Allow Myself to Introduce...Myself

[pookha]

well to expose how old i am fast sputnik and i came close to sharing a birthday.

since i was little i was fascinated not just about space but even things like science through history and it they both effected the other plus the evolution of each.

(loved burke's connections and wish i had a copy of it.)

 

[fairyfloz]

Howdy! Well I'm a Physics student but most of that goes straight over my head Most of my very limited science knowlege comes from Star Trek (that's really pathetic I know)! However like spider1 I'm not bad with Microsoft!

 

[John O.]

Hola! Well I've watched Trek since I was about 6 (TNG) and by association then watched Voyager and much much later DS9 and Enterprise, but I didn't get around to branching out and becoming interested in OTHER sci fi unti like very recently (Stargate SG1/Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica, Dr. who, trying to further broaden my horizons).

I'm a 3rd year student in Applied Math. I started out in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Missouri-Rolla, changed to Computer Engineering when I failed Engineering Physics I b/c I thought I couldn't handle the physics. And then when I had to retake the class anyway and got an A, I decided I COULD so I went back to Aero, but actually from the Math direction. I have two more years to graduate with a BS in Applied Math with Emphasis in Engineering and a minor in Philosophy and then it's off to graduate school for a doctoral program in Astronautics hopefully!

I'm currently working on university research developing satellite propulsion systems for attitude and control functions on low-cost microsatellites. While it's fun stuff because it's my first real experience in R&D, what I really want to get to one day is large scale propulsion systems for manned spacecraft. My current interest for grad school is high-energy propulsion like nuclear, AM-catalyzed fusion and nuclear thermal rockets.

I've always admired Starfleet Chief Engineers, so I'm basically the ST-inspired engine junky, with the half-cocked dream to one day become a real life Zephram Cochrane First Contact and the ENT epi First Flight just make me squee with delight when I imagine humanity possibly being capable of such innovation in the coming decades/century.

My side interests are computer hardware/modding/tweaking, physics & astronomy, classic literature, philosophy, geography and fluid dynamics. Oh and of course, writing Enterprise fanfiction . I'm also considering a second minor in physics as I am currently taking Intro to Quantum and Atomic Physics and it's fascinating the living crap out of me and I'm kicking ass in it too! I'm fascinated by string theory and all manner of Unification!

 

[Rosalind]

^ John O., are you working on CubeSat? because i don't see University of Missouri-Rolla on the CubeSat developer's map.

 

[John O.]

Nope, NanoSat 4.

 

[Rosalind]

^ ah, okay.

 

[StolenThunder]

I'll add this forum to my daily reading, I'm sure.

Scientists (they're very stuffy folk) tend to scoff when my degree is mentioned in the same sentence as science, but we medical students all know that's just envy.

I'm a second year MBChB student (that's effectively an MD for you US folk) which means my scientific interests are fairly diverse: you have to have a knowledge of a good number of disciplines (from anatomy to pharmacology) and not scare people at the same time. It isn't easy.

 

[Ronald Held]

I have advanced degrees in Physics and Astronomy. I have beeen interested in Trek since its inception.

 

[eline]

Feeling a little out of it here, have got no degrees whatsoever in sciences, but passed my physics n chemistry exams just before leaving school [many moons ago now!!] after leaving school, i did work in a lab for a while, before getting married, and that was quite interesting, it was at Butterley Engineering, who make bridges etc, and part of the structure of St Pancras station in London was actually made by them yonks ago.

It would be nice to get back into lab work, but now they all seem to want people with degrees, not just the school exams i've got, which got me the original job.

I'm quite interested in anything science based, so hopefully will keep popping in here from time to time

 

[Jenee]

John O. said:
. . . what I really want to get to one day is large scale propulsion systems for manned spacecraft. My current interest for grad school is high-energy propulsion like nuclear, AM-catalyzed fusion and nuclear thermal rockets.

Kinda related, but not quite, you know the whole 'force field' thing from sci-fi, has magnetics even been considered in this? In one of my Electtonic Engineering classes we touch a bit on magnetics, but not really in depth, and that was the first thing I thought of and wondered why no one else (seemingly) has.

 

[John O.]

Well, a magnetic field only repulses things that are magnetic - most matter isn't.

 

[Rosalind]

^ A magnetic field had been considered as a means to protect astronauts from radiation on interplanetary jouneys, but the require filed strength is extremely high. (can't remember the specific nubmer, right now.)

 

[John O.]

I was just thinking, there's an article posted somewhere on this forum about cold plasma being researched (it linked to Space.com so go look for it there).

A magnetic field by itself could probably repel solar and interstellar radiation but it would require tons of power, as you said. The other option, applying the idea of cold plasma would be to trap the plasma within a layer of the hull and they have shown it could be tuned to absorb or reflect radiation.

 

[Jenee]

I totally forgot I asked that question.

Anyway, I was kind of thinking the force field thing with cars and they are metal and therefore, magnetic - well, most of the body anyway. Thought maybe it would help with collisions and stuff.

I knew it would take a very large magnetic field, but I thought if it were something someone seriously considered, then someone with more intelligence than me could figure out a way of making something so big fit into something very small. Kind of like how computers used to be so big, now they are so small.

 

[Tim]

Hi everybody! This is my first time posting in this forum since it opened (the lab has swallowed me alive).

I'm a graduate/medical student in neural engineering and cognitive neursocience, with an undergraduate background in biomedical engineering. I'm particularly interested in neurological dysfunction and the use of neural prosthetics.

Guess there's no surprise why I'm here!

 

[eastman23]

Okay, I'll bite.

Only about a year away from a BSc in computer science with a co-op designation for good measure. And probably a geography minor assuming I ever get around to declaring it that is.

Other than that, there's also the occasional star gazing, although I haven't done that in a while.

 

[Lowly Uhlan]

No degrees for me. I do have an interest in cosmology and the exploration of Mars and the outer solar system.

Very cool forum BTW.

 

[Mark de Vries]

My scientific background and credentials are quite microscopic, but I have a healthy interest, especially in space exploration. I'm following both MER and STS, and a bit of Cassini on the side. And I can't wait for New Horizons to get to its destination.

 

[DragonLady]

I became interested in Star Trek back in my native Japan when I was young, watching it in the original Japanese, of course. My father moved our family moved to America when I was 14 and I got over my culture shock by bonding with my new friends over Trek.

I was the typical overachieving Asian chick that some people hated, mainly because I found American high school easier than where I came from outside the Americanized English language barriers early on.

Also, my mother died when I was 16, so I sort of threw myself into other activities, both during and after school, plus I had to take care of the house and my father like a traditional Japanese girl should. The activities helped me make friends and acclimate faster, I think, but looking back, the extra responsibilities at home made me grow up too fast and miss a lot of the joys of just being young. I never had a serious relationship until I was in college, I was too busy.

I went to THE Ohio State University after graduation and got a Bachelors in Finance, then went on to get an MBA from Harvard. I started working at the company my father (and grandfather) worked for, but being a woman at a Japanese company led nowhere (despite my prominent family name at the company). To the dismay of the family, I left (both my adopted city and the company) and joined an American company, where I shot up to the executive ranks based on merit as it should be. Along the way, I married a nice white guy who I have loved to pieces for 11 years now.

After taking a leave of absence to care for my dying grandfather (my last immediate family relative) last year, I was lured back into the corporate world where I am running an international division of a company and posting from work when I get bored, like today. So my postings come and go now days.

I have followed every Trek series since the original, also a fan of the Stargates and Doctor Who. I have always been fascinated by computers, science and space and never shy away from the political discussions, to the dismay of many in The Think Tank.

 

[Neopeius]

Dropped out of college after completing my junior year in Astronomy.

Went back to college, did some post-grad work in History of Science.

Currently a space historian with a special emphasis on the early American lunar program.