(Photo: Karl Maasdam)

“A lot of people think you have to look like this to be a scientist!” says Professor Sujaya Rao, pointing at Einstein. A giggle ripples through the room.

Professor Rao is here to dispel that stereotype. An entomologist (bug scientist) who studies pollinators, like bumble bees and honey bees, as well as pests that damage crops, Rao wants young girls to know that science is wide open to them. That’s why she and other women at Oregon State University, students as well as professors, are devoting their Saturday to being role models and encouraging girls to consider careers in science and engineering.

About 120 girls from all over the state of Oregon participated in the annual science workshop for girls, Discovering the Scientist Within. “We collected information on schools and towns where they came from,” Rao reports. “Some came from Burns and Hines and Jewell and places I had never heard of!”

The discovery began with an engineering challenge: build a catapult. After teams of five or six girls had finished fashioning their catapults from wood and rubber bands, they tested their inventions by launching cotton balls as far as they could fly.

After that, the girls headed across campus to visit labs of their choice. At one lab, students learned about amphibians in the Northwest from graduate students Lindsey Thurman and Jennifer Rowe, a duo that calls itself “Women of Wildlife.”

First they gave a presentation about all sorts of frogs, newts and salamanders — including a weird video in which a bullfrog eats a poisonous newt and dies instantly from the poison, after which the newt triumphantly emerges from the dead bullfrog and walks away. Then the girls got to handle and feed the live amphibians living in lab.

(Photo: Karl Maasdam)

At another lab, the girls built and tested blades for a model wind turbine. They generated wind with a big fan, and then measured the voltage produced by their blades. Kari van Zee, who was leading the lab, helped them rethink their designs to produce more electricity.

Discovering the Scientist Within is sponsored by the OSU Provost’s Office, the SMILE Program, STEM Academy (formerly Saturday Academy), Scientists and Teachers in Education Partnerships, 4-H Youth Development, the Women’s Center, and Pre-college Programs.

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Read a story and see photos from the Discovering the Scientist Within workshop in the Corvallis Gazette-Times.

Sign up for tsunami alerts, learn about ongoing research and the global tsunami warning system, and find useful educational resources at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s premier site.

See animations and simulations based on studies of recent earthquakes and tsunamis in Indonesia, Chile, American Samoa and the Pacific Northwest.

Stories, videos and tsunami history at The Why Files.

Researchers at Oregon State University have led studies of the Cascadia Subduction Zone and calculated that there is a one-in-three chance of a tsunami-generating earthquake greater than magnitude 8 in the next 50 years. At the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Lab, engineers slam waves into simulated towns and shorelines to understand how tsunamis affect buildings, roads and communities and how we can improve engineering designs.

Oregon Sea Grant helps coastal communities save lives by preparing for tsunamis.

Lucky recovered from cancer to qualify for national competition. (Photo: Rod Krahmer)

All three dogs came to Oregon State University’s animal hospital when they got sick. And all the dogs got well, thanks to powerful new tools and innovative treatments at OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Those new tools and treatments may someday lead to healing humans, too.

“There are ties between human and animal health, just as there is a bond between people and their pets,” says Dr. Stuart Helfand, a veterinarian at OSU.

Helfand is studying new ways to treat dogs who have cancer. In the operating room where OSU’s veterinarians perform surgery on dogs like Holly, Lucky and Mogli, the doctors often use a state-of-the-art operating microscope — a special instrument that magnifies body parts so they can see more clearly when they operate. To find the exact size and location of the cancer, they also use a high-speed CT scanner — a type of X-ray machine that takes 3-D pictures of bones and organs to detect injury or disease.

“We have the best CT scanner in veterinary medicine,” says Helfand. “It allows us to do things we never dreamed of.”

In the hallway outside the laboratory where Dr. Helfand does his research, there are snapshots of the dogs he has treated. Mogli looks like he’s winking, but he actually has just one eye. To help Mogli get well, the doctors had to remove his diseased eye. But this dog with the friendly face and glossy black coat doesn’t seem to mind too much. He still loves to chase squirrels and wag his tail. That’s why Dr. Helfand calls this display of snapshots the “Wall of Heroes.” These animals are heroes, he says, because they are bravely helping doctors learn more about healing sick pets — and sick people, too.

In Application of the Scientific Method Through Clinical Trials, students will learn the real world application of the scientific method by studying the process of clinical trials. Students will understand how drugs, treatments and medical devices are tested and evaluated for safety and effectiveness. They will ask well-defined questions, design an experiment and use critical thinking to analyze research situations. Students are asked to create a Mind Map graphic organizer for the clinical trials process.  Students will also explore the clinical trial process in an exciting Medopoly game.

Lesson plans are provided by the Partnership for Environmental Education and Rural Health (PEER) Program. Major funding for PEER  is provided by the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health

Applicable Oregon science standards

This lesson plan applies to the following Oregon science education standards:

6.3 Scientific Inquiry: Scientific inquiry is the investigation of the natural world based on observation and science principles that includes proposing questions or hypotheses, and developing procedures for questioning, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting accurate and relevant data to produce justifiable evidence-based explanations.

6.3S.1 Based on observations and science principles, propose questions or hypotheses that can be examined through scientific investigation. Design and conduct an investigation that uses appropriate tools and techniques to collect relevant data.
6.3S.2 Organize and display relevant data, construct an evidence-based explanation of the results of an investigation, and communicate the conclusions.
6.3S.3 Explain why if more than one variable changes at the same time in an investigation, the outcome of the investigation may not be clearly attributable to any one variable.

7.3 Scientific Inquiry: Scientific inquiry is the investigation of the natural world based on observation and science principles that includes proposing questions or hypotheses, designing procedures for questioning, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting multiple forms of accurate and relevant data to produce justifiable evidence-based explanations.

7.3S.1 Based on observations and science principles, propose questions or hypotheses that can be examined through scientific investigation. Design and conduct a scientific investigation that uses appropriate tools and techniques to collect relevant data.
7.3S.2 Organize, display, and analyze relevant data, construct an evidence-based explanation of the results of an investigation, and communicate the conclusions including possible sources of error.
7.3S.3 Evaluate the validity of scientific explanations and conclusions based on the amount and quality of the evidence cited.

8.3 Scientific Inquiry: Scientific inquiry is the investigation of the natural world based on observations and science principles that includes proposing questions or hypotheses and designing procedures for questioning, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting multiple forms of accurate and relevant data to produce justifiable evidence-based explanations and new explorations.

8.3S.1 Based on observations and science principles, propose questions or hypotheses that can be examined through scientific investigation. Design and conduct a scientific investigation that uses appropriate tools, techniques, independent and dependent variables, and controls to collect relevant data.
8.3S.2 Organize, display, and analyze relevant data, construct an evidence-based explanation of the results of a scientific investigation, and communicate the conclusions including possible sources of error. Suggest new investigations based on analysis of results.
8.3S.3 Explain how scientific explanations and theories evolve as new information becomes available.

The Great Wave A tsunami races through the ocean deep at jet-aircraft speed. Approaching the shore, it can crest to more than 100 feet, hitting coastal areas with devastating force. In this package of lessons and activities, students will learn what causes a tsunami, the physics behind its movement, and how scientists know when one is forming. They can also study its impact on a model town, view tsunami-resistant house designs and learn about a 10-year-old girl credited with saving dozens of lives when a tsunami struck Samoa.

These lessons, drawn from UNESCO and Discovery Education materials, are available on the eGFI website.

Applicable Oregon science standards

This lesson plan applies to the following Oregon science education standards:

6.3 Scientific Inquiry: Scientific inquiry is the investigation of the natural world based on observation and science principles that includes proposing questions or hypotheses, and developing procedures for questioning, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting accurate and relevant data to produce justifiable evidence-based explanations.

6.4 Engineering Design: Engineering design is a process of identifying needs, defining problems, developing solutions, and evaluating proposed solutions.

7.2 Interaction and Change: The components and processes within a system interact.

7.3 Scientific Inquiry: Scientific inquiry is the investigation of the natural world based on observation and science principles that includes proposing questions or hypotheses, designing procedures for questioning, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting multiple forms of accurate and relevant data to produce justifiable evidence-based explanations.

7.4 Engineering Design: Engineering design is a process of identifying needs, defining problems, identifying constraints, developing solutions, and evaluating proposed solutions. 8.2 Interaction and Change: Systems interact with other systems.

8.3 Scientific Inquiry: Scientific inquiry is the investigation of the natural world based on observations and science principles that includes proposing questions or hypotheses and designing procedures for questioning, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting multiple forms of accurate and relevant data to produce justifiable evidence-based explanations and new explorations.

8.4 Engineering Design: Engineering design is a process of identifying needs, defining problems, identifying design criteria and constraints, developing solutions, and evaluating proposed solutions.

The experiment is taking place at Oregon State University in a special laboratory equipped with huge wave machines. When a strong earthquake shakes the Earth beneath the ocean, it can cause a giant wave called a tsunami. These giant waves can travel for hundreds of miles across the ocean.

An undersea earthquake triggers a tsunami.

When a powerful tsunami reaches the shore, it can wash away anything in its path. Boats, cars, roads, bridges and buildings can get picked up and carried off.

To help people prepare for these destructive waves, scientists at OSU are studying their incredible strength. If scientists like Professor Harry Yeh can discover how much force the waves carry when they come ashore and crash into buildings, they can help builders, engineers and architects to design stronger offices, stores and houses.

“Strong buildings can stand up to a tsunami,” says Professor Yeh, who is one of the world’s top experts on tsunamis. “We have to figure out the best way to do it.”

The scientists conduct their experiments in OSU’s Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory, one of the largest wave labs in the world. In the lab, there is a very long, narrow tank made out of cement. The tank, which holds 300,000 gallons of water, is kind of like a flume at a water park. Scientists can create waves in the tank and then calculate the strength of the waves.

Simulated tsunamis crash into scale model buildings at OSU's O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Lab, the nation's largest tsunami test facility. Engineers have run tests with the Oregon coastal communities of Seaside and Cannon Beach (Photo: Frank Miller)

“Tsunamis are very difficult to measure in the real world because they don’t happen very often and when they do, they happen very fast,” says Alicia Lyman-Holt, who organizes tours of the wave lab for students and other visitors. “That’s why scientists use models to study them. Models are a substitute for direct observation.” These experiments will help make people safer the next time a tsunami happens.
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Arrange for school tours of the Hinsdale Wave Research Lab here.

See tsunami wave tests in action at OSU’s Hinsdale Wave Research Lab in a video produced by the National Science Foundation.