You (don't) suck at math.

Just mentioning the fact that I'm enrolled in a math class usually immediately elicits a gag reflex in other people, followed by personal math horror stories and always one of the following phrases:

1. "I haaaaaaate math."
2. "I suck at math."

I understand, my friends. I used to say the same things. It's not like I started loving math all of sudden when I decided to be an engineering major. It's more that math is par for the course, so I decided to be a woman and suck it up.

Then the most surprising thing happened. When I actually started paying full attention in class and trying to learn math, I started actually liking it. Weird, I know. And what's even more sick and twisted than that, I started to get interested and excited about math.

The most marked difference in my understanding of math concepts wasn't due to a brain transplant from a recently deceased genius. Nay, I started understanding and liking math because I took an interest in it. In other words, I have a passion for math now.

If you think about something you like doing, a hobby like say playing video games for instance, chances are you do it because you have an interest in it. Personally, I don't really like video games because I suck at them. Why do I suck? Well, aside from my parents never buying me an NES when I was younger, most adult video games are hard to master and hence, I give up because I don't have the passion to commit hours to learning all the kick and punch combos of the new Street Fighter 4.

See how I said I suck at video games? I admittedly suck because I don't want to practice. For most of us, hobbies or subjects like math, science, Japanese, yes, even video games require practice to become skilled at. *Most* of us don't just start playing complex video games from 4 years old nor do we start busting out mad calculus equations without the proper training.

So what I'm I trying to say? I'm saying that if you have a true interest in something, you can do it. Excluding outside factors, many times, the biggest inhibitor of your success is your own damn self esteem and lack of determination to reach your goal. Don't be afraid to push yourself and make your brain ache a bit, whether that's for a college major, career choice, or just in your extracurricular hobbies. Many times the extra effort pays off in the end.

Nanogenerators and self learning robots!

I like browsing technology sites and came across these two articles today which seem pretty fascinating. I'm currently interested in robotics, biomedical and green technology which these fit into. Hope you enjoy them too!

From Scientific American: "Can Robots be Programmed to Learn from their Own Experiences?"

Excerpt:
""A truly useful personal robot [must have] the ability to learn on its own from interactions with the physical and social environment," says Stoytchev, whose field of developmental robotics combines developmental psychology and neuroscience with artificial intelligence and robotic engineering. "It should not rely on a human programmer once it is purchased. It must be trainable."Stoytchev and a team of grad students are developing software to teach robots to learn about as well as a two-year-old child. Their platform is a humanoid robot that sprouts two 60-pound (27-kilogram) Whole Arm Manipulators (WAM) made by Cambridge, Mass.,–based Barrett Technology, Inc., each tipped with a 2.6-pound (1.2-kilogram) three-fingered BarrettHand."

Link to rest of Article: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=robot-learning&SID=mail&sc=emailfriend

Also from Scientific American: "Nanogenerators"

Excerpt: "Just as a machine won't run without a source of power, a device built at the nano-scale is of little use if it doesn't have the energy to work as a sensor or drug delivery particle. Since there isn't a battery in existence yet that's small enough to couple with a nanodevice, researchers have sought to power their microscopic creations with energy drawn from their surroundings. This energy so far has come primarily from chemical reactions (such as the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide), but that may change. A new study published today in Science describes the creation of a nanogenerator that transforms kinetic energy into a continuous flow of direct-current (DC) electrical energy."

Link to rest of article: http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=nanogenerator-2009-03-26

Testing the waters

When I was a wee lass, my family used to frequent the Jersey shore. Thus, it came to be that I would learn to swim before riding a bike. Learning to swim wasn't without complications. Luckily, my parents cared about my well-being and did their best to preserve my life by outfitting me with a ridiculous orange contraption that was little more than an inner tube sewn into a nylon vest. In the early days of my oceanic swimming, I was pulled down by the undertow gasping for air and unable to fight my way out. Luckily, the obnoxious inner tube lent me some buoyancy and quite possibly saved my life on more than a few occasions.

This is my 2nd semester taking trigonometry. After I keenly decided to go back to school for MechE last summer, I knew I was going to need to brush up on my math skills. The Fall 2008 semester marked 10 years since my last college mathematics class. Since I wasn't enrolled at a 4-year college yet, I trekked down to my local community college to sign up for what would be the 1st of many super awesome math classes(can't you just feel the sarcasm?).

Judging from my transcript, I was approved for trig, which bypassed the need to take the 2 lower level classes, Elementary and Intermediate Algebra. This would've been fine if say, I had taken algebra a year ago or so. I was a bit concerned about how I would fare, but forged ahead with determination.

Luckily, I landed the best math teacher(aside from my pops) that I've ever had. Yet even with his teaching and a coherent book, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I was struggling to remember basic algebra rules which hindered my understanding of the new material. At the same time, I was reading, "What Color is Your Parachute?" and according to that book I had the skillset to be a photographer or novelist. It was like I was playing Monopoly and got dealt a community chest card that read, "You have not passed math and you will proceed to study liberal arts."

It was at this point, shortly after the 1st test of the semester that I lost my previously strong determination to study math and just plain ol' gave up. It was as if I was a 5 year old all over again trying to fight the wrath of the ocean, my stubby legs flailing about helplessly. I was convinced that I would sincerely be happier as a journalism major.

And I stayed somewhat convinced of this fact until a certain someone named Jennifer planted a small seed in the desert garden of my engineering dreams. She encouraged me to actually talk to real live engineers and the faculty advisor at the college before I let assumptions close the door on engineering. I realized a few very important lessons in the process:

1. It's best to directly ask questions of people who are actually working in the field you want to go into, not the people who switched from a MechE major or your business major friends(no offense!).

2. Speaking to an engineering faculty advisor informed me of the exact classes I would have to take and realistic workloads. The best thing I took away from this experience was that for an engineering major it is particularly crucial to study at least 1-2 hours for every hour spent in class per week. Therefore, a 5 credit hour class should warrant about 5-10 hours a week in study time outside of class.

So here I am again; another semester gone by but not without some valuable lessons learned. This time instead of just jumping in the water, I'm armed with my swanky orange innertube of realistic expectations, support, and additional mathematic knowledge to take on the worst trigonometric undertow the ocean of college can sock me with.

Solidworking

I have Solidworks on the brain! I've been preparing for my 1st midterm on Monday these past few days so I thought, why not write a post about Solidworks! I have never taken a computer modeling class up till now so at the beginning of this class, the software was very vexing and frustrating for me. It certainly had a steep learning curve for me. But while it's extremely disheartening at times when you just can't get the reference plane at the right angle, it's also extremely satisfying once you complete the design. It's like a miracle for me each time and I always am in awe that I somehow fuddled my way through it.

Before signing up for my class, I had three options for 3D modeling: Autocad, Solidworks, and Pro-Engineer. In terms of pricing for each of the softwares, Pro-E and Solidworks are about $5,000 per license. Here's a good article summarizing the pros and cons of 3D modeling softwares: http://www.design-engine.com/stories/battleofthebands.htm

Although any of the three mentioned modeling softwares above should be adequate for design, it looks like most job postings for mechanical engineering at least prefer Solidworks or Pro-E experience. But, from what I was told by other engineering professionals, once you learn one it's easy to pick up another.

The text book we're using in class is called "Introduction to Solid Modeling Using SolidWorks 2008".


I really like the text book. Each chapter introduces a concept they're try to teach, such as Parametric Modeling Techniques, and they have a step by step tutorial providing great screen shots of the actual software program for you to follow. After that they have several exercises for you to complete using the techniques that they demonstrated. Of course I'm sure most texts are as streamlined and coherent as this, but some printouts my professor gave us to work off of were horrible in terms of clarify and comprehension which made my appreciate this all the more. There's a student software access that comes with the textbook so you can activate the program for a limited period of time (I believe it was 4 months or so).

So here's a few examples of what can be done in SolidWorks. So far we've just learned how to construct individual parts, I think assembling multiple parts together is the second portion of this class.

Bundled with this student edition software that I'm using, we also have eDrawings, or something like that. After we make a part we can import the dimensions and the part itself as a 2D drawing like below.




So, I guess that's about it from me about SolidWorks for now. Here's some cool links for more information on this nifty software program.

Main Site: http://www.solidworks.com/
Blog: http://gabijack.com/
Wikipedia Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SolidWorks

Engineering Organizations

Today after my physics lab, I dropped by my school's SAE club to check out what they do. It's pretty awesome! I know nothing about cars, except for that it needs an engine and fuel to run (quite pathetic for what I want to go into, I know) but I like looking at cars and learning more about them. The SAE club is in the process of building a car for SAE Baja in June and it's so amazing how much work goes into it. The only deterrent is that they team is all guys, which yes, I know, I should come to expect from being in an engineering major. I knew going into this that I'd definitely be in the minority in classes, labs, and external projects, but I didn't realize how much of a factor it could become in determining the 'full experience'. The guy telling me about SAE was saying how he'd really like a girl to join to 'diversify' the team, and he did say that the only girl they had before left and never came back after the guys started throwing wrenches at each other. C'mon, wrenches?
I really would like to join but right now work and school is sucking up way too much time. Perhaps I'll join next year? I'm trying to look into other engineering organizations for next year when I may have more time to dedicate. So far I'm looking at Society of Women Engineers (SWE), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Out of those three, it looks like only SAE has 'hands on' projects where I can fully appreciate learning and applying engineering principles. If anyone knows of any other hands on student competitions please do let this blog know!

Inaugural Post/Introduction

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? … We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

- Akeelah and the Bee

Have you seen Akeelah and the Bee? It’s not really a popular movie, but it is by far one of my favorite movies. It’s about a little girl growing up in an area that isn’t particularly known for academic achievement. But, she has a proclivity and talent for spelling and makes it from her middle school to the national spelling bee stage. She’s an underdog, and it’s inspirational. The quote on the top is from a scene in the movie when her spelling coach is telling her if she wants to succeed, she will have to believe in herself. I guess I identify a lot with that instance, emotion, and struggle.

My parents emigrated from Taiwan when they were graduate students and have settled in the United States after their education in hopes of providing their children a better life than back home. My father has a Ph.D in petroleum engineering, and my mother has two master’s degrees herself. Education was highly valued in our family and growing up my parents instilled the notion that education is a worthy achievement. I’ve heard it is typical of most Asian families to push their children to achieve more than what the “American” schools teach, and my parents were no different. From an early age, they drilled me constantly on anything math related: multiplication tables, division, percentages, fractions, etc. They tried to teach me things that my teachers haven’t even covered, and didn’t cover for another year or two. I don’t know if it was because I was an indolent child, or perhaps just not as intellectual as they were hoping, but I couldn’t meet their expectations and failed miserably. The constant quizzings, and the abuse that surfaced had and still has to this day greatly traumatized me from anything math or science related.

Growing up I was interested in electronics, gadgets, and anything technologically related, but because of my childhood and the dearth of encouragement from my parents I never even thought I would have even a chance to hold a technical profession. So after high school I narrowed down my options to major in International Business for college. I graduated in 2007 and started working at an engineering firm in Southern California in contract management. The very first program I worked on was a DARPA program and a highly abstract idea just making it into fruition about fractionated satellites. I worked with engineers during the proposal phase and was just amazed and intrigued at the advanced concepts, designs and capabilities we (not me, but people around me at the time) possess to turn a novel idea into reality. I had always wanted to be an inventor and innovative products always interested me. In college I had a friend where we would think up of simple improvements to everyday objects but since it was so expensive to develop we never got anywhere. During my first year post-college, I entered into an invention competition for Every Edisons, a television show that selects a number of inventors and portrays the process of developing an invention from prototype to selling on a store shelf. My idea obviously wasn’t selected but that experience triggered a desire to learn more about materials, manufacturing, and how products are made. I remember driving down the freeway with my husband (I married at a young age) complaining that I don’t have the necessary skills to do what I would like to do. I distinctly remember him nonchalantly say, “Well why don’t you get an engineering degree and then you can accomplish what you want to?” At first I balked at his suggestion for all the years of being told I wasn’t bright enough to pursue this career had been deeply ingrained in my brain. Well, after much thinking and thinking I decided to do it. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do whether I consciously knew it or not, and I guess it’s better to try and fail rather than to never try at all.

After much research, I decided to pursue a 2^nd bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. While researching and looking for others ‘like me’ I happened to come across a post that my blog partner (Laura) posted on a networking site. We got into contact and I’m glad to say we’ve been able to share our fears and hopes with each other throughout this scary, frustrating but hopefully rewarding ordeal. For me, the hardest issue to overcome (other than the multitude of math classes, and Physics, my nemesis!) is my confidence in myself, pushing aside all those accumulated years of self doubt. I guess I’m rambling too much for this first post, but if I do by a miracle complete this arduous task, I hope to end up in a biomedical/robotics industry creating nifty gadgets to improve the lives of those in third world countries, or even in 1^st world countries (if that’s even a term). I also hope to use my experience to help other girls who may have doubts about themselves to believe and just try, because you never know what may happen.

Outside of school and work (wait, I may be laid off soon!), I like to read, run, swim, play music and just veg out, although those stress relieving activities are quickly diminishing this semester with classes occupying most of my time.

Working part time and attending school full time in a world full of boys are sure to provide tons of blogging material especially in this economy so I hope you stay tuned to what we have to offer and share.

Hello, Nerd.

Welcome to the primary year of what could be the shortest blog ever if I win the lottery or decide to quit school. I'm one half of the blog duo that makes up Nice STEMs, a literary masterpiece about the journey of going back to school for mechanical engineering. For the sake of those who don't personally know me(or those who where thinking about the next episode of Gossip Girl when I was talking), here's an obligatory introduction(totally not brief):

I wasn't one of those kids who knew what the heck they wanted to be when they grew up. For a few years of my youth, this didn't faze me but by the time I was 12 years old I started stressing. Most of my early career choices revolved around being a teacher which I quickly ruled out since I couldn't quite envision myself teaching the very types of kids that made my life shall we say, less than pleasant.

In high school I took a denial approach and fell back on music as a career choice which worked up until senior year when I actually had to apply to college. I realized that a music major would land me right back in school as a music teacher leading some American Idol reject chorus(funny note, American Idol wasn't around when I was in HS). I needed a real job, so I went into radio.
--insert laugh here--

After completing almost 1.5 years at a liberal arts school, my parents pulled the plug. In short, they didn't feel like paying tuition for an arts major. Of course I was crushed. I completed my associate degree at a local community college and went on to demand much larger salaries as a result(har har).

A few years later, I was bitten by the automotive bug. Looking back it's pretty evident that I was into cars at a young age. I was always considered a tomboy; I played with Hot Wheels and begged to be taken to the go-kart track.

When I was 8 years old I remember my teacher asking the class, "If you could choose to stay the age you are forever would you and why?" I reasoned that I would want to get just old enough to get my driver's license. Then I could drive at the adult karting track that required them.

For whatever reason *cough* I'm a girl *cough* I was never encouraged to learn about cars. Attempts to convince my father that I wanted to learn how to drive stick shift or restore a GTO were brushed by the wayside.

That is, until I made friends with a car dude. My friend taught me how to drive stick and how to change tires among other tasks. Together we progressed (read:jumped head first) into a car project and actually emerged triumphant at the finale.

Long story short(er), I ended up going to a technical school(that shall remain nameless because it was a waste of $20K). I worked at dealerships for about 5 years in parts and service. And I always wanted to go back to school, but I was making pretty good money and didn't want to risk quitting my job.

Then I got laid off. School was calling. At first I decided to just go back for Journalism so I could become a respectable writer, not one of these internet know-it-alls called "bloggers". But the curriculum looked boring. The last thing I wanted to do was go sit with a bunch of 18 year olds in some lame Mass Communications class. I wanted a freakin challenge. However, I was(am) lazy and considered myself weak at mathematics.

At some point I grabbed my confidence and decided to pursue my passion. This was no short order given that everyone around me was negative about mechanical engineering, not the least of all, my parents who didn't hesitate to challenge my goal. Let me tell you, when you aren't personally 100% convinced of a particular path and you have little to no support, it's hard to commit. In short, it's discouraging(more on this later).

So now I'm in class part-time and set to go back full-time in the fall. It feels awesome(which I'm sure will change once I get into my 1st physics class). I can say that I'd like to be the next "Honda" in the future, but for now I'm just taking it one step at a time. Welcome to our engineering journey.

About Nice-STEMs

What is Nice STEMs?

Nice STEMs is a blog written by Jennifer and Laura, both mechanical engineering students. The blog's name is a play on the slang use of the word "stems" to describe a woman's legs coupled with the educational definition of the word referring to majors in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Jennifer is...thinking up something to put here.

Laura is finally pursuing her inclination to return to college after a 10 year hiatus and finally get her BS degree in MechE. She previously went to an overpriced tech school for automotive technology and has worked in dealers as everything from a salesperson to parts counter to lube tech. She figures she's pretty much pursued every other career she was interested in and it's time to learn how to engineer cars instead of just working on them.