Cluster 1
Number Theory and Discrete Math
As our second week at COSMOS commences, Cluster 1 heads off to a groggy start. Our delusions that we can overcome sleep, a mental monolith of a barrier, spill over from the weekend and into the early week. Luckily, in lieu of blood, our veins are pumped with enough caffeine to bring down a moose, and Cluster 1 finds themselves standing on the brink of a new dawn. With our final projects kicking off, each of our members seeks to research, understand, and prove multi-step theorems and identities backed up by our wonderful professors. Prof. Ryker, our afternoon instructor for Number Theory, guides us through theorems involving properties of prime numbers and divisibility rules. Prof. Robert Hingtgen, or Bob, our morning Discrete Math professor, walks us through the mind-bogglingly complex concepts of unequal infinities, all the while instilling the fear of the hover sheep into our very bones.
Something that is mind-bogglingly finite, though, is the waning amount of patience we have for each other. In a loving way. Four contour rectangles — or four square with a modified court — is a near clusterwide pastime we have been indulging ourselves in during our free time. This is a game built on the blood, sweat, and tears of its participants as we struggle to bounce an innocent volleyball (that was in perfect condition when COSMOS started but is now torn to shreds) from one court to another. Many a time, one can hear the low shriek of a volleyball tearing across cement, followed by the high shriek of a contestant as it skims centimeters from their fingers and straight into the part of the brain that triggers PTSD. Meanwhile, our skills in chalk-skipping have only evolved over time. Encouraged by Cluster 1’s own rising junior, Pratyay “The Chalk Skipper,” the better part of our group is able to chalk skip lines (and in some cases, sine waves and ellipses) in all directions. Beyond simply learning about the properties of integers, functions, and sets, Cluster 1 has begun to forge its own trail into the field of mathematics by putting together abstract proofs on our own. Essentially, the cardinality of the set of activities in which Cluster 1 is taking part in is only increasing. By: Rohan Kaushikan |
Cluster 2
Nanochemistry and Nanotechnology
With Week 2 of COSMOS in full swing, Cluster 2 delved into specific nanoparticle properties. Under Prof. Shaowei Chen’s instruction, we figured out how nanoparticles of the same elemental composition can fluoresce a rainbow of colors. Depending on the nanoparticle size, light wavelength, and absorbance efficiency, different wavelengths of light are emitted from the particles, making eyes perceive a myriad of colors. We learned about the Bohr radius, Mie theory, and quantum confinement and how they related to the perceived colors of nanoparticles. Putting this knowledge into practice, we completed a lab on metal nanoparticles, making our own gold and silver nanoparticles with varying degrees of success throughout the class. Emerging from our solution samples were beautiful color gradients.
In our afternoon cluster lectures, Prof. Roger Terrill captured the class’s attention with interactive and entertaining teaching methods. With a student volunteer, he acted out interactions between electrons and photons to illustrate the differences between infrared, Raman, and Rayleigh scattering. Additionally, students learned about electron capture and the subsequent emission of gamma rays. Prof. Roger Terrill continues to engage our class with his combination of humor and education. Our cluster has gotten closer and friendlier since the first week at COSMOS. During afternoon cluster meetings, we enjoyed playing “Press Conference,” where one student is asked any question from their peers for 4-5 minutes. It’s amazing to see what strange and fascinating questions we come up with! From philosophical to embarrassing questions, this game has become one of our favorites. By: Asta Li |
Cluster 3
Bugs and Bones: The Biodiversity and Ecology of Vertebrates and Invertebrates in the Monterey Bay Region
What an exciting week this was for us! We started the week by diving deep into the intricacies of mammal skulls, examining how scientists can use differences in skull shape to identify the remains of an animal. For example, prominent nuchal or sagittal crests can signify strong jaw power, while sharp heterodont teeth could reveal a carnivore diet. On the “bugs” side, we got a tutorial from Prof. Andy Kulikowski on how to pin insects from the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). The process involved holding the insect’s body in place with a special wooden board while carefully spreading apart the delicate wings. This allows us to arrange the insect to show the wings’ elaborate details and patterns.
On Tuesday, we had a second field trip to Davenport Landing Beach. Not only did the beach offer a beautiful view, but it also had countless tide pools. We studied the various organisms in the ecosystem, including sea anemones, mussels, and even remains of crabs. In the afternoon, one of the CAs, Chloe, gave a lesson on drawing using watercolor. We drew and labeled a landscape drawing, and through this, we learned the importance of creativity and art in scientific journals. Later on, we had yet another field trip. We packed our change of clothes and snacks for a kayaking trip to see the sea otters and seals. However, after we got to the kayaking place, we found out that we actually needed signed waivers from our parents in order to rent out the kayaks. While this mix-up caused the kayaking trip to be canceled, we were still able to take a hike with a naturalist and identify the animals in the bay, such as great blue herons and harbor seals. In the end, we were able to make the most out of the unfortunate situation and we had a lot of fun! Cluster 3 has already had a lot of exciting experiences, but this is just the start! Stay tuned for what's to come in the next few weeks! By: Leo Zhang |
Cluster 4
The Physics of Single-Atom-Thick Sheets
As the golden sun descended behind the thick line of evergreen trees that towered behind us, Cluster 4 squatted gingerly on the slippery OPERS field, trying to avoid the droplets on the dewy grass that would always dampen our pants. Per routine, we chose our evening activities as a group, preferring to socialize and play games rather than fracture into the dreaded cliques of any high school. Tuesday was no different — the wind bit at our exposed ears as ten, perhaps twenty, wide-eyed deer watched on, proudly rearing their antlers — and per the suggestions of Caleb Tseng, we decided to all play a game called “signs.” Each person had their own “sign” — a small hand gesture (for example, mine was the surfing “hang ten” sign) — and one person would be in the center of the circle. The game's goal was to secretly pass each other’s “signs” from person to person, trying not to let the center person see anyone sign a “sign.” And although some of us got caught more than others, we all laughed until our cheeks hurt, even as the sun dipped behind the treeline, plunging us into near darkness, with only a shimmer of dingy light coming from the nearby tennis court. We continued to play this game throughout the week and even attracted some COSMOS students from other clusters!
In Cluster 4, robust academics are a must for any week. This week, we focused on many cases of the infamous Schrödinger's Equation , including the infinite, finite, and harmonic well. Further, we expanded the equation into multi-dimensional space, adding an additional layer of complexity. We also focused on different types of lenses and microscopes and were even promised an in-person tour of the electron microscope of Prof. Aiming Yan’s lab here on the UCSC campus. Outside of the classroom, we created a “Cluster 4 Discord Server,” allowing us to communicate out of class with TAs and share materials with each other. We also hosted singing concerts and movie nights over Discord, further promoting our deep-rooted connections with each other. The last two weeks look bright for Cluster 4, so stay tuned for what’s next! By: Julian Chen |
Cluster 5
Video Game Design: From Concept to Code
This week in Cluster 5, we made the transition from game design to game development. Every day, we learned how to use a new game engine, focusing primarily on the programming aspect.
On Monday, Prof. Dani Wright taught us how to use Twine, an engine used to write interactive fiction, which is passages of text connected by hyperlinks. We ended up creating dozens of text-based puzzle games, murder mysteries, and choose-your-own-adventures with complex branching paths. Tuesday was when we learned Unity, taught by Prof. Mirek Stolee. We created a 2D “shmup” game where the player controls a square that can shoot circle “bullets” at an enemy square. Coding these features was difficult at first, but after we finished the basic skeleton, we spent the rest of class customizing it by finding new sprites and adding new mechanics, like enemy attacks. On Wednesday, we covered Ren’py, a visual novel creator that uses Python. Compared to Unity, coding in Ren’py was surprisingly easy. With Prof. Wright’s tutorial, we created many different engaging and humorous games with interesting visual effects (such as a chair being thrown at a character), branching choices for the player (whether or not to throw the chair), and randomized endings (whether the character forgives you for throwing a chair at them). The last engine we covered was Bitsy, used for 8x8 pixel art games. It is a very simplistic engine with limited functions, but Prof. Stolee taught us how to circumvent that with “Bitsy hacks,” a collection of code-ins that add more functions to Bitsy, such as multiple dialogue options. Friday was a free engine day, where we could develop games in the engine of our choosing. Many students also chose to share their finished games with the world by publishing them to itch.io. All in all, a great week! By: Aadya Sharma |
Cluster 6
Introduction to Smart and Sustainable Power
This week, our cluster is studying types of renewable energy! Prof. Yu Zhang taught us about different types of renewable energy sources, as well as the science behind making energy generation systems sustainable. For instance, mainstream sources of energy like solar, wind, and hydropower were discussed, but lesser-known sources like tidal, wave, and geothermal were also considered. It was interesting to hear about these emerging technologies and their potential to cleverly generate useful electricity from Earth’s everyday processes.
Last Friday, Prof. Yihsu Chen introduced the field of environmental science to us. Topics ranged from how long humans can wait before imminent disaster to specific issues such as sea level rise, and finally focused on government policy that addresses issues related to climate change. Prof. Chen’s research focuses on economics, policy, energy, water resources, and transportation sectors. Along with lectures from Prof. Zhang about different types of renewable energy sources and types of energy storage, we have seen the importance of blending the disciplines of environmental science, economics, and physics to mitigate the effects of climate change. Highlights this week included a tour of the Baskin Engineering buildings, and a trip to the East Remote Parking lot below OPERS. One of our CAs, Sifat, showed us the insides of the new and old Baskin Engineering buildings, which allowed us to learn about being a student in the engineering sector at UCSC. In particular, students were wowed by a PC and the large flatscreen TV in one of the student offices. We got to see the solar array in the parking lot, noting the different components, angle, and position once, which was very enjoyable since we had already learned about how solar panels work in class. Afterward, we went to the field to play chaos tag and mafia. Getting to know classmates in and out of the classroom is a defining feature of the COSMOS program, which is good since it’s definitely enjoyable as well! By: Alex Chang |
Cluster 7
Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology
Cluster 7 is still going strong during our second week here at COSMOS! We have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each other during the daunting “hot seat” style games played during cluster meetings, as well as bonding during evening recreational activities, especially Tuesday’s s’mores night. After much deliberation and countless practices, we are happy to report our cluster chant has substantially improved since last week!
Apart from bonding, this week has been filled with exciting DNA labs and analysis, air quality monitoring, and mercury hair experiments. But no lab was completed without accidentally contaminating samples (whoops), putting the micropipette on the wrong setting, or stumbling through convoluted procedures. During our microbiology sessions with Prof. Carlos Castillo, we filtered and grew bacteria from beach water samples taken during our trip to Cowell Beach. For the next two days, we prepared our samples for polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which sequences the bacterial genome, and used gel electrophoresis to visualize and detect the results of PCR. Switching over to Environmental Toxicology with Prof. Peter Weiss, we spent a few days tinkering with an air quality sensor, consisting of an Arduino microcontroller board connected to a sensor, to measure the concentration of various sizes of aerosol particles. We went on an exciting mini-field trip with our Classroom Assistant, Britney, chasing a bus and creating dust clouds with dirt, to observe how our sensor would respond to different levels of pollution. On Thursday morning, our cluster was treated to a Discovery Lecture from our very own professors. We listened intently as they explained their research, interests, and evident passion for environmental science. We especially enjoyed Prof. Weiss’ vast collection of adorable Puma photos. Cluster 7 has built a special, supportive, and passionate community, one in which we will continue to strengthen as the weeks go on. For now, we look forward to another great week of learning! By: Hailey Van |
Cluster 8
Wonders of the Ocean: From Bioluminescence to Marine Mammals
The second week was quite eventful! For this week’s field trip, Cluster 8 visited the Joseph M. Long Marine Laboratory to observe dolphin research methods. Our tour focused on learning how dolphins thermoregulate and conserve energy. The best part: we didn’t just learn about dolphins; we also saw the dolphins! With the help of our new dolphin friends, Donny and Reyn, we saw scientists collect data (such as how to measure CO2 output after exercise using a dolphin heart monitoring wetsuit). With the educational jargon behind us, Donny and Reyn showed off their acrobatic talents — leaping out of the water, twirling, and doing numerous flips! Their clicks and whistles made them irresistible — if you didn’t go “awww,” you weren’t human. After a heartbreaking farewell to our aquatic endotherm companions, Cluster 8 moved on (physically, not mentally) to learn about how skeletons showed marine mammal evolutions. We marveled at the enormous whale skeleton, observing the finger bones in their pectoral fins, which suggested that terrestrial mammals adapted to marine environments.
Besides marine biology, Cluster 8 also took a surprising detour by exploring botany via the UCSC Arboretum & Botanic Garden! We traveled far and wide, venturing to places like South Africa and Australia as we explored plants native to those regions. We searched for treasure through a blanket of maggots and owl vomit. What could be so bewitching that grumpy teenagers would cover themselves with maggots to collect it? Well, for miscellaneous rodent bones, of course! For a class dedicated to marine biology, natural history intrigues Cluster 8 to a surprising extent. Watch out, Cluster 3, you’ve got some competition. Perhaps next week will contain more microbiological experimentations. Well, I suppose we must learn patience as developing plankton. By: Theonne Mendiola |
Cluster 9
The Building Blocks of Life: Molecules and Cells in Biology
This week, Cluster 9 jumped right into experiments, where we ligated Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP) into a plasmid, and successful ligations would glow green with this gene. We continued experiments from the previous week, including growing bacteria on an agar plate and filtering out bacteriophages from soil collected on campus. The lab buzzed with plenty of excitement, particularly when the top agar exploded in the microwave. The experiments this week put our micropipetting skills to the test, especially when we ran a gel electrophoresis and everyone had to pipette into tiny wells without poking holes in the gel. We learned that oftentimes, your experiment fails and you need to troubleshoot what went wrong, which is what half the cluster did when their plated bacteria didn’t grow. We also learned extremely high-level math—knowing how to use the equation C1V1=C2V2 to balance our mixtures.
During our afternoon lectures, we started off with presentations on fundamental lab techniques like polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunofluorescence staining. We then delved deeper into how cell fates are determined and learned about the wacky effects of developmental mutations, like two-headed tadpoles and flies with two posterior ends. We were then assigned another paper and presentation related to frog development, which may have been fear-inducing to some after last week’s bacteriophage paper. Finally, we started forming groups and choosing topics for the final project. Outside of academics, we refined our cluster chant to “Cluster 9! We’re so fine, late to lectures all the time!”, though surprisingly, we have been early to all Discovery Lectures so far and consistently late to lunch since we prioritized agar plates over lunch plates. Cluster 9 would like to thank Dr. James Shanks and Dr. Zhu Wang for imparting their knowledge and keeping us occupied with papers and presentations. Everyone is looking forward to the kayaking trip on Saturday and excited for another week of learning! By: Fiona Li |
Cluster 10
Semiconductor Materials and Device Engineering
As everyone was wrapping up breakfast, all the clusters met within their designated areas. Cluster 10 was no exception as we were rounded up by our teacher, Prof. Nobby Kobayashi. We then went to the discovery lectures, in which we learned about topics ranging from X-ray and neutron scattering techniques to circadian rhythms. We then took a fun trek to our cluster’s classroom.
During the morning lecture, we learned about topics regarding semiconductors, such as electron scattering, types of materials used to build semiconductors, crystalline structures, and more. We also learned about equations that we can use to calculate the movement of electrons, as well as how to apply them to our daily lives. Those equations were extremely complicated, but they were very helpful in understanding the topics that we learned in class. After our morning lectures, lunchtime was upon us, and our cluster was set free in the cafeteria. During the afternoon lecture, however, people were becoming drowsy and some even fell asleep. However, those who decided to pay attention were constantly taking notes, and, thankfully, posting them via social media for the entire cluster to access. Unfortunately for all of us, we not only have lots of homework and quizzes but also have mandatory office hours from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. However, at the end of the day, Cluster 10 stood strong through it all and were able to finish our assignments. By: Ayala Wang |
Cluster 11
Feedback Control with Applications to Robotics
Cluster 11 started this week with a review of last week’s topic of systems of equations, this time with Prof. Abishek Halder’s co-instructor Alexis Teter. We then learned about fixed points and oscillations while simulating different problems with MatLab, a programming and numeric computing platform. In the afternoon course, we continued learning about basic physics concepts such as vectors and learning how to make our graphs look more presentable. Apart from learning, we have also started choosing our groups and topics for our final project. Our final project is to research a certain topic involving robotics and create a poster for it, which everyone is excited to start working on. This week so far has focused mainly on learning the basics of MatLab and getting comfortable with the user interface. Some of us even coded for the first time. We were given challenges on some days, so the people with more coding experience could work on something throughout the day while others worked on getting comfortable with the basics.
After the first week of awkwardly learning each other's names and bonding together, Cluster 11 has finally started to settle down and become close friends with each other. During the breaks during class time, there will almost always be a Skribbl.io game where at least half the cluster joins. The Skribbl.io games are always full of laughter and chaos as we tease each other about our drawings. Everyone is looking forward to working together to create their final project and learning more about robotics. By: Claire Lin |
Cluster 12
Scattering and Diffraction of Materials
The second week of Cluster 12 was jam-packed full of exciting learning and bonding. Although a week is a short period of time to form strong and meaningful bonds, a series of icebreakers let us get closer than ever. Under the wise and engaging lead of Profs. Dave Belanger and Jeremy Barnett, Cluster 12, “Scattering and Diffraction of Materials,” dove deeper into the complex worlds of light physics and quantum mechanics.
On Tuesday, we had a virtual tour of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) with Professor Tang Ye. As Prof. Ye told us that only a few laboratories intended to proceed with neutron scattering using high nucleic facilities (diffractometer, spectrometer, and so on) worldwide, we became very enthralled in the topics at hand. Learning about complex and expensive instruments such as the High Flux Isotope Reactor, Spallation Neutron Source, and IMAGINE (a macromolecular quasi-Laue diffractometer), was tricky, but it was fascinating to understand how they work. In the afternoon class with Prof. Barnett, we learned how to use the VESTA program, a 3D program used to better visualize volumetric data such as crystal morphologies or electron/nuclear densities. While micro-scaled materials require highly developed machines to investigate, VESTA allowed us to easily view many materials. Through valuable lectures and experiences shared together, we all became more educated. Throughout COSMOS, we are learning how to solve crucial problems and how to grow up as well-rounded people. With two weeks out of four completed, we have gone through half of our journey here at COSMOS. During the remaining two weeks, not just our cluster, but also the whole COSMOS, is looking forward to more thrilling moments! By: Andrew Woo |