This morning we had our last Discovery Lecture. Today, Dr. Mark A. Brosmer spoke to us about space launches and launch vehicles. He started off with a history of man's space explorations and observations and then proceeded to talk about the basics of rocket functions and their various uses. Next, he discussed the launch vehicles used in the past and their inefficiencies (very specific and therefore inefficient in terms of infrastructure required) as well as today's launch vehicles and their improvements (more cost-efficient in being able to launch many different types of structures). Last, he talked about the planned space and launch vehicle programs for the future, such as NASA's Constellation program. I found his lecture very interesting. I had never known very much about space exploration and space launches, so I was glad to learn more about them, especially with his down-to-earth emphasis on the importance of reducing costs in building them.
After the Discovery Lecture, we went back to the computer lab where we spend our Tuesdays and Thursdays. We spent all of today working on our final projects. After working on a preliminary version of our final project PowerPoint, I went to lunch. Chantal and I went to a Japanese restaurant and then met Tiffany, Shannon, and Lily downstairs in Price Center. Afterward we went to the bookstore, and then Shannon and Chantal went to Jamba Juice. When we got back to the computer lab for the afternoon, we continued work. My group went up to EBU2 for a little bit to try to build a model for our experiment and then came back down. Hopefully Dr. Vera will come soon to help us a bit with our projects.
With nothing but final project work, the day was pretty uneventful (although much needed). Our biggest event of the day was the earthquake in the morning. We just felt a mild shaking. I wonder where the epicenter was and how strong it was... Hope everyone's fine!
~CS
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