Proposals and Science with Kids

I'm working on an EPA STAR proposal, which would give me at least 3 years worth of funding for a project of my choosing. They are notoriously difficult to get, so I'm not expecting much. But I've never really worked on proposals that this is great practice for...well...likely the rest of my life.

I've been working now for three weeks on this proposal, and it's changed at least three times. It started as a simple proposal to look at climate and chemistry differences in the northeastern US between 2010 and 2050. It was a very general idea, and I quickly learned that it had been asked and modeled before many times. So it then switched to a finer analysis: looking at the relative contributions to air quality in the northeastern US from different sources (transportation, industry, and biogenic emissions) both within the northeastern US and from other nations and continents. And once again, a little research showed that this had already been done, and the results were not that interesting.

At this point I had read, in varying levels of completeness, 10 - 20 papers on climate, chemistry, and the US. After showing the newest draft to Peter, he told me that he had purposely been giving me no direction. He wanted me to try and find something unique on my own. He then told me that it is a very difficult task. It takes years to get familiar with the literature, with what has been done and what has not been done, and what might possibly make a decent topic. But he wanted me to try and get it, to see how hard it is and the level of literature review and revisions that are necessary.

I was a little frustrated (so many squandered hours), but also very accepting; he had done this before several times with different topics. I had struggled for nearly 2 months to figure out how to change code within the climate model with nearly no guidance from Peter. At the end of the 2 months, I had learned and acquired a great deal of knowledge and understanding, and that's something that he could never have told or taught me directly.

We then talked about what he thought would be a good topic. There have been severe and deadly heat waves in Europe and Moscow in recent years, and there are no (or at least very few) studies that have tried and predict the likelihood and severity of heat waves and mortality here in the US, particularly in the northeastern US. He pointed me to a few papers and I've read another 10 papers or so, and now have a nice draft. It needs to be about 4,000 words before I'm done, and I'll post it here after it's submitted (I don't want anyone stealing my ideas (ha! the odds of that happening are slim to none) ). It needs to be done by November 5th.

In other news, last weekend I participated in a Science from the Slope booth down at Ithaca's Apple Festival. I played with dry ice and kids for 2 hours, and had a great time. I'll be volunteering at the Sciencenter next weekend, and hopefully that'll get the volunteer with kids and science ball really rolling. I'm looking forward to it. Here's a picture from the event last weekend:

Fall Break Weekend and Good Friends

This post has nothing to do with my work. But this blog isn't just about my work, it's about my life.

My excellent friends Toni and Mike came down this weekend. And we were busy! We ran (twice), climbed at Noyes, hiked the Abbot Loop trail, met Ashley and Ed an Northstar, cooked Stuffed Butternut Squash, backed delicious pumpkin bars, grilled sweet potato pancakes, talked, chatted, hung out, enjoyed each others' company, went to the Farmer's Market, explored the Friends of the Library crazy book sale, ordered and ate delicious Sticky Rice takeout, watched Unbreakable, got moderately tipsy and played games, and had a wonderful weekend.

These pictures are the highlights. The weekend went waaaaay to fast.

Me, Toni, and Mike up at the lookout in Abbot Loop.

Mike carving out the local butternut squash. He takes his work very seriously.

The fruits (or vegetables and grains) of our labor: rice, apple, orange, and spice stuffed butternut and acorn squash with walnuts and quinoa.

Toni showing off the pumpkin bars (recipe at the end of this post), Southern Tier's PumpKing beer, and, of course, a Great Lakes Brewery shirt.

And me, playing games and having fun.

And here is the pumpkin bar recipe (from one of Toni's friends) (We also added the remaining walnuts and some chocolate chips):

•4 eggs

•1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

•1 cup vegetable oil

•15-ounce can pumpkin

•2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

•2 teaspoons baking powder

•2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

•1 teaspoon salt

•1 teaspoon baking soda

**1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
**1/2 tsp ground ginger
**These are not part of the original recipe but I add them; amount is approximate.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin
until light and fluffy.
Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry
ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and
the batter is smooth.
Spread the batter into a greased 15 by 10-inch baking pan*. Bake for 22 minutes. Test
for doneness. Continue baking until done.
*Note: If necessary, use a 9x13-inch pan and bake for 30 minutes.
Let cool completely.

Dust with powdered sugar if you like.

Enjoy!

Presentations and Research and how can it already be mid-September?

I'll start with the most exiting news.

It was recently announced that one of my advisors will be a lead author for the next IPCC report. It's due out in 2014, and even if I finish before then, I'll have insight into the process. She's an inspirational scientist (both her and her husband, my main advisor are inspiring scientists), and I'm exited to get to work with both of them over the next 3 (or more) years. They hosted a dinner at their house this weekend, and the number of students they have working for them has doubled, maybe tripled, since last year. It's going to be exiting.

Also exiting: Last weekend was the half-marathon in Rochester that I've been training for since May. My goal was 2 hours, which would be just over 9 minute miles. I finished the race in just under 1:52, averaging 8.5 minute miles. I'm thrilled. My uncle lent me his fancy GPS running watch, which both showed me my instantaneous pace and logged the entire run. Here are the results:

(mile:pace)
1 : 8:14
2 : 8:07
3 : 8:29
4 : 8:32
5 : 8:32
6 : 8:26
7 : 8:39
8 : 8:31
9 : 8:48
10 : 8:41
11 : 8:32
12 : 8:35
13 : 8:18

So not only did I average 8.5 minute miles, but I stayed pretty damn close to 8.5 minute miles throughout the race. I'll post pictures when I get them, no matter how awful I look. I've misplaced my camera battery charger, so there will be more pictures in general in the future.

Presentations

I gave a presentation last week to my research group, which went really well. This was the first time I've been able to actually show some results to these people (excepting my advisor, whose seen every single variation and intermediate result). I'm always apprehensive about speaking in front of other people, even though the apprehension has been gradually decreasing in severity from my high-school peak. I'm happy with my work and results so far (although there is still a lot that needs to be done to clarify and distill the main points), and was thrilled that there was a good discussion of possibilities and implications during the presentation. I'm giving a very similar presentation next week for the Soil and Water Seminar, and then in early November for the Space Sciences luncheon. So I'll get plenty of practice, which is great.

Practice, Practice, Practice

This semester, I need to internalize atmospheric chemistry, modeling, and large chunks of atmospheric science. I need to be familiar with the concepts, the major derivations, and I need (need!) to get a better quantitative handle on things. I'm hoping to do my A Exam sometime in early 2011, and want to be confident enough with both the qualitative and the quantitative. So I'm reading textbooks, reviewing derivations, and even creating cheat-sheets and index cards to drill these things into my mind. I'm getting better, but not quite where I'd like to be for this A Exam.

I also need to plan the next phase of my research. This Asian Influence project will wrap up soon (relatively). And I'll be switching to an EPA grant with a different focus. So I need to think a little bit. On top of this, I'm going to apply to the EPA Star grant this year, which would support me for 3 years (more if I can stretch it) on some project that I propose. I have a few ideas, along similar lines to the EPA grant, but with a slightly different focus. I'll post more when I've thought a little more.

Everything else

On top of everything else, there are great seminars this year in several different departments. The Soil and Water Lab has organized a grant-writing weekly meeting to help organize and plan, which I'm looking forward to. I'm enjoying the Air Pollution class I'm taking. I'm enjoying writing this paper. I'm enjoying the people I'm around, which is growing rapidly. I'm looking forward to climbing, skiing, movie nights, happy hours, fall break, Phoenix, Broken Social Scene, and Grinderman. I will be cooking a lot of excellent food this semester, and am enjoying the mostly vegetarian diet I have been maintaining (exceptions: meatballs and chicken wings last weekend, a buffalo chicken calzone the weekend before, and some local pork in an upcoming pig roast). I'm getting pretty good at tofu. Now I need to figure out beans.

I've also been purging my apartment of useless crap. I have way to many books and DVDs, so I've eliminated several shelves to force myself to eliminate some books and DVDs. I've always struggled with stuff and clutter. Now I'm trying to reduce it all to a manageable level.

Final thoughts for the summer

Before the semester starts, I want to record some of my thoughts reflecting on the work done this summer and the work to be done over the next months and years.

NCAR

The trip to NCAR was a good experience. It was too short, though. Two weeks is not long enough. I still have a lot to figure out regarding WRF/Chem, and there are only a few people around who will be able to answer my questions. I’m having trouble keeping all of the procedures, tricks, and methods straight in my head, so I need to document what I learn and document the troubles I have with it. I also need to determine my future research goals so I can cater WRF/Chem to that end.

Research

I didn’t do any real research during my undergraduate career, with the exception of my senior thesis. I didn’t take advantage of any of the REU opportunities, nor did I try to get credit through lab work or research. At the time, I figured I would be going to industry when I completed my degree, and that I wouldn’t really need research experience. I’m feeling the cost of that mindset right now.

I am enjoying the work I’m doing now, but I often feel like I’m flailing around in the dark. I’m throwing together figures and paper sections without a well-defined research goal. I can feel some form of research narrative emerging in the paper, but it’s elusive and slippery. I really need to sit down and figure out what I want to do these next several years, what opportunities and resources I have available, and how to fit my goals with the bounds of the projects and work that will be paying for my education. I’m nervous. There is a lot to determine and solidify.

Research Paper

Beyond enjoying my research, I’m enjoying the act of writing this research paper. It’s been awhile since I had a big writing project, and there is a joy in trying to craft phrases, concepts, and information into a coherent structure. I’m comfortable with converting raw data into figures, although it took me a long time to get to this point. I can create figures all day long, but that would not be research. Rather, I need to pick a few main points, craft the structure and argument and figures to support these points, and then smooth everything out. Very few people are going to read this paper, and very few people are going to think hard about it, or incorporate it into their work. But I need to convince those few people that I know what I’m doing, that my message is accurate, coherent, and useful, and that it’s worthy of publication. I have a lot to learn. Particularly regarding…

The Philosophy of Science

I’d currently call myself an atmospheric scientist. But I feel like I’m missing the philosophical and conceptual framework that I need to be a good scientist. I have difficulties when I make statements in my writing and research. Am I using deductive or inductive arguments? Is my reasoning rational? Is what I’m doing leading to an actual statement of truth? How do I justify the mind-numbing complexity of the model I’m using? Why should anyone listen to what I am saying? I really need to work my way through the functional basis of science and modeling so that I can be confident and coherent as a modeler and as a scientist. Thankfully, Mary pointed me towards a book that should do just that: the Scientific Method in Practice, written by the Cornellian Hugh Gauch. I’ve started reading this, but it’s slow going. It’s a text book, and I really want to chew on the ideas and internalize the methods and reasoning. I hope to finish it by the end of the semester, and therefore be a more confident scientist and researcher by then.

Focus

I also feel like I really need to turn up my ability to focus. I have some very specific goals for this semester (write the paper, take one class, learn WRF/Chem) and some very vague goals as well (determine my future research, incorporate policy somehow into my work). The more concrete goals are ones that I can discretize and make into checklists (write a methodology section, read Chapter 5, work my way through Exercise 2), and therefore I can move through without a whole lot of reflection. The more general goals, however, require constant reflection and reorientation. I need to find some way to organize my thoughts and wants and form actual goals and targets. I need to focus on them. Focus hard and focus for long periods of time.

I also need to sit down and focus on atmospheric science, chemistry, and modeling. If I’m going to become an atmospheric scientist, I better damn well know atmospheric science. I need to read and read and read, and talk and discuss and make mistakes, and reflect and internalize and question the expanse of data and concepts that are at my finger tips.

People

Finally, I just want to say that I feel blessed (and I’m not one to use this term often) to be surrounded by the people that I am now. I feel open and able to express myself in front of my advisors, professors, and fellow students. I feel comfortable spending my days in the soil and water lab, and thrilled that I’m able to build strong friendships alongside my academic development. After my two weeks in Colorado and two weeks with my family for a vacation, I had a strong desire to get back here and hang out with my Ithacan friends again. I wanted to study, learn, climb, hike, birdwatch, chat, eat, cook, celebrate, drink, and generally be with these people. Many of them are good (or great) acquaintances. A growing number of them are becoming friends. A small (but growing) number of them are becoming good, close friends that I don’t want to lose touch with in the future. Thank you all so much for being the awesome people you are, and making me feel like I actually belong here.

And now I’m ready to take on this semester.

Second Week

Wow, time goes fast.

I don't have too much time left here, but I've made some significant progress. I'm able to run WRF just fine, and I've run through several of the test cases provided on the online tutorial. I've installed (configured and compiled) WRF/Chem and it seems to work just fine without any chemistry (I have one running right now), and my goal for today is to get something running with actual chemistry. That is the main goal of this trip: to get WRF/Chem running.

It is very nice to have people around that can answer questions. I still feel bad taking up their time, but I keep reminding myself that I enjoy helping someone out, as long as they are not too demanding. Katrina works a few cubicles over and she's been a real help, and then Alma is down one floor (who is also going to be working on this EPA grant), and she's also giving me boatloads of guidance.

It's strange, because Peter is not at all familiar with WRF/Chem, so I cannot go to him for help. I can (and do) go to him for guidance and advice. But for the most part for this project, this WRF/Chem is going to be my baby. And I am enjoying this process. Well, not in the sense that I would chose to do this everyday with my free time, but I do like the process (the careful planning and positioning of the right input files, the careful selection of the namelist variables and specifics of the run, and then the little burst of endorphins that I get when I see the phrase "Successful Completion of XXX"). This is an incredible powerful tool, and I have increasing control over it. I can do a lot with this.

It is also reassuring that I am picking up the intricacies of modeling much more quickly than last summer, where I struggled for months to get the CCSM global climate model running. This one is similar in some senses, and very different in others. But I have enough of a basic understanding that the differences were more in context, and easier to incorporate into my understanding and conceptualization of the model.

I'm trying really hard to write down and log what I'm doing here. I am learning a lot of intricacies, and I often have trouble remembering these things after I'm done. I'm typing up little rubrics, or step-by-step guides to the basic operation of these things. I know that the manuals have these as well, but if I take the time to write it and fix it and make sure it works, I have a better chance at being able to remember the details later on. And, because I intend to show as many detailed slices of this life as I can, here's an example this rubric: