Interesting Careers in Science

Biologists from the Field Museum are studying biodiversity in the Amazon, a tropical jungle. If you were a field biologist, which biome would you study and why?

Photo by Alvaro del Campo

Jaguars are the largest cats in the Americas. A jaguar print at Yagua River measured five inches across.

Big Cats, Tapirs and a Mysterious Bat

By DOUGLAS STOTZ

 

Wednesday, Oct. 27

"Life is tough for tropical mammalogists. They work on a group with a limited number of species, maybe 150 at places like the ones we are in, and most of those species are bats and rats. Other than monkeys, most of the large mammals in the Amazon are rare. To detect them, mammalogists look for signs — scat, tracks, scratch marks, anything to let them know that a species is here. Worse, they have yahoo ornithologists reporting weird bats, and clueless botanists seeing rare deer. But they have to follow up on these reports. They also have to work night and day. Some mammals (monkeys, for example) are out in daylight hours, but for most, nighttime is when they are active."

How do you approach "impossible" problems?

Mr. Geissbühler achieved the "impossible" in the article from the New York Times below. Can you describe a time when you solved an "impossible problem" and the process you used to solve it?                                                                                                                                                                                          

                        Luke Geissbühler

In a Takeout Container, a Trek to the Stratosphere

A 100,000-FOOT VOYAGE

Luke Geissbuhler tethered a video camera to a weather balloon and launched it in August from Newburgh, N.Y. The trip took 90 minutes, and a seven-minute video became a viral success.
By SAM GROBART
Published: October 12, 2010, The New York Times

Luke Geissbühler has raised the bar in the cool-dad competition.

In August, Mr. Geissbühler, a 40-year-old director and cinematographer, tethered a video camera to a weather balloon and sent both more than 100,000 feet into the stratosphere. The camera safely returned to the ground with the help of a small parachute.

The entire trip took about 90 minutes, but a seven-minute account of the voyage, posted on the video-sharing site Vimeo, has become a viral success, garnering more than one million views since it was first uploaded on Sept. 19. The breathtaking video, with its NASA-like views of the Earth’s curves, has made Mr. Geissbühler the latest in a long line of scrappy, do-it-yourself geek heroes. (It can be seen at www.brooklynspaceprogram.org/BSP/Space_Balloon.html.)

The instigator for this particular space program was Mr. Geissbühler’s 7-year-old son, Max, who had made more than a few requests for a handmade spacecraft.
“Our creative process works this way: he asks for the impossible,” Mr. Geissbühler said, “and then I have to tell him why it’s impossible. And then I start to question that. And then I start to investigate that.”

What do you think?

Twice a month, I will post a picture, a quote, a video, or a short reading for you to respond to. You must respond at least once during every grading period, but only once for each topic. Please keep your posts relevant, concise and school appropriate. Thanks!

The Secret Powers of Time

The fun theory

Final exams are approaching!

The last opportunity for earning extra credit is the winter reading test on Monday, January 11 during lunch. Bring your book and arrive no later than 12:43 PM. Remember, there are no make-up exams!

Final exams are 3 weeks away. Please take some time this weekend to organize your study schedule and plan for success!

APES students will take the Unit 6 test, and begin The Apprentice Project during their final exam. For an introduction to the apprentice project, check out the Prezi below...

Biology students should begin reviewing EVERYTHING they have learned (or should have learned) this semester. Your Final Exam will be comprehensive.

APES Second Semester Service Learning
Check out this Prezi for an introduction to The Apprentice Project

APES and Biology Class Website

The first week of classes has been busy: textbooks, syllabi, safety tests, labs, tear-offs to return and so much more! For help keeping it all straight, click on the title of this post to sign up & join your class website. You can create a customized personal calendar, download all handouts given in class, check on homework and ask questions. There are also links to websites you can use to improve your understanding or to help you get your work done. Please post and share any additional Biology or AP Environmental Science websites that you think would be interesting or helpful.