S-STEM Scholar RJ Mabry's Blog

It finally happened! Today Dr. Hamdan and I collected our soil samples. We traveled out to the site off of the 87 but it was not without its hiccups. Like a dingus, I didn't double check my email the night before (or even this morning). Unlike a normal, sane person I drove straight out to Tonto National Forest without a second thought. I later realized my mistake after waiting about 20 minutes, when it finally occurred to me to check with Dr. Hamdan. While I had almost no cellphone reception, I could somehow check my email....To which there were three emails.... After this hiccup, we started collecting samples around 10 am. We decided upon a 50 feet stretch spanning the width of the range. From there we collected one sample every 10 by 10 feet. We first gently removed the top layer of rock and debris to collect a couple ounces of superficial soil. We were lucky enough to obtain a GPS (costing a couple thousand dollars). The GPS is on the left with our sample plans and baggi...

At long las t, the final bit of equipment has arrived! Dr. Hamdan and I will be going to the field next week to collect samples! I feel like I have been waiting for this for so long, I'm very excited. We will be our there all day long, so I'll have to pack quite a bit of water and food. While I've had people wonder why something like this requires so much planning, Dr. Hamdan is an awesome (and meticulous) scientist so we're going to make sure we do it right. Furthermore, for my Nanotechnology class, I have to conduct a final project. With Dr. Ed Ong's permission I will analyze some soil and a low caliber cartridge from the field. This will be done using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). This awesome device allows me to view a specimin on the nanometer scale and utilizing different intensities on a laser, I can view different compositions of inorganic samples. While ICP- AES is far more superior (and the main form of analysis for this research), it will be ...

Howdy! This week I was heavily preoccupied with midterms, as I am taking 19 credit hours and trying to not drown under my textbooks. Between studying, my job, and army business I have been finishing up more training in ArcGIS. It is a ridiculously versatile application and the possibilities are infinite. Furthermore, I am working on solidifying my schedule. Thankfully spring break is around the corner, and I hope to go out and collect our samples since I will have some mornings open. Beyond the craziness of studying and more ArcGIS, there is not much more to report. Hopefully the   next time you see me, I’ll have an awesome story to tell regarding our sample collection!

I apologize for the short post, but I have a major test tomorrow and midterms next week, so I've been extremely busy. This week I was continuing to familiarize myself with ArcGIS. Its a pretty complex system and there is an online option as well. Its a bit frustrating to download but I definitely suggest it for its functionality. While Google Earth is useful, ArcGIS provides a million more options and a high level of customization and sharing. For example, here is a map of Portland, OR where the buildings are color coded via their use. This would be useful for a company that was perhaps looking for a lot where their building would receive high foot traffic and wouldn't have competition immediately nearby. Its so specific, I can view it at specific times of day such as 10:43 AM. I can also view all the local bus stops in the Tempe, AZ area and plot distances between them, or from specific places. These were all utilizing just the online program. For more  STEM re...