Phoenix Lands!

I've been following the Mars Phoenix probe landing on the Science Channel.

1) Good landing. When the dust settles, the NASA team will be able to tell more about it.

2) The tough part starts now. The solar panels have to open, as the probe only has very limited battery power. The digging equipment has to work. But, first, it all depends on the solar panels and the camera.

3) For the next 90 days, the mission will be progressing.

This information is coming via The Discovery Channel.

Physics First - or Maybe Not

I can see some issues with this study's conclusions.

Well, of course, the students with a better performance in math will generally do better in the sciences in college. Most college courses are taught from a quantitative standpoint. In contrast, in most high schools, Biology, Earth Science, and Environmental Science are structured so math skills are relatively unimportant.

An example: last week, I was talking to my Physical Science class about graphs. I pointed out that a certain curved line would indicate exponential growth. Then I said, "But, I'm sure that you've all seen these kind of graphs in Biology". I was dumbfounded to hear that they never used graphs in Biology.

Now, perhaps that's an example of the well-known selective memory of students - 2 months after a class, most are hard put to name one thing they learned or a lab they performed. But, it's also possible that their teacher, like many Bio teachers, doesn't dwell on use of graphs.

New Science Education Plan

I'll be interested to see what comes of this plan, in practice.

Grants from HP

Check out the link - I'm going to be talking to the math and science teachers at my school next week.

PTRA - Monday, 2007

Jan Mader is demonstrating resources to use in leading the PTRA workshop, Waves. She and Jane Nelson showed the PTRA leaders some new resources and strategies that are available.

Amazing Women in Science

This is an incredible story about the woman who invented the material that turns men into Supermen:

In the mid-1960s, Kwolek was a researcher at the DuPont Co. in Wilmington when she stumbled on the discovery that became the chemistry that led to the strong, lightweight fiber known as Kevlar. Pound for pound, Kevlar fiber is five times stronger than steel.

More than 3,000 law enforcement officers have survived potentially fatal or disabling injuries because of the golden-colored fiber that is spun into the sheets used in vests, helmets and shields, according to DuPont research. Since the first Gulf War in 1991, nearly every U.S. combat soldier has worn a helmet of Kevlar, according to DuPont data.

Police officers and military are only a few occupations that use the product.

Besides body armor, the fiber is used in products ranging from oven mitts to tires, from airplane parts to mattresses.

Kwolek is scrupulous about taking credit only for the initial discovery of a technology that was used in the development of Kevlar. She credits the team of scientists who worked on the development, particularly DuPont scientist Herbert Blades. She has received numerous honors, including being inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio. The hall of fame includes such names in American scientific history as Thomas Edison and the Wright brothers.

The 4'11" scientist

recalled how excited she was when former DuPont scientist Paul J. Flory visited the Experimental Station. Flory won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1974.

"He came and talked to me, and he told me that I had proven his theoretical conditions for the formation of polymer liquid crystals," Kwolek said.

In technical terms, Kwolek invented a liquid crystalline solution of synthetic aromatic polyamides, from which she spun a very strong and stiff fiber.

How NOT to Get More US Students to Major in SMET

This is an issue that I believe all SMET professionals, including teachers, need to become informed about.