Tea and Crumpets: A Summer in Science

How I Built This Logo Calling all entrepreneurs and anyone interested in a good story! How I Built This  on NPR is a great podcast about the stories behinds some of todays biggest companies. The host, Guy Raz, asks insightful questions that are able to bring out epic stories. Episodes are full of stories of 11th hour deals, ramen budgets, epic failures, and miraculous success. They run about 35-45 minutes and are perfect for a walk, run, or drive. Some of my favorite episodes include: Spanx: Sara Blakely - This episode is full of great business tidbits. I admire Sara's work ethic and her story is very interesting to listen to. The episode opens with a teaser about her convincing a Neiman Marcus buyer to go to the bathroom with her. Wonder how she got there? Listen to the episode! Airbnb: Joe Gebbia - This episode explained to me how the crazy idea of renting out rooms in your house to strangers came to be. One of the best bits is actually when Airbnb was out of money...

99% Invisible Logo Another great podcast! 99% Invisible  from Radiotopia is technically an arts, design, and architecture podcast but it really is the stories about the things around us. From the tiny black boxes in apartment building lobbies you probably have never noticed, to giant cement arrows across the American flatlands. This podcast explores everything you never knew you didn't know about, and each episode is hosted by a different member of the 99pi team, so if hearing the same voice over and over every week is an issue for you, this could be a great podcast for you. Some of my favorite episodes include:  254 - Containers - This episode introduces users to the shipping industry and how it was drastically changed first my the advent of the shipping container, and then by the creation of the Ultra Large Container Vessel, a ship that massively increased shipping capacity, decreasing the need for many of shipping's supporting industries and causing shipping ...

I really like this article about Sarah Friar, CFO of Square. In it, she talks about coming up in business and tech as a woman. She has lived and worked internationally, is highly educated, and has had success in multiple industries including engineering, corporate banking, and tech startups. One quote I really like from the article is in response to a question about the advantages and disadvantages there are to being a woman in business and tech. Friar responded: "As a minority, you are memorable. When I was a tech analyst, I was often the only woman in the room asking a question. I knew if my question was insightful, everyone would remember “Sarah Friar probed on that.” I also knew that if it was weak or irrelevant, everyone would remember that, too. It is good to have a high bar in life, as it gives that extra adrenalin rush that we should all be craving in our professional lives." I love this quote because it touches on a lot of the feelings I have as one of th...

Date: 1.7.14 Time: 17:00 Location: Greenwich, CT At the beginning of the summer, I was hired to work as an instructor at a STEM enrichment center called Zaniac .  The Greenwich location just opened, but it already employs a collection of teenagers from different high schools around town.  So far, I am the only instructor from Greenwich Academy, but I hope to bring other girls from GA who are interested in STEM onto the Zaniac team. Zaniac offers a variety of classes, including LEGO robotics, Minecraft, chess, computer programming, and Math, among others.  The classes are geared towards elementary and middle school students.  In the summer, the programs run as three-hour camps for a five day week.  During the school year, the classes are generally an hour, once a week, for six to eight weeks. I have been teaching LEGO Robotics, and it has been great.  The kids are really  energetic, and it is great to see their faces light up when they finally ...

Date: 4.6.14 Time: 10:00 Location: Greenwich, CT Another school year has passed, and that means another summer is here, ready to be filled with research, robotics, and writing.  This summer will be more mellow than last (i.e. no trips to Oxford to study deadly pathogens), but while the work this summer might be different, it does not make it any less important. Next year I'm going to be returning to Greenwich Academy, where I will be joining the FTC team RoboEpic.  I will also be taking a course on engineering and design, an independent research seminar, and will be joining the STEM interest group.  GA has a lot of great opportunities for a Science geek like me and I can't wait to take advantage of them, but until then I'll have to find other ways to make groundbreaking discoveries. I hope you are just as excited as I am about the next three months, and get ready, it's going to be an adventure.

Date: 8.3.14 Time: 15:00 Location: Greens Farms Academy Today DA Bots competed in the FTC CT State Championship, the Battle of the Beach, at Greens Farms Academy in Connecticut.  We were up against a big group of teams, many of whom we knew from previous competitions, including the Greenwich Academy team, RoboEpic.  We were all competing for a few spots to advance on to the Super Regional Tournament, the next level up in FTC competition.  After Super Regionals is the World Championship in St. Louis, and after going once before, I was really hoping to qualify again.   The morning began sort of haphazardly.  Since it was our first day of spring break, some of the team was not able to make it.  We also arrived at different times since some students went home the night before.  We had the last interview, but didn't feel as polished coming out of it as we had at the conclusion of our interview at Greenwich Academy.   Following our inte...

After two tough competitions, the Deerfield robotics team was awarded third place for the Inspire Award, the highest award given at FTC competitions.  With this award, the team will be advancing onto the State competition at Greens Farms Academy on March 8th.  While most people on campus don't know much about DA Bots, we were given a shout-out on the Daily Bulliten, the Deerfield website with all the important happenings of the school, and were suddenly the talk of campus! Link to article: DA Bulletin Article