A new edition of the laws of physics was released yesterday evening, with sweeping consequences for people everywhere. Anxiety was widespread on campuses around the world as the new laws took effect. Students awoke this morning to a number of inexplicable changes, such as a gravitational constant that had more than doubled, and water that freezes only between 17°C and 19°C. The scene was one of chaos as students attempted to comprehend and function under the new laws. Pinned to the ground by the increased gravity, one bewildered student kept blubbering “I just don’t understand it.” When questioned, however, he…
The Science Creative Quarterly
By petereugster
Peter is just about to finish his undergraduate Engineering Physics degree at the University of British Columbia, and plans to pursue a career in technology development for the life sciences. He enjoys writing, and always makes sure that his stories have a beginning, middle, and end.
THE PERCEPTION OF SCIENTISTS
Scientists have an image problem. Just ask any fifth-grader. Chances are, they’ll probably tell you that a scientist is Caucasian, male, can be found wearing a lab coat, and leads a lonely laboratory existence [1]. Perhaps he has eccentric character traits or odd-looking hair [2]. That’s some fairly discouraging news, but hey, what do kids know? The perceptions of adults are what really matter, right? Sadly, it seems that this stereotype is also held by many high-school students, college students, adults [3], and even scientists themselves [2]. A bad image hurts scientists on many levels. Administrators allocating research funding may…
AN ENGINEER IN BIOLOGYLAND
“Biology? That’s unusual.” This is something I’ve been hearing a lot lately, usually from my friends when I tell them about the courses I’m taking this term. I’m in the home stretch of my Engineering Physics degree, which is the point where I’m supposed to choose some technical electives and become a specialist. Most Engineering Physics students take traditional electives, like fluid flow, power transmission, or aerodynamics. But there is a growing group of students, like myself, who are looking to apply their engineering knowledge to less-traditional areas, and biology is perhaps one of the most popular. But how exactly…