COLUMN: Celebrate wonders of science
On Oct. 22 through 27 the Science Council will be sponsoring activities to collectively be known as Science Week. The purpose of these activities will be to celebrate the College of Science. Why celebrate science you ask? The answer is simple.
When you think back to your years in college, what will you remember? Will you remember the time you made homemade alcohol for class? Or will it be how you referred to the library as your home? Perhaps it will be the time you learned integrity is really defined as the opposite of a derivative? Will you remember the many more hours you spent in front a Bunsen burner (and/or computer screen) than members of the opposite sex?
To the average Utah State University student these will not be memories at all. Yet to students in the College of Science, these are the sweet memories of collegiate life. The collegiate life of science majors is continually improving for the better, and this year is no exception.
Last year, the new chemistry building was dedicated. This year the dedication of the new Eccles Science Learning Center, the new home of the College of Science administration, will be announced. Included in this building is the new home of several large classrooms and a student study lounge. Leading the way, we have a great interim dean with department heads and faculty who have all worked hard to improve the college for their students. In addition, they are preparing the way for a new dean who is in the process of being selected. The computer science department is continuing to grow as they begin to implement the governor’s initiatives for computer science. No matter where you look, the College of Science is doing great things.
Even if you are not a science major, our college has had its affect. Whether simply seeing the constant retaining wall around construction sites, or the green beam you see every night, you have seen our footprint. For many students the largest impact of the College of Science is our math classes. Sometimes taken once, sometimes twice and for some of my friends this semester, I hope the third time is the charm.
The advancement of the scientific field over the past century has been felt by all. Have you ever stopped to think where these advancements came from? Have you ever wondered where the scientists of tomorrow are? These new scientists are right here on this campus. They are hard-working undergraduate and graduate students who spend hours in the library trying to understand a concept named for the funny French man who discovered it.
Science is not an easy road. Many, like Matt Spencer, juggle work, family, school and little-league football in order to become tomorrow’s physicians. Some have to balance school studies, work and extra-curricular studies like those students involved with GAS, a project uniting USU students with NASA to perform experiments on shuttle payloads. In the future, a few of these students will find themselves working at NASA.
For many, the hard work will literally pay off. Whether it be the Math/Stat students working at large companies earning great sums of money or our computer science students who will someday dethrone Bill Gates. Perhaps our students will be the true scientists who someday have principles named for them. These and all campus students are the greatest reason to celebrate and have fun.
This is why Science Council, along with several of the clubs in the College of Science and other ASUSU organizations, work hard to unite students in academic achievement and programming activities. During Science Week there will be many opportunities to learn more about those in the College of Science. We will be having a club showcase, an undergraduate research fair, telescopes on the Quad and much more. Important to all USU events, there will be Aggie Ice Cream. We invite all of USU to watch for these activities and come and celebrate science with us.