The Scientific Marksman | 2016

the S C I E N T I F I C M A R K S M A N

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somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.

— CARL SAGAN

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Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to truth. – Jules Verne

volume 04

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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S B I O LO GY John Mead and Lee Berger

pg. 6-7

Cafeteria Nutrition

pg. 8-9

Northcut Fossils

pg. 10-11

Joshua Choe

pg. 12-13

CHEMISTRY Glass-Blowing

pg. 16-17

Mr. Valasek

pg. 18-19

Welch

pg. 20-21

Burke Garza

pg. 22-23

A NEW AGE

pg. 24-27

P H YS I C S Rocketry

pg. 30-31

Alan Stern

pg. 32-33

Dr. Balog’s Research

pg. 34-35

Observatory

pg. 36-37

T E C H N O LO GY Engineering Club

pg. 40-41

Terrabyte

pg. 42-43

AP Computer Science

pg. 44-45

Kevin Choi

pg. 46-47

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image courtesy of National Geographic

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section one

JOHN MEAD AND LEE BERGER CAFETERIA NUTRITION NORTHCUT FOSSILS JOSHUA CHOE

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‘NALEDI IT’

On September 10th 2015, Dr. Lee Berger and his team made a discovery that would shock the world of paleontology and challenge assumptions left uncontested for decades.

The identification of a new hominid subspecies, Homo naledi, captured headlines around the world, earning the exhausted scientists well-deserved recognition. In the midst of the discovery, however, there was yet another man who gained acclaim through his involvement with the expedition.

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JOHN MEAD, BIOLOGY TEACHER AND CLOSE FRIEND OF DR. BERGER, ENJOYED AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT THE PROJECT.

iddle school Biology teach John Mead was updated on the expedition’s progress and even visited the excavation site at the Rising Star Cave in South Africa.

But how had Mead established such a close relationship with the world-famous scientist?

The story behind their tightly knit friendship dates back to the summer of 2012.

“I friended him on Facebook because he was a reasonably famous scientist at the time.

I have no idea why he friended me back, but he did.” It’s a thought Mead still ponders as he recounts his close connections to a scientist of celebrity status. At the time, Berger was basking in the glory of his latest find–a novel hominid species called Australopithecus sediba–and was seeking yet another revolutionary find, with magaiznes such as Science and National Geographic eager to invest. Though unsure that he would find anything at all in the caves he had located during such research, Berger hired two passionate cavers, Rick Hunter and Steven Tucker, to explore these caves for fossil skeleton pieces.

His investment would, of course, pay off.

Meanwhile, Mead was busy preparing layouts for the upcoming school year. Looking for an opportunity to make the class more interesting, he called on Dr. Berger to do a demonstration for the middle schoolers.

“I kind of expected him to say, ‘Hey, I’m a busy scientist, would you please leave me alone.’ But to my surprise, he was completely willing to.” Berger came down to St. Mark’s

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for the first time that November, and after a busy day on campus, he was impressed.

So impressed that he invited Mead to South Africa to spend an entire week working at Rising Star.

But Mead declined.

“You’re thinking I’m crazy,” Mead laughs.

“Well, I was contracted for a summer job at St. Mark’s, and he had a very specific week in mind that I couldn’t make.” As fate would have it, however, the job was cancelled, and Mead finally got his chance to go to South Africa and work at their camp over the summer of 2013. At the time, Berger was further examining his findings with A. sediba.

Later in the year, Mead learned of the Homo naledi project and received a group email from Lee Berger that read, “October

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I think it’s r Everyone knew I knew stuff. But I had to keep my lips shut. The toughest part for me was on the last day, he gives me a Rising Star baseball cap and says, ‘You can’t wear it until September 10th.

– Middle School Biology Teacher John Mead

1st will be a great day in paleoanthropology.”

“That was all it said,” Mead explains. “It was a scratch-your-head what-is-he-talking-about kind of moment.”

All the way in South Africa, Berger was equally baffled. He had been approached earlier that night by Tucker and Hunter, who had finally returned with photos of an un-

derground room, later termed the Dinaledi Chamber, littered with fossil bones. Berger recognized the signficance of such bones but couldn’t yet identify their implication without further evidence. Berger showed the photos to the National Geographic Society in an attempt to launch an excavation and put out a Facebook advertisement looking for paleoanthropologists who could defy human capabilities to access the Dinaledi Chamber.

By November 2013, a large-scale expedition was underway.

During the first days at Rising Star, Berger did something that was never done before during a paleontological expedition: he live-tweeted on an hourly basis. Back at St. Mark’s, Mead would read and explain each tweet to his students. He would then create videos in which he read the tweets on his blog and documented the day’s work. Mead remained in contact with Berger throughout the expedition, all the way from its conception in 2013 to its close in 2014. Throughout that span of time, he was regularly updated with the progress of Homo naledi, but sworn to silence on its progress. In November 2014, right as the expedition ended, Berger flew back to Dallas and was invited once again

by Mead to talk at St. Mark’s and Hockaday.

On leaving for the airport right after the presentations finished, Berger made an offer to Mead: a chance to lead an exclusive National Geographic tour to South Africa in the summer of 2015 and visit the Dinaledi Chamber.

This time, Mead agreed.

“And so we jumped through the hoops we needed to do and everything was set,”

Mead proudly displays his own Homo naledi casts, presented to him by Dr. Berger himself.

Mead remembers, “But then I got a phone call over spring break that broke my heart that said they had cancelled the trip. There just wasn’t enough interest.” Despite the setback, Mead was still offered an invitation to visit Berger in South Africa for two weeks over the summer. He used the opportunity to interview all the major players at Rising Star, while visiting fossil vaults and meeting popular scientists at camp. The challenging part, however, was not the visit itself. It was the return.

After a two month wait, the announcement of Homo naledi was made successfully to the general public. But most shocking to Mead was the attention his relationship with

Berger received.

“I wound up being in the Scientific American,” Mead recalls, “It was also covered

by Channel 8 and Dallas Morning News.”

The news stories essentially covered Mead’s friendship with Berger and his associates in South Africa, earning him newfound fame.

Mead’s biggest takeaway on the entire experience, however, was a newfound ambition to allow science teachers around the world access to real-time research expeditions and seasoned scientists.

“One thing that really surprises me about this whole experience is that I’ve gotten all this press coverage. Why? Is it really worthy of Scientific American that a teacher and a

scientist have a relationship? That should not be a big deal. That should be happening all the time. Scientists should be actively involved with teachers to bring modern teachers into classes. I get a lot of credit here that really isn’t due me. I asked someone to do something, and they could have said no.

And had they refused, I would have gone on with my life. People should put themselves out there, and the worst-case scenario usually isn’t too bad. If you never ask, nothing happens.” (written by sophomores Niteesh Vemuri and Rohan Vemu)

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Me dioc

Kan na

re? n Sh

arm

a an

It’s that moment in the day that we most look forward to: lunch.

But we take this for granted. In many schools, the lunches aren’t as high-quality or nutritious.

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hoard of students file into the cafeteria. As they glance at the LED menu situated above the serving stations, they sigh in disappointment. This situation is a common occurrence for most students as many consider the status of the food served in the cafeteria “mediocre”.

“Lunch food is an easy target and something that people generally complain about,” Director of Food Services Sally Stephens said.

For years school lunch has been the target of much scrutiny; however, the standards set by the cafeteria are truly remarkable when compared to public schools around the metroplex.

The cafeteria staff tries to provide an abundance of nutritious food choices in hopes that students can make the healthier choice.

If you make good lunch options available, then students will often choose to eat them" Stephens said.

For this reason, the school has gotten rid of the fryer, high sugar foods, and daily desserts. Instead, it has chosen to implement low fat dairy products, frozen yogurt, and baked options.By regularly maintaining a salad bar, sandwich bar, and a hot food line, the cafeteria seeks to provide every student a chance to eat something he wants to.

“We try to have something for everybody,” Stephens said.

In order to continue providing its diversity of food, the cafeteria chooses to stay away from cycle menus like

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those found at public school where the same food is given each week. The cafeteria workers even sit down every Thursday to lay out a new menu for the students.

Contrary to St. Mark’s, public schools follow the national school lunch program. It mandates schools to serve certain percentages of the food groups to every single student.

Stephens outlines the issue with this system: “The problem with public schools is that they have so much waste because they are required to offer certain types of foods and eliminate others, the kids don't need the food, they don't want it, and they just toss it into the trash can. This leads to a waste of both money and food."

This misuse of resources causes many public schools to relinquish the cafeteria to fast food restaurants, like in the case of James Martin High School in Arlington, Texas where Taco Bell, Subway, Pizza Hut, and Arby’s are served. Although this may seem like an ideal to kids, it is very unhealthy and has adverse effects on students.

Through its dedication to offer diverse and nutritious meals to the student body, The St. Mark’s cafeteria proves that it is ahead of the game compared to public schools, showing how our lunches are far from mediocre.

d Sa

hit D

end

ekur

i

Right: Awaiting the rush of hungry students, the cafeteria is preparing to serve three 45-minute lunch periods. In order to serve every student, food must be continually prepared and served accordingly.

Left: Cleaning the cafeteria countertops, the cafeteria staff make sure that the food is prepared in a clean and spotless environment. In order to serve over 800 students, faculty, and guests, the staff have to be efficient.

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A TIMELESS PASSION

ANDREW LI AND ALLAN ZHANG

IT’S BEEN A LIFELONG PASSION FOR HIM: FOSSILS. THE MYSTERIOUS NATURE AND INFORMATION THAT CAN BE DISCOVERED FROM FOSSILS CONTINUES TO MAKE HIM COME BACK TO FIND MORE, TO HELP HIM BECOME MORE KNOWLEDGABLE ABOUT LIFE 65 MILLION YEARS AGO. IT’S JUST A PASSION FOR DAN NORTHCUT ‘81.

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round one hundred million years ago, a young plesiosaur died in a shallow sea during the Cretaceous era, and the fossilized remains of this creature were discovered by science instructor Dan Northcut ‘81. Northcut started his geology career when he was only a boy.

“My father was a field geologist,” Northcut said, “and he took me fossil hunting when I was a little kid.”

Northcut’s father worked for a cement company that used limestone and shale to make cement, and “places where limestone meets shale would be really fossiliferous,” Northcut explained. The duo would search primarily for shark teeth and occasionally even stumble upon vertebrae. The incomplete set of vertebrae from the plesiosaur fossil that Northcut found earlier this year came

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from a similar limestone quarry just south of Dallas in a geologic formation from the Cretaceous period.

Northcut’s fossil are the remains of a young plesiosaur approximately 1.5 meters long (full-length plesiosaurs reach up to seven meters long). Northcut admits that he has been unable to determine its cause of death because he has not been able to clean it thoroughly enough yet. But, because the individual bones of the fossil were not scattered but were instead found in a small area with the vertebral structure perfectly intact, Northcut was able to deduce that the many of the bones all originated from the same organism.

Although Northcut was not able to find all of the bones of the plesiosaur, there is still plenty of work and much to learn from the existing bones.

Northcut hopes to share his passion for geology and recommends any students aspiring to be geologists or fossil hunters to search the internet for local

fossil hunting groups. Northcut remarks that a particular group, the Dallas Paleontological Society, “basically just talks about fossils” and meets once a month while arranging fossil digs for the group to go to.

Northcut also suggests for individual fossil fanatics to explore construction sites, where machinery commonly displace large amounts of land, exposing outcroppings of rock. Northcut claims that construction workers are usually extremely helpful and aid fossil hunters by guiding them to new unexplored areas.

When questioned about his own decision to pursue geology, Northcut remarked that his natural curiosity and interest for earth sciences influenced him to continue studying and learn more about the earth that humans live on.

“When I see rocks,” Northcut said, “it makes me excited. It gets me excited learning more about them. The more geology I learn, the more I understand why things are the way they are.”

Right: Proudly, Northcut holds his plesisour fossils. The plesisour is thought to be 1.5 metes in length. Below: On display are all the plesisour fossils that Northcut found.

He has to clean them

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A STORY AGAINST THE ODDS NITEESH VEMURI AND ROHAN VEMU

FEW UPPER SCHOOLERS DO IT. EVEN FEWER ARE SUCCESSFUL. BUT SENIOR JOSHUA CHOE HAS DONE IT: HE’S RESEARCHING CANCER IN A LABORATORY WITH GRADUATE STUDENTS. CHOE, HOWEVER, HASN’T TOSSED THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THE WIND. HE’S USED IT TO DEVELOP A PASSION IN RESEARCH. HE’S USED IT TO FIND A POTENTIAL DRUG THAT WOULD HAVE FEWER SIDE EFFECTS THAN MORE TOXIC DRUGS USED TO COMBAT CANCER. HE’S USING IT TO HELP OTHERS.

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hile research internships for high-school students have become common, few students delve into their topic as thoroughly and passionately as senior Joshua Choe.

“Over the summer, I researched lung cancer,” Choe said. “Specifically, we tried to find a biomarker, or potentially therapeutic target, for squamous lung-cell carcinoma.”

Although he encountered obstacles during his research, Choe and his team managed to overcome them and make progress towards his goal of creating a more accurate diagnosis of squamous lung-cell carcinoma.

“We investigated the metabolism of squamous lung-cell carcinoma,” Choe said. “We found that it has an increased lactate production, which is indicative of cancer cells, also known as the Warbird Effect.”

The Warbird Effect is a common characteristic ofcancer cells.

Seeing its potential, Choe and this team began to focus their research on this effect.

The Warbird Effect is a characteristic of cancer cells,” Choe said, “where cancer cells divert their energy-production away from the TCA [The Citric Acid] Cycle by upregulating PDK-1 [pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase]. So it [the cancer cell] prevents it from going in TCA cycle, and keeps it in glycolysis.”

Although the Adenosine Tri-Phosphate (ATP) yield of glycolysis is low, the cancer cell keeps itself in glycolysis, so it can produce carbon skeletons.

“The carbon skeletons are very crucial for growth for things like DNA, lipids, proteins, and other things,” Choe said.

Ultimately, Choe came to the conclusion that, if he targeted Glut1, or glucose-1 transporter, he could prevent the cancer cell’s main energy source: glucose.

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“This [Choe’s research] will allow for more accurate diagnosis of lung SQCC,” Choe said. “Lung SQCC has a high-mortality rate, but it isn’t highly researched.

There aren’t many targeted treatment options. It also accounts for around 25 – 30 percent of lung cancers, so it is pretty common.

Our research allows for a better diagnosis as well as safer treatment for Lung SQCC.” Choe also believes that the drugs he will use to target the biomarkers that he researched will potentially be less toxic and have fewer side effects than drugs used today.

“Most chemotherapy drugs, cisplatin in particular, have a broad effect and side effects,” Choe said. “Because of its high toxicity, they have to use a very low concentration, which obviously won’t have a high effect on the tumor.”

Although professors and other researchers may look down upon Choe’s research because he is a high-school student, his diligent and passionate work in the laboratory has already earned him numerous distinctions such as being named a finalist for the 2016 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. As he leaves St. Mark’s, he will continue to conduct research on his potential therapeutic treatment for Lung SQCC.

Working to Perfection Choe prepares samples of bacteria on petri dishes to experiment on. In order to have accurate results and an effective procedure, Choe had to pay attention to every small detail.

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image courtesy of National Geographic

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section two

GLASS-BLOWING MR. VALASEK WELCH BURKE GARZA

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the unique twist of

GLASSBLOWING For chemistry teacher Kenneth R. Owens, glass-blowing is more than a mere pastime.

It is a hobby that has now become a part of who he is.

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:00pm. Corning, New York. The

suburban sky is black and motionless, the air filled with tranquil tones of the summer night. Inside an unsuspecting studio burns a bright little fire, illuminating thousands of glistening glass-working pieces on top of tables and high shelves. Chemistry teacher Kenneth Owens ’89 leans over a blazing, half-completed beaker, shaping the top to a smooth circle and flattening the edges until they connect gracefully to a flattened bottom.

Venturing on the second such journey in the past five years, Owens explains his desire to return to the glassblowing studio: “I really didn’t know much more than my students did, and I wanted to. Glass is fascinating as a material, and I wanted to be better at working with it.” Like any other art form, glass making is a process that requires patience, creativity, and primarily focus to create an object that is worthy of admiration.

During the time spent at the studio, Owens experimented with glossy textures and colored glass, allowing him to design and create a variety of vibrant pieces. While this aspect of glass making may not have any practical applications in the sciences, it does provide enthusiasts like Owens the opportunity to explore art in a more inventive sense.

Over the course of the workshop, he not only acquired useful knowledge and incited creative inspiration, but he also formed relationships with other attendees, illustrating the importance of glassblowing as a group activity. “The group would often eat together if we finished together,” Owens said.

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“They’d also go out to dinner together and, depending on the other activities available, either go out to them or go back to the studio and work.” The time spent working was well worth the effort, proving to be a fulfilling and pleasurable endeavor as a whole.

Despite facing countless technical obstacles, Owens was one of the most active members among his peers in the studio. “The flame shop opened at 8 am and closed at 11 pm, and people could stay as late as they wanted,” Owens said. “I often stayed until

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Getting out and seeing what other teachers are doing. what other professionals are doing, and trying out a new activity or hobby helps you keep your work here novel .

- Chemistry Teacher Ken R. Owens

9pm or 10pm or later.”

The very aspects of glassblowing that often make it aggravatingly difficult make it an enjoyable task for hink about each step ...you want to realize you need to be in third gear and make that happen...without having to go through each step of shifting from whatever gear you’re in to get the stick to where it needs to be.”

Throughout the two-week camp, Owens learned from capable instructor Emiliano Santini, a descendant of a glass-blowing family hailing from Murano, Venice and Mr. Brynes, a thirty-year veteran of the glass

industry and experienced glass art instructor.

“Both instructors were willing to demonstrate techniques and pieces to us, and then let us work on whatever we wanted,” Owens said. “And the instructors set a high bar for us, while letting us work at our own pace.”

There was a lot to be learned from his two teachers, and he tried to make the most of every moment.

From beautiful pieces of scintillating art to functional beakers and Erlenmeyer flasks, Owens spent the weeks pursuing his passion for both art and Chemistry. He advises, “The school is generous with its support of the faculty’s professional development, both in time and financially. Getting out and seeing what other teachers are doing, what other professionals are doing, and trying out a new activity or hobby helps to keep your work here novel and interesting,” Owens said.

While building his own creative designs for personal enjoyment, he also hopes to able to make useful glasswork inventory for the science program, a valuable investment that could potentially save money for the school in future years. “Anything you can bring back to the classroom to show the students gives you something new to do with them.”

With the support of the school, Owens continues to pursue his unique passion for a skill that only a few teachers around the country have the opportunity to do. Owens explains, “I’ve always appreciated this about the school and anyone who can take advantage of that support should do so.”

Chemistry teacher Ken Owens ‘89 focuses intently on manipulating a thin piece of glassware 17

Never-Ending Knowledge Story by Kanaan Sharma

Teacher. Air Force Officer. Humanitarian. These three jobs describe “Doc” Nelson Master Teacher Jon Valasek.

Valasek has worked at St. Mark’s for 31 years, and over the years he has used his knowledge of the world to contribute to the growth of his students.

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fter graduating from college, Valasek knew he wanted to teach, but he decided that he did not want his job to keep him grounded in one place.

“If I want to teach,” Valasek said, “I wanted to travel the world first.”

So, he went into the Air Force and became a Communication Electronics Officer. “The people I supervised would build security for the troops in Vietnam,” he said. “They would set up a wire perimeter system which would set off alarms if the enemy approached the camp . . . it was like a home security system.”

While protecting our troops, Valasek also had the opportunity to work with the world’s first computers.

“We installed one of the first kinds of computers in England,” Valasek said. “It was interesting because the computer was so big that we had to cut the wall down in order to get it into the room.”

While in the Air Force, Valasek encountered many dangerous situations though he was not heavily involved in the actual fighting during the Vietnam War. “One of the most harrowing experiences I had happened in Thailand,” Valasek recalls.

“We were stationed in Korat, and we were going to our base in an eighteen wheeler...the vehicle had broken down, and we didn’t have a phone. A bus which was going to Korat came along and I got on . . . good thing there were no bad guys on board.”

After the Air Force, Valasek worked at six different places before coming to St. Mark’s.

“The reason why I’m a teacher is because of the students . . . we teachers make a difference without even knowing. For instance, I taught a remedial science class. It was for

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seniors who needed one more science class to graduate, but they really didn’t want to be there. They all had bad attitudes, but I would always stand outside the door and greet them every morning.”

Valasek never really thought of his impact on the kids until he received a phone call from one of them. “He thanked me for always starting his day off with a positive attitude.” Valasek’s positive attitude led the student to actually enjoy science: “I didn’t really do anything extraordinary, but it really affected somebody.”

Not only does Valasek help and affect the lives of his students. He also changes the lives of children all over the world as he takes trips

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This is an One of the most harrowing experiences I had happened in Thailand. We were stationed in Korat, and we were going to our base in an eighteen wheeler...the vehicle had broken down, and we didn’t have a phone. A bus which was going to Korat came along and I got on . . . good thing there were no bad guys on board.

– Master Teacher, Jon Valasek

to Uganda every year to help underprivileged orphans.

“My wife and I go to Uganda every year,” Valasek said. “We work at orphanage houses . . . most of the parentless children have been abandoned because their parents

have A.I.D.S. These orphanages raise the kids, and we try to get people in America to pay for the orphans’ education.”

Valasek also paints and fixes the orphans’ houses, teaches them, and distributes food to the needy. His efforts have truly paid off: one of those orphans went on to become a doctor.

Over the years, Valasek has noticed great strides in technology: “The technology we had in the Air Force was like two tin cans and a string...I’ve seen so much change. I went through four generations of computers.”

Similarly, Valasek has also witnessed much change in the education system.

“We would spend a whole day with quadratic equation and log tables to figure out chemistry problems,” Valasek said. “You can probably do that in a few strokes on a calculator. Technology has improved, but it caused people to stop thinking and to stop problem solving . . . I’m sorry to see that go.”

Valasek thanks the Air Force units he worked in, the schools he has taught at, and the African villages he has volunteered in for offering him opportunities that forever changed his life. Likewise, he encourages anyone to take advantage of any opportunity he or she gets.

Valasek said, “The Air Force moved me every two years, so I had really gotten used to all the moving . . . I think it was a cool opportunity because it was a new experience and a new deal. If you get a job or an opportunity and you like it, then you should

Even after his riveting life experiences, Jon Valasek continues his passion of teaching as stands at the board and shows his 10th grade chemistry students the basics of chemical equilibrium.

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The Path to Modernity Cal Rothkrug

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A summary of juniors Michael Wang and Kaden Han’s research while attending the Welch summer chemistry program.

uniors Kaden Han and Michael Wang each had the chance to make some contributions to science last summer while performing research with different teams seeking to discover the catalytic properties of various perovskites as well as useful inorganic phosphors, respectively. While attending the Welch Summer Program at UT Austin, Han and Wang had the opportunity of working in “elaborate chemical engineering labs”.

The objective of Han’s research was “to discover the catalytic properties of various perovskites”. Perovskites are materials with a crystal structure in the form ABC3, where the A is usually a cation, the B is a transition metal, and the C is an anion. The motivation of this research is driven by the prospect of having efficient fuel cells one day.

Fuel cells are devices that electrochemically react oxygen with hydrogen rich, organic compounds that serve as the “fuel”. In most cases, catalysts are used to speed up the oxidation process.

The catalysts currently being used in these fuel cells are often comprised of expensive elements such as platinum and ruthenium.

Perovskites offer a cheap

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alternative solution to these expensive materials.

The small research team, including Han and several professors and graduate students, tested the perovskites LaNiO3, LaCoO3, LaFeO3, and LaCrO3.

“We loaded a glassy carbon electrode with the catalyst and put it into a three electrode cell, and then ran the reaction in a range of potentials and measured current,” Han said.

Each day of the experiment, they tested a different perovskite six times on six electrodes. To account for the results, they measured the potential and current output of each catalytic oxidation that determined which perovskite was the most active.

“A high reading of activity with the catalyst indicated that it was good,” Han said.

The team found that the lanthanum nickelic

oxide was the best catalyst in the methanol and ethanol oxidations while none of the other perovskites proved to have significant impact on the reactions. This research could potentially lead to replacing expensive fuel cell catalysts with economical perovskites.

When asked about the influence that St. Mark’s lab procedures had on his abilities to perform the experiments for his research, Han said, “It provided the very basics, but most of what I was exposed to was brand new.”

In another project unrelated to Han’s research, the objective of Wang’s research was to find an inorganic phosphor that could lead to providing more efficient and cost effective sources of white light. A phosphor is a luminescent material that is commonly found in lighting applications. Wang and the rest of people in his research team sought to

Conven&onal solid state ligh&ng (SSL) devices produce white light by using an inorganic phosphor to downconvert blue or near-UV-photons produced by a light emi?ng diode (LED).

The combina&on of the par&al down-conversion and the LED emission is a broad spectrum.

Appears as white light.

SSL Advantages High efficiency Small, compact size Long device life:mes Chemically stable Contain environmentally benign materials The phosphors used must strongly absorb the wavelength produced by the LED

Phosphors consist of a host structure subs<tuted with a luminescent center, usually a rare-earth element such as Ce3+ or Eu2+.

When placed in a host laEce, the d orbitals of Ce3+ or Eu2+ are crystal field split. This spliEng generates d orbitals of low enough energy that transi<ons from f to d result in photons in the visible region.

Phosphors must possess ordered crystal host structures free from defects and disorder.

Defects and disorder result in undesired non radia<ve relaxa<on pathways limi<ng photoluminescent quantum yield (PLQY).

identify an inorganic phosphor that, when used with an LED chip, could produce an efficient and cheap source of white light.

“Inorganic phosphors down-convert short wavelengths of light emitted by the LED chip into longer wavelengths, covering the whole visible light spectrum and producing white light,” Wang said. “We tried to find the phosphor that had the best luminescent properties.”

The team started off by preparing polycrystalline samples of various borophosphates (intermediate compounds comprised of boron and phosphate groups) by means of high-temperature solid state reactions.

They ground the powder samples using a mortar and pestle before heating them in-

side aluminum crucibles for 10 hours at 500 degrees Celsius. They proceeded to grind the products as well as heat them again at 900 degrees Celsius for 54 hours.

“I measured my results using X-ray powder diffraction, a fluorimeter, and different wavelengths of lights ranging from UV to the visible spectrum,” Wang said.

“These devices all measured the luminescent properties of the powders.”

Aware of which wavelengths were ideal, Wang and the team were able to compare their results with the expected values.

“I knew how the powders were supposed to luminesce under certain wavelengths of light, so I could compare my results with the expected results,” Wang said.

Wang’s findings could lead to the introduction of more cost efficient and more efficient sources of white light that can replace incandescent or fluorescent bulbs.

“My experience in labs at St. Mark’s taught me the basics of lab safety and procedure, so this helped me have a solid foundation at the research program,” Wang said. “My findings can be applied to the real world because finding an efficient source of white light that can replace incandescent or fluorescent light bulbs is a goal that is very beneficial. An efficient source of white light would help the economy and the environment.”

Motivations • The study of perovskites as a catalyst for ethanol and methanol oxidation is motivated both in a practical direction and a purely scientific direction • From a practical perspective, methanol and ethanol oxidation are reactions crucial for a new generation of fuel cells • One of the major limitations for these fuel cells is the cost of current catalysts, often platinum, that often make such fuel cells extremely expensive Motivations and • Perovskites offer a cheap alternative that uses materials that can Data for Hans’ be readily found in contrast to rare earth metals that are research. currently being used • In general, much more research is needed to better understand perovskites not only in alcohol oxidations, but also as a potential catalyst for other reactions. This study hopes to contribute to further our understanding of perovskites in hope of finding applications in the future

Luminescence Tests from Wang’s Research Sr0.25Ba0.75BPO5 BaBPO5

Sr0.75Ba0.25BPO5

Sr0.75Ba0.25BPO5

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BROWNIAN MOTION

BURKE GARZA ’15 IS EXPLORING AN AREA OF CHEMSITRY THAT ST. MARK’S RARELY TOUCHES.

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urke Garza ‘15 grabs an opportunity to expand his chemistry knowledge by taking a research position from February to August in Houston, where he attends college at Rice University. Garza plans to work with small particles such as carbon nanotubes.

“The guy that I’m working with is working with really small particles, like carbon nanotubes,” Garza said. “I’m there to help him with the experiments in the lab.”

More specifically, Garza will study the nature of Brownian Motion and how atoms are affected by it.

“Because all particles experience what’s called Brownian Motion, the experiments and the particles I’m working with become really finicky, so I just help with keeping the experiments in the lab under control,” Garza said.

Brownian Motion is the random motion of particles suspended in a fluid (a liquid or a gas) resulting from their collision with the quick atoms or molecules in the gas or liquid. Garza will work with Steve Kuei, who majored in chemical and biological engineer-

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ing at Princeton University. This synergizes well with Garza’s major at Rice University, chemical engineering.

Kuei has published numerous research papers, mostly pertaining to the dynamics of

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Even though what I’m doing right now might not directly impact my future career, I think that what I’m doing right now certainly can’t hurt me, and I’m getting a ton of valuable experience from the lab I’m doing.

-Burke Garza, Class of 2015

biopolymers in response to thermal forces.

“The mechanical properties of biopolymers can be determined from a statistical analysis of the ensemble of shapes they exhibit when subjected to thermal forces,” Kuei said.

Biopolymers are polymeric substances occurring in living organisms. However, Kuei faces a similar problem with his new experiment he is conducting with Garza that he did with his biopolymer experiment: most of the data is hard to obtain and very finicky.

“In practice, extracting information from

fluorescence microscopy images can be challenging due to low signal or noise ratios and other artifacts,” Kuei said.

Even with the difficult experiments, Garza believes the research he and Kuei are conducting will be helpful for Garza. Ultimately, Garza traces his interest in chemistry back to St. Mark’s.

“I always knew I liked chemistry, but taking [Kenneth] Owen’s and [Jon] Valesek’s chemistry classes really increased my interest,” Garza said.

With his current position, Garza is content and satisfied.

“I’m super excited and pumped for the work I’m about to conduct with Steve Kuei,” Garza said. “I would definitely recommend anything like this to any student who is currently interested in the realm of science.”

(Story written by freshman Mark Tao)

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the start of a

A NEW AGE

WHILE THE NEW SCIENCE BUILDING WILL BRING A NEEDED REFRESH TO OUTDATED FACILITIES, MORE IMPORTANTLY IT WILL FOSTER GREATER SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY.

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t’s 1961.

John F. Kennedy is president, and a gallon of gas costs a mere 27 cents.

There’s also a new building on the St. Mark’s Campus. It’s the McDermott– Green Physical Science Center–it’s one of the most advanced high school science facilities in the country.

The building rivals many of the prestigious preparatory schools in the Northeast–schools that aren’t used to competition from the South in the field of science. Among its advanced, futuristic-like facilities are a planetarium-observatory and closed circuit TV connecting every classroom and office.

“It was forward-looking, it was visionary, it was future-oriented,” current Headmaster David Dini said. “It incorporated equipment and facilities that were inspiring. It had equipment that was unheard-of for a school at that time, and it was largely because of our close connections with TI, co-founders that funded that project.”

Since that time, the cost of a gallon of gas has increased nine-fold, Marilyn Monroe has come and gone, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has made his mark on America through leading a civil rights movement, but the McDermott-Green Physical Science Center still stands.

Now, amid another great time of unprecedented change, Dini believes it’s time for a new scientific revolution at St. Mark’s.

This change will come through the creation of the Winn Science Center.

“In many ways it’s not necessarily a new direction of the science program as much as it is an amplification of what we already do,” Dini said. “And, in many ways, I’ve talked about this as a recapitalization of the energy that was created by the construction of the math-science quad when it opened in 1961.”

Dini hopes that the new facilities will provide new resources that will reinforce the current direction of the science program.

“Our hope is that the new building will propel us forward in similar kinds of ways by expanding on what we already do,” he said, “and by providing a wider array of facilities to leverage what are already really strong programs across the disciplines, and to create sufficient space for full implementation of programs that currently might be limited by space constraints.” (continued on next page)

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(continued from previous page) have the equipment or space to do that in The lack of sufficient resources in the this building.” current building can hamper students from Northcut believes the new facilities will conducting more thorough research in cerenable his students to conduct a greater tain fields like robotics and DNA science. variety of experiments and will better acThe new building will provide new lab commodate many long-term environmental spaces for biology and chemistry, a more experiments. spacious lecture hall, a new state-of-the-art “The new greenhouse will have a displanetarium, and a lower school classplay-type area but also have an area where room in an effort to eliminate many of the we can do horticulture and actually get out resource-linked limitations of the current there and get our hands dirty,” he said. “The facility. environmental science room will be connect“There will be an environmental science ed to the greenhouse. So we’ll be able to do space, a DNA space, and a large maker space the good, basic environmental science labs adjacent to the entrance of the building that that right now are very difficult to do. It’ll be will have a shop attached to it,” Dini said. nice just to have the space to set up long term “And then [the experiments, because a building] will also lot of the environmenhave robotics and tal science stuff really information engiis longer term.”

There are certain kinds of things I would like neering as well as In addition to the to be able to do with plants, pesticides, and all several rooms that benefits that the new other kinds of stuff, but I don’t really have the will be defined for building will have for equipment or space to do that in this building computer science as Northcut’s Middle and well, which is also Upper School classes, – AP Environmental Science instructor Dan Northcut new.” he indicates how the Many of the faculty in the science departimprovements will impact even the youngest ment anticipate massive improvements to marksmen on campus. their particular disciplines, changes that will “From Lower School on up we’ll be able reinforce their current curriculums and will to have projects where they can plant things enable their students to delve deeper into and they can grow things, and it won’t be various scientific fields with new equipment just to look at and learn from but to work at, and technology. work in, and learn from,” Northcut said.

AP Environmental Science instructor Dan Likewise, instructor Doug Rummel Northcut is especially excited for the opporbelieves that the new facilities will accelerate tunities offered by the future building’s new the current DNA science program toward greenhouse and dedicated environmental more sophisticated student research. science space.

“The new biotech lab is dedicated to DNA “Right now we have AP Environmental science all the time,” Rummel said. “The idea Science in an Earth science room,” he said. is that if you want to do a big project, that “There are certain kinds of things I would you don’t have to go to UT Southwestern like to be able to do with plants, pesticides, Hospital, you could get a significant amount and all other kinds of stuff, but I don’t really of work done here.”

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OUR HOPE IS THAT THE NEW BUILDING WILL PROPEL US FORWARD IN SIMILAR KINDS OF WAYS

BY EXPANDING ON WHAT WE ALREADY DO AND BY PROVIDING A WIDER ARRAY OF FACILITIES TO LEVERAGE WHAT ARE ALREADY REALLY STRONG PROGRAMS. – Headmaster David Dini

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Stephen M. Seay ‘68 Science Department Chair Fletcher Carron also believes that the new building’s makerspace will enhance the hands-on discovery aspects of engineering at St. Mark’s, highlighting it as an opportunity for students to allow their creativity to flow freely.

“The makerspace is a big room with all the tools we think might need to create stuff such as robots, scratch-built sensors that can be used to gather data, and a 3D printer object to solve a design problem in a class,” Carron said. “It has places to plug-in computers and do coding. Maybe areas to test out your robot. Inside it will have 3D printers, an automated milling machine, a laser cutter, and a whole other set of hand tools.”

The makerspace will serve a similar purpose to the shop connected to it, though there will be many differences between the two spaces.

“It’s different from a shop in that it’s not designed to be a dirty area filled with sawdust and power tools,” Carron said. “It could allow kids to do all types of mechatronic projects, being sort of like where mechanics meets electrical engineering and computer science. The other tools that allow for more heavy duty manufacturing will be in an adjacent shop.”

In addition to enhancing the current curriculum at St. Mark’s, many instructors believe that the new science building will encourage student research.

“The building will have a lot more display space,” biology instructor Mark Adame said, “so I’m hoping to display stuff that I have to keep in my classroom, as well as any work that the students do, such as posters they make. It would be nice for people to come in and see what the guys are working on outside of the classroom.”

Physics teacher and Cecil H. and Ida

Green Master Teaching Chair Stephen Balog the same time. the alumni can bring in their materials and identifies a growing partnership with the The applications of the new system will ex- use our makerspace.”

University of Texas at Austin that may lead tend into language and literature as well.

Along with connections to the alumni to a greatly enhanced Astronomy program in “If you wanted to travel to different places network, Dini believes that the facilities will the new building. and show what’s around there, you get a betfoster growth in the greater Dallas commu“Because we’re building up this partnerter understanding of some of the stories and nity. ship, what it allows us to have access to is of what the authors are trying to produce,” “I think it’s a matter of really opening up astronomical data to enhance the astronomy Balog said. “There’s our programs and class and to expand it into maybe more than a feature that allows resources and making just a semester course, maybe move it to a me to go in and put it as accessible to the full year course.” in Chinese consteloutside world as we Because we’re building up this partnership, Like Adame, Balog sees the new facility as lations to enhance possibly can,” Dini said what it allows us to have access to is astroan opportunity for students to push further the Chinese about the extended nomical data to enhance the astronomy class into fields that interest them. program, Spanand to expand it into maybe more than just a impact of the new “It opens a door for us,” Balog said, “to ish constellations building. “We want semester course, maybe move it to a full year send students down for internships or to enhance the to make sure that we course. studies not only at Fort Davis, where the big Spanish program, create every opportu– Cecil H. and Ida Green Master McDonald’s Observatory is, but also at UT or if we go into any nity we possibly can Teaching Chair Stephen Balog Austin or the Magellan Telescope in Peru.” other language we programmatically The state-of-the-art planetarium that the can add that in too.” in terms of bringing new center will feature is one of the main But despite all the advances the people to St. Mark’s, whether it’s people reasons for this partnership. new building will bring to the current from higher education or from other schools “The new digital systems allow you to do science programs at St. Mark’s, the greatest around the region, and certainly the oppormore than just a starfield, which is what the potential of the new facilities may lie in the tunity for students from other schools in old, analog ones could do,” Balog said conestablishment of new connections with St. Dallas to come to St. Mark’s.” cerning the new system.

Mark’s alumni and with the larger scientific The overall influence that the new buildBalog emphasizcommunity. ing will have on St. Mark’s will rely on how es the impact that “What we want the students, faculty, and other community this improved planis to open up more of members take advantage of the valuable tools etarium will have the science program’s that will be at their disposal.

The building will have a lot more display on departments discussions for having “Leveraging that resource is something space, so I’m hoping to display stuff that I other than science. people in the lecture we absolutely want to do,” Dini continued, have to keep in my classroom, as well as any “We’re gonhall, ” Balog said, “in order to make sure that we’re making work that the students do, such as posters they na have to new “monthly science talks, the most of the Winn science center and the make. modules that will and getting some of programs that go on in that facility. That’s – AP Biology instructor Mark Adame be attached to the alumni involved.” really the focus.” the planetarium projector,” he said. “One is Balog elaborates on how accessible called the living earth, and it’s a live global the new facilities may be to non-students.

Story by Tim Skapek view. It puts an entire globe up there, and “We’re talking about a system in you can put different layers on it. You can which we can train people how to use the add in cultural layers or national boundaries. equipment, and then we can use the maker You can have that shift over time so you can space just like the Mullen Fitness center: the watch history and different areas reacting at alumni can come in and do their fitness; well

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image courtesy of Bing

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section three

ROCKETRY ALAN STERN DR. BALOG RESEARCH OBSERVATORY

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Senior Alden James listens in on a lecture (top) from mission control at NASA Headquarters.

At the end of the event, all of the participants gather together (left) for a memorable photo opportunity. James and his colleagues pose for a photo (above) outside NASA Mission Control.

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UP, UP, AND AWAY STORY BY ANDREW LI AND ALLAN ZHANG

WE’RE GOING ON A TRIP IN OUR FAVORITE ROCKET SHIP, ZOOMING THROUGH THE SKIES, LITTLE EINSTEINS.

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ASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was founded in 1958 and eventually developed a program for budding rocketry students; senior Ward Rushton attended this program. Fascinated with rocketry ever since a young age, Rushton found himself at home in Rocketry club, which he now heads. “Chemistry is my favorite branch of science, but [one] can’t ever compete in chemistry, do it at home, or show off to other people without special equipment, so rocketry is a lot of fun as it is very visual,” Rushton said. But Rushton was surprised to receive an email from college counselor Casey Gendason regarding an opportunity to expand his rocketry knowledge.

Rushton said, “Mr. Gendason actually got an email about the program. It’s called HAS High School Aerospace Scholars. NASA did it for a couple of years on and off. Mr. Gendason sent an email to Alden [James] and me

and said that this was right up your alley. It didn’t require a whole lot of effort. It’s a very doable amount of work, and every two weeks or so, you have to turn in a paper, some extra math problems, and some research. Over the course of the school year, you do an extra third of classwork, but then you get to go to NASA for a week in the summer.”

Once at NASA, Rushton enjoyed every moment of it, saying “We all split into groups, and the main theme was “How to get to Mars.” My group’s job was setting up the robots and determining how many we wanted, why we wanted that number, where to land, and more in that general area. We were looking through the logistics of what we were going to do and how we were going to do it. Alden was in the group where they determined the supplies and personnel we needed.”

On top of these intriguing activities, Rushton also described the opportunities

not offered to a many students. His group toured the facility and saw parts of NASA that were usually blocked off. “We got to see a modular vehicle, which could move in all four directions, as they were testing it,” Rushton said.

Rocketry is a field of science that has no bounds. There are always new ways to go faster, further, and more efficiently. Space fills an unimaginably large gap in our knowledge, consisting of billions, if not trillions of unknowns. As the field of rocketry grows, we will occupy this hole devoid of knowledge, and understand the world around us. Ward Rushton has taken this step to expand the boundaries of human knowledge with his experience in this program. Rushton said, “I would definitely recommend this program for other juniors. It not only boosts your resume but allows you to have fun while you are doing it.”

Photo courtesy of nasa.gov

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A NEW DAWN...

RAHUL AND ROHIN MAGANTI

USING HIS LIFELONG PASSION OF SCIENCE TO HELP PIONEER NEW DISCOVERS, DR. ALAN STERN ‘75 IS LEADING THE WAY IN NEW SPACE TECHNOLOGY. WITH STERN’S TECHNOLOGY, A NEW DAWN IS RISING.

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s the thrusters from the craft burst with burning fuel, the newly built New Horizons probe ascended from NASA’s historic launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida to the icy depths of space. More than eight years later, after crossing millions of miles of undocumented, desolate black space, it arrived at our immediate solar system’s most elusive body: Pluto.

Although we’re tempted to rejoice in the recent success of the New Horizon’s mission, the historic flyby of Pluto represents more than just a singular achievement for Dr. Alan Stern ‘75, it represents both the culmination of a lifelong interest that perhaps gained serious traction at St. Mark’s and the beginning of a new age in space travel all together.

The founder of New Horizons mission joined St. Mark’s in the tenth grade, already long after he had developed an attachment to science: “You know, I have been interested in science since I was 4 years old, and I don’t remember not being interested… I sort of just got hooked on it,” Dr. Alan Stern ‘75 said.

Seeking to reinforce his interest in this vast subject, he took advantage of all the opportunities afforded to him, perhaps why he felt the school prepared him so well for what he would do in college and beyond.

“I got to take electives that really … you know you couldn’t take at a public high school, like the astronomy course or the geology course,” Stern said. And St. Mark’s reciprocated this strong interest Stern demonstrated in the sciences, “It convinced me, because I made high grades in all those courses, that I was good at it. Not just that I was interested in it, but also that I was good at it.”

Although St. Mark’s wasn’t the only factor that enabled Stern to work diligently toward becoming such a successful scientist, the school nurtured an interest that he devel-

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oped at a very young age, something to which Stern attributes his current position. Even many years after graduating, Stern affirms, “I think it prepared me very well for college and it got me ramped up for a career in science. Not only did it accelerate my science education, but it gave me a well-rounded liberal arts education as well. I don’t think I’d change anything, except maybe one thing, I’d wished I started St. Mark’s earlier.”

Science at St. Mark’s is often a transformative experience for many motivated students.

As a graduate of the class of 1975, Dr. Stern was once one of these exceptional students.

In his experience at the school and even after his recent visit to St. Mark’s through the STEM conference in 2014, Dr. Stern continues to place importance on his development at St. Mark’s. But the aspect of the school that really attracted him to the science program was the variety of courses available.

In his time at the school, Stern felt that he had a special opportunity as a St. Mark’s student to take classes that a few others could: “I got to take electives that really … you know you couldn’t take at a public high school, like the astronomy course or the geology course in addition to normal classes.”

The science program for him has always been particularly exceptional because it offers something more than just the core biology, chemistry, physics curriculum. In light of this, Stern makes it clear that St. Mark’s lit a path that has so far been and will surely be rewarding.

On January 19, 2006, at exactly 1900 hours standard time, Dr. Stern’s carefully constructed spacecraft, New Horizons, was launched into orbit by a team of hopeful NASA engineers seeking to learn the secrets of our vast solar system. By Day 1, the probe reached moon and more than year later, made the closest approach of the Red Giant Jupiter any space organization had ever accomplished. Using a well-known tactic called gravity assist, in which a spacecraft attains a high velocity by flying around a planetary

object, New Horizons reached a high enough speed to make the momentous journey to Pluto. In pioneering this unprecedented exploration of the space objects that lie beyond our atmosphere, Stern acknowledges that time is always for those who are as ambitious: “My biggest challenge is that there’s only 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week and only 52 weeks in a year. Basically, I am excited about the things I do” For him, there is something new to discover everyday in science, especially in the work he does, track his progress, and explore space for the benefit of humankind.

While Dr. Stern realizes that he might “put [himself] in a position of over-committing and create a work situation where he sacrifices free time for work,” he still attributes much of his success to a lifelong passion for science. For Stern, putting ourselves in challenging situations is the best way to accomplishing what we want and making a true difference in any area.

Even with the impressive flyby of Pluto making headlines all over world, Dr. Stern is still hungry to discover the secrets of the outer solar system. He envisions the probe collecting important data from small, rocky bodies beyond the cold, dark regions of Pluto. If all goes according to plan, New Horizons could potentially visit M69, “a much further out object than Pluto.” He notes that the proposal should be complete soon and the flyby complete by January of 2019.

Photo courtesy of NASA

Right: Photos of Plutoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;a haze layers taken by the New Horizosn spacecraft.

Photo courtesy of San Antonio Express News

Above: The New Horizons capsule drifts off in space, all the while capturing information about Pluto and its moon. Right: Dr. Allen Stern, who graduaded in 1975. He then attended the University of Texas, Austin, where he received a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in physics and astronomy.

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FA L L I N G INTO TEACHING Ever since he was a child, planets and stars have fascinated master teacher Dr. Stephen Balog. An astronomy geek at heart, Balog knew he was going to make a difference in people’s lives. He just wasn’t sure how. Yet.

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e hated it.

As early as graduate school, Cecil H. and Ida Green Master Teaching Chair Dr. Stephen Balog began to search out a new career route at UTD. He began contacting professors, scouring the institution for a field of study that would hopefully pique his interest. To his good fortune, he ran into a professor who had previously worked with NASA on various space missions in the field of particle physics. A lifelong space enthusiast with an undergraduate degree in that very area, Balog hopped on board.

“The professor was actually in the process of preparing to build a gamma ray telescope, which was a major breakthrough at the time,” Balog explains. “The telescope used liquid argon as a medium for studying high-energy gamma rays that would interact with the argon molecules, knock off a couple of electrons at certain energy levels and cause what was called a particle shower. It’s sort of like when you’re playing pool, and you’re about to break, you fire the cue ball into the triangle of other balls. Well, imagine that instead of them all being tightly bound together like that, you sort of have very dense molecules of argon. So then the electrons come sailing through that, and they start knocking other electrons out. You can actually trace that cone of particles as they go scattering out in three dimensions back to a specific point in space.”

Though the telescope’s original use was to conduct neutron star research, Balog and his professor found another use for it in medical diagnosis. At the time, it was fairly well known that cancer cells tended to attract better to radioactive particles than regular cells. After small amounts of radioactive ma-

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terial were injected into the human body, the cancer cells would accumulate around the circulating radioactivity in the human body.

Focusing the gamma-ray telescope on the human body enabled Balog and his team to spot the radioactivity in specific body parts.

In essence, Balog’s team had developed of the first positron emission tomography devices, or as we know them better, PET scanners.

The telescope could also be adapted to detect multi-headed Soviet war missiles that were approaching the United States. The missiles would release hundreds of objects, of which only around twenty were actually radioactive. The incorporation of the gamma ray telescope into the military strategic defense system would initiate the radioactive flooding of Soviet radars, making the pilot unsure as to which devices were radioactive and which weren’t. Balog’s team members were immediately awarded a grant to research the topic further; however, knowing that the project was not going to last forever, Balog’s professor began encouraging his team members to look for other possible applications for the telescope.

Intent on uncovering yet another use of the telescope, Balog came through with a winning suggestion: “My idea was, well, in black holes, as material spirals down into a black hole and as it gets closer to the event horizon, the energies start reaching the gamma ray level. My research indicated that we could hopefully detect not only where there was a black hole, but how big the black hole was, and distinguish between protons and neutron stars from looking at gamma rays.”

Although the dissertation was great, Balog’s professor encouraged him to narrow his subject down and just look for black holes. “At the time, the big argument was

whether or not there was a big hole at the center of the galaxy. My professor encouraged me to use that as my model. And so that’s what I did. I spent several years working through the calculations, looking at the simulations to detect how big the black hole actually was and what the material falling in to produce the phenomenon was composed of.”

By the end of investigations, Balog had ended up with a huge dissertation consisting of hundreds of pages of drafts and three times that many graphs and illustrations. “It was a massive undertaking,” Balog explained. “Much bigger than both of us had initially thought it would be. But it helped greatly in narrowing down the size of the black hole to the center of the galaxy. There were a very many similar ongoing studies at the time, but most of them dealt with either radio waves or microwaves. Ours was the first one at the very opposite end of the spectrum (gamma-rays), and so it helped to confirm the lower energies. It helped to narrow the process down.” To the team’s surprise, Balog’s black hole detector was the most efficient one until it was topped nearly three years later.

Despite Balog’s success with his black hole detector, there was a huge roadblock in the path of the physicists. As the Cold War drew to an end, the dissolution of the Soviet Union

Balog stands merrily before his AP Physics C class, ready to teach his pupils about the tough topic of torque.

was inevitable. As a result, the gamma-ray telescope that the team had been working on for so long became practically worthless. Their grant was retracted, and Balog’s professor was faced with the grim choice of laying off his coworkers. Typically, when faced with such a scenario, a professor would first cut off his graduate students, seeing as they would have no trouble in finding a new project at the university. However, Balog’s professor decided to cut off his three best PhD students, Balog included.

In a strange turn of events, Balog was without a job or any kind of support. He attempted to find a job with Kelly Services, a temporary agency, but he realized quickly

that he hated it. Left with no other means of pay, he kept the job hoping for a miracle.

And fortunately enough, a miracle indeed came his way.

“I get a phone call from Stephanie Barta, the previous Science Department Chair [of St. Mark’s], saying, ‘Well, we have a physics teacher who is extremely ill but he’s supposed to come back. Can you come and teach while he’s out?’ So I agreed. I came in for an interview, and we immediately hit it off. I started teaching the physics classes, but unfortunately, the teacher passed away around a month after I came in. And so I ended up finishing off the school year, and Barta said, ‘You’re a natural at this, I want to keep you close.” Ba-

log later went to on to join St. Mark’s School of Texas as a fully employed teacher and earned the master teaching chair position for his outstanding ability to engage students in the classroom.

“I hit some roadblocks in what I thought I wanted to do”, Balog said. “If you would have asked me twenty years ago if this was what I was going to be doing, I would have laughed.” Balog saw himself working at NASA or something similar to that. Miraculously, Balog found himself as a teacher at St. Mark’s, something he refers to as “the best experience he’s had” and something he “would not trade this for the world.”

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OBSERVATIONS OF AN OBSERVATORY STORY BY ANDREW LI

AS OF NOW, THE PLANETARIUM IS RARELY VISITED. WITH THE ADVENT OF THE NEW SCIENCE BUILDING, HOWEVER, THERE WILL HOPEFULLY BE MANY MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS TO VISIT AND MAKE USE OF THE PLANETARIUM AND OBSERVATORY.

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ifty-five years ago, a planetarium was constructed to pique the interest of young students in science.

State-of-the-art equipment and a decent amount of money were used to fulfill this dream. Today, the planetarium stands essentially untouched by the upperclassmen, and the equipment has not been updated for a long time. It still serves its purpose by getting young students intrigued, and the Science Department has tried to keep the equipment updated, but with the advent of our new science building, changes will be made.

In 1960, the science building that we have now had just started being built. Physics teacher Dr. Stephen Balog is in charge of the planetarium and oversees its work and maintains its condition.

“The idea from the Green and McDermotts was that the best way for young men to get hooked on science was stuff they could use without any scientific equipment,” Balog said, “and that was astronomy, so they had a stateof-the-art planetarium built.”

The planetarium only simulated the night sky, but due to the popularity, the donations of the Greens and the McDermotts went another step and introduced an observatory to the science program in 1968.

“They had a research-grade telescope at the time,” Balog said. “Only twelve of those original scopes are in use, and because we have such bad light pollution, we worked out a deal with a college about two hours east of here called Jarvis Christian College. They built an observatory for our telescope, and we can

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go up there whenever to do research.”

Today, the planetarium has few visitors, but when it had just been constructed, students flooded it to take advantage of the new technology on campus.

“For the first 20 years, students actually had keys to the building, and they could come in and do planetarium shows,” Balog said. “It was quite common for there to be an annual Halloween show, Christmas show, Easter show, and even Valentine’s Day show.”

The technology back then was much different than ours today, and as time passed new add-ons strained the machine and caused for a change in the system.

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This is an impressive feat, but the observatory provides one with a real experience of looking with their own eyes at the real night sky.

– Master teacher, Dr. Steve Balog

“It was fairly simple machine it wasn’t that difficult to operate, and it had a lot of slide projectors during that, which we don’t use now,” Balog explains. “As the device got older and people tried to add more special effects to it, the strain on the machine became so great that we had to stop.”

Because of this misuse, the managers of the planetarium were forced to increase the power and a new software was installed that facilitated the whole process of using the machine.

“The software that we’re using now is called Starry Night,” Balog said, “It’s an off-the-shelf software you can buy and put on your computer.

This one is a little beefed up, though. It’s got two computers that run the whole projection system.

There is one that is the interface, the one that I deal with, and there’s the rendering one, and all it does it renders what I tell it.”

The new technology not only makes the machine more efficient, but it also equipped it with many more abilities that far surpass the previous planetarium.

“We can project anything real-time. We can do artificial time. We can project any sky, anywhere, at any time,” claims Dr. Balog. “This is an impressive feat, but the observatory provides one with a real experience of looking with their own eyes at the real night sky.”

Balog explains, “Our observatory is limied due to light pollution. Back when the observatory was first built, we were beyond the edges of the Dallas city limits. We were in the middle of nowhere. What happened was the city grew up around us, and as it did, more light pollution came in because of the street lights and shopping centers. So what happens is that their light goes up, hits the humidity

A look at the current planetarium, displaying the St. Mark’s campus at night without light pollution.

In the observatory (top right), a telescope stands tall, the primary focus of the room. in the air, and reflects that light back down …

It blocks a lot of the light from the dimmer stars. Right now, we can make out some of the brighter nebulas, galaxies, stars, planets, the sun and sunspots, and the moon. That’s about it. We used to be able to do a lot more. It’s because the places around us produced more and more light pollution.” In this aspect, the planetarium shadows the observatory. Balog said, “The planetarium can actually do and see anything since it’s a digital system. We’re creating it, and we can go anywhere and see what the sky looks like. We can go into orbit around a double or triple star, and we look at that. We can see galaxies.”

In 2018, when the new science building is completed, we will see a new planetarium.

Balog said, “The new planetarium will have new software, and it will be bigger. In the new building, instead of an observatory, we’re going to have an observatory platform. The main reason the planetarium’s going to be bigger is because we want to have the same number of people in there. We usually get a packed room during certain events. We want to keep that ability to fit 90-100 people. Because they are digital, the newer systems projects in one direction, instead of projecting onto the whole dome. So it’s more like the theater, more like an IMAX because everyone needs to be facing

Photo courtesy of Arno Goetz.

one direction. If we shift all of our seats to one direction, though, we go from 90 people to about 60. So to get back up to the 90, we need to increase the size. The dome will still be rounded, and it’ll kinda be like Decherd, except the seats will be curved a bit more and everyone will be leaning back a bit more.”

With a bright future of the astronomy program at St. Mark’s and the new planetarium, Balog said, “The current system is not quite powerful enough to do some things. The resolution of the project isn’t that good, but the newer system will be able to do much more.”

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image courtesy of Xerium

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section four

ENGINEERING CLUB TERRABYTE AP COMPUTER SCIENCE SWIFT

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the engineering club is

‘REINVENTING THE LIGHT BULB’ Since its conception, the light bulb has seen little innovation or drastic change in the likes of how it works or even the method by which it turns on.

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ENGINEERING CLUB PRESIDENT JUNIOR RAHUL MAGANTI THINKS 137 YEARS OF NO SERIOUS ADVANCEMENT IS FAR TOO LONG.

ight now we are trying to create a home-automated system using wifi and micro-controller boards,” Maganti said.

The system will allow a user to turn on and off the lights in a room from any where in the house. While the goals of the club are rather ambitious, the club had humble beginnings.

“I founded this at the beginning of my sophomore year so that people could get more experience with the type of engineering in the real world,” Maganti said.

Last year, Maganti brought in six guest speakers to help educate club members about the various opportunities available in the engineering field.

“One speaker talked about big data, which is a really hot field right now in software engineering and data process-

ing,” Maganti said. “One from Texas Instruments, a couple actually from Texas Instruments. One talked about DLP monitors. Another talked about electrical engineering.”

This year, however, Maganti hopes to focus more on and emphasize working on projects from start to finish. The club itself is separated into

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I think it’s really eye-opening because there are a lot of technological aspects involved. Not only is there hardware but there is also the software, and there is also designing.

– Freshman Joshua Kang

three distinct teams: design, software, and hardware. While members can contribute in all areas, they allocate most of their time to their designated

area. Freshman Joshua Kang really enjoys the three different aspects of the club and believes the system provides unique perspectives and experiences.

“I think it’s really eye-opening because there are a lot of technological aspects involved,” Kang said. “Not only is there hardware but there is also the software, and there is also designing.

You always know it’s not an individual assignment, but a group project.”

Kang recommends joining the club to everyone and believes it is an experience that one must partake in if they have any interest in Engineering.

“This is probably my favorite if not the best club I joined this year, and I plan to pursue it for the next few years,” Kang said.

Maganti hopes to end the year by finishing their project and possibly submit their project for competitions.

“Hopefully, yes, if we can make it in time, we will submit it,” Maganti said.

(story written by freshman Sahit Dendekuri)

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Junior Rahul Maganti draws on the white out the plans for the clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wifi micro-controller board to create a home-automated system, as the Smart Home continues to dominate the technology and engineering market.

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Senior Jake Galant stands with “graduates” of his summer program (top) as they hold CDs with their coded games. Students of “Terabyte” (below) sit in front of a computer designing and testing their own games.

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‘TERABYTE’ Many like to spend their summers playing video games or hanging out with friends.

OTHERS LIKE TO SPEND THEIR SUMMERS DOING RESEARCH IN LABS. BUT SENIOR JAKE GALANT HAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN MIND.

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any like to spend their summers playing video games or hanging out with friends.

Other people like to spend their summers doing research in laboratory or volunteering in a hospital.

But for senior Jake Galant, he has something different in mind.

With his love of programming and coding, Galant has found a different way to aid his community: a coding camp. Every summer, Galant runs a camp, hoping to provide video game design education to underprivileged kids.

“We use a program called Multimedia Fusion 2 that is based on PCs and in the program,” Galant said. “You can create 2D games and so, during the camp they create platformer games like Mario. You can also create games like Space Invaders, Pong, and 2D games where kids get to design and create levels with bosses, enemies, shooting, collectibles, and all sorts of things like that.”

Galant believes that, although video game design may seem unimportant, this camp is important for underprivileged children.

“The goal of the summer camp is basically to provide this video game design education to underprivileged kids,” Galant said. “Kids who otherwise

wouldn’t have access to these camps Because he’s made just a large impact because they are very expensive. My camp on these unprivileged kids, Galant is imcosts 400 dollars per week and these kids mensely proud of his accomplishments. wouldn’t be able to spend 400 dollars if it But what makes him the most happy is was for the whole summer. I think it’s im- the smile on the kids’ faces after they portant that they learn the critical thinkfinish their program. ing skills that are involved with computer “I’m most proud of how many kids I’ve programming and be introduced to the been able to teach,” Galant said. “They’re field. Even just so excited at the end if they don’t of the week that they have end up going their finished game and into computer they show it off to all their The goal of the summer camp is basical- friends. They sort of created programly to provide this video game design ed- something out of nothing ming, it’s ucation to underpriviledged kids. Kids important and they really get a big kick who otherwise wouldn’t have access to for them out of that, and I like seeing these camps... to have a them at the end of the week little taste of it really excited to show off – Senior Jake Galant when they’re what they’ve learned.” young.”

“My brother runs a computer sciWhile another goal of Galant’s camp is ence company teaching high-schoolers to create an enjoyable and fun experience programming,” Galant said, “He started for the kids, Galant hopes that the kids a sort of program that was Read, Write, take away something more.

Code. His basic premise, this is sort of “A lot of the kids, when they first start, something that I’ve learned as well, is that are a little nervous of programming,” computer programming is as essential Galant said. “They’re really interested to development in the 21st century as with wanting to make a game, but they’re reading is, and writing is, and as math is. a little hesitant to dive right in and just If kids can’t read, we’re like ‘wow that’s a start working on it. Hopefully by the end bad thing.’ But at this point if kids can’t of the week they’ll be more open to comprogram and don’t know the basics of puter technology ideas and programming programming, it’s as if they’re illiterate in general, so in the future they have the in the 21st century, and so it’s of vital opportunity to work with that.” importance.”

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(story written by sophomores Zoheb Khan and Kevin Feng)

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Technology Instructor Kurt Tholking (left) leans in to assist seniors Spencer Cheng and Nico Sanchez (right) as they learn to code and apply JavaScript in real world situations.

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ushering in a

CODING REVOLUTION LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IS PIVOTAL TO GLOBAL COMMUNICATION. LIKE A LANGUAGE, IT IS INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT TO BE FAMILIAR WITH THE COMPUTERS UPON WHICH OUR SOCIETY IS NOW BUILT: CODE.

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echnology jobs are among the fastest growing jobs this decade according to the Labor Department. In fact, they also have high-paying salaries and low unemployment rates as said by usnews.com. The technology industry has been on the rise recently, so when Computer Science Instructor Kurt Tholking arrived at St. Mark’s, he realized our computer science program could use some improvements.

“It was there,” Tholking said, “but it was probably not on track with computer science, which is more applications and things like that.”

At the time, the program was out-of-date, and many students were learning how to just use basic applications like Microsoft Word and they didn’t really have much exposure to real computer science, which is the study of the principles and use of computers.

“When I started, it was trying to bring things up to date,” Tholking said, “and trying to improve what applications we were teaching.”

Although some of the applications students used at the time were great for specific use, they were really hard to explore thoroughly given the time allotted in the schedule.

“Trying to teach the kids Flash in an AP course next year called The Principles eighth grade setting where I only teach the of Computer Science. This course can be kids once a week wasn’t really useful,” Tholk- taken by freshmen as they will have a basic ing said, “that should be a specific elective.” understanding because of the courses they After arriving, Tholking’s goal is now to took in Lower and Middle School. Tholking quickly bring boys up to speed and expose hopes students will develop a strong sense them to many different things in the field of of computational thinking so they can fix Computer Science. problems as they encounter them when “Now we’re trying to teach the principles using a computer. of computer science,” “Not everything Tholking said, “so can be solved with that is computational an app,” Tholking thinking and just unsaid, “but you need derstanding the basics Now we’re trying to teach the principles of to understand how of programming.” to solve problems computer science so that is computational Currently there are thinking and just understanding the basics of and a good way to two students enrolled do that is compuprogramming. in the Introduction tational thinking – Technology Instructor, Kurt Tholking to Computer Science and applying your course, and only knowledge to differthree students enrolled in the AP Computer ent areas where it’s not just writing the code Science course. Tholking hopes to build the to figure out a problem.” program in the lower school and middle Why is this important? Tholking said that school, so that more boys would be interestunderstanding computers is very important ed when they get to the upper school to take in today’s world as most things do run on the electives. computers.

“We learn about programs and the basic “I think in today’s society it is going to be operating systems of computers,” Freshman important that everyone understands comEmmet Berger, member of the Introduction puters,” Tholking said, “because everyone class, said. “We are starting to develop an deals with computers.” app.”

In fact, Tholking hopes to start a new

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(story written by freshman Sahit Dendekuri)

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W

‘SWIFTLY’ LEARNING

completely different compared to Obhile many jective C, but the coding environment is students generally more concise…. [Swift] runs often relax faster because it requires less code, and or do homebeing easy to read is also a crucial part work during of the code.” their free With a great knowledge of Swift, time, Kevin Choi ‘17, after atChoi doesn’t intend to focus on applying tending a pre-college summer his skills into only developing apps program at Harvard University for the iPhone. Instead, Choi hopes to this past summer, often codes supplement his previous knowledge of smartphone apps using the coding and logic along with his newly revolutionary programming attained understanding in Swift to learn language, SWIFT. The Swift programming language was how to apply processing and engineering to the macro world of technology announced at the 2014 Apple’s Worldand innovation. wide Developers Conference. With “Learning swift is not really about many areas augmented from the lanthe programming language itself, but guages of Objective-C and C, two comthe logic in programming is applicable mon languages for coding apps, Choi in many different things like C++, java, believes that Swift is incredibly easy to and even processing, which we’re doing learn for previous app developers. right now in our Info Engineering “Swift is definitely the best choice Class,” Choi said. for new coders because Apple made the But, Choi tells that he enjoyed his program painfully easy for beginners,” experience at Harvard’s pre-college Choi said. “Even alumnus Victor Zhou summer program not only because of its ‘14 recommended Swift over Objeccoding curriculum, but also for the optive-C, which is the other language for portunity to meet people from around creating applications.” the world and “Swift is understand their written in a way different perspecthat the code can tives. be more easily “One thing really Swift is written in a way that code can readable,” Choi interesting was that be more easily readable. It also gets said. “It also gets there were people rid of quite a bit of annoying [coding] rid of quite a from all across the bit of annoying syntax like semicolons.

United States and [coding] syntax – Junior Kevin Choi the world,” Choi relike semicocalled. “In fact, my roommate was from lons. While Swift and Objective C are Ecuador…. Also, the camp had about completely different languages, the basic seven topics per session, and there were of the basic syntax is very similar. Once sessions where all of us got together and you go a bit more into the big structures attended seminars. One of them was on of the code, I’m pretty sure Swift is the moral nature of people, and we had

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a huge discussion on three questions.

[The first] was if you were operating a train that was headed to 4 workers on the track, and there was only one worker on the other track, would you flip the

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One thing really interesting was that there were people from all across the United States and the world. Also, the camp had about seven topics per session...one of them was on the moral nature of people.

– Junior Kevin Choi

switch? The next one was now you’re on a bridge on top of the tracks. You can push a really fat person to stop the train to save four workers’ lives. Would you do it? The final one was you’re a doctor and there are four patients in need of immediate transplants. A healthy person comes walking in for a regular checkup.

Would you kill that person to save four others if you were guaranteed a successful transplant? The three were basically the same question, but as you can see, they aren’t exactly the same. So it was interesting to see how others thought and how they changed decisions based on the situations.”

There is a myriad of coding languages in the field of computer science, each with their own advantages. With enough motivation and perseverance, you can learn the basics, whether it be from an online class or a summer program.

However, if you are looking to embark on the app-developing path for IOS devices, then learning Swift is a sure way to go.

(story written by sophomore Jesse Zhong)

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Junior Kevin Choi (above) examines the more streamlined lines of code that the Apple-created language Swift brings to the coding world. An image of the Swift proamming language logo (right), which brings a refreshed to the world of coding. (Image courtesy of Apple, Inc.)

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Special thanks to faculty sponsors Dr. Bonnie Flint and Ms. Nupur Israni for all their help and support in revitalizing the Scientific Marksman.

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S TA F F PA G E EDITOR-iN-CHIEF Kevin Wu MANAGING EDITOR Killian Green SECRETARIES Rohan Vemu, Tim Skapek BIOLOGY SECTION EDITORS Rohin Maganti, Anvit Reddy CHEMISTRY SECTION EDITORS Rohil Rai, Ammar Plumber PHYSICS SECTION EDITORS Rahul Maganti, Akshay Malhotra TECHNOLOGY SECTION EDITOR Cal Rothkrug, Josh Bandopadhay HEAD OF DESIGN Abhi Thummala HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER Tim O’Meara STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Arno Goetz, Alden James, Kabeer Singh, Frank Thomas, Carter Langbert STAFF Zoheb Khan, Nitessh Vemuri, Kevin Feng, Kannan Sharma, Allan Zhang, Andrew Li, Sahit Dendekuri, Mark Tao, Jesse Zhong FACULTY SPONSORS Dr. Bonnie Flint and Ms. Nupur Israni

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St. Markâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School of Texas 10600 Preston Road Dallas, TX 75230