“It’s awesome! You have no idea.”
--Lorenzo Landini, Cluster 6, Mathematics of Music

COSMOS APPRECIATES: Back Bay Science Center - Chemical Bonding Center - UCI Observatory - UCI Sailing Association
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Students are discovering that knowledge combined with analytical skills to effectively use information is among their greatest assets in this information age. Each cluster is enjoying experiential learning, and students are engaged in their projects. From every aspect, COSMOS-UCI reflects three pillars of education: intellectual, social, and physical.

For up-to-the-minute photos visit: http://www.SmugMug.com

Check out the Crystal Growth/Mathematical & Computer Modeling site:
http://geocities.com/cosmosuci/index.html

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STUDENT PROJECTS - A SAMPLING
The Environmental Sciences student biology/marine science projects offer a taste of the kinds of original work students are doing in COSMOS:

Group 1: Anette, Doreen, Stephanie are looking at the burrowing habits of medusa worms (Family: Cirratulidae) collected from mud grabs off the docks of the Newport Back Bay Science Center. Medusa worms are deposit feeders that stretch out their tentacles in search of food particles throughout the sandy bottom of the bay (meaning this is an especially important group of animals because they help break down detritus that builds up in the bay). The group is using glass sand to measure the total area of tentacle burrowing while also determining the preferred size of sand particles to burrow in.

Group 2: Jonathan, Amelia, Emily have started working on a project with potentially major biological implications. Currently California only retains approximately 10% of its original wetland areas. While most people think of wetlands as a great place to observe many species of birds and fish, the really ecologically fascinating organisms lie in the soft sediment along the bay’s floor. Clams and other bivalves act as natural cleaning system for the Newport Back Bay by filtering out organic debris from the water column. Group 2 has been measuring the filtering efficiency of a variety of different clam species to estimate the total filtering capacity of the entire bay!

Group 3: Julia, Meryl, Kellianne are interested in understanding the color changing capacities of Pacific Halibut. This flatfish can change its skin color to perfectly blend with their sandy environment.. They do this by contracting and expanding the pigments in their skin (the irridocytes…or mirror cells adjust the shininess of the skin and the chromatophores adjust the color of the skin…typically by changing the amount of red, yellow, orange, or black we see at the skin’s surface). Group 3 is currently introducing halibut to a variety of sand types (light sand, dark sand, black, white, and even a COSMOS design) to determine the extent of the fish’s color changing abilities and will calculate the amount of time it takes for a complete color change (usually within minutes!).

Individual project: Jack knew from the first trip tide pooling that he wanted to do a project on sea star feeding. Sea stars feed by everting their stomachs onto their prey and releasing digestive juices to start liquefying their food before it enters their bodies. The partially liquefied diet, along with the stomach, is then sucked back in to the body so the sea star can finish digesting its meal. Jack set out to determine the prey preference and the mechanics behind stomach eversion in three sea stars found at the Newport Back Bay.
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Clownzilla Theatrical Performance: Tuesday evening, the California Commedia Troupe entertained students with their theatrical performance, Clownzilla, A Love Story, created and directed by Professor Eli Simon, Chair, UCI Drama Department. The students, UCI alumni of the School of the Arts, Theater Department, collaborated on the wildly entertaining (and poignant) show. The theme of the “in group” and the “out group” definitely elicited empathy. The Troupe will perform in Seoul, South Korea, at a theatrical festival in the fall. The performers held a Q&A session. They are working on a high school outreach program, in which they will introduce students to clown theater and engage them in the show.

Science of Super Heroes: Wednesday afternoon, students gave rapt attention to The Science of Super Heroes, presented by Professor Michael Dennin, UCI Department of Physics. He began by asking students their favorite super hero (Spider Man, Bat Man, Super Man, Wolverine, and Hulk topped the list) and their favorite super powers (teleportation, telekinesis, invisibility, flying were favorites), which Professor Dennin used to elaborate on the fundamental laws of physics vs. technological limits. He emphasized, “There is no way we can violate Newton’s three laws,” and encouraged audience participation by eliciting their definitions. He said, “Forces are the Number 1 problem for superheroes.” In reality, how many of you can say ‘Up, Up and Away!” (Students offered pixie dust and happy thoughts). He showed video clips of Spider Man, and shared his work on the science portrayed in Super Man II. He will appear on the History Channel July 21st in another of his series, including the Science of Star Trek. Professor Dennin urged, “I suggest you all become physics majors because it’s the best thing to do.”
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Wednesday’s volleyball tournament drew an exuberant crowd. Five teams competed for the championship. … Engineering students had a special guest speaker from Motor Trend magazine. Cluster 8, World of Molecules students took a field trip to Newport Optics.

As part of Career Week, COSMOS offered a “college bound” workshop Thursday afternoon featuring COSMOS resident advisors who are recent graduates of UCI and have lots of insights and guidelines to share on the application, admission, and freshman enrollment experience.

Friday morning, Mathematics of Music students were treated to a piano performance by Cecilia Coleman (ceciliacoleman.com), from New York City, a colleague of Mr. John Crooks, UCI School of the Arts. They performed at the Winifred Smith Hall. The special treat is one of the many aspects of “value added” to COSMOS -- efforts that demonstrate the dedication and commitment of our instructors. For more cluster activities, scroll to “Cluster Highlights.”

Ms. Coleman, pianist, composer and bandleader (Cecilia Coleman Quintet) has led her own group since 1990. A native of Long Beach, CA, Ms. Coleman visits Southern California several times a month to teach jazz piano at CSU Long Beach.  She has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Telluride Jazz Festival and the New Mexico Jazz Workshop. She has seven CDs out (trio and quintet).  COSMOS students had the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the rhythmic part of jazz, harmonic content, compositional thinking, complexity and harmony, and improvisation. She urged students to look at their pieces analytically. By special request, Ms. Coleman, with Mr. Crooks on bass, performed the jazz standard from 1954, "Misty."

Friday afternoon students can hand paint their own COSMOS picture frames, and after dinner is Casino Night, complete with decorations and an array of games (and prizes). The RAs are the dealers for games of chance. There will be prizes!

Saturday, students head to the beach at Corona del Mar, followed by karaoke after sunset. There will be “free swim” at the Anteater Recreation Center Olympic sized pool on Sunday.
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Cluster 1-- AIRPLANES & ROCKETS
After learning the relevant physics of wind power, buoyancy, etc. in the classroom, the students were ready to experience the principles first-hand. Sailing in Newport Harbor served the purpose. The mandatory water fight ensured that they were fully immersed. There was also a field trip to the UCI power plant, capped off with the students re-fueling on self-made raspberry ice cream. The week's lectures covered rockets, space propulsion, orbital mechanics, and interplanetary mission design. The students worked on their communication and public speaking skills, and gave short oral presentation on their Intel research proposals. In the lab, the students have finished their remote-controlled airplanes, completing assembly and adding the control surface electronics and actuators. The big test is on Tuesday next week when we see how the planes fly.

Cluster 2-- ASTRONOMY/ASTROPHYSICS
The amount of mass in a given galaxy can be determined by how fast the stars in that galaxy move. Using this method, astronomers derive the masses of galaxies to be far more than what is calculated by the mass of the visible (glowing) material alone. This ‘extra mass’ is called “dark” matter, because it is detected only by the gravity it exerts. Dark matter emits no light of its own. Students have studied dark matter, the even more mysterious ‘dark energy’ and Einstein’s Special and General Theories of Relativity in lectures this week. Our students have also been gathering and analyzing data for their various projects and only the asteroid group still needs a few images with the 24-inch telescope to verify their predictions of the asteroid's orbit. Others are starting to generate their conclusions about the mass of Jupiter, the age of star clusters, masses of stars based on strengths of absorption lines in their spectra, the temperature and mass of two stars in an eclipsing binary system, the shape of the universe and the evidence for dark matter. The students have made great progress so far, and they are very excited to get their final results.

Cluster 3-- CRYSTAL GROWTH: Mathematical & Computer Modeling
During the third week of COSMOS, the students in the Mathematical and Materials Science cluster learned about crystal growth processes - both natural (geological processes) as well as highly refined industrial approaches. They were introduced to techniques used to grow silicon crystals as the basis of the entire microelectronics industry, and learned of some of the key related historical events in this industry. The lectures this week focused on the drivers for crystal growth processes, the variables that affect the shapes, geometries and properties of crystalline materials, and also learned about how defects introduced into materials during crystal growth can affect the properties - in both positive and negative ways. They explored the growth of thin films of crystalline materials, and the added complexity in designing materials that utilize thin film configurations. They saw images of a fascinating cave system that was discovered in Mexico, containing the largest known naturally grown single-crystal structures (some reaching 45 feet in length!). We again used electron microscopes to explore two aspects of the course material. We again grew snow crystals, this time inside the microscope and imaged at high magnification. This was done in conjunction with direct viewing of dissolving salt in water and watching the re-crystallization of salt crystals when the water is drawn off the system. The students learned about 'polycrystalline' materials and 'multi-phase' materials, and how solubility is related to crystal growth. We also used an electron microscopy technique known as Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction (EBSD) to 'map' crystalline texture in advanced metal alloys, and discussed how scientists use this information to develop lighter, stronger and tougher metals - potentially for use in next-generation airplanes. In another of the lab sessions, the students were tasked with discovering the identity of unknown crystalline materials using only x-ray diffraction data taken from these materials. The students did remarkably well in solving for the unknowns - in fact, solving problems typically used in university undergraduate and graduate materials courses!
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Cluster 5-- MATH PUZZLES & GAMES
On Monday, the students learned some strategies using group theory to solve Rubik's Cube. Dr. Frey went through the interesting history of the Rubik's Cube and explained how to read Concatenation Operation (a sequence of moves) written in Singmaster notation when solving Rubik's Cube. One student in the cluster was able to solve the cube in twenty seconds. Some who had been playing with the cube for a long time competed in solving it blindfolded.  Getting closer to the final project, Dr. Arvo led the students to programming the Risk game using LISP. On Tuesday, the students visited the California Science Center and appeared fascinated by The Original Exhibition of Real Human Bodies. For almost two hours, the group took notes while observing full-body specimens and exploring one body system at a time. They learned how the systems fit and function in real human bodies. On Wednesday, the students learned about partition theory-the mathematical concept in Kakuro Puzzle. In the afternoon, they competed in PowerPoint Presentation. Using information from the Technical Writing class, seven groups showed their skills in designing PowerPoint for a scientific project and communicating with general audience. On Thursday, the students used partition theory to solve different types of Kakuro Puzzle. In the lab, they worked rigorously on their final project which included programming the Risk game and designing a poster to present another favorite game of choice.
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Cluster 7-- NEUROSCIENCE
This week’s Cluster 7, Neurobiology has been a story of the heart. Dr. Christie Engesser-Cesar prepared students for a field trip to the California Science Center with a lecture on integration of the autonomic nervous system and the cardiovascular system. Guest lecturer Dr. Michael Leon, Associate Dean of Biological Sciences, UC Irvine, spoke on clinical treatment of eating disorders and correlating brain biochemistry. At the CA Science Center, students viewed an IMax film, “The Human Body,” and visited the “Original Exhibition of Real Human Bodies and the Story of the Heart.” Dr. Mimi Belcher delivered an intriguing lecture on drugs of addition, followed by a guest lecture on aging, courtesy of Dr. Dan Berlau of the “90-Plus Project.” Students toured the UCI Institute for Brain Imaging and Dementia. Graduate students Shara Stough and Sabrina Segal led a dissection lab activity on the frog heart; students exclaimed when one frog’s heart went into arrest and was revived with epinephrine! Dr. Brian Cummings of the UCI Reeve-Irvine Research Center spoke on stem cells. Students are working hard to author abstracts and create poster projects to present data that was collected and analyzed last week while working alongside UCI graduate students. Students will present their posters to their cluster next Thursday morning, and will display them for other clusters during the afternoon. It’s hard to believe that we are soon entering the final week of COSMOS, but time flies when you’re having fun … This is our chant: “Cluster 7, we’re so strong, we dissect things all day long!”

Cluster 8-- THE WORLD OF MOLECULES: Chem at the Nano-Scale
ACE-TIME LIMITWaves, lasers and ultrashort light flashes are no longer question marks to the students of the chemistry cluster. In a series of high-level lectures, UCI experts unfolded the ins-and-outs of advanced spectroscopy methods for probing molecules. The lasers and optics used for spectroscopy are enigmatic pieces of equipment. To find out how these devices are manufactured, COSMOS took the students to one of the largest laser producing factories in the country: Newport Optics. During a two-hour tour, the details on lens grinding, fiber pulling and microscopic focusing were revealed by optics manufacturers. In this third week of COSMOS we also decisively entered the world of nano. And what a remarkable world it is! Students found out that materials show extraordinary properties when they are diced up into minuscule chunks of only a few nanometer across. Amazingly, by adding just a handful of atoms more to these little crumbs, their color completely changes from blue to red. If you can view large PowerPoint documents (5.1 megabytes), click here to check out some photos and comments by students in Cluster 8.
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