Hello, and welcome to my blog. This post reflects my last action project at GCE for my Humanities core class, “Endurance”. For the end of this class, we have been studying what endurance is and breaking down what each of us seniors will have to endure after graduating from GCE. For this action project, we were assigned to create a "survival guide" for ourselves and for anyone who would be interested in taking a similar career path in life. My survival guide is about making a successful and profitable career as a visual artist and how to use resources around you to benefit yourself. My survival guide is down below for all to view. I can't believe this is my final action project as a GCE student but the journey was worthwhile. Thanks for visiting my blog and enjoy your day.
Monday, June 6, 2022
A Visual Artist’s Survival Guide
Friday, June 3, 2022
More Calculus
Hello, and welcome to my last action project for my workshop, "Introduction to Calculus". In this class, we learned the basics of calculus by reviewing slope formulas from Algebra. Calculus is a branch of mathematics that deals with operations on functions and their derivatives. We recently learned and practiced derivatives and antiderivatives. Derivatives or prime is another function that can be used to find the slope at any point. For this action project, we were instructed to use a nonlinear function incorporating our two random numbers, evaluate our functions, find the derivative and antiderivative (integral), and use the antiderivative to estimate the area underneath a section of the nonlinear function. I hope you enjoy my calculus equations down below!
I chose -6x + x^{6} (x to the 6th power) as my nonlinear function to incorporate the random numbers I was assigned.
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Space Poster :)
Hello, and welcome to my last action project at GCE for my S.T.E.A.M core class, "Frontiers". In this unit, we reviewed different styles of presenting and condensing research papers into poster presentations similar to a science fair format. For this action project, I was challenged to create a poster that I will use to make my previous research paper on the further advancements in space technology and instruments more attractive to read and understand. Below is my poster with a link and QR code to my most recent research paper. It's been a long journey finishing this senior year and I'm excited to be moving on to a new adventure. I hope you enjoy the poster and research paper!
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| N.L. "Space Instruments and Technology Poster" 2022 |
Thursday, June 2, 2022
Better Technology For Further Space Exploration
Hello, and welcome to my first action project for the second unit, "Space" of my S.T.E.A.M core class, "Frontiers". In this unit, we learned about the history of humanity's understanding of space, how people in ancient times looked to the stars to guide them with directions and record events, and the history of space exploration. We also read Astrophysics For People In A Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson which helped us understand the many variables and components within space. For our field experiences, we meet with An Li over zoom. She presented us with her research from her observation program with NASA in 2020. She was a part of a group that studied the Mars rover "Perseverance" and focused specifically on the X-ray spectrometer of the rover called "PIXL". From this field experience, I was able to further research instruments and technology used for space observation and exploration. For this action project, I was challenged to write a research paper based on a grand challenge to space exploration and to describe the future of space exploration according to modern research. I choose to focus on how advancements in technology can result in more accurate and higher resolution of data collection and observation in space. During the process of drafting and finalizing this research paper, I felt that this project was important to learn about space even though the majority of humanity won't physically reach space anytime soon. I hope you enjoy my project below and thank you for visiting my blog!
Better Technology For Further Space Exploration
How can further advancements in technology contribute to a more accurate and higher resolution of data collection and observation in space?
Humanity started studying space in ancient times. From using the stars as directions and guides to documenting an idealogy of perceiving the stars as higher beings to humanity. According to Northern Arizona University, “The ancient Babylonians viewed the Universe as a flat disk of land surrounded by water. They were the first people to keep detailed records of the paths of planets. Like most ancient people, Babylonians believed that studying planetary movements could help them predict the future.” Before recent advancements in technology, human space exploration was limited to the instruments and tools such as telescopes to see the stars and our imaginations to dream of what could exist beyond the stars in the sky. Human space exploration started in the 1950s when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. The “Space Race” was a competition between two Cold War adversaries, the Soviet Union and the United States, to achieve superior spaceflight capability from 1955 to 1975. NASA was founded and opened for business on Oct. 1, 1958, following the launch of the Sputnik satellite. Since then technology has been ever-growing and evolving to solve problems on a micro to macro scale. “NASA’s first six decades of discovery have benefited our lives in many ways. Numerous tools and technologies for solving seemingly impossible challenges in the harsh and unforgiving environment of space have been adapted for Earth-bound use. NASA makes sure that these alternative applications, or spinoffs, are made available to the public. The benefits are making an impact worldwide in better health and medicine, transportation, public safety, consumer products, computer technology, environmental and agricultural resources, and industrial activity.”
Some of the most notable and most known space technologies are the international space station, space and land rovers, telescopes, satellites, and spacesuits. “Spirit and Opportunity are the two successful Mars rovers that helped us with many discoveries on Mars and were advanced enough to be controlled from the Earth. They each landed on almost opposite sides of Mars. Their purpose was to conduct field geology and make atmospheric observations. They ended up providing the US with the first, color and clear images of Mars’ surface, as well as discovering the intermittent flow of water on Mars in 2015. Both of the rovers exceeded their 90-day expected lifetime by several years making them one of NASA’s most successful inventions.” The Kepler space telescope was low-cost and was only expected to last three to four years but ended up lasting almost ten years. It was built to find planets outside our solar system that are similar to Earth. “The Hubble space telescope was introduced in 1990 and resided 569 km above the Earth’s surface. It’s responsible for explaining most mysteries of space. Its technology avoided atmospheric distortion, which allowed it to bring thousands of jaw-dropping images back to Earth. It has helped explain many of the greatest space mysteries such as determining the age of the universe, showing us the existence of dark energy, discovering planets, quasars, and 6much more. The antennae on the telescope send and receive information to the Goddard Space Flight Centre. Using satellites, the engineers are able to communicate with it by sending commands.”
With the 21st century’s progress in space exploration and space technology, the talk of colonization of Mars and space has come up in conversation and conceptualization. Ever since we found traces of water on Mars back in 2015, the idea of living on Mars has erupted into countless ventures of technology and experimentation of what it would be like for humans to possibly inhabit Mars. Private and public space exploration companies are now figuring out how to travel to Mars and how laws and regulations about space exploration and colonization should be constituted. I believe that space exploration is important to a degree but I don’t agree with trying to colonize an area or entire planet just for the sake of it because who knows what other life existence can be out there. One very popular spacecraft engineering company is “SpaceX”. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk who is also the owner and founder of Tesla Motors, an electric automotive and clean energy company. SpaceX specializes in spacecraft manufacturing, providing space launches, and satellite communications. SpaceX was founded with the goal of reducing space transportation costs to enable the colonization of Mars. SpaceX’s mission is, “You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great - and that’s what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. It’s about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars.” -Elon Musk As exciting as the study of and imaginable possibilities are, space exploration is a tremendously lucrative market and field.
Here’s a chart reflecting the water mysteries of different planets:
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| Comparison of Water on Different Planets |
Space exploration and observation have cost more than trillions of dollars since we started in 1958. “NASA's budget in the fiscal year 2020 was $22.629 billion which represents 0.48% of all U.S. government spending. This is a 5.3% increase from the previous fiscal year.” The International Space Station is the largest and most expensive technology that has ever been built. It weighs almost a million pounds and costs an estimated $160 billion to date. A spacesuit weighs over 300 lbs and costs $22 million to create. They’re very technologically advanced and allow us to exist in extreme temperatures and conditions that humans would normally not be able to survive in for more than a couple of seconds. While space exploration and technology are very expensive, there are companies, engineers, and scientists that are working on more inexpensive technologies that will continue to further advance space technology. According to NASA, “By utilizing smaller craft – those that could fit inside the trunk of your car versus being the size of your car – the agency opens more opportunities to conduct ambitious deep space missions at a fraction of the cost.” Advancements in technology such as small spacecraft electric propulsion and 3D printed mechanical parts for things such as rocket engines are steps closer to keeping costs for space travel less expensive and more efficient. “For decades, innovators at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have been developing large, high-power electric propulsion (EP) systems that harness the power of the Sun to energize inert gases and turn them into extremely efficient thrust. Higher fuel efficiency means less propellant is needed, lowering launch costs while allowing spacecraft designers to reduce overall spacecraft weight to carry more payload mass, like technology demonstrations or more powerful scientific instruments.” Recent advancement in technology is the introduction of 3D printing in engineering. “Future lunar landers might come equipped with 3D printed rocket engine parts that help bring down overall manufacturing costs and reduce production time. NASA is investing in advanced manufacturing – one of five industries of the future – to make it possible.”
In conclusion, space is an awesome place to learn about and hopefully a place we’ll be able to visit and interact with in future generations. I was able to answer my research question through my research. Further advancements in technology will in fact contribute to a more accurate and higher resolution of data collection and observation in space by creating opportunities for further human space exploration and space tools and instruments such as drones and other robotic technologies to study space and planets at first-hand experience.
Works Cited:
“Early Astronomy.” Nau.edu, 2022, www2.nau.edu/~gaud/bio301/content/erlast.htm.
“Extrasolar Object Interceptor and Sample Return.” NASA, 2021, www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/2021_Phase_I/Extrasolar_Object_Interceptor_and_Sample_Return/.
Hall, Shannon. “Venus Is Earth’s Evil Twin — and Space Agencies Can No Longer Resist Its Pull.” Nature, vol. 570, no. 7759, June 2019, pp. 20–25, https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01730-5.
“NASA: 60 Years & Counting - Technology.” NASA, 2022, www.nasa.gov/specials/60counting/tech.html.
“NASA’s FY 2020 Budget.” The Planetary Society, 2020, www.planetary.org/space-policy/nasas-fy-2020-budget.
Rabie, Passant. “Two Military Satellites Just Communicated with Each Other Using Space Lasers.” Gizmodo, Gizmodo, 19 May 2022, gizmodo.com/military-satellites-communicate-with-space-lasers-1848944526.
“Small Spacecraft Propulsion Opens New Deep Space Exploration.” NASA, 2022, www.nasa.gov/feature/glenn/2022/small-spacecraft-electric-propulsion-opens-new-deep-space-opportunities.
“The 5 Most Innovative Advances in Space Technology.” FDM Group, 17 Apr. 2019, www.fdmgroup.com/the-5-most-innovative-advances-in-space-technology/.
“The History of Space Exploration | National Geographic Society.” Nationalgeographic.org, 2022, education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/history-space-exploration.
“3D Printed Rocket Parts and the Future of Spacecraft.” NASA, 2020, www.nasa.gov/image-feature/3d-printed-rocket-parts-and-the-future-of-spacecraft.
“Why We Explore.” NASA, 2013, www.nasa.gov/exploration/whyweexplore/why_we_explore_main.html#.YpoaLXbYrrc.
Environmental and Ecological Engineerings' Impact on Land & Water
Hello, and welcome to my first action project for the first unit, "Oceans" of my S.T.E.A.M core class, "Frontiers". In this unit, we learned about the animal and plant ecosystems and foodwebs underwater, the layers of the ocean and Earth, and the ways the ocean has been discovered and destroyed over time since the 1900s. We watched a movie called "Becoming Cousteau", which was about a French explorer and sailor. He ended up helping oil companies unintentionally pollute the oceans due to the discovery of fossil fuels and crude oils underwater. For our field experiences, we visited Phil at Urban Rivers to explore ways he and his organization are playing a role in maintaining the health of underwater ecosystems through ecological engineering through floating docks and plant islands to stretch a mile on the Chicago River. From this field experience, I was able to further research different threats to bodies of water and different ways of restoration of water ecosystems. For this action project, I was challenged to write a research paper based on a challenge that the ocean faces. I choose to focus on physical and chemical pollution impact the ocean and how can environmental and ecological engineering can help solve the issue. During the process of drafting and finalizing this research paper, I felt that this project was very important to approach because the planet Earth we call home is dying and we need to step up very soon before this planet becomes even more uninhabitable. I hope you enjoy my project below and thank you for visiting my blog!
Environmental and Ecological Engineerings' Impact on Land & Water
How can environmental engineering be implemented into water ecosystems to help clean and filter dead zones as well as reduce the amount of physical and chemical pollution in our bodies of water globally?
Most people on Earth don’t realize how valuable and detrimental the health of the oceans and land on Earth is to our daily survival and health. The ocean itself produces between 50-80% of the oxygen on Earth. “The world’s oceans cover three-quarters of the Earth containing 97% of the Earth’s water. They currently absorb about a third of the carbon dioxide that is produced by human activities such as air pollution from burning fossil fuels and chemical pollution from fertilizers and pesticides from farming. Carbon dioxide from human activity gets released into the atmosphere, dissolves into oceans, and creates carbonic acid also known as “ocean acidification”. Ocean acidification causes disastrous effects on underwater life and their ecosystems. As ocean acidification continues to worsen, dead zones start to be created in the ocean begin to rise in temperature and areas become uninhabitable for any living organism underwater. We call these areas, “dead zones”. Another major problem associated with pollution is physical waste pollution in our oceans. “There are increasingly high levels of man-made pollution in many of the world’s seas and little actually disappears. By 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans.” - Future Agenda
So, what exactly are dead zones you ask? According to Sarah Preheim at John Hopkins University, “Dead zones are caused primarily by excess nutrients that run off the land from fertilizers or wastewater overflow. The nutrients trigger blooms of algae that spread across the water's surface before sinking and decomposing in the water. As hungry microbes feast on the organic matter, they consume oxygen, resulting in less oxygen in the water.” Bodies of water are made up of layers determined by temperature. Dead zones can exist in all bodies of water no matter the layer of the ocean which means underwater life is on the brink of extinction if we continue to pollute our oceans and land.
Physical pollution has been getting worse than ever in human history. From oil spills in the ocean to offshore island landfills of physical waste such as “unwanted” clothes, plastic bottles, and aluminum cans. Oil spills horrifically impact sea life and disrupt ecosystems. According to the World Economic Forum, “In the immediate aftermath of an oil disaster, the effects on fish, sea birds, and other marine animals are often very visible. Coated in oil, animals can be killed by poisoning or suffocation. Those living close to or on the surface, like sea birds and otters, or those who come to the surface to breathe or feed, like whales, dolphins, and turtles, can be among those most affected.” As far as ecosystems being disrupted, oil affects food sources for sealife by making it less available or of very poor quality so animals that survive the initial environmental hazards may still suffer for long periods of time after an oil spill. “Oil impacts breeding and reproduction, for example contaminating bird or turtle nests on shore, affecting viability, and suffocating unhatched chicks. Females affected by oil may lay eggs with thinner shells, more prone to breaking.”
Here is a visual that represents how potential oil spills will impact the sea turtle’s life cycle.
This visual relates to my research through oil spills being a form of physical and chemical pollution that directly impacts the ocean and land later on.
Here is a visual of how much plastic is in our oceans as of 2021.
This visual represents the relation of plastic pollution to the oceans. This relates to my research because it provides context to physical pollution equally negatively has been impacting our oceans as much as chemical pollution from events such as oil spills.
What is an ecological and environmental engineering and how can it contribute to helping reduce chemical and physical pollution? First I must give context to the words “environment” and “ecology”. The environment refers to the interaction between the physical, chemical, and biological components. Ecology is the study of the relationship between organisms and their environment. Environmental issues include pollution, deforestation, global warming, and other broader issues. When engineering intersects with the environment and ecology, developments, instruments, and technologies are created with impacts on nature in mind. According to Nature, “Building with maximum efficiency and minimal materials is increasingly urgent in our resource-strapped times. Many of today's structural engineers and designers are looking to natural forms and materials as the tried-and-tested guide. Today's engineering is too full of 'tree-trunk' buildings: underdesigned and over the whole planet. Astonishingly, the materials used in every three buildings designed in this lazy way could make at least four buildings — and with intelligence, even six.” Ocean engineering is a prime example of ecological engineering. According to MIT, “Ocean engineers are discovering new ways to use acoustics to reveal vital facts about the interior ocean and the behavior of undersea life.
We are also developing floats, robots, tethered devices, and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that can survey the ocean while communicating with one another and with computer models.” Urban River’s “Wild Mile” is a prime example of environmental engineering. The Wild Mile is the first-ever mile-long floating eco-park in the world. Through reclamation of the North branch canal and turning basin, referred to as “Wild Mile Chicago,” gives the opportunity to create accessible public open space for the community and new plantlife floating islands for wildlife inhabiting Chicago’s river to inhabit.
Our world is pretty much coming to an end due to the lack of solutions being provided by authorities of countries around the world to combat climate change. Even though a lot of federal governments and state governments aren’t specifically targeting climate change and pollution, many companies and organizations are. Throughout my Frontiers class, I was able to meet with Phil Nicodemus from Urban Rivers, an organization that focuses to transform city rivers into Urban Wildlife Sanctuaries; and Kevin Kerrigan, a Restoration Ecologist at Lake Forest Open Lands organization. Some things that stuck with me the most from our discussion with Phil are that in urban environments, cities are responsible for most of the carbon sinks in local water sources and the destruction of ecosystems that already existed before the on-shore developments such as condominiums and high-rise buildings, at the end of the day, nature will reinvent itself to grow around and over manmade structures. As Urban Rivers works to build urban wildlife sanctuaries along bodies of water such as lakes and rivers, an innovation of theirs is a robot created to help combat physical waste pollution in the Chicago River. It’s called “Trashbot”. According to Urban Rivers, “First, we tried cleaning it up by hand. Every other day someone would kayak out to the habitat to remove garbage, but that was not enough. Trash appeared at random times and in large quantities. Sometimes we would remove every piece of trash in the morning and by the afternoon more had reappeared. So, we created at Trash Task Force and went to the drawing board – this project could have never gotten to the level of sophistication that it is at today without the hard work of our task force. Our team prototyped a remote-controlled boat that was capable of herding trash to a safe location where it could then be removed. This proved not only effective...but very entertaining.” In an interview with Kevin Kerrigan, he had reflected on how he had been experimenting over the last 10 years with very “low tech” charcoal logs ( well burnt 3+ foot logs) across drain ways and channels in hopes of capturing all sorts of environmental toxins and pollutants. He has noticed some minor changes such as clearer water and a small increase in plant life around the waterways throughout the marsh.
To conclude my research, ecological and environmental engineering must be implemented into our on and offshore ecosystems in order to help filter dead zones and reduce the physical and chemical pollution in our bodies of water globally or we won’t have an Earth to call home for any much longer. We should not plan on leaving these life-changing issues up to the next generations and youth to be responsible for solving them with little to no support. We should rather approach these issues together regardless of ethnicity, class, gender, and age. I chose this topic to research because I always wanted to learn more about ecosystems on and offshore. My biggest challenge throughout this research has been understanding the differences and similarities between ecological engineering and environmental engineering. After understanding the relationship between ecological and environmental engineering, I was able to identify various examples of both types of engineering taking place in our world. The topic of pollution and climate change is imperative to our lifestyles and health as humans on Earth. We need to continue developing solutions to help the naturally Earth replenish itself and efficiently clean our environments on and offshore to ensure the life and longevity of the human race and the planet Earth.
Works Cited:
Admin. “Important Difference between Environment and Ecology.” BYJUS, BYJU’S, 28 Jan. 2020, byjus.com/biology/difference-between-environment-and-ecology/.
“Ecologist Sarah Preheim on Dead Zones, Algae Blooms, and Working on the Chesapeake Bay | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.” Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 24 June 2021, publichealth.jhu.edu/2021/ecologist-sarah-preheim-on-dead-zones-algae-blooms-and-working-on-the-chesapeake-bay.
Edmond, Charlotte. “How Do Oil Spills Affect the Environment?” World Economic Forum, 12 Oct. 2021, www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/oil-spill-environment-ocean/#:~:text=The%20effects%20will%20be%20long,malnourished%20or%20poisoned%20over%20time.
McCarthy, Niall. “Infographic: Plastic Items Dominate Ocean Garbage.” Statista Infographics, Statista, 11 June 2021, www.statista.com/chart/25056/waste-items-polluting-oceans/.
“Plastic Oceans - Future Agenda.” Future Agenda, 18 Mar. 2019, www.futureagenda.org/foresights/plastic-oceans/#:~:text=There%20are%20increasing%20high%20levels,three%20quarters%20of%20the%20Earth.
Urban. “Urban Rivers.” Urban Rivers, 2014, www.urbanriv.org/trashbot.
This visual represents the relation of plastic pollution to the oceans. This relates to my research because it provides context to how negatively physical pollution has been impacting our oceans.