Friday, January 24, 2014
The South Potomac Pilot
3
Science: Most rewarding aspects of their jobs Continued from page 1
CARPOOL/VANPOOL WANTED Riders Needed for Vanpool from commuter lot at the corner of Houser Dr. and Rt. 208 in Spotsylvania. Depart 6 a.m., arrive on base 7 a.m. Depart base at 4 p.m. Mon. - Thurs., 3 p.m. on Fri. Drops at both sides of the base. Contact Nick Sunshine, 540-653-3816. Rider wanted for 7-passenger vanpool. Departs F’burg/Gordon Rd Commuter lot at 7AM. Departs NSWCDD/Dahlgren at 4:30PM. Transportation Incentive Program System (TIPS) qualified van. Contact Antonio at (540) 653-1512 Rider seeks rideshare from La Plata to Indian Head. Call Louie, 276-971-9837 Employee moving to either Fredericksburg, Va. or Maryland is in need of commute to NSF Dahlgren. Ideal commuting arrangement would be transportation that could pick-up and drop-off at or close to place of residence. Please call for more information, Sheila 214-529-3690. Starting a Van Pool, 7-passenger van, departs NLT at 6:35 a.m. from Fieldhouse/ Courthouse Rd. commuter lot to Dahlgren, Mon-Thurs 7:15 a.m. to 3:45p.m.; Friday 7:15 a.m. to 3:15p.m. Call Cheng at 540653-5909. A-Gate commuter wanted only. Van/carpool desired from any rideshare parking area or Reston Town Center. Depart between 6 to 7a.m., return from Indian Head between 4 to 5 p.m. Call Moses, 301743-4180. Van or Car pool desired from Fredericksburg or King George to Indian Head, Monday thru Friday with one RDO, prefer 7a.m. to 4:30p.m., but hours can be negotiated. 703-909-3380.
Want to start a carpool? Need riders? “Commuter Clearinghouse” is a source for information on carpools or vanpools that already exist and need passengers, as well as a place for employees to advertise to start a carpool or vanpool. Whether you already operate a carpool or vanpool and are open to accepting new riders or need drivers, or if you are looking for a carpool or vanpool, provide us with information that might help you find or start a commuter opportunity, such as, where you will need to commute from and to, preferred schedule and contact information. You can send your information via e-mail to nsasp_pao_dlgr@ navy.mil or contact our office toll free at 866-359-5540, or DSN 249-8153, or 540-653-8153.
FREDERICKSBURG RIDESHARING GWRideConnect is a free ridesharing service that assists persons who are seeking daily transportation from Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline and King George counties to employment locations in Dahlgren among other employment sites. www.gwregion.org/gwride connect.html.
students here are in advanced math, accelerated history. About 20 of these students are taking 10th grade biology in 8th grade. They are definitely driven. Every year we see more and more originality at the science fair.” The most important aspect of a good science fair project, however, was a solid understanding of the scientific method. “We always tell them, it can be the simplest project ever,” said Drinks. “You just have to do it well.” “[Students’] data needs to be quantifiable and it needs to be repeatable, which is something done at Dahlgren every day,” said Conover. “The information needs to be accurate.” The wide range of topics undertaken by students wowed both teachers and judges. Some students even took on non-traditional, tricky categories like social science. “We get such an amazing range of topics,” said Drinks. “We have students coming up with flight plans, projectiles and whether sugar affects the rate of a baking object. The ideas are huge. They’ve gotten so much better at tackling [social science] subjects too, figuring out factors that can influence an outcome.” The fascinating subjects made the judges’ job a difficult one. “I was very impressed with the ideas these young people decided to test,” said Fire Controlman 1st Class Nathan Andrews, an instructor assigned to the Aegis Training and Readiness Center. “Some of the projects were definitely more complicated than anything I would have done when I was that age. Some of the props were very elaborate and I was impressed with students’ knowledge of the scientific method, and the sound mathematics and data analysis they presented. There was no easy way to come up with a clear winner. Several [projects] were just outstanding.” Jack Vo, a system engineer assigned to the Naval Surface Warfare Center, zeroed in on one student’s project for special praise. Frances, an 8th grade student, created an experiment that tested the drag and lift experienced by pinkfooted geese in different locations within the familiar “V” formation. “Her project was really good,” said Vo. “She put a lot of effort into it and was very thorough with her materials. She could be a great engineer.” Frances found inspiration for her project at the website sciencebuddies. org and from her own observations of butterflies. Her favorite thing about science projects is “figuring out and solving the problem and then learning the new things that come with solving the problem,” she said. “I love math and science.” To measure the drag and lift experienced by geese within the “V” formation, Frances constructed Lego models and arranged them on a v-shaped grid. Using a fan and scale, she then measured the drag each model experienced and found that the energy geese expend as they fly in formation varies according to position of the individual goose. Frances also learned that geese change positions as they fly. “They do switch off, which is really cool,” she said. “There are two possible reasons. One is energetic, which I measured. The other is the social, for protection or mating.” Frances wants to be a doctor or an engineer when she grows up. She encouraged younger students to participate in
Sharon Brem, right, system engineer at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, chats with Kyle, left, an 8th grade student at King George Middle School, about his science project Jan. 15. Brem was one of several volunteer judges from Naval Support Facility Dahlgren who evaluated students’ science fair projects.
Patrick, an 8th grade student at King George Middle School, displays a piece of concrete he used in his science project. Patrick found that several cheap and readily available additions to concrete increased its strength. the science fair. “Get a project that challenges you or something that challenges you,” she said. “And work hard at it. Ask questions and stay determined and even if it doesn’t work out, you can still learn from it.” Last year, Frances conducted a science project to measure the mass and length of hotdogs as they aged. Her hot dog “mummies” helped her advance to the Piedmont Regional Science Fair and she hopes to return. “It feels good knowing what to expect since I went there last year,” she said. “There were a lot of people there-high school [students]-it was fun to look at all the other projects. Some of them were really intense because there were billboards of information, math and formulas.” Frances’ impressive project was just one of many at the science fair. Patrick, another 8th grader, came up with a project that tested the strength of concrete. Specifically, he wanted to find out whether adding material to concrete-newspaper, nails, or fiberglass tape- made it stronger. To test his idea, Patrick dropped weights on each type of concrete several times to see how many blows each variation could withstand.
Adding fiberglass tape resulted in the strongest concrete. However, Patrick also found that readily available newspaper made a concrete that was almost as strong. “Fiberglass was the best and I determined it was the best because of its uniformity,” he explained. “Uniformity helps make strength. Concrete with nails was also strong, but it had the most fluctuation. Fiberglass had a higher average. Newspaper wasn’t the strongest, but the average was high.” Patrick offered a remarkable explanation of how his new-found knowledge could be used. “This could be used in real life in two situations,” he said. “It’s common knowledge that rebar can be used to reinforce concrete, but it isn’t practical for homeowner use, like when you’re setting fence posts. But you could use fiber tape, newspaper or nails to help support it. It can also be used in lesswealthy areas for concrete in foundations, since all these supplies are more abundant than rebar and also cheaper. Newspaper can strengthen concrete more than just plain concrete, so that can help build stronger structures in those less-wealthy areas.” Patrick’s love for “hands-on projects” helped him realize that he wants to be an orthopedic surgeon when he grows up. Both Frances and Patrick credited their teachers and, especially, their parents for helping inspire their scientific curiosities. That kind of enthusiasm for science was an inspiration for judges and teachers alike. “We want to thank the community for its support,” said Conover. “We appreciate the judges, who do STEM jobs every day. We appreciate the parents support, too. It’s a big deal.” While both Conover and Drinks put forth a lot of hard work to bring the science fair together every year, both find it to be one of the most rewarding aspects of their job. “We do it with a smile on our face because we know the outcome,” said Drinks. “Seeing how well the students do has got to put a smile on your face. You always hear the bad and the negative on the news. This makes me feel good about where we’re going to be in 20 or 30 years.”