
22.5.12
started PHP codecademy course (not done with Linux but will go back and forth)
talked to Joe and Scott about Inquirer process a little
Joe taught me about accessing the VNC servers on WISRD wifi and outside
198.101.120.77:(whatever port) for when off WIRSD network
192.168.168.(number:port) for when on WISRD network
some arduinos/pis have issues- e.g. the hydroponics one should be on .77 but seems to be on .78; either way, no one can access outside of WISRD wifi- do we need to add an exception to the Wildwood firewall?
downloaded a better VNC viewer
recommended to new board Director to create something about expectations/duties/responsibilities etc for new board members
helped Honor find papers on studies referenced in a general audience article
maybe do a seminar on how to search for papers/researchers?
Maybe talk to PIs/Board about collaborative software for project planning, such as Miro- talk to Addy about what she recommends
Max of hydroponics liked the idea, maybe I’ll use his recent email as a proof of concept
can the boards send announcements to users when updates are made?
22.5.11
Continued and completed Codecademy course on navigating the command line, started course on Linux
need to read current iteration of the Inquirer, sent from Scott (could open after Patter invited me to the file)
has wrong logo- wildwood vs wisrd- need to make our logo transparent so I can put it in
still not super happy with it, maybe it needs to be white instead of gray, or reflected in the water?
design team not happy with our notes
board meeting at lunch, elected a new Director, Program Manager, and Treasurer
22.5.9
Started Codecademy classes on JavaScript and navigating the command line
Think about for next year- not spending time outside of class time on WISRD things, ideally a couple of students could have been looking at the radio telescope data for the last couple of days and could have at least the start of a paper on the variation in data
Maybe I can create a writing flow chart for students, to emphasize the importance of recording information? Started one here.
22.5.6
Continuing to work on indexing journals by topic
Next year, show successful science tweeters (e.g. Kathryn Turner)
About publications
White papers -> circulate in lab
research journals/technology papers-> publish outside of lab
Inquirer -> general audience
22.5.5
I’m back! So sore from moving.
website backups failed, but it is most likely because our storage is full- the solution is to go and delete all back ups except for the last day of the month. In theory we should find a place on our server to store the files. After deleting redundant backups, the backup worked.
Some students are working on writing performance reviews- taking each standard and writing a third person narrative about how they met it.
For new students, or at the start of the year, I could meet with students to go over each standard and how they will/can meet it?
Maybe have a rubric with the standards?
I’m thinking about creating tutorial videos on scientific writing, using Excel, etc…
Maybe start doing writing workshops next year? They used to do them, with the writing consultant (this person is a research-level science writer, does not always understand what we are looking for; for example, may have dissuaded some students from continuing a project because she told them they did not have enough data to do statistics, and therefore had done no science- maybe true for research level, but not high school, we can publish papers with minimal data as examples of work)
have examples of successful vs unsuccessful writing samples
maybe consider a format for struggling writers-
Today I
I noticed
I wonder
I need
Next time I will
asked Joe if there has been an apprentice class, perhaps just to learn skills if nothing else, has ever happened- yes, but then middle school elective schedule changed. Mostly skill building- they did coding, 3d printing, arduino; built a working, mini stop light, then had to calculate when the light changed based on speed of a “little old lady” crossing the road.
looked at radio telescope data with Joe, who taught me how to correlate to Stellarium (which I now have on my laptop; free resource!)- peaks in hydrogen correlate to an arm of the galaxy rather than the center.
Currently our radio telescope is pointed 140ish azimuth (x axis kind of) and 40ish altitude (y axis)
to find center of galaxy, look for the Teapot (part of Sagittarius)
remember that the radio telescope gives data in GMT, while Stellarium adjusts to local time- make adjustments when making correlations
Would love to have a spreadsheet with everyone’s expertise things (question, 3 people working on it, 3 places it is being studied, papers) as an introduction to everyone’s work
Updated website- old server was wwisrd, because the Navy owned wisrd- but then a few years ago they gave it up and Joe was able to get it. However, old links still had the wwisrd.org so I used the Better Search Replace plugin on WordPress to replace all instances of wwisrd with wisrd. So far it seems to have worked.
Maybe I should make a list for each project, of old journals so that current/new students have it all in once place.
22.4.29
Uploaded pics from poster session
installed Arduino software on my laptop
helped with radio telescope by taking pictures of data when Joe pointed the telescope at different angles, complied pics into a document and sent in email with list of frequencies of noise (raw pics are here).
22.4.25
Poster session day! Came in at lunch so I could stay late for it without having to worry about going home to let my dog out.
Helped Joe move tables, set up posters, etc. We used the hallways (15 posters) and the room (4 posters- 2 hydroponics, 1 CAD group, 1 cosmic ray group). Here are some set up photos:
In the lab, we hung posters behind the wind tunnel space (once it was in the hall), on the cabinet (for CAD group so they were close to the 3D printer), behind the ceramic printer (once it was out in the hall as well- ran some while the RoCCs groups talked about their methods), and on the whiteboard (once it was cleaned). **Note that we can’t hang stuff on the glass of WII!! Also be aware of which walls can get tacks/staples vs which can only have painters tape.
Joe gave a pep talk before the session (note- can I get them food next time? Or will it distract from set up? Ask Joe.)
Turn out was great! Photos from the session:
Final event- talk by Dr. Marc Buie from Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, CO, as introduced by Ian as Director of Board. HTMI cord had a couple issues at the beginning but then it was fine. Plugging sound into PA system seemed to help? Maybe, could have been coincidence.
Also, student signed a poster for Joe’s birthday, Ian presented it to Joe after the talk. Very cute.
Going to take a few days off for moving reasons!
22.4.22
chatted with Scott about the Inquiry process, definitely want to be a part of the editing process this year if possible
I tested the buffers- pH 4 buffer is being read as 4.22, pH 7 buffer is 7.10, and ph 10 buffer is 10.8. Need to read about if this is a probe calibration issue or just how the buffers tend to read. It should only be +/- 0.02 so the probe is probably reading high
looks like the group has contacted Vernier about calibrating their probe (4/25/22, saw it up on the computer)
learned more about arduino and electronics in general
22.4.21
next week i want to start mapping the room and figuring out what stuff is and what it is for
take pics of space, make excel sheet with contents
looked over Tobey’s poster, made some scientific language edits
taught Izze how to make buffers that are used to calibrate the coral group’s pH probe.
made pH 4, 7, and 10 buffers using Vernier kit, and added color/mold prevention drops
Vernier sent their buffer kit as premeasured tablets of enough buffer to make 100ml/tablet; very interesting, but a bit of a learning curve to not spill it everywhere. Best method: open over a beaker with some distilled water already in it (to help with dissolving, so the dry chemical doesn’t end up sticking to the glass).
Izze tested the pH 4 buffer we made from scratch with chemicals, it read on the probe as 4.16
Izze tested the pH 7 buffer made from the Vernier kit, it read as 7.16
I remade all three buffers and Izze will test them.
Helped Nnenna tap through 2 more parts
dropped the microdrill!! Broke the drill bit- ordered a new one.
22.4.20
Senior skip day…
Things to do or that got done:
finalized brochure and sent to Joe for printing
Helped Zeniyah with microsoldering
board would like a list of things I have expertise and experience in, so I created a google doc.
I should make a list of things I’d like to implement next year, and have board review and approve/amend
biweekly lab meetings by group- pick a time (lunch, outside via zoom, etc) and stick to it
no interruption of classes! If you need to borrow something from a science teacher and they are teaching, make a new plan.
Scribit board for announcements- check when you come in!
clearer division of spaces- no wood work on white tables, only food at white tables and not where else because chemicals might be in use, etc.
“write it down or it doesn’t count!” memories are fallible, everything must be documented
yes, that means everyone writes- no more “that’s not my part of it” for writing. Each person might not be a final author of a white paper, but everyone must record what they do
have PIs be more interactive with group members about deadlines, poster sessions, etc. (since pe
ople did not seem to be noticing blackboard messages from Joe)
22.4.19
Website upkeep:
Uploaded updated constitution and bylaws
General things:
asked about microsoldering “class”- involves Joe setting something up with them for me
created poster session advertising poster- worried it is too busy and cursive font is too bulky
helped Joe take newly built radio telescope (in faraday cage) to roof
helped Izze with buffer math- will need to gather materials tomorrow for her to make the buffer on Thursday
to do from board meeting:
talk to CAD group about putting our builds into SCAD or OnShape (wind tunnel, radio telescope, etc)
systems integration on website??
think of way to put expertise information on website or a google doc, so it is in a place everyone in group can access/edit/add to
think about ways to tell students not to touch things that are not a part of their project
learn:
lathe
laser cutter
CNS
think about how space is used- can it be maximized? we need more workspaces
skill building things (that i should know!)
arduino
coding
tinkercad
22.4.18
Attended board retreat- see notes here.
22.4.15
Removed the nail polish layer on the leaves of lettuce for hydroponics, and put on slides
Took some pictures for the brochure, etc.:
Met Laura in visual/3d art- will be talking more about collaborating on ceramics
back up happened correctly last night- if we ever get another error, I will send to sam@emails.backup-guard.com
Met Sabrina- middle school math- loves hydroponics, would love to see a living wall
talked to Liza about cross collaboration with Matt about hydroponics kits- we design, Matt’s people market/make it nice, Liza’s people put in title 1 schools
working on updated brochure
For hydroponics group:
Want to do a test run on leaf microscopy- gave materials to Ridley
borrowed slides and coverslips from Christine
will remove the nail polish layer at 4:10 for group, either mount on slide right away or will put somewhere for them
do we need to get a microscope camera?? Yes. Or ask bio if they have/need one
Chloe Savard (@tardibabe on instagram) uses a “Motic BA310 Elite compound microscope with oblique illumination and an iPhone 11 Pro mounted on a specialized adaptor” (from paper on visualizing cladocerans)
Wonder if we should think about root visualization, since that is where the contact with salt water happens
Joes mentioned that USDA protocol just looks at quantifiable roots and shoots data, but if we could show that qualifiable (or even quantifiable) cellular visualization would be valuable, that would be pretty great.
22.4.14
Had planned to come in today after viewing an apartment at 10:30, but due to a shooting on the 405, traffic from the Valley was so bad that this and other appointments for the day were pushed back so much that I could not come in at all!
Joe sent me an old brochure, I will update it and I will update it with current projects- want to have this done for the board retreat on Monday to get their approval, then have printed and ready for poster session on 4/25
22.04.13
General:
chatted with Joe about SEM
checked in with Anne Marie about access to stereo microscope and material
asked Tim about buffer materials- missing some chemicals (specifically potassium dihydrogen phosphate) so better to order the buffer premade, but will want to have at least one learning experience where students in coral group make their buffers
site maintenance:
backup worked, for some reason, so Joe updated WordPress
I sent our backup log to sam@emails.backup-guard.com through wetransfer.com to see if he can figure out our
need to send back up logs to BackupGuard to figure out why we kept getting timeout errors
Upgrade of wordpress gave me access to BackupGuard? Joe logged in for me.
we will need to have all jwise emails to forward to me
need to fix one of the pictures on splash page
cannot access google docs via WISRD server, need to find out where the authors are storing their work
every 30 days, students have to change passwords for security purposes-
on server active directory users and computers, right click on user name, then reset password- must be 8 characters, alphanumeric
started looking into classes to fill in my informational gaps
coursera course: the arduino platform and C programing
uses online arduino web editor (arduino IDE), created account (user name is mnoel)
3D printer maintenance
3d printer through an E18 error- happens when the two nozzles do not seem to align. To fix, turn off and on, then extrude ink- noticed a weird indentation/scrape on ink, happens when it doesn’t extrude properly, then motor made a weird noise…
motor for one ink started making a very weird noise, so Joe is opening up its motor box to look at it- maybe it is fixed
For coral group:
figure out what we need to have on hand to make our own buffers
advantage of buying premade buffer is we will not need to autoclave materials (just kidding, this buffer is just for pH probe, not for coral polyps specifically)
to make buffers, you need:
graduated cylinders
scale
weigh boats
chemicals- need to figure out what buffer they are using…
erlenmeyer flasks
parafilm (to prevent evaporation); or sealable containers such as these
scoopulas/small spatulas
Took 3D printed coral structure to St. Monica High School where it will be put in a tank that is monitored for temperature (with our probe, see below)
also working on pH probe
St. Monica K. Griffis (marine bio teacher, runs their MORA lab) would love alkalinity and calcium monitoring, but there is overlap with probes- a couple (all?) use electrical signal to get data, so can’t run at same time
Probe in tank, connected and sending data. Need to calibrate to their thermometer (in case our equation is off; was the thermister tested in fresh or salt water??); we also need to make a case so it vents out the sides, not the top, to protect Arduino from water deposition- talk to CAD group?
Cover for the camera, showing that is it protected from splash.
For hydroponics group:
need figure out what we need on hand to do leaf microscopy
want to talk to hydroponics groups- what is their end goal?
we can do several kinds of microscopy: gross (stereoscope, can see stomata numbers? check methods and papers), fine (stereoscope- can we see cells? Is that diagnostic? need to research), and superfine (TEM- talk to microscope society. This might be too fine or finicky for what we need, but also might lead to future project off shoots).
I feel like I read about stomatal conductance?? Need to look into this…
For prosthetics group:
continued working on increasing hole size on part- brought in a t-pin which helped
not sure how big Nnenna needs it, so stopping for now
22.04.12
Today I worked on:
helped Canada with calibrating/troubleshooting the emotiv
started helping Nnenna with boring hole in piece- did not have enough space as printed
chatted briefly with a member of the hydroponics group about considering microscopy of cells in their current crops to look for cellular damage
met Christine (Bio?), Tim (Chem- will talk to me later about an environmental collaboration), Erika (Theatre), Anne Marie (also bio?)
background reading on cosmic rays, brain waves, and vegetable salinity stress.
site maintenance:
Research Groups page lost all photo contents and links, and the link to this page was lost from the top menu bar, so this had to be fixed.
all instances of “http” were replaced using the Better Search Replace, to instead be “https,” but we did not consider that this would lead to all instances of “https” already on the site becoming “httpss” so this had to be fixed
Traffic gets worse in a nonlinear fashion- leaving at 7:00 vs. 7:15 lead to a 30 minute difference in when I got here from the Valley.
22.04.11
First day of COO shadowing/training!