Do you have a relevant professional backgound?

This forum is for discussing space science topics related to Stardust@home.

Moderator: DustMods

Are you (training as) a professional scientist in a field relevant to the Stardust mission?

Yes: exact science (physics, chemistry,...)
31
24%
Yes: applied science (engineering,...)
28
21%
Yes: other (please specify)
2
2%
No
64
49%
Not sure (yet)
6
5%
 
Total votes: 131

cthiker
Posts: 90
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 10:35 am
Location: Woodbridge, CT

Post by cthiker »

MDG wrote:I think I'm the least "qualified".
Actually, I'd beg to differ...

There's an old story I learned in college about perspectives and the value of diversity in thought. It's about a psychology research team looking into personality differences and how they impacted work behaviors. The team took a ball of string, a paper clip, and some pliers, and gave them to two groups of people set with the task of creating a working pendulum. One group consisted of engineers while the other was made up of art students.

The engineers dutifully manipulated the paper clip with the pliers until it was as compacted as they could achieve so that the mass was centered and had a minimum of wind resistance - a considerable effort! Then they carefully crimped this "ball" of metal onto the string and, voila, a pendulum was born!

The art students, considering the task trite and worthless, looked to get past this exercise and onto something more meaningful to them - so they quickly tied the string onto the pliers, threw away the paper clip, and...voila, a pendulum was born!

Everyone brings skills and ideas to the table, each with their own merit, which is why, in the case of Stardust, diversity of searchers could well be a benefit and not a burden!

At least that's my take on this project...and I'm stickin' with it! :)
sb126k
DustMod
Posts: 173
Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 5:47 am
Location: Charlevoix, MI (AKA, Tourist Town, USA)

Post by sb126k »

Wow... that's awesome, and I think that that is a wondurful and correct point. I wish I had said that!
You rang?
MDG
Posts: 42
Joined: Sun May 28, 2006 8:01 am
Location: South Africa

Post by MDG »

cthiker,

What a great story, thanks! :D
3of4
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2006 10:44 am
Location: Netherlands, Utrecht
Contact:

Post by 3of4 »

Just to put the topic back to where it started: I'm a PhD student in Physical Chemistry. I did my bachelor in Chemistry and my master in Physical Chemistry. So you could say that my education has a scientific relevance. However my interest in this project is not related to my education.
As my nickname already reveals: I'm a big star trek fan! When I was in highscool I became completely nuts about star trek and with it nuts about astronomy and everything closely related to space and extraterestrial life...That's how I came to participate in seti@home and ultimately when the news of stardust@home reached the netherlands in this project. So my interest and enthousiasm about participating is more a result of my hobby then of my work......
"I don't like it and I'm sorry I had anything to do with it" Schrödinger speaking of quantum mechanics
Siegfried
Posts: 105
Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 7:18 pm
Location: La Quinta, California
Contact:

Post by Siegfried »

Certainly not! But I certainly will!
And God said: E = +mv^2 - Ze^2/r ...and there *WAS* light!

WANTED:
Dead or Alive
^-^
( ^ )
Schroedinger's Cat
Trev_lite
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2006 11:52 am
Location: California sometime but I'm usually on the Internet

Post by Trev_lite »

i'm a computer programer. i'm only 15 but i got a job (in programming) so i think that means i'm certified.
Im just a crazy insane mad scientist autistic talkative computer savant programmer and king of the internet. AND IM NOT JOKING ABOUT THIS

ADD/ADHD Meds are now use for SETs along with Trimethylxanthine, the active ingredient in coffee
Duri
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Jun 24, 2006 3:42 pm
Location: Slovak Republic

Post by Duri »

(23)
I am a student of astronomy/interplanetary matter :roll:
I am not totally worthless, I can always serve as a bad example!
Siegfried
Posts: 105
Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 7:18 pm
Location: La Quinta, California
Contact:

Post by Siegfried »

Well, come to think of it, I AM a certified professional high-school student. :mrgreen:
I also work as a volunteer (a professional volunteer! :mrgreen: ) at a wildlife park.
And I'm working on my telescope.
And God said: E = +mv^2 - Ze^2/r ...and there *WAS* light!

WANTED:
Dead or Alive
^-^
( ^ )
Schroedinger's Cat
MaximVesuvius
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 8:11 pm
Location: Boise, ID, USA, North America, Earth, Solar System, Milky Way

Post by MaximVesuvius »

I'm a former Micron Tech. metrology/real-time defect analysis operator, with experience in KLA/Tencor, Surf, and Orbital scanning devices as well as a standard Leica microscope setup for silicon wafer scanning. Never got to use the SEM though. :cry:
tsrblke
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 11:27 am
Location: St. Louis, MO USA
Contact:

Post by tsrblke »

Is biology relevent? I mean imagine if the dust particle is ALIVE! (Ok, so that's a bit of a stretch.)
dangermite
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2006 10:51 am
Location: Champaign, IL, USA

Post by dangermite »

MaximVesuvius wrote:I'm a former Micron Tech. metrology/real-time defect analysis operator, with experience in KLA/Tencor, Surf, and Orbital scanning devices as well as a standard Leica microscope setup for silicon wafer scanning. Never got to use the SEM though. :cry:
Hey Maxim,

I was an AFM man, myself. Though I've heard of those other things you mentioned there. :) You could do this Stardust stuff in your sleep, eh?

dm
Wolter
DustMod
Posts: 457
Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 2:23 am
Location: Enkhuizen, the Netherlands

Post by Wolter »

I don't think so, after all the project is setup because they need our eyes. :wink:
Just dusting... Image
Samplug
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jul 06, 2006 7:37 am
Location: Belgium
Contact:

Post by Samplug »

Out of high school this June, entering university to study physics this Fall.

I am also an overpassionated (I'm not checking for the existence of this word in my dictionary, explanation below) stargazer. I own an 8" telescope, fully computerized but far from being home-made... The place I live in is not yet too much light-polluted and those 3 months of free time are getting progressively more and more promising for great observations!

Last but not least: I administrate an astronomy forum with some French friends of mine. It got bigger and bigger year after year, and the number of members has reached 3000.

That's enough to make me feel capable of looking for the presence of interstellar particles in small chunks of aerogel kept several months in the largest boomerang the NASA has ever made and got back.

P.S.: don't be scared with my potentially horrible English mistakes. Belgium's national languages do not include English. :wink:
snoopie
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:37 pm
Location: Belgium

Post by snoopie »

I have a M.Sc. degree in Metallurgy and Materials Engingeering. When I was I student, had to look for days through optical microscopes at the most complex microstructures.
Jenn
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2006 3:29 pm
Location: Canada

Post by Jenn »

(Huzzah, my first post!)

I'm a computing science major at SFU. Just need 9 more courses till I get my shiny BSc... But with 4 practicums to go, that won't be till the end of 2008 :?
The various hours I've spent staring at a screen going through thousands of lines of code to find bugs has to count for something :D
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