Women’s History Month
by Anny Tadros
There are numerous famous women in history that we know of and celebrate, in areas such as science, human rights, culture, and politics. Such women include Marie Curie, Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Maya Angelou, and so many others who have made countless breakthroughs and have had a huge impact on the way our world is today. However, this article will cover the more underrated and lesser-known women in history who have also left their marks in important ways.
Ada Lovelace
Ada Lovelace (Dec. 10, 1815 – Nov. 27, 1852) was a mathematician and writer from England, who is considered to be the first computer programmer. She was the daughter of the poet Lord Byron and had a great interest in logic and math. She studied with many scientists throughout the course of her life, including Charles Babbage, who is considered to be the father of computers. Her works were inspired by the works of Babbage, and she made a set of notes vital to the development of today’s computers. One of her notes was about the “first computer program,” which included an algorithm that machines could implement. She realized that computers were able to follow simple directions and perform compound calculations, although her discoveries weren’t put into play at that time. It is said that her IQ of 160 was analogous to Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.
Katherine Johnson (Coleman)
Katherine Johnson (Aug. 26, 1918 – Feb. 24, 2020) was a mathematician who helped with NASA’s development of the journey to the moon. Her interest in and facility with numbers was apparent in her childhood, and she started attending high school at the age of 10. She graduated from West Virginia State University at 18. She then worked in the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics’ West Area Computing Unit, where she and other women would perform the complex calculations necessary in engineering. Five years later in 1958, this facility changed to become NASA, and 2 years after that, Johnson became the first woman to receive credit for being a coauthor of a NASA research report. Later on in her career, she wrote about 25 more. She played a role in other space missions: her calculation for the path of Freedom 7 allowed the first astronaut in space, and her work helped to launch Apollo 11. She died in 2020 at the age of 101.
Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson (Aug. 25, 1927 – Sept. 28, 2003) was a tennis and golf player. She was the first African American tennis player to participate in the U.S. National Championships in 1950 and the first African American to play at Wimbledon in 1951. As a child, she loved playing sports. She didn’t do very well in her academics and skipped school often, but she continued to play and excel in tennis, until the musician Buddy Walker noticed her skills and had her play on local courts. She was introduced to the Harlem River Tennis Courts in 1941, after winning local tournaments and proving she was skilled. She won 10 championships from 1947-1956, and attended Florida A&M University through a sports scholarship. She won both the women’s singles and doubles in Wimbledon in ‘57, and later switched to golf and again became the first Black woman to compete on the pro tour, switching back to tennis soon after. She retired in 1971 and died in 2003.
Grace Hopper
Grace Hopper (Dec. 9,1906 – Jan.1,1992) was a mathematician, computer scientist, and U.S. Navy rear admiral. When she was young, she had a great interest in learning and engineering. At the age of seven, she would take apart items such as clocks and put them back together. She graduated from Vassar College with a bachelor’s degree, and later went to Yale and pursued a Master’s and PhD in mathematics. She resigned from her teaching position in 1943 and joined the Navy. A year later, she was given the role of lieutenant, and her team worked on a prototype of one of the earliest electronic computers. The term “bug,” describing a computer malfunction, was actually coined by Hopper. She wrote a manual on how to work a sequence-controlled calculator, and became a researcher with Harvard. She invented the first computer compiler and co-developed one of the first computer languages. She was then assigned Chief of Naval Operations, after which she was promoted to captain in 1973, commodore in 1983, admiral in 1985, and then was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal. She said her “greatest joy came from teaching,” and she continued with this occupation until her death in 1992.
Reflection & Final Thoughts
What I find interesting about these women is that their careers and their impact mainly derived from their interest in the topics as kids. For example, Katherine Johnson, Ada Lovelace, and Grace Hopper all had an early affinity for math and calculations, which really impacted the things that they were able to achieve. Even Althea Gibson, who didn’t do too well in school, still pursued an occupation that incorporated her skills and interests, and she continued to look for more things to do as she grew. I believe that these incredible ladies make it clear that you should incorporate the things that you love into your everyday life, and because they are your natural interests, you are more likely to have success, even if it’s just the opportunity to lead a fulfilling and rewarding life.
If you’d like to learn more about the famous women who made an impact on our world, I recommend going to the National Women’s History Museum Website. There, they have many articles and biographies on great women: https://www.womenshistory.org/
Read MorePi Day
by Jordin Lim
Another year, another Pi Day at Science Academy! Taking place Thursday, March 14th (3.14, of course), ASB hosted a highly successful Pi Day.
What is Pi Day? Read this article from last year for some irrationally fun Pi Day history!
https://www.thescienceacademystemmagnet.org/2023/03/22/pi-day-article/
Students enjoyed an extended lunch with fan-favorite festivities, such as a pie eating contest, carnival games, and the renowned throw-pie-at-teachers activity. Shout out to the students who, according to the accounts of Mr. Shepherd and Mr. Park, hit them square in the face, which was quite a challenge considering the wind!
The carnival games were a wonderful way to spend our lunch. Fellow students running the booths were bursting with energy and made the game-playing experience extra fun. But the cherry on top was the multitude of prizes I saw students return to class with. One of my classmates showed up to 5th period with a whole grocery bag of little stuffed animals!
Hungry? Well, there were also tables set up where ASB offered students refreshments, pre-ordered pizza, and of course, plenty of pie.
This year, the seniors presented the student body with a new game. With the opportunity of winning $50 and $25 gift cards, we were to get the signatures of as many seniors as possible, who were designated with signs and cool hats. I found this to be an incredible activity! This allowed students of all grade levels to get to know the seniors. I saw a ton of students running around, trying to find as many seniors as they could.
Even if all these activities didn’t catch your eye–though I’m not sure how they wouldn’t– the extended lunch was an excellent opportunity to play around with your friends. I saw plenty of students enjoying their lunch playing volleyball on the blacktop or football and soccer on the field. I can’t wait for next year’s Pi Day and all the fun activities ASB has in store, and I bet the student body can’t either!
Read More8th Grade Science Fair Interviews
by Andi Villamor
Congratulations to all the 8th Grade Winners!
-
1st Place: Ione McLain (How Does Air Quality…?)
-
2nd Place: Evan Goodman and Simon Oshev (Chill Pill)
-
2nd Place: Max Pestes and Isaac Sapire (Removing Microplastics from Water)
-
3rd Place: Collin Lee and Roy Li (The Wind Turbine Showdown)
-
Honorable Mention: Margaux Lane (Measuring the Strength of I-beam Types)
-
Honorable Mention: Hasmik Yedoyan and Tanvi Chandrashekhar (The Effect of Saturation on the Perception of the Image)
Simon Oshev and Evan Goodman (2nd place winners)
What is the title of your project? Chill Pill
What was your project about? It’s a solar-powered solution for medication storage for the unhoused.
Why did you choose this project? We saw that homelessness is a big problem in Los Angeles, and I take allergy medication, so it made me think about how the unhoused are unable to store medication if they have allergies like me or other health issues.
What did you use to make the storage system? We used a thermoelectric module, which uses two different types of semiconductors to cool one side of the device and heat the other side, and we added heat sinks and fans to carry the cool air out.
How did you determine your design for the storage? We looked at [factors like] portability, low cost, and simplicity.
What was the biggest challenge you faced? It was kind of the team aspect, like finding the right times [to work on the project together].
If you did this project again, what would you do differently? The problem is the efficiency. Basically, after one hour, the temperature goes down to about 50 degrees and it shuts off because we set the battery so that there’s a discharge limit to make it safer. So in order to fix that, we would have to add a temperature-sensing circuit breaker so that when it gets cool enough, it turns off, and once it gets hot enough, it turns back on.
What would be the next steps for the project if you wanted to partner with an organization and implement it on a larger scale? Make it more user-friendly because it’s kind of difficult to learn how to use it. [We would also make it] sturdier and more durable. By sturdier, I mean safer to the elements, like making it waterproof.
Margaux Lane (Honorable mention)
What was the title of your project? Measuring the Strength of Different I-Beams
What was your hypothesis? The beam that is thickest in the middle would be the strongest, and it was. [If a beam has a greater thickness in the middle, then it will have a lower distance displacement after the addition of weights].
How did you do the experiment? I used yard sticks and wood glue, and I made these long wooden beams [of different thicknesses] and put weights on the ends to see how much they would bend. [To measure that,] I clamped one end of the beam to a table and I measured its distance to the ground before I put the weight on it and then I put the weight on and measured that distance, then calculated the displacement – so the ones with the least displacement [bent the least and were therefore] the strongest.
Why did you choose this project? I chose it because I thought it would be interesting to see which models would be the strongest.
What application do you think your project could have? The project could be applied to construction and creating stronger infrastructure.
What was the biggest challenge you faced? The biggest challenge was probably while I was testing it, just getting the measurements accurate and making sure they were bending the right way. Some of them broke at the end.
If you did this project again, what would you do differently? I would probably make [the beams] stronger and test them with more weights.
Tanvi Chandrashekar & Hasmik Yedoyan (Honorable mention)
What was the title of your project? How Does Saturation Affect the Perception of an Image?
What was your hypothesis? If the saturation of an image is between 50-75 chroma level, then people will gravitate towards it more.
How did you do the experiment? We got eighty people to take a survey with thirty images, and each of them were saturated to a different level. They then [rated] which images they liked the most and we analyzed the data with graphs and came to the conclusion that people like images with a chroma level of 50-75.
Why do you think this level of saturation is the most appealing? It makes the pictures more vibrant so that they’re more attention-grabbing, but not so vibrant that it makes them look less natural.
Why did you choose this project? We wanted to do something color-related, and apparently doing color was really hard because we had to learn about the color scale [and other aspects of color theory], so we just chose saturation.
What was the biggest challenge you faced? Mainly just trying to analyze the graphs since there was so much data.
If you could do this project again, what would you do differently? We would do a smaller test group, because eighty was a lot, and it was really hard.
Congratulations also to the High School Winners!
-
Naira Badalyan (9th) (Using Microchannel Heat Sinks to Enhance Cooling of Solar Cells and Increase Power Output)
-
Ryan Lee (10th) (Modeling the Atlantic Maritime Trade with Physarum Polycephalum Slime Molds)
-
Geonhee Lee (10th) & Harshini Manikandan (10th) (How does the Aspect Ratio of the Wing of the Aircraft Correspond to the Lift and Drag Ratio)
-
Valeri Petrosyan (9th) (The Simulation and Use of Reinforcement Learning AI for Path Generation of Target-Seeking Munition)
-
Xavier Rowe (10th) (Testing the Methane Yield of Different Food Groups)
7th Grade Science Fair Interviews
by Maleeya Mickelson
After months of diligently working on their projects, from researching to experimenting to painstakingly assembling their boards, our 7th and 8th grade students have finally been able to showcase their hard work at the annual Science Academy Science Fair. This year saw many informative projects from the students aiming to solve a variety of problems with a creative approach. Congratulations to the following 7th grade students who won this year’s school Science Fair and who will be advancing on to the Los Angeles County Science Fair where they’ll represent The Science Academy STEM Magnet:
1st Place – Aiden Kim & Jayden Park
2nd Place – Jackson Rutner
3rd Place – Adam Young
Honorable Mention – Daniel Jang
I interviewed the 1st place winners, Aiden Kim and Jayden Park, and the 2nd place winner, Jackson Rutner, to learn more about their projects and their overall reflection on this year’s experience.
1st Place – Aiden Kim & Jayden Park | “What is an MFC?”
What was your hypothesis?
If bacteria in soil were to generate electricity with a microbial fuel cell (MFC), then it would generate more electricity than distilled water that has no bacteria to use and be able to power a microbial fuel cell.
What information was your project aiming to find out?
We were trying to find out if bacteria can generate electricity using a MFC or an alternative battery that collects energy by taking the electrons from biochemical reactions catalyzed by bacteria. We also were trying to find out if an MFC utilizing bacteria generates more electricity than an MFC using distilled water.
How did you conduct your experiment?
Our experiment utilized the power of electrogenic bacteria, such as E. coli, which are special types of microbes. Due to electrogenic bacteria being able to release electrons extracellularly, anodes in a MFC are able to take the electrons and harness them to electricity. Many of these types of electrogenic bacteria important to MFCs are commonly found in all types of soils. The overall set-up of our experiment consisted of two sets of two large containers connected by two small pipes. In one set, we put soil and bacteria food into one container and normal tap water with an oxygen generator in the other. The other set of containers was set up the same way, but instead of soil, we used distilled water and didn’t add any bacterial food because it is not needed for the distilled water. Once this was built, we used a volt multimeter to measure the amount of millivolts three times a day.
How did you overcome complications during the experimental process?
A complication we ran into was that the pipe connecting the two containers for our experiment was slowly leaking, potentially changing the amount of electricity generated. So, the real amount of electricity generated may be higher than our observation.
What were the results of your experiments?
Our results showed that the bacteria with MFC generated more electricity than distilled water with MFC, which supported our hypothesis. In our experiment, electricity was produced by the soil bacteria MFC, at an average of 5.04 mV. In the distilled water MFC, the amount of voltage generated remained roughly about 0 mV. In the soil MFC, the voltage pattern was increased and peaked at day 7, and the amount of voltage was then dropped. The reason behind the amount of voltage being reduced might have been that the food ran out, or the bacteria died/stopped growing.
What inspired you to choose this topic for your project?
We were scrolling on TikTok and found an interesting video about bacteria creating electricity, which led us to creating our project. The outcome of our experiment could be helpful to people in the future because MFCs could lead to a more efficient production of electricity.
If you were to do this project again (or one similar), what would you change?
If we were to do this project again, we would have tried to make a permanent MFC by adding bacteria food every week and seeing if the bacteria survives, or we would make our MFC generate more volts as our current MFC can only generate a couple millivolts.
What advice do you have for those participating in the science fair next year?
Always try your best and be your best at all times.
2nd Place – Jackson Rutner | “Tidal Trouble: How Does Different Tidal Patterns Affect Erosion?”
What was your hypothesis?
If different tidal patterns are compared to each other, then semidiurnal tides (a type of tidal pattern that cycles twice a day instead of once a day like diurnal tides) will cause the most erosion compared to diurnal tides because of a faster tidal pattern.
What information was your project aiming to find out?
I was trying to figure out how erosion in different places with different tidal patterns affect how fast the land loses mass.
How did you conduct your experiment?
My project uses a tank, chalk and a VEX v5 system. To prepare I code the VEX v5 system to have the motor move the styrofoam with a custom function to simulate diurnal tides. Afterwards, I put a block of chalk into one edge of the tank. To set up the system, I suspend the styrofoam with the metal plates at the bottom 0.5 inches below the top of the chalk. I fill the tank to the top of the chalk block with water. Now I run the program for two weeks or until the chalk is gone. To record my data, I weigh it by the end of the 2 weeks. For semidiurnal tides, I repeat the process with a custom function to simulate the semidiurnal tides. Finally, I repeat with no function for the control.
How did you overcome complications during the experimental process?
A complication I ran into was having a way to simulate the tides was tough and I even cracked the first tank I was going to use because of a faulty design to control the water level. To fix that problem I used rubber bumpers to hold tightly but not destroy the tank like I did in the previous iteration.
What were the results of your experiments?
According to the data collected, the hypothesis that if tides are compared to each other, semidiurnal tides will cause the most erosion compared to diurnal tides because of a faster tidal pattern appears to be incorrect. It would appear that the slower diurnal tides were able to have more impact because the surface of the water could be affected. The tides do seem too small to play a significant role in the grand scheme of things of the ocean. The project did have some errors, like the fact that it was not one solid eroded block. Also because the chalk absorbed water, it gained 10 ounces, changing the experiment.
What inspired you to choose this topic for your project?
I had a question in sixth grade in science class that Mr. Lewis did not know the answer to, and I could not just google it, so I decided I may as well have a science project that I was actually interested in so I would not put in lackluster effort to make sure that the project was enjoyable and relevant.
If you were to do this project again (or one similar), what would you change?
If I did this project again, I would make sure that the simulation had a greater effect on the water level because the styrofoam I used to control the water level was not thick enough to move the water the amount that I had hoped for in this experiment.
What advice do you have for those participating in the science fair next year?
Make sure that you like your project and have a unique and novel project – be sure you can’t just Google search the project type or the answer.
Pictures of Science Fair and Board Assemblies:
Read MoreLunar New Year Fun
by Desmond Devine and Ryan Park
To kick off the month of February, the Science Academy ASB celebrated Spirit Week from February 5th to the 9th. On Monday it was Pajama Day, Tuesday was Paint the Town Red Day, Wednesday was Jersey/College Day, Thursday was Twin Day, and Friday was Culture Day. Friday was particularly chosen as Culture Day to celebrate the Lunar New Year, which is the Year of the Dragon. To celebrate the Lunar New Year, the Korean Parent Organization prepared different dishes and fund activities for students to enjoy.
As students walked down to the cafeteria, they were greeted by a traditional performance of janggu, Korean drums, and buk, another type of drum. Students then stood in line as they eagerly waited to receive a bowl full of Korean dishes. In each bowl, the Korean Parent Organization put in bulgogi (불고기- grilled marinated meat), japchae (잡채- stir-fried glass noodles), and rice (밥). As a little dessert, students were also given ppeongtwigi (뻥튀기 – sweet puffed grains). There were also various activities to keep the students entertained, the most interesting being Tuho (투호). Tuho is a very traditional game where participants attempt to throw arrows into a canister from a certain distance away. Another popular game has recently become very well known due to the hit TV show Squid Game. Ddakji (딱지) is a game where players have to use their origami squares to try and flip the other player’s origami square. The last activity was jegichagi (제기차기), where the goal of the game is to keep a shuttlecock wrapped in paper in the air for as long as possible. The first part “jeggi-” means an object used in play, and “-chagi” means to kick something.
Celebrating the Lunar New Year had been a yearly tradition for the Science Academy before the pandemic hit and students had to go into remote learning. It’s wonderful to see the student body bond over food and games while they also experience some of Korean culture. Lots of appreciation to the Korean Parent Organization (KPO) for organizing such a great event and feeding all our students!
Read More