The Scientific Marksman 2017

the Scientific

Marksman THE END OF AN ERA With the demolition of the 1961 McDermott-Green Science & Math Quadrangle approaching, we look back at its impact, its legacy, and the end of the era it embodied. feature story continued on pg. 36

2016 -2017

vo lume 05

S t. M a r k 's S ch o o l o f Texas

THE VINTAGE ISSUE

the

SCIENTIFIC MARKSMAN science journal at St. Mark's School of Texas showcases notable endeavors and discoveries in the STEAM fields both in and outside the community.

the Scientific Marksman Volume 05 2016-2017

St. Mark's School of Texas 10600 Preston Road Dallas, TX 75230 214.346.8000

the

Scientific Marksman

THE VINTAGE ISSUE

2016-2017

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OPENING

TH E

E N D

O F

A N

E R A

This 5t h e dit ion of The S cientif ic Marksman is not ab out s ome dist ant, forgotten t a le, but t he histor y of s omet hing s o integ ra l to life on c ampus t hat it a lmost go es overlo oke d e ver y d ay : t he p ast, our p ast. It's t hat indes cr ib able, omnipres ent fe eling t hat p er me ates t he ha l ls of t he old S cience Bui lding . But it's a l l ending , b eing repl ace d by s omet hing big ger, b etter, and ne wer. Howe ver, we shou ldn't ab andon t his bitterswe et, nost a lg ic p ast. We shou ld, no, we need to rememb er it.

And t hat's exac t ly t he minds et w it h w hich we b egan t his e dit ion.

We wante d to t r u ly c apture w hat s ome mig ht c a l l t he outd ate d p astt hroug h ret ro fonts, shap es, and t heme-but conj oin it w it h a cer t ain b old mo der nit y.

And s o, it is my g re at honor to pres ent t his 5t h, commemorat ive e dit ion of The S cientif ic Marksman.

—Killian Green '17

Editor-in-Chief, The Scientific Marksman

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CONTENTS

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BIOLOGY

From dissections to microscopy, Biology is iconically scientific.

Delving into physiology, taxonomy, and even Chemistry, the study of life appears to be the conjunction of all other sciences and the world around us.

22

CHEMISTRY

From titration to Unknown Labs, Chemistry is the study of matter, its properties, and interactions. Delving into the processes behind both Photosynthesis and combustion, it truly is the conjunction of the theorectical and physical.

36

‘THE END OF AN ERA’

This edition's Cover Story, 'The End of an Era' reflects on the life of the Science Building and also displays some relics and memories of the past.

48

PHYSICS

Explaining both magnetism and gravity, Physics is the study of matter and its behavior through space and time. Whether through friction forces, flux, or proton acceleration, Physics attempts to explain the unseen forces of the world around us.

60

TECHNOLOGY

Technology is perhaps the intersection of all sciences. It builds on the past and embraces the future. From circuit boards, fMRI, and Virtual Reality to printing organs, Technology is now the foundation of everything we do.

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section 1 —

Biology Niteesh Vemuri '18 Profile

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Stem-Cell Research 10 iGEM/Biology Club 11 3D-Printed Organs 14 Mark Adame Profile 16

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here’s no such thing as a stupid question.” Every teacher repeats the same mantra every year on the first day of classes. As students, we’ve probably heard this phrase so many times by now that it simply passes through one ear and out the other. The importance of this idea, however, extends far beyond just a simple questions; as students of Biology, we should and must ask why and how something happens.

I’ll give an example. Glucose can’t diffuse through the phospholipid bilayer. Sure, you can memorize this single fact and do well on the biology test you have next period, but learning is not just about the grade. Glucose can’t diffuse through the cell membrane because it’s too large and polar to pass through the hydrophobic tails. If glucose could pass through the phospholipid bilayer, then cells would swell and burst. Life wouldn’t exist, all because of this seemingly simple answer.

It’s asking yourself questions like these that make us better students of not just biology, but any science. As St. Mark’s students, we’re prone to just cramming the cold, hard facts, but by asking ourselves why and how something happens, we extend our knowledge beyond just the bolded words in the textbook.

Another thing. It’s easy to just cram for your third period test and immediately dump all the information you just learned as soon as you leave the classroom. Science, however, is much more than a set of Quizlet definitions on the different parts of a plant. We must apply the knowledge we learn from our textbooks in a practical way. This can be as simple as determining whether a specimen is eukaryotic or prokaryotic or analyzing a pigment’s properties.

In total, Biology isn’t just about rote memorization. While you can cram information and forget it the next day, we have to delve past textbook definitions to more challenging questions if we are to be better students of science. No scientist has made a discovery by just memorizing facts.

— Zoheb

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Khan ‘18, Biology Section Editor the Scientific Marksman

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B IO LOGY F E ATU R E S TO RY

deal breaker Zoheb Khan '18

Niteesh Vemuri ‘18 was fortunate to secure a research and lab opportunity with Nobel Prize biochemist Dr. Joe Goldstein at UT Southwestern (right). (photo courtesy UT Southwestern)

R E SE ARC H OPP O R TU N IT Y | N ITE E S H V E MUR I ‘18

nding up in laboratory with famous scientists and professors was a stroke of luck for Vemuri.

After reading an autobiography written by Roy Vagelos, CEO of Merck, Vemuri became interested in biochemistry.

“Vagelos mentioned working with two scientists, Drs. Mike Brown and Joe Goldstein, on multiple occasions in the past,” Vemuri said. “After considering the two scientists and discovering that they were based in Dallas, I decided to take a leap of faith, and I contacted Joe about working in his lab at UT Southwestern. He was feeling good that day, and he got back to me saying that there was a rising faculty member, Dr. Rodney Infante, working under him that I could work with, who had just relocated to Dallas to complete his fellowship.”

Once Vemuri had been accepted into Infante’s laboratory, the duo began analyzing a specific protein – Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) – that affects late-stage cancer patients who have cachexia.

“There’s two basic ways cachexia can occur – the first is through a protein that affects the muscles, and the other is through the fatty tissue,” Vemuri said. “Being a lipid metabolism lab, we looked down the fat route, and ultimately narrowed down our potential candidate proteins to one called LIF. A lot of our time was basically spent purifying LIF and performing months of

E

assays to figure out whether it was the right protein, and if so, how responsible it was for the fat loss.”

However, as Vemuri and Infante’s research progressed, the role of LIF became more convoluted; this protein was not the only detrimental one involved in cachexia.

“The second branch of our research actually occurred when we realized through one

his time working with Rodney and others.

“It was essentially a five day week,” Vemuri said. “I would get there at nine in the morning and work until anywhere between five and six. Time flew pretty quickly though, so it never really felt overwhelming at all.”

Additionally, Vemuri has learned much more than how to stain a sample or use a centrifuge; he’s learned life lessons that will follow him long after he leaves the laboratory.

“I think the best influence I had overall was my mentor Rodney,” Vemuri said. “He completely changed my approach to science, balancing the rigors and the emotions of the work every day with a lighthearted and ever-inquisitive approach to his work. He would make it a point to have a long conversation with me every morning, whether about science or just life. He patiently guided me through those frustrating early stages of research, and he never let his expectations drop for even a moment.”

Moreover, Rodney’s life lessons have left a long-lasting impact of Vemuri; one that just might shape Vemuri’s own research someday.

“I’ve learned that a light-hearted demeanor goes a long way in science,” Vemuri said, “especially because some results could potentially take years to assimilate, and that perseverance is the most important quality of a good scientist.”

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''I think the best influence I had overall was my mentor Rodney. He completely changed my approach to science, balancing the rigors and the emotions of the work every day with a light-hearted and ever-inquisitive approach to his work."

— Niteesh Vemuri ‘18 odd experiment that LIF only appeared to be responsible for a portion of the fat loss,” Vemuri said. “Curious to find the other portion, we looked through thousands of potential proteins to find a potential candidate. As of now, we’ve narrowed it down to around eighty, but they have to run multiple tests on each one, so it could be months before they finally spot it.”

While his research schedule was rigorous and demanding, Vemuri thoroughly enjoyed

WHAT IS CACHEXIA?

QUICK TAKES

Cachexia or wasting syndrome is loss of weight, muscle atrophy, fatigue, weakness, and significant loss of appetite in someone who is not actively trying to lose weight.

The formal definition of cachexia is decrease of body mass, less fatty tissue accumulation that cannot be reversed nutritionally: Even if the affected patient eats more calories, lean body mass will be lost, indicating a primary pathology is in place.

9million 20% to 40% of all cancer patients die from from cachexia. Symptoms include weight loss with anorexia, inflamation, insulin resistance, as well as increased muscle and protein breakdown.

A NUMBERS GAME

25%

Around 9 million patients are affected by the metabolic disorder cachexia, which affects nearly 80% of individuals with advanced cancer.

Percentage of all Cancer Patients per Major Type 23% 18%

20% 15%

a quick look at the frequency of different types of cancer i n the United States

10%

8.8%

8.2%

5%

Brain

Prostate

Lung

Breast

(statistics sources: Journal of Oncology & cancer.gov)

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W H AT I N THE WO R L D O F B IO LO GY?!

the future of Medicine Zoheb Khan '18

ith the rapid advancement of stem-cell technology, scientists have discovered a potential method to achieving a seemingly-impossible goal: growing transplantable organs. According to professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, lead researcher Salk Institute of Biological Studies’ Gene Expression Laboratory, the development is still in its infancy.

In the first portion of the experiment, Belmonte and Salk Institute staff scientist Jun Wu implanted rat cells into mouse embryos and letting the resulting “chimera” mature. This first step had already been tested in 2010; however,

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'It’s as if the human cells were entering a freeway going faster than the normal freeway. If you have different speeds, you will have accidents.'

—Izpisua Belmonte, Salk Institute of Biological Studies

Wu and Belmonte edited the chimera’s genome using CRISPR, another relatively new genome-editing tool, to allow the rat cells to develop in certain portions of the mouse. As the chimera matured, the rat cells took the place of many of the mouse’s functional tissues, including the heart, eye, and pancreas.

Interestingly, the rat cells developed in a gall bladder in the mouse-rat chimera; rats, however, have lacked gall bladders for over 18 million years.

“This suggests that the reason a rat does not generate a gall bladder is not because it cannot, but because the potential has been hidden by a rat-specific developmental program,” Wu said. “The microenvironment has evolved through millions of years to choose a program that defines a rat.”

After the promising results of the first experiments, the Salk scientists then went on to introduce human cells into another organism. Wu and Belmonte ended up deciding on using cows and pigs as the hosts, as they are evolutionarily close to humans. The scientists, however, were presented with a variety of hurdles, as they did not know whether the human cells could survive in the cow and pig embryos.

The experiments were significantly

more difficult than the scientists had first expected because pigs are five times more evolutionarily distant than rats and mice.

Furthermore, the gestation period of pigs is about one-third as long as humans, so the scientists have to introduce the human cells with near-perfect timing.

“It’s as if the human cells were entering a freeway going faster than the normal freeway,” says Izpisua Belmonte. “If you have different speeds, you will have accidents.”

After the gestation period, the two cell types formed a pig-human chimera embryo. Though the contribution of the foreign cells to the pig’s physiological development was unexpectedly low, the human cells grew into muscle cells and the precursors of other organs.

With promising results after the first experiment, the Salk scientists hope to continue guiding human stem cells into forming other animal embryos that can be transplanted into humans.

“At this point, we wanted to know whether human cells can contribute at all to address the ‘yes or no’ question,” he says. “Now that we know the answer is yes, our next challenge is to improve efficiency and guide the human cells into forming a particular organ in pigs.”

INS PIR IN G TOMO R ROW | i G E M / B I O LO GY C LU B

Niteesh Vemuri ‘18 reflects on his involvement in the Biology/iGEM Club and how a faculty member’s father-in-law reignited their fervor.

Niteesh Vemuri '18

joined iGEM as a freshman, and to be honest, we haven’t done a whole lot since. The leadership gets together, discusses an uber-ambitious project, maintains that flame of hope throughout the year, and watches it die as final exams roll around. And admittedly, in my first year as iGEM co-captain, we haven’t worked a whole lot either. The first couple whizzed by, and the promises we made at the beginning of the year to ourselves, that we would enter journals and contests and exhibitions, faded into dust.

Things began to look up, however, with the arrival of Dr. Pierre Roger.

Dr. Roger, a renowned French soil microbiologist, introduced the club to the world of cyanobacteria, a fascinating area of science with a plethora of possibility for a high-school project. Dr. Roger, father-in-law to Mr. David Fisher, opened the club’s eyes to current exploits on various specimen of cyanobacteria, providing a window through which we could envision the realworld applications for an otherwise neglected field of study.

At the time, we had been committed to a project on bioremediation using aromatic compounds. It was a project started by our captains nearly two years ago, and it was quickly becoming apparent that the project was not feasible for high-school Marksmen to pursue. To the present captains, it became quickly evident we would need to switch gears

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A culture of Cyanobacteria, which the SM iGEM team began experimenting with, photographed at 400x. (photo courtesy Global Biodiversity Information Facility)

INS PIR IN G TOMOR ROW | i G E M / B I O LO GY C LU B

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(continued from previous page) nspired by Dr. Roger’s presentation, Biology teacher and iGEM sponsor Mark Adame began growing his own cyanobacteria, with the purpose of integrating the proteins into his AP Biology classes.

Although the AP class never really got around to using it, iGEM realized that the benefits provided by cyanobacteria were far superior to our project with bioremediation, and that the efforts we would have to put in would require a lesser time commitment.

Our first step in the project to work on was culturing out cyanobacteria. We had a master sample of multiple strains of algae, roughly categorized into blue-green, red, and green algae. Having started the growth process from grass, we decided to use a special type of column called a Winogradsky column with which we could separate the layers of algae. In order to

“IGEM WAS FOUNDED ON THE BELIEF THAT ST. MARK’S, DESPITE BOASTING EXCELLENT FACILITIES, DOES NOT MAKE THE MOST OF IT IN THE BIOLOGY SPECTRUM.”

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'Our first step to work on was culturing out cyanobacteria.

We had a master sample of multiple strains of algae, roughly categorized into blue-green, red, and green algae."

The students who founded the club understand the great level of interest in the sciences that Marksman have, whether it be medicine or applied research, and they looked to create opportunities starting in high school. Our hope as we head into a new year of scientists and students is merely to keep that dream alive.

distinguish the layers and decide exactly when each was ready for experimentation, we had a microscopy station set up led by Christian Duessel ’20, Nick Kowalske ‘20, Chad Kim ’19, and Ishan Gupta ’20.

In the meanwhile, we had our more experienced iGEM members conduct basic research to figure out the ideal conditions in which to grow the cyanobacteria, as well as a couple of younger members to investigate cyanobacteria in greater depth.

It took a couple of weeks, but we ultimately had our bacteria fully matured and ready for protein extraction. Alongside Rohan Vemu ’18, we began using processes like miniprep to extract proteins and test their effects. It’s a fairly extensive process, and we hope to have our younger guys involved to a greater extent so we have the project well underway by the time the school year closes.

“OUR HOPE AS WE HEAD INTO A NEW YEAR OF SCIENTISTS AND STUDENTS IS MERELY TO KEEP THAT DREAM ALIVE.”

Past Research: The 2014 iGEM team focused on a long-term project that revolves around the creation of a minimally invasive and inexpensive detection system for lung cancer, through the identification of exhaled biomarkers. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death around the world. Twenty-two volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been distinctly found in the breath of affected patients, creating a viable “fingerprint” for reliable detection (Horvath et al.). This year we focused on creating biosensors for three VOCs: ethanol, formaldehyde, and xylene.

We plan to create genetic circuit systems for aldB induced by ethanol, frmR recognition of formaldehyde, and xylR activated by xylene. Our current device will utilize three reporter proteins (CFP, GFP, RFP) to indicate the concentrations of the three VOCs present in an exhaled sample.

Current Research: After receiving inspiration from Dr. Pierre Roger, the SM iGem team started delving in the world of cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes capable of producing oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. They are often credited as the source of oxygen in the oxygen-poor atmosphere of Earth 4 billion years ago, and are also greatly studied for their role as nitrogen fixators in agriculture. The SM iGEM team is newly understanding the novelties and advantages that come with such bacteria and will soon begin experimenting with the proteins isolated from cyanobacteria. We plan on isolating such proteins from Winogradsky columns and extracting the appropriate proteins needed for our study.

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TH E F UTUR E OF H UM A N IT Y

The creation of 3D printing has spurred a whole new field of science and science application.When one thinks of 3D printing, the idea of 3D printed weapons, tools, and other machinery usually comes to mind first. In recent years, however, scientists have been able to manipulate 3-D printing to literally “print” cells and generate other organic substances.

Accompanying this advancement, the creation of human organs in a lab setting has become a feasible possibility. However, problems are arising with the creation of such technology. Human organs are incredibly complex, with hundreds of millions of vessels and capillaries running through them, distributing nutrients to every cell in the body.

This biological “machinery” is incredibly intricate and thus extremely laborious to recreate.

To solve this problem, researchers at Harvard University, led by Jennifer A. Lewis, have developed several “bio-inks.”

These newly designed inks have an unusual property: the ink melts as it cools, rather than as it warms. This property has allowed the scientists to first print an interconnected network of filaments, then melt them by chilling the material and suction the liquid out to create a network of hollow tubes, or vessels.

A second ink contained both extracellular matrix and living cells. In doing so, they create the blood vessels for the tissue, al-

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lowing it obtain all the nutrients required to sustain its development.

This property has allowed the scientists to first print an interconnected network of filaments, then melt them by chilling the material and suction the liquid out to create a network of hollow tubes, or vessels. In doing so, they create the blood vessels for the tissue, allowing it obtain all the nutrients required to sustain its development.

3D printing excels at creating intricately detailed 3D structures, typically from inert materials like plastic or metal. In the past, Lewis and her team have pioneered a broad range of novel inks that solidify into materials with useful electrical and mechanical properties. These inks enable 3D printing to go beyond form to embed functionality.

To print 3D tissue constructs with a predefined pattern, the researchers needed functional inks with useful biological properties, so they developed several “bioinks” -- tissue-friendly inks containing key ingredients of living tissues. One ink contained extracellular matrix, the biological material that knits cells into tissues. In doing so, they create the blood vessels for the tissue, allowing it obtain all the nutrients required to sustain its development.

To create blood vessels, they developed a third ink with an

A 3D-printed heart (above) along with other epithelial prosthetic organs not only revolutionizes the medical industry but also reduces surgery time. (photo courtesy medicaldaily.com)

unusual property: it melts as it is cools, rather than as it warms.

This allowed the scientists to first print an interconnected network of filaments, then melt them by chilling the material and suction the liquid out to create a network of hollow tubes, or vessels.

The Harvard team then road-tested the method to assess its power and versatility. They printed 3D tissue constructs with a variety of architectures, culminating in an intricately patterned construct containing blood vessels and three different types of cells – a structure approaching the complexity of solid tissues.

Moreover, when they injected human endothelial cells into the vascular network, those cells regrew the blood-vessel lining.

Keeping cells alive and growing in the tissue construct represents an important step toward printing human tissues. “Ideally, we want biology to do as much of the job of as possible,” Lewis said.

Lewis and her team are now focused on creating functional 3D tissues that are realistic enough to screen drugs

QUICK TAKES

for safety and effectiveness.

“That’s where the immediate potential for impact is,” Lewis said.

Researchers at Wake Forest have approached this problem in a different manner. Rather than concentrating solely on the creation of blood vessels, they “[created] the “tissue and Organ Printing System (ITOP) itself over the past decade. The system utilizes a custom-designed 3D printer that makes use of water-based ink optimized to promote the health and growth of encapsulated cells, which are printed in alternating layers with biodegradable plastic micro-channels that act as passages for nutrients,” allowing the tissues to survive long enough for to produce their own blood vessels.

These novel advances in technology, in conjunction with our greater understanding of the intricacies of the human body, would greatly increase the likelihood of survival of patients worldwide and overcome the problems hindering clinical successes in the past.

3D-printed organs, such as kidneys (top), hope to aleviate the massive defecit of transplant organs. In addition to transplants, 3D-printed cartilage structures, such as ears (middle) and noses (bottom) aid in reconstruction surgeries due to birth defects and general injuries. (photos courtesy Huffington Post and Technotification)

Allan Zhang ‘18 and Zoheb Khan '18

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F I VE MIN UTE S W ITH BIOLOGY TEACHER M A R K A DA M E

Biology teacher Mark Adame holds a mature chicken, one of the many that each AP Biology class raise from egg to adult.

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Close friends describe me as: Loyal and Dedicated.

Strangers describe me as: Obnoxious.

Only I know that I am: Insecure.

My last meal would be what and I would eat it with whom: Depends on when you would ask me that…chocolate cake with my wife.

The movie I have seen the most times is: It’s A Wonderful life.

I think I am really good at: Hmm…connecting with younger kids.

I am most confident when I: Am on my bike or exercising.

The thing about myself I have learned to love is: Really? I have to answer that? Enthusiasm about the outdoors, more so as I get older.

I love the smell of: Napalm in the morning, it smells like victory, no that’s from a movie. I love the smell of tanned leather, like a baseball glove.

I could talk about --- for hours on end: Biology stuff or recycling.

I could sum up my life in this bumper sticker: Not everybody is always marching to the beat of the same drum.

How did you first get into Biology? By almost failing, well not exactly. When I was seven, I loved animals and I told my older brother that I wanted to be a vet when I grow up. I have always loved birds and the outdoors. I almost failed high school freshman Biology and after that I realized that I really love this. But overall my love for the outdoors and nature.

How did you get to St. Mark’s? I was presenting at a teacher workshop and at lunch I was eating with a colleague who knew Mr. Sylvester, and she told me about how Mr. Sylvester was retiring. She told me that there was an opening at St. Mark’s and I was like “what’s that” and I just applied. I guess it was just a good fit.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? Still teaching. Doing what I am doing.

What do you think the most important aspect of Biology is?

The interconnectedness of all levels and aspects of Biology with other sciences and everyday lives. It encompasses so much and you can connect it to so many thing whether it is directly, like with physics and chemistry chemistry, or just in general.

Where do you see the field of Biology going in the future?

That’s a good question. Where I would like to see it going and where it actually has been going in the last decade is into the molecular and DNA level. It is still going to go that way but I would like to see a refocus on ecology and ecosystems and, I

as told to

hate to say this, the ramifications of molecular technology on the ecosystem. So it is still going DNA, but I am hoping they will integrate that with larger systems because that is an issue.

So you studied Marine Biology in college: Initially it didn’t start that way; I started at Kansas State in Pre-vet medicine in Biology and got into agricultural science stuff. Then I was like “oh I want to work with Marine Biology” and then I transferred and stayed.

So if you could choose a different career or do something over differently, what would you do? Other than the Biology route, I would probably do engineering. I mean it would still be in sciences but it would be engineering, although I don’t think I was cut out for the math part. Veterinary medicine. I applied to Vet school but I had a bad taste in my mouth from that.

Who is one of your heroes? My students. The students that really see a fine passion at any level. The students that really embrace and fall in love with what they are studying. It doesn’t matter what field it is but those are the true heroes, and I envy them. You don’t see those people very often, and you usually hear about them later on.

So how did the chickens get started? Ms. Gofield was the AP Biology teacher at Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler.

I worked with her a lot for college board consulting, and she was saying that we do these chicken labs and I thought they were pretty cool! Then this other teacher at one of my workshops did a similar thing in raising chickens, so I decided to try it out. She gave me some chicken and duck eggs; I was fascinated to see the development! All the kids embraced it and obviously they don’t always embrace it the same every year because of different groups of kids, but they all embraced some aspect of it. Some embraced the development part, some embraced the baby chicken part, some embraced the part when they are older, but most of the kids got something out of it…hopefully.

If you had a day to do anything, what would you do? There are so many things I want to do! One example is that some days I wish I could be up here in the classroom by myself just to work on nitpicky little projects; the only problem is that there is never enough time to get them all done. But I could definitely nitpick around the lab all day long; that is relaxing.

What are you most excited about in the new science building? Having a new building! And the opportunity to be one of the first people to actually go in and set up and put things in places where they are supposed to go and not be worried about having to find things in weird spots, although that can be exciting! Using all the new facilities as much as possible with more confidence especially with the issue of sterility.

Killian Green '17 the Scientific Marksman

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THE E N D OF AN E R A 1961 -2017

Taken from a collection displayed in the current Biology rooms, which is slated for demolition, (from left to right) an unhatched Ostrich egg, large cow skull, reassembled frog skeleton, deer skull and antlers, beaver skull with protruding teeth, and extremely rare turtle skull reflect the bouncing light.

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THE E N D OF AN E R A 1961 -2017

Taken from a collection displayed in the current Biology rooms, which is slated for demolition, an unhatched Ostrich egg (top from left to right), a large cow skull, a reassembled frog skeleton, a deer skull and antlers, a beaver skull with protruding teeth, and an extremely rare turtle skull reflect the bouncing light. A shadow box of beetles (above) showcases some of the many variants in the order Coleoptera.

Shots of various drawers (right page) showcase the many tools and old relics that are housed by the oldest wing of the Science Building.

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section 2 —

Chemistry Vaping Statistics 24

Ken Owens '89 Profile 26 Graphene Batteries 28 Science Experiement D.I.Y.'s

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ined up in a semi-circle in our chemistry lab, we shivered with excitement in anticipation of what would come next. It was our first lab day, the day we could finally enter the treasured lab space after years of waiting, our hands tingling as we pictured ourselves mixing colorful, hopefully poisonous, liquids in curvy round beakers. Nearly all of us had watched Chemistry shows on TV, and we could clearly imagine ourselves in the place of the “mad scientist” creating bubbles of gas or foam or goo or whatever mad scientists could concoct.

The minutes ticked away as we absorbed ourselves in these fantasies, to a point where we began to grow impatient. Finally, our teacher finished droning and handed out a tiny sheet of paper – red litmus paper. He asked us to pour a drop of mystery solution onto it, and gestured for us to step back as we watched the paper turn blue. We then stepped out of the lab and went back to class, our scientific fantasies deflated. Sounds unfamiliar? It should.

This was my first experience with Chemistry in India.

We often take science and especially labs for granted at St. Mark’s.

Nowhere is this more true, in my opinion, then in the subject of Chemistry, where students are encouraged to attempt different procedures to arrive at a solution on their own. Students are offered freedom of thought and action, and although protocols are provided, students are expected to depend on their minds first.

I can still remember my own experience with the infamous ‘Unknown Lab’ – a time-consuming struggle with the lab bench in an attempt to identify a group of unknown compounds assigned by the teacher. It’s something every Marksman has experienced. Faced with five elements that seemed exactly the same, I was placed in precarious but retrospectively preparative situation. To intensify the pressure, the stakes were high as well: one wrong attempt would lead to a twenty-point deduction on that assignment.

However, I remember reasoning my way through the compounds fairly easily, using flame tests and indicators as my guide. I found myself having a lot more fun than I expected to as I designed my own experiments, coming up with solutions that I could attribute to the words of logic rather than the ones in my textbook.

As we tackle the challenges of today’s world, we find ourselves placed in situations where we rely on our individual minds and intellects rather than our brawn. St. Mark’s Chemistry prepares students in exactly that. It allows for an intersection of individuality and teamwork, with less emphasis on the theoretical and more on the practical – a direct parallel to the ever-growing necessities of the real world.

— Niteesh

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Vemuri ‘18, Chemistry Section Editor the Scientific Marksman

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C H E MIS TRY F E ATU R E S TAT S TO RY

Vape Nation With vaping taking teenagers by storm both nationally and on campus, what threat do e-cigarettes and vaping pose not only to a smoke-free future but to one’s health?

E-cig Sales by Year ($ millions)

10000

Since 9 years ago, E-cigarette sales are expected to increase by 500x. In 2017, sales are projected to top a record $10 billion according to Wells Fargo.

8000

6000

4000

2000

2008

0

2010

2009

2011

2012

2013

$8,000,000,000 38%

13%

According to a survey done by the CDC and FDA, about 38 percent of high school students and 13 percent of middle school students reported that they’d tried e-cigarettes.

2017

The global e-cig market for 2016 was valued to be worth $8 billion, of which 43% is accounted for by the U.S. market and sales.

• Almost one-half of current cigarette smokers (47.6%) and more than one-half of recent former cigarette smokers (55.4%) had ever tried an e-cigarette.

• About one in six current cigarette smokers (15.9%) and nearly one in four recent former cigarette smokers (22.0%) currently used e-cigarettes; • Fewer than 4 percent of adults who had never smoked conventional cigarettes have ever tried an e-cigarette.

—

'People who use e-cigs almost every day were found to have biological markers known to increase the risk of heart disease in tobacco users,' — JAMA Cardiology Network

About 4% of all adults (~9,000,000 people) in the U.S. vape and/or use e-cigarettes.

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5

F I VE MIN UTE S W ITH CHEMISTRY TEACHER AND CLASS SPONSOR KE N OW E N S ‘89

Chemistry teacher Ken Owens ‘89 in his classroom sinisterly holds a Kjeldahl flask using a Mole as a glove—a play-on-words with the SI unit ‘mole’ (≈ 6.022 x 1023 atoms).

What is your favorite element and why?

Probably copper because of its versatility.

There are so many things that you can do with it that it becomes a very useful element for what I do here. That’s my vote for today.

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If you weren’t a chemistry teacher, what would you be?

I would either be a researcher, a writer, or a cop.

What is your favorite science experiment that you’ve ever conducted?

The experiments where I got to discover something are my favorite, so probably my big Unknown Lab in AP Chem, where I had five unknowns to identify and get them all right, that was fun. I didn’t get them all right either. Some of the demonstrations I do, I really enjoy because they’re complicated and I like the ones that take some setup.

What is your favorite sci-fi movie and why?

Star Trek 2: Wrath of Khan because it revitalized the franchise and made it possible for all of the Star Trek’s we’ve had since. All of the tv series besides the original.

All of the movies after it. All of the fandom. It made it possible for that set of ideas to continue and it’s a really good film. I really enjoy it.

Give me your best Chemistry pun?

I wish I had a good Chemistry pun but all the good ones Argon.

What is your favorite hobby?

I like to travel, and I like to create. I just don’t get a chance to. I wish I had more time to build furniture, or glasswork, or build my own models and I just don’t. But travelling and making things are my favorite.

If you could choose any scientific field to be an expert in, what would you choose and why?

I’m kind of an expert in Chemistry. Outside of Chemistry, it would be astronomy. I had to choose between Chemistry and Astronomy when I applied to college. I was going to apply to Solara State University out in west Texas because it actually had an Astronomy degree, but I wound up doing Chemistry instead. I’ve always liked the stars, I’ve always liked looking up. That probably would’ve been my other field. It’s just beautiful how everything fits together and it’s beautiful by itself, so yeah I really like it.

What is the state of science education at St. Mark’s and how can it be improved?

The science education at St. Mark’s is rock solid for all of the students who take it. The breadth and depth of what you learn here is pretty high compared to most places.

There are a lot of opportunities for students and I like that.

Where it could improve would be in perhaps a rotation of electives to offer different opportunities for students every few years, but that depends on who’s here to teach it. So, rotation of electives and more thoughtful computer use in labs and in class. as told to

Sahit Dendekuri '19

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W H AT IN TH E WO R L D O F C HE M IS TRY?!

Reinventing

the battery Kannan Sharma '18 & Jack Parolisi '18 atteries, having existed since 1800 when Alessandro Volta first invented a power-storing contraption involving piles of copper and zinc disks, seem like simple but effective machines due to their longevity. After all, the process of electrons flowing from negative terminal (the anode) to the positive terminal (the cathode) seems easy enough. However, recent advances in battery technology through the utilization of Graphene have demonstrated that the design of batteries can still be improved and perfected.

Carbon atoms bind to each other in a pattern resembling a honeycomb to form a sheet of Graphene. As a conductor of both electrical and thermal energy, a very lightweight material, and a substance possessing extreme flexibility, Graphene provides modern-day engineers an exciting way to improve the world’s technology.

As Graphene can store vast amounts of energy while still durable and light, it is highly viable for a variety of applications.

Engineers are no longer plagued with the limitations that previous incarnations of battery designs caused them to deal with.

As the discovery of the scientists’ ability to harness Graphene to produce batteries was only recently discovered in the last decade, scientists still have yet to perfect

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the latest Graphene battery designs.

Graphene batteries still are not available for public purchase, but many companies, such as Huawei and Vorbeck Materials, have already publicly revealed their designs and future plans for the domestic release of their new battery designs.

While one cannot be certain about the success to come for Graphene technology, as little research has been made public knowledge about designs or potential uses, the qualities and benefits of the new discovery certainly are intriguing.

With many mainstream companies, such as Apple, Amazon, and Ford, showing growing interest in utilizing new technology in their products or factories, Graphene will definitely be continually used in experiments to benefit society.

—

'As Graphene can store vast amounts of energy while still durable and light, it is highly viable for a variety of applications.'

As depicted in this artist’s impression of different localized chemical and electrical environments created on a single sheet, Graphene can allow the possibility for smaller and faster electronic circuits. (photo courtesy Harvard University, The Graduate School of Arts and Science)

QUICK TAKES

86,400sq. feet 10X

Graphene is so strong it would take an elephant balancing on a sharpened pencil to pierce a single sheet with the thickness of Saran Wrap.

Because a sheet of Graphene is only one atom-thick, a single gram can cover 86,400 sq. feet or around the size of entire football field.

Graphene conducts heat 10 times faster than copper.

Three Steps to Make Graphene: 1. Take a piece of Scotch tape, place graphite on the adhesive side.

2. Press carbon layer to other tape layers, thinning it.

3. Press onto smooth, silicon substrate and peel off, leaving a layer that's only one atom thick.

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DO IT YOURSELF (DIY) cience is tough. We’ve all been there. Trying to conceptualize those difficult-to-understand topics is the major roadblock in all of our scientific endeavors. And there’s no other way around it. You can stare at that formula sheet all you want, but it still isn’t going to make you feel comfortable when you’re trying to balance those equations, explaining electric potential, or solving that one problem on the test that didn’t look anything like your homework.

Obviously, staring at a paragraph of text or slamming your head against the desk until you understand the material isn’t the solution to gaining a solid scientific understanding of the universe. Throughout history, the majority of scientific discoveries have been made by means of experimentation.

That being said, experimentation isn’t exclusively for scientific discoveries, but also provides the observer with an environment in which he or she can successfully analyze and comprehend the results.

S

Cal Rothkrug ‘18

‘ IN S TANT FR E E ZE ’

Requirements: Bottled water, rock salt, ice, bowl, thermometer.

1 PLACE A LARGE AMOUNT OF ICE IN A BOWL,

THEN PLACE A FEW WATER BOTTLES INTO THE BOWL OF ICE. ADD A GENEROUS AMOUNT OF ROCK SALT, AND PLACE THE THERMOMETER INTO THE BOWL.

2 WHEN THE THERMOMETER REACHES -8 , O

CAREFULLY TAKE OUT THE BOTTLES OF WATER, AND SLAM THEM DOWN AGAINST THE TABLE.

(THE SUPERCOOLED WATERS SHOULD LOSE SOME ENERGY TO HEAT WHEN THEY ARE STRUCK AGAINST SOMETHING. THIS LOSS OF ENERGY TRANSLATES TO A PHASE CHANGE IN THE WATER FROM LIQUID TO SOLID. AS A RESULT, THE WATER SHOULD VERY QUICKLY CHANGE TO ICE INSIDE THE BOTTLE.)

‘OOB L EC K’

‘FE R ROFLUID’

Requirements: water, corn starch, bowl

Requirements: oil, LaserJet ink toner, magnet

1 PLACE A DECENT AMOUNT OF CORN

1 MIX THE OIL AND TONER (BOTH

2 MIX THE CORN STARCH AND WATER

2 PLACE THE MAGNET NEAR THE

STARCH INTO A BOWL. POUR A SMALL AMOUNT OF WATER INTO THE BOWL.

WITH EITHER A SPOON OR HANDS UNTIL MIXTURE BECOMES PERFECTLY THICK SO THAT IT FEELS VERY SLIMY AND HAS A CONSTANT CONSISTENCY THROUGHOUT. (ADD MORE WATER OR CORN STARCH DEPENDING ON IF THE MIXTURE IS TOO THICK OR TOO FLUID.)

3 AFTER THE DESIRED CONSISTENCY

HAS BEEN REACHED, GRAB A HANDFUL OF THE MIXTURE AND TRY TO MOLD IT INTO A SHAPE. KEEP MOVING THE MIXTURE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN HANDS SO THAT IT REMAINS SOLID.

SHOULD BE IN A NEARLY EQUAL PROPORTION) IN A BOWL OR SOME SORT OF CONTAINER. LIQUID, BUT MAKE SURE THAT THE LIQUID DOESN’T ACTUALLY COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE MAGNET.

(THE LIQUID SHOULD BEHAVE THE WAY IT DOES BECAUSE IT IS A FERROFLUID, A FLUID THAT EXPERIENCES A MAGNETIC FORCE DUE TO EXPOSURE TO A MAGNETIC FIELD. THE FLUID IS THEREFORE ABLE TO BE MAGNETIZED.)

(IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT MORE MOVEMENT OF THE SUBSTANCE CREATES MORE PRESSURE AND KEEPS IT IN A SOLID FORM. PAUSE OF MOVEMENT SHOULD RESULT IN THE SOLID COLLAPSING INTO A LIQUID.)

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THE E N D OF AN E R A 1961 -2017

A variety of solutions (from left to right) Methylene Blue, Indigo Carmine, Biuret reagent, Sudan III, Ca(OH)2 , Safranin, Phenol Red, 1M AgNO3 , and .9M NaCl depict the various colors and solutions needed for experiments.

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THE E N D OF AN E R A 1961 -2017

An assorted collection of glasses, vials, flasks, and jars collected from all across the Science Building serve a variety of different purposes, uses, applications.

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COVE R S TORY M c DE R MOT T- G R E E N SC IE N C E & M ATH Q UA D R A N GLE 1961 -2 017

An old Rolodex of bacterial and organismal classifications dusted off and dug out of a forgotten cabinet epitomizes the irreplaceably retro and dilapidated charm of the old Science Building. the Scientific Marksman

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Two nameless Marksmen walk up to the then newly-completed Science & Math Quadrangle.

Only the Science Lecture Hall, connecting glass foyer, and Biology classrooms remain as the 1986 two-story addition now resides where the rest of the building once

n 1961, something was different on campus. Amidst the ever-constant Oxford shirts and the commotion of Middle Schoolers, there was something that would not only garner national praise but would more importantly change the way Marksmen approach science.

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HE McDERMOTT-GREEN SCIENCE & MATH QUADRANGLE IS NOW COLLOQUIALLY KNOWN AS "THE BACK OF THE SCIENCE BUILDING." But there was a time when it wasn't just a forgotten appendage of a building but was in the limelight. It gained national acclaim from Time Magazine for its futuristic facilities and then cutting-edge technology, effectively putting St. Mark's on the map.

And over 55 years later despite the changing world around it, aside from a 1986 addition, it remains the same, now simply housing the Biology and DNA Science classrooms along with the Greenhouse, Planetarium, Observatory, and Science Lecture. And with construction on the new Winn Science Center slated to begin this year, both students and faculty alike are eager to move out of the cramped, dilapidated conditions.

However, the demolition of the remaining structures that once made up the Math & Science Quadrangle brings bittersweet emotions. As Senior Class President, Shailen Parmar remarks, "There's a certain charm about it. I don't

know how to describe it, but it feels comfortable and like home." And he's right.

The dingy, yellowed terrazzo floor that makes finding anything that has dropped on it simply impossible. The long, sometimes warped or broken strips of wood that line the ceilings and walls. The 60's Lecture Hall chairs that swivel just the right amount before they jerk you back into place. The infamous sign that admonishes all: DO NOT LEAN BACK IN CHAIRS. The irregular temperature and felt-covered air ducts. The overgrown Greenhouse and the feeling that something may jump out at you from under the agave palm. The displays of minerals, broken weather instruments, and ancestral hominids. And the long hallway that, with the lights off, looks straight out of a horror film.

But there's a certain pleasure in receding back into the depths of the Science Building. It has an inexplicable atmosphere, a scent, a call maybe. And it's this-the comfortable familiarity it provides-that we'll miss.

—Killian Green '17

Editor-in-Chief, The Scientific Marksman

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THE E N D OF AN E R A 1961 -2017

Science teacher Doc Nelson orates in the Science Lecture Hall with Upper Schoolers eager to learn. This 1970’s scene not only depicts a college classroom, but it also goes to show the change in uniform style from the old white polos and long pants to the current white Oxford shirt and gray shorts. This same Lecture Hall–built to double as a bomb shelter–still stands and remains nearly untouched after forty years but will be demolished in the coming months.

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THE E N D OF AN E R A 1961 -2017

Looking on with intrigue, a 1972 St. Mark’s Upper School Geometry class learns about the ins and outs of mathematical proofs by listening to a distinguished professor on a closed circuit TV. This classroom was located in the since demolished section of the McDermott-Green Science and Math Quadrangle, which wrapped around the current Science Courtyard.

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THE E N D OF AN E R A 1961 -2017

As Upper School students use Titration methods to determine the acidity of various solutions, Chemistry teacher Doc Nelson oversees and guides his students so they are well-versed in professional lab procedures and etiquette.

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I think the biggest innovations of the 21st century will be at the intersection of biology and technology–

a new era is beginning. — Steve Jobs former CEO, Apple, Inc.

1961 - 2017 M c D E R M O T T- G R E E N SC IE N C E & M ATH QUAD R AN GLE

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section 3 —

Physics Chirag Gokani '17 Profile

50

Doug Rummel Profile

54

Antimatter 56 Time Crystals 58

—

E

verybody knows Albert Einstein and his theory of relativity: E = mc2. It’s ubiquitous – on buildings, in TV advertisements, even on Mariah Carey albums, but how many people actually know what it’s about? What does it mean for the world we live in?

Simply put, E = mc2 postulates that matter can be made from energy. As odd as it may seem, this phenomenon occurs throughout the universe, in human cells, particle accelerators, black holes, essentially anywhere there is a transfer of energy with a proportionate gain or loss of mass.

With the recent rumors in the news regarding nuclear wars and chemical apocalypses, understanding the science behind such weapons may validate some reason for fear. The theory of relativity explains several diverse phenomenon in the universe, but one that has recently drawn much attention is nuclear reactions. A nuclear reaction is a reaction in which nuclei separate or combine with a great release in energy in a process called nuclear fusion and nuclear fission, respectively.

When a particle either splits or combines into a larger particle, the release of energy is extremely large, despite the extremely small change in mass.

The largest manmade explosion by the Tsar Bomb, a Soviet hydrogen bomb created in 1961, released a yield of 57 megatons of TNT. In comparison, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in World War II had an estimated yield of approximately 15 kilotons of TNT. The Tsar bomb created a force of 57,000 Terra-joules, almost 400 times greater than the bomb deployed onto Hiroshima.

July 16th, 1945 marked the first use of an atomic bomb, and only 70 years later, the world is in a state of nuclear propagation, where every county possesses the ability to make nuclear weapons as well as the choice to deploy them. Nuclear fission and fusion prove why it is possible for such a small change in mass to create large amounts of energy. In contrast to chemical reactions, where the nucleus itself does not change but rather the electrons on the outside are involved, nuclear reactions change the nucleus allowing a small change in mass to precipitate a large release in volume of energy.

The change in mass by 2 grams between nuclei can fuel an atomic bomb.

Let that sink in. Considering that, it may benefit us to understand the physics behind an atomic bomb; in other words, how one simple theory can explain everything from photosynthesis in plants to the weapon that holds the key to doomsday.

— Rohan

3

Vemu ‘18, Physics Section Editor the Scientific Marksman

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PHYSIC S F E ATUR E S TO RY

Senior Chirag Gokani (right) reflects on his time in Astronomy and the skills he’s aquired taking a course alone. In the course, Gokani not only was exposed to various facets of Astronomy and Space Physics but also learned how to operate the school’s Planetarium and Observatory Telescope.

Chirag Gokani '17

‘Stargazer’

In the summer of 2011, I participated in Dr. Balog’s week-long Rocketry Camp. We launched model rockets on Cox Field on the last day of camp, the day that coincided with the final Space Shuttle launch. This coincidence symbolically captured the passing of the torch of astronomy and space exploration to our generation and made me feel responsible for engaging myself in these subjects.

I subscribed to NASA Newsletters, visited

I

the Johnson and Kennedy Space Centers, read books about stargazing, and learned how to use a telescope.

Dallas’s light-polluted night sky limited my exposure to the stars themselves, allowing for my conceptual understanding of astronomy to eventually surpass my practical knowledge of the night sky. This conceptual understanding, which I solidified in Mr. Houpt’s 11th grade physics course, took me far as Dr. Mary Urquhart’s intern at UT Dallas last summer.

By applying Kepler’s second law of planetary motion to Newtonian rotational kinematics, I calculated the semi-major axes (the average distance from a planet to its sun) of twenty-one potentially habitable exoplanets, some of which had recently been discovered by JPL’s Kepler space observatory. These values help scientists determine whether planets fall within the “Goldilocks zone,” the range of distances from a planet to its sun that aren’t too hot or too cold to contain liquid water.

(continued on next page)

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‘S TARGA Z E R ’ C H I R AG G O K A N I ‘ 17

L

A QUICK GUIDE TO PLANETS

PULSAR PLANETS, THE FIRST TYPE OF EXTRASOLAR PLANET TO BE DISCOVERED, ARE FOUND ORBITING PULSARS, OR RAPIDLY ROTATING NEUTRON STARS.

ROGUE PLANETS ARE PLANETARY-MASS OBJECTS THAT, AFTER BEING EJECTED FROM THE SYSTEM IN WHICH THEY WERE FORMED, ORBIT THE GALAXY ITSELF.

(continued from previous page)

ast July, on a school field trip sponsored by the Winn family to the McDonald, a German astronomer invited our group into the dome of the 82-inch Otto Struve telescope, where we watched him observe the spectra of brown dwarf stars, “stars” that aren’t massive enough to sustain hydrogen fusion. As he skillfully oriented the massive telescope to one of the stars, I realized that a proficient astronomer must balance a conceptual understanding of the stars with some practical knowledge so he can actually find them.

Taking Dr. Balog’s Astronomy & Planetarium Operations tutorial course as a senior has given me the balanced and comprehensive astronomy education I had been seeking for so long. To ensure that I’m learning both conceptually as well as practically, we split the course’s curriculum equally between classroom discussion, planetarium learning, and field observation.

— ''I realized that a proficient astronomer must balance a conceptual understanding of the stars with some practical knowledge so he can actually find them."

— Chirag Gokani ‘17 Nightly readings include chapters from both Roger Freedman’s college-level textbook Universe, which introduces me to concepts for discussion, and H.A. Rey’s The Stars, which helps familiarize me with particular regions of the sky I’m observing.

In the first trimester, I studied fundamental concepts including celestial motions, mass-energy-light relationships, optics, and methods of astronomical measurement. I then dove into the history of astronomy, which Dr. Balog made interactive: When studying the Zoroastrians, we frequently visited the

planetarium to explore the zodiac, and when discussing Galileo and Newton, we examined the structures of the several telescopes housed in the observatory.

Because the course objectives include “developing a deeper understanding of Astronomy to the point of being able to teach the fundamentals of the science to others,” Dr. Balog taught me how to program Planetarium shows using the Starry Night software early in the year.

I developed my presentation skills by participating in one of his shows for the 10th grade Modern World classes about the shift from the Ptolemaic to the Copernican school of thought, and how this shift was fundamental to the development of modern science during the Enlightenment. I later co-delivered the Christmas Star Show and am working on delivering my own show in May. Stars and planets were the focus of the second trimester. I expanded my vocabulary of constellations, star clusters, and nebulae in the Planetarium and observed sunspots and planets in the observatory. We were particularly interested by Venus’s phase and Jupiter’s Galilean moons and kept track of these phenomena that illustrate simple harmonic motion throughout the year. Universe’s extensive and mathematically grounded chapters on stars garnered my interest in helioseismology, a young subject that analyzes the “music of the sun.” The recent observations made by Curiosity of Mars, New Horizons of Kuiper Belt Objects, Rosetta of comets, and Juno of Jupiter made my study of planets fascinating and relevant.

Having completed my study of classical Astronomy, I delved into advanced topics in the third trimester. Supplemented by Amir D. Aczel’s Probability 1: Why There Must Be Intelligent Life in the Universe, a controversial work of scientific speculation, this final part of the curriculum came full circle by furthering my understanding of astrobiology and cosmology, subjects I studied as an intern at UTD and as a visitor to the Hobby-Eberly Telescope over the summer. These topics constitute a large portion of the planetarium show I will present the last week of April.

As the college admissions and job-hunting processes become more competitive, St. Mark’s students benefit greatly from taking classes that offer AP credit.

“WHILE STUDYING ASTRONOMY OFFERS NO SUCH CREDIT, THE IMMERSIVE AND ENRICHING EXPERIENCE IT OFFERS OUTWEIGHS ANY QUANTIFIABLE MEASURE.” At the end of the day, astronomy differs from other sciences not just for its longevity and cultural significance but for how it rewards its students: Its subject, the night sky, is a free-of-charge time machine full of majesty seen by those who are most patient.

Several recent developments will ensure that St. Mark’s continues to lead in astronomy education for years to come. The Winn Science Center’s new planetarium, which will feature upgraded software and an 8-fold increase in resolution, will offer crystal-clear skies that include newly discovered objects and cutting-edge simulations. Field trips to the McDonald Observatory will let students learn from leading astronomers and engineers and operate the second-largest telescope in the world, as well as expand their command over geology and environmental science.

I hope these matchless resources, along with Dr. Balog’s accessible teaching style, encourage those following me make the most of this opportunity.

ICE GIANTS (I.E. URANUS AND NEPTUNE) ARE GIANT PLANETS COMPOSED MAINLY OF ELEMENTS HEAVIER THAN HYDROGEN AND HELIUM, SUCH AS OXYGEN, CARBON, NITROGEN, AND SULFUR.

CIRCUMBINARY PLANETS ARE PLANETS THAT ORBIT TWO STARS IN STEAD OF ONE. BECAUSE OF THE SHORT ORBITS OF SOME BINARY STARS, CIRCUMBINARY PLANETS TYPICALLY FORM OUTSIDE THE ORBIT OF THE TWO STARS.

PLUTOIDS OR “ICE DWARVES” ARE BODIES ORBITING BEYOND NEPTUNE THAT ARE MASSIVE ENOUGH TO BE ROUNDED IN SHAPE.

PUFFY PLANETS OR “HOT SATURNS” ARE PLANETS WITH VERY LARGE RADII AND VERY LOW DENSITIES, SIMILAR TO SATURN. PUFFY PLANETS ORBIT CLOSE TO THEIR STARS SO THAT THE INTENSE HEAT FROM THE STAR COMBINED WITH INTERNAL HEATING WITHIN THE PLANET HELP INFLATE THE ATMOSPHERE.

A chosen group of Upper Schoolers (left) stand outside of the McDonald Observatory on the Winn Family-sponsored trip this past summer. From left to right: (bottom row) Kabeer Singh ‘18, Arjun Singh ‘18; (second row) Cecil H. and Ida Green Master Teaching Chair in Science Stephen Balog, Adam Subel ‘17, Gray Wood ‘17, Kevin Choi ‘17, Rex Northcut ‘17; (third row) Chirag Gokani ‘17, George Dau ‘17, Vik Reddy ‘17, Director of Environmental Studies Dan Northcut ‘81; (top row) Paul Hoehn, Stephen M. Seay ’68 Science Department Chair Fletcher Carron. The McDonald Observatory (below) stands against the backdrop of Jeff Davis County, Texas. A secondary observatory building on the McDonald complex (bottom) reflects the vivid colors of the west Texas sky. (photos courtesy Kabeer Singh ‘18)

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5

F I VE MIN UTE S W ITH FOUNDERS’ MASTER TEACHING CHAIR D OUG R UM M E L

Middle School Physics/Chemistry and Upper School Information Engineering teacher Doug Rummel sits amongst some of his favorite items—a vintage Cathode-Ray Tube and KAYPRO Power Computer.

ost teachers know the career they want to pursue by the time they reach college. Doug Rummel, however, was unsure. “I was Pre-Med in college and I was hoping to do Medical Illustration after I graduated,” says Rummel.

However, after seeing a small poster looking for students to work laboratory technologist jobs, Rummel decided to give it a shot. Rummel ended up working as a teacher’s assistant in a freshman biology course for Pre-Med students. With hundreds of students enrolled in the class with different levels of experience, the situation often seemed like a madhouse to Rummel. “Imagine the inside of Spencer Gym with chemistry, biology, and physics all going on at the same time”, he states.

However, after getting acquainted to his new role, Rummel quickly began improving his communication and teaching skills. In addition, he also began to develop a passion for his job, causing Rummel to ponder about his future plans. Rummel relates his initial passion as a teacher to other careers, stating, “once you get that first laugh as a comedian, you get that first round of applause as a musician, you realize that maybe there is something that you can do with your talents”.

After spending over a year and a half as a teaching assistant, Rummel had received many great responses from students for his work. Rummel “then decided that [he] wouldn’t apply to UT Southwestern’s graduate program”, but instead look into other options for teaching. Rummel quickly found a job at Greenhill after “the primary instructor for the biology course had fallen off a ladder and broken a leg.” In need of someone to instruct the lectures, the school hired Rummel in the middle of the year.

Rummel worked at Greenhill for a decade, teaching not only various science classes but also dabbling in English classes as well.

Mr. Gonzalez, who had cotaught science and English classes with Rummel at Greenhill, began to recruit him to come teach at St. Mark’s. After an interview, Rummel was offered a job as a Physics teacher, and he quickly accepted the offer.

Upon arriving, Rummel was immediately informed that, in addition to his class responsibilities, he was also in charge of the St. Mark’s Robotics

M

team.

“Two seniors showed up on the first day of school and told me ‘hey, we understand that your the new robotics coach’” recalls Rummel. “I just said ‘I guess so. From that moment forward I just hung out with those guys and I learned to love what they were doing.” Through Robotics, students are able to learn about engineering. “The goal is that we give our guys opportunities,” Rummel claims, “we used tensor flow...with a $25 camera and a $30 computer, [the program] will tell us what it sees...It can identify the world around it. It can identify something as a book or as a cube. It can read!”

Rummel and the robotics team used this program to create a robot than could navigate through a changing maze by itself. Rummel claims, “We used tensor flow to create an autonomous robot.” Coincidently, students at Johns Hopkins took a part in a similar project.

According to Rummel, “it took us six weeks to make the robot...This was also the senior project at Johns Hopkins last year. They did it in three weeks, and they didn’t get the autonomous part to work.” thus through robotics, students can get ahead and learn collegiate level engineering.

Rummel also encourages others to step out of their comfort zones.

“Have no fear, try something new,” he claims, “Go ahead and try it, and if you make mistakes that’s great...Its valuable.”

Rummel looks forward to teaching in the new science building: “In the new building, we’re trying to foster a culture of algorithmic, engineering-type thinking...what needs to be fixed, how can you improve it, how can you take it apart and put it back together so it’s better.” He wants to teach the next generation of engineers by helping those willing to work hard in robotics. “Engineering will help solve the future problems, making an urban center more livable, improving climate change” Finally, Rummel claims that students should look for opportunities at school that can help life in the future. “You have a head up in terms of experience, you learn building, writing, and speaking at St Mark’s, and that makes you a triple threat, and the science department affords you those opportunities to get ahead.” as told to

Niteesh Vemuri '18

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W H AT IN THE WO R L D O F PHYS IC S? !

Rewriting

the Universe Mark Tao '19

ember 19th, 2016. For the first time ever, scientists at the Antihydrogen Laser Physics Apparatus (ALPHA) at the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN), were able to observe the optical spectrum of an antimatter particle.

The ALPHA collaboration is group of physicists who work together to create neutral antimatter, specifically in the form of antihydrogen particles. Antimatter is composed of antiparticles, or positrons, which have the same mass as an electron but the opposite charge.

“Using a laser to observe a transition in antihydrogen and comparing it to hydrogen to see if they obey the same laws of physics has always been a key goal of antimatter research,” said Jeffrey Hangst, a leading member of the ALPHA collaboration.

In particular, ALPHA achieved a scope of the light emission spectroscopy of the antihydrogen particle, a feat which is painstakingly difficult to accomplish. This achievement allows scientists to compare the antihydrogen particle’s light spectrum to its counterpart, hydrogen.

“According to laws of physics,” said

D

Makoto Fujiwara, a member of ALPHA, “the basic properties of matter and antimatter have to be exactly the same. If you see any difference, not only would physics be in trouble, the whole universe would be in trouble.”

To capture the particles, ALPHA uses CERN’s Antiproton Decelerator facility to manipulate antihydrogen’s magnetic properties and isolate the particle in a magnetic field.

“Moving and trapping antiprotons or positrons is easy because they are charged particles, but when you combine the two you get neutral antihydrogen, which is far more difficult to trap, so we have designed a very special magnetic trap that relies on the fact that antihydrogen is a little bit magnetic,” Hangst stated.Antimatter particles are notoriously difficult to observe, but their existence has been hypothesized since the late 1800s.

“According to laws of Physics,” said Makoto Fujiwara, a member of ALPHA, “the basic properties of matter and antimatter have to be exactly the same. If you see any difference, not only would physics be in trouble, the whole universe would be in trouble.”

To capture the particles, ALPHA uses CERN’s Antiproton Decelerator facility to manipulate antihydrogen’s magnetic properties and isolate the particle in a magnetic field.

“Moving and trapping antiprotons or positrons is easy because they are charged particles, but when you combine the two you get neutral antihydrogen, which is far more difficult to trap, so we have designed a very special magnetic trap that relies on the fact that antihydrogen is a little bit magnetic,” Hangst stated. Antimatter particles are notoriously difficult to observe, but their existence has been hypothesized since the late 1800s.

—

'According to the laws of Physics, the basic properties of matter and antimatter have to be the same. If you see any difference, not only would physics be in trouble, the whole universe would be in trouble.'

—Makoto Fujiwara, ALPHA

Physicist Hui Chen sets up targets for a 2008 anti-matter experiment at the Jupiter laser facility, which would lay the foundation for ALPHA’s experiment and observations. (photo courtesy Lawrence Livermore National Library) the Scientific Marksman

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SUS PE N D IN G TH E L AWS O F PHYS IC S

Time Crystals (YEP, YOU READ THAT RIGHT.) Toussaint Pegues '18 No, it’s not Sci-Fi. They’re real. High school science classes have long pounded into our heads the stages of matter: solid, liquid and gas (although there are others). But UC Berkeley Physicists say they have created a new state dubbed ‘Time Crystals’ or ‘Space-Time Crystals.’ So, what exactly are they?

OSCILLATIONS AT PERIOD 2T

QUICK TAKES

SPIN-FLIP PULSE

INTERACTIONS + RANDOM DISORDER

SPIN-FLIP PULSE

INTERACTIONS + RANDOM DISORDER

SPIN-FLIP PULSE

DRIVE PERIOD T Quantum spins are subjected to imperfect spin-flip driving pulses and then allowed to interact with each other in the presence of strong random disorder in the local magnetic fields. The sequence repeats after a total time period T, but the spin system exhibits emergent oscillations with period 2T—the hallmark of a discrete quantum time crystal.

alt. Ice. Time. All three of these words can now be logically followed with “crystal.” Salt and ice crystals are both defined by the material that they’re made of, but that pattern fails when it comes to time crystals. Time crystals are not time congealed into tangible, physical crystals: time describes their pattern, not their material.

If you shrink down and walk along the molecules of a crystal in one direction, you would encounter the same sequence of atoms and molecules over and over again. Naturally formed crystals are sudden order in the chaos of the universe. Everywhere, there are random jumbles of atoms floating about with no pattern, but in a crystal, the atoms have fallen into a repeating pattern in space.

If matter can be set into repeating patterns in space, why can’t they be set into repeating patterns in time, asked Frank Wilczek, a theoretical physicist, MIT professor, Nobel laureate, and all around smart guy.

Wilczek describes the formation of normal 3D crystals as breaking spacial symmetry, the idea that interactions in a system should occur the same way, no matter its orientation or movement.

He extends this concept of spatial symmetry to time-translation symmetry, which “underlies both the reproducibility of experience and, within the standard dynamical frameworks, the conservation of energy” which simply put means that interactions in a system should occur the same way, no matter where the system is.

A perfect 3D crystal at absolute zero, in its lowest energy state, still has atoms that occur at regular intervals in space.

A 4D crystal, on the other hand, has atoms that occur at regular intervals in time. It would, as suggested by Wilczek, spontaneously emerge as a clock. Except that a clock requires energy to keep proper time and move energy that can

S

be removed from it. A time crystal would inherently keep time perfectly without any energy input. No energy could be removed from this crystal either. Wilczek’s explanation is much more elegant, mathematical, but significantly more complicated.

All of the theoretical discussion is nice, but it raises two important questions. If these 4D crystals exist just like 3D crystals do, why have we not seen them, and how can they be made?

—

'At the University of Maryland Ytterbium atoms were chained together with entangled electron spins and pulsed with lasers... All the atoms in the chain were entangled, so the flipping of one would cause the flipping of the others. ' The matter of their construction was tackled

by Chetan Nayak at UC Santa Barbara, whose group determined that time crystals would

freezing into ice crystals, and Nayak suggested that a system out of thermal equilibrium would be able to spontaneously break time’s symmetry. Now that there exists an object without time-translation symmetry, that object can be stimulated at certain intervals, but it will respond at a different interval.

At the University of Maryland, Ytterbium atoms were chained together with entangled electron spins and pulsed with lasers. One laser keeps the atoms out of equilibrium by keeping them in a magnetic field and the other would flip the spins of not atom’s electrons. All the atoms in the chain were entangled, so the flipping of one would cause the flipping of the others.

All of this makes sense, until the flipping of the spins responded with a different interval than the laser was stimulating them with. At Harvard University, a time crystal was created using a diamond with nitrogen impurities.

Their lasers pulsed the nitrogen in the lattice, which oscillated with a period that did not match that of the laser.

Following a blueprint created by UC Berkeley physicist Norman Yao, physicists at the University of Maryland made the first time crystal using a one-dimensional chain of Ytterbium ions. Each ion behaves like an electron spin and exhibits long-range interactions indicated by the arrows. (courtesy Chris Monroe, University of Maryland)

require a system out of thermal equilibrium.

A system in thermal equilibrium can spontaneously break spatial equilibrium, such as crystals precipitating from a solution or water the Scientific Marksman

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section 4 —

Technology Cybersecurity 62 Galaxy Note 7 64 Apple 'Clips' App Review

65

Andrew Smith '18 Profile

66

Virtual/Augmented Reality 68

4

—

T

echnology is ubiquitous. From the everyday smartphone to the life-saving MRI, the branches of technology extend to the farthest reaches of this planet… and even the next. It connects us. It helps us. It entertains us. It defines our very existence. But is that a good thing? With each new platform of communication, our lives become exposed to and informed about the rest of the world. With every new virtual world to explore and enjoy, the window to our own closes just a little more.

With every new life-saving medical technology, a new weapon of death and destruction is created. The trajectory of technology will continue on its ascent, and there is nothing we can do to halt its progress. But what we can do is make decisions that will void the unwanted side-effects and promote the incredible benefits of technology. In these next few years, humans, as a species, must define the necessary parameters and guidelines to preserve the integrity of our very existence. Our generation’s decisions will not only drastically affect our current lives but also the lives of our children, so it is imperative that we take the necessary steps to ensure a safer, more prosperous future.

— Sahit

Dendekuri ‘19, Technology Section Editor the Scientific Marksman

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THE S TATE OF CY B E R S EC U R IT Y

Are You Safe?

Cal Rothkrug '18 t’s always a major subject of discussion in the news, newspapers, magazines, the internet, etc. Often times, it’s misrepresented, misunderstood, or even completely fabricated. Regardless of the world’s changing state of affairs, we live in a world in which cyber security is both ubiquitous and necessary.

Cyber security is a field that deals with the protection of computer systems and the information they contain. A computer is comprised of hardware and software. Hardware describes the physical components in a computer (keyboard, hard drive, cooling fan, mother board, etc.).

Software describes the nonphysical components of a computer that contain the information and instructions to control hardware. Principals of cyber security aim to protect hardware and software by implementing methods such as encryption, authentication, information hiding, etc.

Attackers in the cyber space, or “hackers”, aim to breach the security of a computer’s software or hardware in order to perform malicious actions on the compromised system.

Hackers may have many attack “vectors”, methods of breaching the computer’s security. Attack vectors may include placing malware on the victim’s machine or baiting the victim into releasing their information through chat room or word of mouth.

Typical malware includes viruses, worms, Trojans, RATs, and others. Viruses, once on the computer, replicate themselves and infect other files or folders, often times performing harmful actions on these cornucopias of information.

Worms are like viruses, except for the fact that they do not need to be attached to a file replicate or infect another. Worms can be major problems for networks because they replicate so efficiently and effectively that they increase network traffic by overwhelming amounts and may ultimately crash servers. (continued on facing page)

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'Attack vectors may include placing malware on the victim’s machine or baiting the victim into releasing their information through chat room or word of mouth.'

QUICK TAKES

38%

In 2015, there were 38 percent more security incidents detected than in 2014.

photo courtesy of Google

Trojans, or Trojan Horses, present themselves in a misleading way, leading the victim to willingly receive a seemingly inconspicuous piece of software that eventually corrupts and performs harmful actions on the victim’s files. Trojans are especially notorious because of recent developments in RansomWare, a form of a Trojan that, once inside the computer, may steal or encrypt all of the user’s files, while leaving behind a note containing instructions to send a bitcoin payment to a specific email address, which the user then expects will be reciprocated with the file decryption key.

ATs, or Remote Administration Tools, are typically received as payloads of Trojans.

RATs are undetectable without specialized software. A hacker who has placed a RAT on a machine, may have full control of the machine and can perform any action the victim can. RATs are the reason people suspect that hackers can spy on victims through their web cams, as is very possible with the use of a RAT. Realistically, there is no concrete solution to avoid cyber attacks other than refraining from turning a computer on or inserting a flash drive into one. In fact, skilled hackers can place malware into small, inconspicuous devices such as flash drives, mice, keyboards; once activated, these objects then turn into Trojans that inject malware into the device to which they’re connected.

Although the incredible amount of malware that ex-

R

ists in cyber space suggests that the world is full of “black hat” hackers harming people’s computers for personal gain, it is necessary to take into account that there is a large number of “white hat” hackers who aim to counteract the crimes performed in cyber space. Companies such as FireEye, AlienVault, Northrop Grumman, and Rapid7, train employees to not only combat black hat techniques, but to practice malicious techniques in an ironically ethical manner; these professionals who perform the work of black hats are white hats known as penetration testers.

Unfortunately, U.S. cyber security companies, as well as the NSA, and the Department of Defense, do not have an abundance of future cyber security analysts who will help to combat cyber injustice. For this reason, the NSA, DoD, and private security companies, work as hard as they can to target recruits whom they hope will benefit the white hat security industry. yber security reminds us that nobody is truly safe on the internet, and that attacks can happen in milliseconds before we realize that something on our computer has become defective or missing. A recommended safety measure is to always have a backup set of your computer’s files on a high density flash/hard drive.

So next time you’re about to open an attachment or click on a link, read who the sender is and what the attachment is before you make your click.

C

169mil Over 169 million personal records were exposed in 2015, stemming from 781 publicized breaches across the financial, business, education, government and healthcare sectors.

$2.1tril The global cost of handling cyberattacks is expected to rise from $400 billion in 2015 to $2.1 trillion by 2019.

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W H AT IN TH E WO R L D O F TEC H? !

what caused the ?

Recall Mujin Kwun '19

onathan Strobel, a twentyeight-year-old Florida native, was happily strolling down the towering aisles of his Costco store in Palm Beach Gardens, minding his own business, when suddenly, his pants caught on fire. Jonathan Strobel had recently purchased a brand-new Galaxy Note 7 and had it stowed in the front right pocket of his pants where the device exploded.

Although this scenario sounds like something from a Marx Brothers movie, it really happened, and it wasn’t all that funny for the phone’s owner. Strobel later filed a lawsuit in which he claims that the

J

—

'I woke up by the band and the smell of smoke.

Fortunately, we were not injured in the incident and only our blanket was a little burnt.'

— Affected Note 7 Cosumer, South Korea

new phablet exploded, causing “severe burns” and “shock and extreme pain due to his injuries.” The Note 7 luckily left only a phone-sized burn on his right leg and a small injury on his left hand, suffered when he tried to remove the phone from his pocket. In yet another incident, a South Korean woman claimed that her boyfriend’s Note 7 exploded while charging. She said: “My boyfriend’s Galaxy Note 7 exploded while charging at night. It’s been less than a week since he started using the phone on the 19th.

I woke up by the bang and the smell of smoke. Fortunately, we were not injured in the incident and only our blanket was a little burnt.” The United States alone had ninety-two reports of overheating batteries in the Note 7. In addition, there were “26 reports of burns and 55 reports of property damage, including fires in cars and a garage.”

Because of these claims, among many others, Samsung suspended sales of the Galaxy Note 7 and issued an informal recall on September 2, 2016.

On September 15, 2016, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a government-sanctioned recall of the Note 7 in the US. Customers were then told to discontinue use of their devices and return them to the store where they

would receive a new Galaxy Note 7 with a different battery. Although the issue seemed to have been resolved with around 80% of the devices replaced in South Korea and 50% in Europe and North America, Samsung’s problems are far from over. The new replacement phones with supposedly defect-free batteries have started catching fire as well.

Multiple owners reported replacement Note 7’s catching fire, and one owner was even hospitalized for smoke inhalation.

In response to these reports, Samsung officially announced on October 10, 2016 that it had “[asked] all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges” of the device. On October 11, the company regretfully announced that it would permanently end the production of Galaxy Note 7’s in the “interest of customer safety.”

From November 2016 to January 2017, Samsung released updates that hindered the devices from being recharged, crippling the phones’ functionality. The company released these updates in an effort to “eliminate [the Note 7’s] ability to work as mobile devices,” hopefully deterring continued use of the faulty devices.

After investigating the original model of the Note 7, Samsung concluded that the fires and explosions were caused

‘ TAP TH AT APP ’ | APPLE ’S C LI PS

CLIPS Apple’s new ‘Clips’ app not only brings the best of Snapchat, Instagram, and iMovie onto a mobile platform but also hints at the company’s new empahsis on services and software. by a design flaw that led to bending of the electrodes in the battery, causing short-circuits. After the initial recall, the second-batch of phones with the supposedly flaw-free batteries caught fire, as well, for a different reason. The second-batch batteries were obtained from a third-party supplier, and the batteries suffered a manufacturing defect from improper welding of the battery.

Because of the original design flaw and subsequent recalls, tests, and reimbursements, Samsung’ business suffered immensely. Analysts project that the techgiant will lose at least seventeen billion dollars in revenue from production and recall of the device alone. Not only has the company suffered financially, but Samsung’s reputation took a huge blow, as well. The Note 7 may possibly be the first phone to be officially banned from airplanes by the United States government.

Many people criticized Samsung’s response and handling of the original problem. Because of Samsung’s blunder and subsequent failures to properly solve the issue, many former loyal customers will probably switch over to different companies like Apple and Google. Exploding phones in our pants’ pockets? Hopefully phone companies in the future will continue to produce effective, fully functioning, handheld devices, not hand-held grenades.

Cameron Bossalini '17 ith the proliferation of social media, the classic “home movies” of the past have seemed to vanish, replaced by endless streams of information housed in timelines on a profile page. However, Apple has attempted to bring a touch of creativity back into this expression of media with their free app Clips, the iMovie for the mobile generation.

Taking design cues from apps like Instagram or the now-defunct Vine, Clips uses a square aspect ratio and a one-touch recording interface. Users can record clips from the phone’s camera as well as add in pre-recorded photos and videos from their photo library. With these recorded clips, one can arrange them in a timeline as well as add a variety of Snapchat-like geotags and filters. Finally, there exists a number of exporting features which allow people to upload directly to Facebook, Instagram, or other services.

Despite the simplistic nature of the app’s interface, however, there lies many layers of complexity beneath. Apple provides a number of auto-looping audio tracks to underscore the clips as well as the ability to import audio and video from other sources. Performance is also quite stellar, as the app easily handles large video sizes with ease.

Furthermore, users can add voiceovers and subtitles to prerecorded clips in a variety of pre-rendered fonts and styles.

While the app seems to have a great selection of functionality and usability, its future impact on the social media scene is hard to predict.

Clips itself is well-designed no doubt, but the necessity of having to open a separate app may prove a significant inconvenience for many users.

Nonetheless, for the individual searching for a simple way to add a bit more polish to their videos destined for Instagram or Facebook, Clips is a great way to do so.

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L IN G U IS T & CO DE R AN DR E W SMITH ‘ 18

behind the Rohan Vemu '18 e live in the golden age of technology. Technological inventions and innovations such as computers, cell phones, calculators, and cameras, devices whose existence were once unfathomable, are now ubiquitous in our rapidly progressive society. It seems like every day we use our iPhones and Androids to Snapchat our friends, play Color Switch, or even complete the simplest tasks such as writing down notes and doing arithmetic. Often, we don’t take the time to see what’s really behind our screens, what’s making those objects move, adding those numbers up, moving those pictures, and changing the colors of the pixels on our screens. That’s the concept of software development. Software exists for us so that we don’t have to look behind our essays in Microsoft Word to see lines and lines of code that would just confuse and repulse us.

Fellow Marksman Andrew Smith ’18, unlike most high school juniors, finds both pleasure and practicality in the field of software engineering. An avid and experienced coder, Smith has been writing code for both personal and commercial projects since he was in sixth grade.

“I wanted to study for a multiple-choice Science test, but wasn’t able to find a platform with which to create reusable tests in

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that format. Therefore, I turned to something about which I had very recently learned: programming,” Smith said.

Smith turned his problem of not being able to maximize the efficiency of his studying, into the solution of developing a program that would quickly generate multiple choice test questions for him that would help him efficiently study for the test.

“As a sidenote, I got every question on that test right,” Smith added.

So what led Smith to have an affinity for and pick up an activity like software development? It certainly isn’t a hobby the average sixth grader would spontaneously pick up one day.

“It was just something I tried, and I ended up really enjoying it. I also enjoyed (and still enjoy) always having a long-term project to work on, without strict deadlines like I have for classes,” Smith said.

Throughout his years of coding, Smith has completed various personal projects solely to help him function more efficiently throughout his day.

“I wrote an Emacs package to allow me to easily type macrons in Latin texts and to give me definitions of any Latin words I didn’t know,” Smith said.

However, in addition to his personal projects, Smith also spends time completing

—

'It was just something I tried, and I ended up really enjoying it. I also enjoyed (and still enjoy) always having a longterm project to work on.'

The original Apple Macintosh sits with its iconic 'hello' graphic, which was intended to showcase its more graphic or artistic focus on the then-revolutionary 512 × 342 pixel screen. The new 5K iMac–on which the Scientific Marksman is made–now has almost 100x more pixels with a 5120 x 2880 pixel screen. (photo courtesy Apple, Inc.)

—Andrew Smith '18

Commands line the screen as Smith examines the complicated source-code for a program.

commercial projects for organizations that seek his specialized skills.

“My current main project, OpenRec, was initially to be written for the Allen Community Ice Rink, the rink at which I volunteer. OpenRec is a free and open-source (MPL) program that facilitates the online management of recreational programs,” Smith said.

Smith’s application of his skills in the real world has benefited him and his community greatly. Aside from looking at his projects simply as assignments that require completion through long and cumbersome processes, Smith takes the time to enjoy his work and look at software development in a way most people can’t.

“Programming allows you to truly control what your computer does. Most people see computers as machines that can only perform predefined tasks, with their behavior only controllable by wizards who’ve learned the proper spells (software engineers). However, program-

ming allows you to do essentially whatever you want; you can perform tasks that non-programmers can only dream of performing. That’s how programming is fulfilling: it lets you do whatever, whenever—it gives you the ability to do what no one else can,” Smith explained.

Additionally, Smith has found external applications for the kind of skills and logical thinking abilities at which he’s become deft through his coding experience.

“Programming definitely improves logical thinking ability; every program you write is basically a huge word problem. It also helps in thinking in terms of abstractions, as you generally write programs to deal with a wide variety of data, not just one defined number or string,” Smith stated.

Smith remarked that the computer science department at St. Mark’s provides students with an abundant and solid curriculum that is able to foster and develop students’ passions so that they may reach an elite level of both skill and

love for the field.

“I’d say that it’s definitely worth our investment, as providing students with as many diverse opportunities as possible allows them to expand their horizons however they wish,” Smith said.

When asked about non-programmers, Smith took a more reserved tone, respectful of the differences amongst people of our society when it comes to entering new fields or taking up new subjects and passions.

The world of coding and software development isn’t for everyone, but it is for those who seek to look beyond the screens of their devices and wonder, speculate, and imagine how technology is built, controlled, and advanced. the Scientific Marksman

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LOOK I N G TO THE FU TU R E

From

Imagination

to Reality Toussaint Pegues '18

rom the View-Master to the Vive, Virtual Reality (VR) has come a long way, especially in recent years. Most notably, the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive were developed with a focus on the gaming community, in which many individuals will purchase expensive equipment that enhances their “immersive experience”. The Rift and the Vive both use external sensors to track head motion, and are both wired, limiting the user’s range of motion, especially in games.

Cheaper options such as Google’s Daydream View and Samsung’s Gear VR do not link to computers but instead require a smartphone to be connected to the device as the display. The Gear VR, released in 2015, contains the tracking hardware in the headset itself, whereas the 2016 Daydream View relies on the phone’s sensors for head tracking.

Microsoft’s HoloLens, unlike the previously mentioned VR headsets,

F

does not completely obstruct the user’s view of reality, but it instead adds hologram-like images to reality using the display–Augmented Reality (AR).

Google Project Tango, is essentially an upgrade to what Niantic accomplished with AR in Pokémon Go. In Pokémon Go, if the AR option was turned on, a model of a Pokémon would be plastered on top of the camera feed with no regard to the objects in the way. Tango allows devices to map spaces in three dimensions and project images on the phone’s screen as well as on real life objects.

Long have movies depicted UI’s interacted with or blurring the lines between the virtual and reality. And both AR and VR are attempts to help make those depictions come to life. Even Apple has tested a UI that, through the camera, pulls suggestions and directions right on the home screen based on what you can see. Who knows where we’ll see this technology in the future?

The Oculus Rift VR Headset (below), which brings VR technology to a wider audience, has a stereoscopic OLED display, 1080 × 1200 resolution per eye, a 90 Hz refresh rate, and 110° field of view.

In additon to shipping with integrated headphones to provide a 3D Audio Effect, the Oculus Rift has rotational and postion tracking, with in-experience controlled by dynamic handsets (left) and toggles. (photos courtesy Oculus/Facebook, Inc.)

QUICK TAKES

$30,000,000,000 1mil Over 1 million people use Samsung’s Gear VR every month, according to a report

by Oculus in May 2016.

Over 2.3 million people subscribe to Youtube’s official ‘Virtual Reality’ channel – Google’s attempt to mainstream VR tech and exposure.

The VR industry is expected to be worth 30 billion dollars by 2020 according to tech M&A advisory firm Digi-Capital.

There are over 700 Virtual Reality startups with an average evaluation of $4.5 million, and over 200,000 developers have registered to build games for the Oculus Rift.

Currently, there are over 250 apps for the VR ecosystem.

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STAFF

E DITORS- IN - CHIE F Ki l l i an Gre e n '1 7 & R oh i l R ai '1 7

SP ONSORS M s . Nupur Israni & Dr. B onni e Fl i nt

M A N AGING

E DITOR

R a hu l Mag ant i '1 7

A S SO C I ATE

M AN AGING

E DITOR

C a l R ot h k r ug '1 8

COPY

E DITOR

R oh i n Mag ant i '1 7

DE SIGN

DIR EC TOR

Jo sh B andop ad hay '1 7

SEC TION

E DITORS

Z oheb K han '1 8 , Biolog y Nite e sh Ve mur i '1 8 C hemi str y R ohan Ve mu '1 8 , Physic s S a hit D e ndekur i '1 9 , Technolog y

HE AD

PHOTOGR APHE R Ky l e Sm it h '1 9

SECR E TAR IE S A l l an Zhang '1 8 & Je ss e Zhong '1 8

S TAFF C hi r ag G ok an i ' 1 7 , C ame ron B o ss a l i ni '1 7 , Touss ai nt Pe g ue s '1 8 , Kan nan Shar ma ' 1 8 , Ja ck Parol isi '1 8 , D ani el Bye on '1 8 , Ke v i n Fe ng '1 8 , Muj i n Kw u n ' 1 9 , R o shan Ve mu '1 9 , A lb e r t Luo '1 9 , A l e x C h i ng '1 9 , Mark Tao '1 9 , C h r istophe r Wang '2 0

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the

Scientific Marksman 5th Edition | 2016-2017

the Scientific Marksman Volume 05 2016-2017

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