How Science, Engineering and Technology Enhance the Enjoyment of Our Holiday Season

I love the holidays, not that I don't have the opportunity to connect with family and friends throughout the year, but there is something special about having the freedom for even if it is Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day or New Year's Eve, only enjoying good times and good food with your loved ones. As a science educator, I am always looking for ways to teach people that math and science is connected to our everyday lives, so as I am making my own preparations for the holidays, I am thinking how various innovations in science and technology improved our ability to enjoy the holidays.

1. Transportation- Over the centuries we have had advancements through engineering, physics and material science that have made it easier to see our loved ones. Could you imagine having to walk across the country to see your relatives, going in horse and buggy or traveling the creeks and streams by boats to see your relatives. With the advancement in technology the automobile replaced walking and the horse and buggy. So know we can get in our hopefully fuel efficient vehicles on the Interstate System that civil engineers and architects created. If you prefer not to drive like me, thank to innovations in aviation we can get almost anywhere within the world through a direct flight within 24 hours.

2. Food Science, Genetic Engineering, Agriculture and Organic Chemistry, etc- Could you imagine the very first Thanksgiving where they grew and raised everything that they ate for that feast. Although, it would probably be a lot healthier for us if we were able to grow and raise our own food. So many innovations in all the disciplines of science and engineering has allowed us the opportunity and convenience to make our list, get in the car and buy what we need to make our holiday meals or in my case the dish that we will take to the meal from the local grocery store.

3. Electrical and Mechanical Engineering- I can't even imagine what they used to cook the first Thanksgiving meal. But today we have an host of appliances, small and large to prepare our feast. From the food processor to chop our veggies, the stoves that we will use, the deep fryer and roaster we will use to cook our turkeys and the fridge that will hold the cold items and the leftovers.

4. Computer Engineering- The invention of the internet has truly improved our society from the emails and e-cards that we can see to those we love that we won't be able to spend the holidays with. To using the internet to find directions to our destinations or purchase our holiday travel and/or gifts (Be sure to use www.Goodshop.com to purchase those items and make sure that SEM LInk is your designated charity). Or to find that new recipe that you want to try out or to find the missing ingredient from the recipe that someone shared with you.

As we prepare for this holiday season, I want everyone to be thankful for how science, engineering and technology has improve our quality of life and the celebration of this holiday season. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday season.

Getting Kids Interested in Hands on Math and Science Activities

A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with a fellow science educator that works in the San Francisco Bay Area. We were having a conversation about the lack of interest of students to engage in hands on science activities, let alone the ability to spend the time to conduct an experiment and put in the work to successfully complete a math or science fair project. There are various theories on why kids don't find math or science fun which include:
1. Lack of opportunities to engage in hands on math and science activities in the classroom
2. Lack of opportunities to be exposed to hands on math and science activities at home and in the community
3. With the age of technology, most kids are utilizing computers and other electronic devices for entertainment and learning, that it is hard to get kids to play outside let alone engage in hands on math or science activities
There are probably more than these three reasons, but no matter what the reasons are, we have to find solutions to this problem.

We are in a age where the United States is falling behind in science, engineering and technology. Other countries are leading the way in advancing in technology, biomedical research, manufacturing, environmental research and etc. The globalization of the world or in the words of Thomas Friedman, making it "flat" has flatten our economy in the math and science related sectors. The only way that we can make it better is making a targeted effort to ensure that we have a future science, technology and engineering workforce for the next generations to come. So how do we do that, getting K-12 students interested in hands on science activities. Since this is a technology age, we must introduce them to website where they can play math and science educational games, read online articles about innovation in science and technology and use www.goodsearch.com to find any information about math and science. But most importantly, get them engaged in hands on math and science activities by taking them to your local science museum, aquarium, state or national park or doing some math and science experiments at home. The start to ensuring that we have a future STEM workforce is ensuring that some of our kids think that science and math are cool and fun. Then the next step is exposing them to the career options in those fields.

The Global Connection Between People

Today, I had a wonderful conversation with two natives of Moline Bay, Papua New Guinea. They educated me on the wonderful customs and traditions of the people here and we discussed the differences and similarities in our cultures. I am really enjoying this culture of people for there are in a beautiful place and have beautiful spirits.

As I think about preparing our future generation to become scientists, engineers and mathematicians, we always think about the technical skills that students need to learn; but we ignore teaching them basic communication skills. In a world where the internet and improvement in transportation and telecommunications have made the world more flat, we have to ability to connect with individuals all over the world. However, in our society we don’t embrace differences of have enough dialogue with people who have different opinions from us, let alone with people of different cultures. However, technology is connecting us all inspite of what part of the world we live in so we must have the ability to reach out and get to know someone of another culture. Although scientists and engineers aren’t known for their communication skills, in order to advance science the future scientist and engineers are going to need good communications skills. As I think about the major challenges that face our society today, climate change, the environment, pollution, HIV/AIDS, cancer, all of them are global issues. There are major breakthroughs in biomedical research and climate change in other parts of the world and with limited research dollars, it is no need for scientist in the United States to reinvent the wheel. Collaborations between scientific disciplines and nations is necessary for our survival and continued progress as a world.

So while we are teaching our kids to excel and achieve academically. Let's teach them how to excel in their communication and collaboration skills, so they can not only achieve in doing science, but communicating science to there colleagues around the world.

Protecting and Perserving the Wonderful Planet Called Earth

This weekend, I started a much needed vacation and one of the things I love to do on vacation is connect with nature. This weekend, I took a scenic drive with a friend up the San Francisco Bay Area, from the South Bay to the East Bay. During this drive, we saw all the wonderful scenery from mountains to beaches, rivers and bays and vegetation such as plants, fruit and vegetables. But was so awesome was the sense of peace and tranquility that we got from taking that drive. It was more fun that I had in awhile and didn't cost too much money, but the $3.50 a gallon gas in Northern California, but the scenary was priceless.

Currently, I am in Australia in the tropical Rain Forrest in a rental house, that is powered by solar energy and gets most of its water from rainwater. In this Rainforest, you can here the creators in the natural habitat from birds to insects. In addition, you see the calming water of the sea which is about a 10 minute walk away.

As I am enjoying this time in nature, I think about who will be the next generation of scientists and engineers to ensure that the beautiful scene that I am currently enjoying are still here for generations to come to enjoy. Who will the next environmental scientists, environmental biologists, geologists, botanists, entomologists and other scientists that make sure that we preserve and protect our planet? In a culture where most of us live, work and play in urban jungles, how do we expose our children let alone get them interested in these disciplines. But we can start by exposing our children to more of this wonderful planet. If they can see it, they can learn to appreciate it and possibly want to pursue a career preserving and protecting our planet.

Celebrating Chemisty: National Chemistry Week

As a chemical engineer and a person who gets very excited about chemistry, I'm very excited that this week is National Chemistry Week. This week which is sponsored by the American Chemical Society celebrate the contributions that the field of chemistry and chemical professionals have contributed to society. It also gets kids excited and exposed to chemistry; for more information you can visit the American Chemistry's website at www.acs.org.

Chemistry has an impact on our everyday lives more than we realize. It encompasses such field as food science, which creates ways for us to produce and preserve our food. It encompasses biochemistry which is responsible for many of our advances in medicine and medical research. It encompasses material science which allows us to know which materials are best for us to make durable goods that we consume daily. It contains atmospheric and environmental chemistry which allows us to know more about our learn if we are being good stewards of our planet and if not, how do we correct the damage that we made.

Chemistry is the science of life because it connects all of the sciences and engineering disciplines. So celebrate this chemistry week and how the field of chemistry has improved your quality of life.

Math and Science Fair Project Season is Here

Whoo hoo, math and science fair project season is here. I know that most schools math and science fairs aren't until late November/early December, but if you want to produce a quality project the time has come for you to begin the work. You must start weeks in advance because it takes a lot of time to produce a quality math and science fair projects; therefore you don't want to wait until the last minute and neglect your homework the weeks right before the math or science fair.

Completing a project for the math or science fair is a wonderful opportunity for students to explore their interest in math or science and learn skills that are transferable to other subject areas. It is one of the rare opportunities that a student will have to chose the topic they want to learn more about. A quality math or science fair project involves the student utilizing the scientific method to answer a question in their area of interest i.e. Does anti-bacterial soap kills germs? During the process the student should develop their science literacy, data collection and analysis and oral and written presentation skills. In becoming an expert on their topic they will learn how to conduct scholarly research, set up an experiment, collect data and utilize experimental results and background data to form conclusions. When math and science fair arrives they will have become an expert on their topic and will wow their peers and teachers with their quality work as well as get an A on their project.


So I encourage those of you that have children by blood or those who have claimed you as a another mother or father, encourage them to not wait to get started on their math or science fair project. For more tips on math and science fair projects, download our "Experimental Design Handbook at the http://www.semsuccess.org/semlinkincexperimentaldesignhandbook.pdf

Current and Future Noble Prize Winners in Physiology and Medicine

This morning, I came across the following article through Facebook on CNN
http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/, that three U.S. researchers were awarded the Noble Prize for their work on how chromosome are protected against degradation. I was excited for two major reasons, one it is very excited to see that the United States is being innovative and be recognized for their research. Due to lack of support for research, we have been lagging behind Europe for many years.It gives me hope again that the United States will be able to compete globally in research and other scientific innovation. Secondly, two of the three researchers were women; so it is a great example to our girls that want to pursue research careers. Yes, you can be a scientist or engineer and do well enough to be recognize for your work with prestigious awards if you work hard and become an expert in your field.

News like this is exciting to me and I am always encouraged to share it with children the impact that science, engineering and mathematics has on our society. The Nobel Prize is a 1.4 million dollar award; which means that these scientists work has huge impacts on our society. So many children can't connect science, engineering and mathematics to every day life. They just see it as boring or hard subjects that they have to do in class. But science and technology improves our quality of life and solves the various problems in society. Secondly, by highlighting scientists and engineers that are rewarded and recognized for their work, it teaches students that you don't have to be an entertainer or a business person to be recognized or famous. You pursuit of a STEM career and doing well, will allow you many opportunities to be recognized by your peers and society. There are world famous scientists and engineers such as these Nobel Prize winners and others who have made improvements in our society through their work.