It’s been about three weeks at the Super Sleepy Program (SSP). At first, we were all (somewhat) confident in our ability to complete our psets before we all fell asleep. Certainly, we were all proven wrong. This blog is a slice of some of the interesting tidbits of an SSP student’s life.
On Monday, we were lucky enough to learn about the wonders of angular motion. This, as with all great physics, included physical demonstrations which involved Dr. Dubson spinning on a platform in front of the classroom. Later, Kristen Henry, an artist and computer scientist, joined us to show some of her projects and visualizations
Tuesday: On Tuesday, we began the dreaded orbital determination lectures. I drank coffee in the morning. Other students were not so lucky.
Wednesday: Wednesday morning, I somehow managed to wake up early enough to meet up with some people to go swimming. We went to the recreational center, which was much larger than I had initially expected. The swimming pool was freezing cold, but luckily, we were able to use the warmer diving pool.
We continued the orbital determination lectures. Again, people ensured their breaks were well-used. Even Dr. D seemed to need a rest before dinner.
Fourth of July!: After the morning lecture on orbital determination, we went to Longmont for their Fourth of July Festival. We were all hungry, but the lines easily spanned 30 minutes long. Still, we managed to get our food eventually. After we ate our food truck dinners, we lined up for an equally long line for the ice cream, but the fireworks meant we left before we could order. When we sat down, Emily took our orders and got us ice cream. I managed to steal the last of the pineapple before Illisha could get any.
Friday: The morning lecture on Friday consisted of several weeks worth of Electricity & Magnetism physics crammed into the span of about three hours. As all my favorite lectures do, this lecture included some more lovely physics demonstrations. I was a fan of the eddy currents and the nail-melting.
For the afternoon lecture, I can think of a positive and a negative. On one hand, it was the last orbital determination lecture. On the other hand, it was the last orbital determination lecture. I followed the individual frames, but I didn’t quite understand how she got from one to the next. I quote Dr. Fallscheer: “Isn’t it obvious?” (It was not)
Saturday: No updates except our dearest TA, Mr. Kevin Kim, hijacked my phone
About me: Hi, I’m David! I’m a rising senior from Palo Alto, California! I play bass guitar and draw sketches for fun. I’m part of my school’s jazz band, symphonic band, rocketry club, and volunteer at a local makerspace on weekends.
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SSP International is a nonprofit offering inspiring science immersion experiences. Founded in 1959, its mission is to provide opportunities to accelerate learning, doing and belonging in science. SSP International’s flagship program is Summer Science Program, a leading education experience for exceptional high school students in astrophysics, biochemistry, genomics and more.