This is my last semester of colloquium in Science and Global Change. I will reflect on what I've learned and gained from the whole Scholars experience, and how it will influence my future. I believe that it has been integral in changing the way I think in regards to science, and making me more skeptical. I also believe that I have learned more in regards to climate change and the choices we can make to improve our future, as I already knew some of the basic ideas.
I would first like to talk about how I learned more about the hypo-deductive method in colloquium, and how I applied it during my introductory aerospace course, ENAE100. During colloquia, I learned the importance of practicing the hypo-deductive method, wherein one creates a falsifiable hypothesis, performs experiments and tests to obtain empirical evidence, and then forms a conclusion based on that evidence. In ENAE100, students choose an aerospace lab on campus to conduct an experiment and reach a conclusion in one semester. I chose the Balloon Payload Program (BPP), under Dr. Bowden, which creates payloads that are launched on weather-balloons that reach altitudes of around 100,000 ft to collect data. My group, 'Frozen Research on Stratospheric Treats, Yum!' (FROSTY), wanted to determine if it was possible to create ice cream as the payload rose through the atmosphere, as it gets colder as you go up. We formed our hypothesis, that a properly insulated and motorized payload would be able to churn and produce ice cream in near space conditions. We were able to determine if ice cream was made by measuring the current that was sent to the motor over time, and found that it increased because the ice cream was solidifying and getting thicker. We formed a falsifiable hypothesis and then we utilized our tools and knowledge to develop a reproducible payload so that others can test to see the results themselves. This was such a fun project to engage with and learning the hypo-deductive method in colloquia greatly helped me produce this payload.
Next, I will talk about how I encountered a failure of critical thinking skills in my experiences at UMD so far. This event happened in the BPP as well. After I spent my summer of 2024 creating a payload for SGC practicum, I launched it in August. I assumed that everything was good, as all of the code worked and everything was constructed and tested several times before launch, so I taped the payload shut and gave it to tie-on. The payloads were successfully launched, however when it came to recovering our payloads I noticed that mine was missing. I was a bit down but I knew that this had happened in the past; other payloads have gone missing after launch. After a couple days, the BPP had their launch debrief with the rest of the program. One graduate student, whom I will not name, used several logical fallacies while talking to me and my group in front of all of the BPP and Dr. Bowden. They were using argument from authority, Gish Gallop, and slippery slope. They claimed that my payload dropping from the line, would be dangerous to humans, could have potentially caused a car crash, and would cause the whole BPP to be shut down. To be clear, every payload falls from the sky all together, connected by a line, which is arguably more dangerous than my singular payload, which weighed 500 grams, was made of foam, and had its largest surface area as 12 inches by 12 inches. They were making their arguments from the fact that they are a graduate student, while I was a freshman, and that their arguments had more emphasis and expertise over mine. They threw as many arguments at me as possible, trying to overwhelm me regardless of if their arguments were solid. They also used slippery slope, to try and scare people and my group that my payload falling separate from the line could have caused the program to shut down; there have been many times previously where a payload has fallen from the line, with one time where every payload landed on a highway during a launch, and yet no one got injured and the program is still running to this day. I also got support other members in the club as well as Dr. Bowden, which is nice as that has been my main motivation to stay with the club.
I took several supporting courses during my time as an SGC Scholar and I will talk mainly about PHYS270, PHYS271, and MATH246. In PHYS270: General Physics: Waves, Optics, Relativity and Modern Physics and PHYS271: General Physics: Electrodynamics, Light, Relativity and Modern Physics (Laboratory), my knowledge of the scientific process and hypo-deductive method were increased as I learned about how light works, which is useful as its necessary to know how it powers solar panels, as well as conducting experiments in my lab section. This pair of courses has been quite fun compared to many of my other engineering courses that I have taken in college so far. In MATH246: Differential Equations for Scientists and Engineers, I learned a part of how the whole universe functions. Everything is a differential equation, albeit a partial differential equation, but every process in its essence deals with differential equations in some way, and this foundational knowledge is going to be quite useful in my later engineering courses. These three supporting courses have helped me enhance my scientific knowledge of the world and how solutions to climate change actually function.
Being a Scholar means being part of a living-learning community. I have interacted with many peers in SGC and have formed some great friendships. I don't think it had a major impact in my learning of the program, but I appreciate the friendships I have made as a result of being in the community. In particular, I have made friends with Noah Witt and Anthony Collier, who I took a differential equations class with, where we worked on the homeworks together and asked each other for clarity on topics from class. I haven't worked with any scholars who are also in my major, as I already made friends in my major on my own.
Looking at how much I've contributed to SGC, I don't think I have a lot to talk about. I have helped my friends better understand concepts. I have helped them because I take a lot of photos and videos when we go on excursions so that they can recall anything that they have forgotten when writing their reports. I have made this website, which you're on right now. There have been the group projects that were uploaded to Youtube, if anyone is able to find them. I think my contributions could have been greater if I was more willing to step out of my comfort zone and do more, but I hope that what I have done will influence others in the future.
Overall, I would say that being an SGC scholar has challenged me a couple times in terms of the way I approach problems and how I approach about climate change. Before coming to scholars I had a high tendency to believe the arguments my friends would make quite easily, without really questioning it. But now I am more skeptical of everyone's arguments and am more willing to do my own research to come to my own conclusions. I've also changed the way I approach the issue of climate change, as I used to believe that it only dealt with the environment, but I've learned that there are societal aspects, economic aspects, and more that can't be overlooked because they are significant as well. Climate change affects everyone and is a slow process - it seeps into how we live our lives and the way we think. I think my SGC experience will inform my future in regards to how I vote, how I intake my information and news, and how I react to arguments. The lessons about logical fallacies and skepticism are going to be something I draw upon the most in my junior and senior year, as I am going to mainly be focused on my aerospace engineering studies. For my future career plans after graduation, I will be using these lessons to inform how I conduct research, if I go to graduate school, or how I make decisions in the workforce. I know that whichever path I take in the future, I will be using the skills and knowledge I learned during my Scholars experience.