STEMinars

Robert D. CormiaFoothill College

STEMinars

• Pedagogy for informal learning• Four component model

– Science– Technology– Engineering– Mathematics

• Formal SLOs– (Seminar Learning Outcomes) or

STEMinar Learning Objects

Seminars Pros and Cons

• Current material - recency• Topical focus – applied context• Keeps us ‘up to date’• Lacks formal Learning Outcomes (SLOs)• Usually not foundational

– Prior knowledge required to participate• Lacks mathematics rigor

– Rarely do you see people work the numbers

Seminar Examples

• PARC forum PARC forum – technology and society

• Stanford Energy Seminar Stanford Energy Seminar – climate / energy / technology

• California Academy of Science California Academy of Science – technology and society

• WebinarsWebinars – virtually any current topic

• DocumentariesDocumentaries - virtually any current topic

The Internet and World Wide Web are radically changing how education is delivered

Seminars as Open Educational Resources

• PARC Forum PARC Forum – Streaming AV

• Energy Seminar Energy Seminar - iTunesU• WebinarsWebinars – WebEx• ConferencesConferences – AV and/or

mp3 / mpeg

The STEM in STEMinar

• Science – as foundational framework

• Technology – the emphasis (interest)

• Engineering – practical how-too context

• Mathematics – rarely practiced in public

All too often we are merely shown the current context, nothing foundational, nor the toil that went into solving the problem, and instead just the end result (like Julia Childs). We need to see the mathematics and/or engineering equations that form the basis of engineering know-

how, and or data (visualization) that drives home the main point.

Solving problems in public is important!

Better STEMinar Practices

• Scientific foundation (discovery)

• Engineering know-how (nuts and bolts)

• Technology – how is it used, and why?

• Mathematics – supporting equations

It’s your four basic food groups – applied to ‘everyday innovation’. If you blend a bit of each

into your technical discussions, you get a much deeper learning outcome, one that has ‘current context’, relevance, and SLO rigor.

STEMinar Examples

• The Science of Climate Change• Electric vehicles, fuel cells, and EMFEMF• How does wind energy save the day?• Acidification of the ocean by GHGs• A glimpse at Peak Oil Production

Using math in public Using math in public (supportively)

Learning Goals Up Front

• Tell your audience what they will learn

• Share the field of science involved

• Share the engineering challenges

• What new technology will they learn?

• Have handouts for one or two equations

SLOs help us craft the roadmap of a presentation – informal quizzes at the end ensure we accomplished those goals – and create reflective learning opportunities.

Wrap Up Quiz at the End

• You need answers to five questions– What was the (S)(S)cience / knowledge?– What (E)(E)ngineering problems were solved?– What (T)(T)echnologies are practiced, and how?– What was the (M)(M) numeracy and computation?– How will *you* use or share this information?

Turn it into a contest – with groups of students competing for points. You can also have follow up questions that require research, synthesis and computation

Solar Energy - earth’s Heat

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html

250 years of Carbon Emissions

It took 125 years to burn the first trillion barrels of oil – we’llburn the next trillion in less than 30 years – why should you care?

Rising CO2 over 50 Years

http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/globalchange/keeling_curve/01.html

see-saw swings in CO2 result from seasonal ‘biological production’

http://www.mala.bc.ca/~earles/ipcc-tar-feb01.htm

Temperatures over 1000 Years

Ice Cores – Story of Vostok

Vostok Ice Core Data•A perfect correlation between CO2, temperature, and sea level•For every one ppm CO2, sea level rises 1 meter, temp rises .05 C (global)•Process takes 100 years to add 1 ppm CO2, and reach thermal equilibrium

This is not just a correlation, this is a complex and dynamic process, with multiple inputs. Touching one input affects all other inputs, and increases in temperature becomes a further feedback and multiplier of these inputs.

GHGs and Vostok Data

James Kirchner Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley

Dials on the Thermostat

CO2

CH4

Ice / albedo

Water vaporClouds

Temperature

GHGs force energy into the planet, surface warming leads to feedbacks

Thermal inertiaClimate feedbacksGHGs

Missing feedbacks, asymmetric uncertainties, and the underestimation of future warmingMargaret S. Torn and John Harte AGU GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 33, L10703

Effect of Climate Feedbacks

Ocean Acidification and CO2

• 250 years of fossil fuel combustion

• 300,000 G tons C, 1 trillion tons of CO2

• pH of ocean is buffered by bicarbonate ion• Phytoplankton shells are made of carbonate and can’t

easily form and persist below a pH of 8

• At ~450 ppm CO2, the ocean has become too acidic (pH)

http://www.seafriends.org.nz/issues/global/acid2.htm

Understanding CO2 and pH

CO2 + CaCO3 + H2O => 2(HCO3)- + 2Ca2+ 

Dissolving CO2 into seawater produces bicarbonate and hydrogen ions – decreasing pH

Ocean Acidification

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_acidification

Peak Oil Production

• M. King Hubbert’s famous 1956 prediction!– Peak oil production around 2004 - 2010– After that, more expensive to find / refine

• Economies built on oil / gas will struggle• Not the end of oil, the end of easy oil!

– More expensive to find– Technically challenging– Environmentally damaging

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil

Peak Oil – ‘After the Crash’

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

World Oil Production History

Oil Production – Reserves

From ‘The Inevitable Peaking of World Oil Production’, Hirsch, 2005

Logistic Analysis of Oil Production

• Logistic analysis is how ultimate production estimates are made.

• Plot production growth (percent) on Y-axis, and cumulative production on X axis.

• 1/t ‘modulation’ is the trend line for the bell shaped ‘peak oil curve’

• These are US oil data =>

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/4171

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil

Electric Vehicles

• EMF – work without heat• 250 to 333 watt-hours per mile • How flow cells / fuel cells work• Electricity from wind energy• How much wind do we need?

EMF – Electro Motive Force – the ‘work’ that an electron does using voltage

Electric Vehicles (EVMT)

• In the US we use 400 million gallons of gasoline a day (400 x 106 gallons/day)

• At 20 mpg that is 8 billion miles a day (8 x 109)• Cross check VMT chart (3.0 trillion miles/year)• An electric car uses 0.25 to 0.33 KwHr per mile• US would need 2.5 billion KwHrs per day (EV)

to replace gasoline (~25% e- charging overhead)• Where can we get 2.5 x 109 KwHrs per day?

Building the Electron Economy – Robert D. Cormia 2010

US GDP/VMT

VMT data from green car congress =>http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/05/us-vehicle-mile.html

Energy Efficiency/Liquidity

• US buildings use 60% of all electricity

• Could we be 40% more efficient with energy?– (40% is the typical efficiency goal for LEED)

• 40% energy reduction of 60% electricity is 24%• 24% of 10.5 x 109 KwHrs a day = 2.5 x 109/ day• ~2.5 x 109 KwHrs/day is needed for EVMT• What we could gain *with efficiency alone*

could (almost) *completely* replace gasoline

Building the Electron Economy – Robert D. Cormia 2010

Wind Power – Real Power

Why Wind is the Answer to EV

• One motor winds up – another unwinds

• 1MW of wind supports 1,000 EV cars

• See the math (calculation below)

• Need to ‘forward store’ wind energy for later EV charging (like email distribution)

• Predictive analytics, grid-scale storage, collaborative EV charging networks are key

1 MW of wind => 24 hrs * 365 days * 1/3 utilization = 2.9 * 10^6 KwHrs annually1,000 EVs * 10,000 miles / EV * 300 watt-hrs / mile = 3.0 * 10^6 KwHrs annually

Vanadium redox flow cellsStore excess power for later use!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium_redox_battery

Batteries and Fuel Cells

• Batteries– NiMH– Lithium

• Fuel cells– DMFC– SOFC– Hydrogen

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/alternative-fuels/fuel-cell.htm

How Fuel Cells Work

A fuel cell is a device that uses hydrogen (or hydrogen-rich fuel) and oxygen to create electricity. Fuel cells are more energy-efficient than combustion engines and the hydrogen used to power them can come from a variety of sources. If pure hydrogen is used as a fuel, fuel cells emit only heat and water, eliminating concerns about air pollutants or greenhouse gases.

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/fc_animation_text.html

Do Math in Public!

• Numeracy and computation• Analytical reasoning ability• Deeper understanding of concepts• Understanding trend lines is critical• We need to use numbers in conversation

Do Math in Public!

Use numbers in your conversation to tell a story. Numeracy and computation is how we learn and test both statistical

and empirical (causal) relationships.

Exploratorium

OER – Open Educational Resources and Derivatives

• Learning objects

• Open CC license

• Metadata labeled

• Easily shared

• Easily integrated

Creative Commons Licenses

CreativeCommons.org

Summary

• STEMinarsSTEMinars is a pedogical approach pedogical approach to informal learning – it is simply a discipline

• STEMSTEM are the four basic food groupsfour basic food groups

• Always have learning goals learning goals up front

• Have a quick ‘informal quiz’ ‘informal quiz’ at the end

• Create, share, and use Open Educational Open Educational Resources (OERS)Resources (OERS) with SLOsSLOs attached

References

• STEMtechSTEMtech – http://www.league.org/2010cit/

• iTunesUiTunesU - http://www.apple.com/education/itunes-u/

• ExploratoriumExploratorium – http://www.exploratorium.edu/

• How Stuff Works How Stuff Works - http://www.howstuffworks.com/

• Creative Commons Creative Commons – http://creativecommons.org/

• PARCPARC – http://www/parc.com/archives/