It’s easy to think of the sun as a simple bright sphere in the sky, constant and unchanging; but, that is far from reality. The sun is dynamic, with many solar flares, cells of convection, and even storms. One of the easiest changes to see are sunspots, which are located on the surface of the… Read more »
Looking back into the archives of scientific papers published in the past few decades, the majority have one, or at most four, authors. Most projects were conducted by a single individual (or a man and multiple uncredited women, but that’s a whole different topic than what I’d like to discuss here): one person started with… Read more »
Sue the T Rex. Lucy the early human ancestor. These are scientific discoveries that are remembered and even loved. They have names and feel real despite being collections of bones. Even the buckyball evokes the idea of fun where other structures of molecules do not. Names are important. Astronomy has been doing this for a… Read more »
A look inside the work of Dr. Mary Murphy in celebration of Black History Month Picture this: you’re a Black student on a large college campus. This is your first year. One day, you are accosted by a White male slinging racial slurs and threats, as your peers (~70% of whom are White) stare, yet… Read more »
I remember one night when I was a second-year graduate student looking for an email from my advisor, feeling the pressure of yet another transition from a research filled summer to a teaching intensive fall. Instead, I found an email from my department chair with the subject “requesting assistance.” As you may have guessed, it… Read more »
This is the third part of a series on the dissemination of science. Catch up on part 1 here or part 2 here! Flowing from a renaissance of scientific dissemination, the public is hungry for knowledge. The increasing accessibility of information right at our fingertips (or keyboards) has caused a surge in media-based public dissemination… Read more »
This post is from ScIU’s archives. It was originally published by Victoria Kohout in August 2017, and has been lightly edited to reflect current events. Chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven. Your grandmother’s perfume. Newly cut grass. Each of the listed descriptions is extremely different but can be linked together by one fundamental thread–smell…. Read more »
Being a teacher is one of the many hats that graduate students across the country wear during their career. As a graduate student who has taught several science courses, I know that keeping students engaged is always a challenge, particularly in required and introductory courses. While I have taught different levels of undergraduates, from freshman… Read more »
Just like scientific findings themselves, the processes by which scientists communicate within their communities and with others can be nebulous. Historically and today, academic scientists have developed a contentious relationship with public communication of their work (e.g., books, news, social media, etc.), which has been perceived by other scientists as a sign of questionable scientific… Read more »
I attended my first astronomy conference in high school and I’m not ashamed to admit I understood less than a tenth of what was said at the meeting. This meeting was a small conference dedicated entirely to discussing new science which could be done with a telescope that was little more than concept art at… Read more »
