Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Reflections For Day 1(Ethan)

(Part A)

From session 1, I have learnt that dirty water contains microbes that are harmful to humans. Not all microbes are harmful. I have learnt the effect of pollution and what it can cause. I have learnt that there are many people who are not as fortunate as us in Singapore as they do not have access to clean water for drinking and proper sanitation. I have learnt about the history of water developing of water facilites and solutions to augmented limited resources.

From session 2, I have learnt that the revolution of Microelectric Technology is from Integrated Program to Integrated Resort to Integrated Circuit. I have learnt what the Integrated Circuit consists of. I have learnt that 1 nano is equal to "10 to the power of negative 9 metres". I have learn electric revolutions

From session 3, I have learnt the types of technology. I have learnt what nanotechnology can do. I have learnt examples of nanotechnology. I have learnt how nanotechnology is applied and how it is done.

From session 4, I have learnt what is essential in animation. I have learnt the types of animation. I have learnt about motion capture and the components of it.

From session 5, I have learnt what a geodisist is. I have learnt that sea level varies all around the planet.

(Part B)

The plenary session that leaves the deepest impression on me is plenary session 3. What I like about it i that I find nanotechnology very impressive and useful. It is amazing how people are able to build microchips despite their small size.

Amrit Singh:Day 1 Reflections

I learnt from the first plenary session that the job of conducting research on water is very important.I learnt from the second plenary session that such technology can help to improve our lives in many ways.I learnt from the third plenary session that by studying Biomedical engineering and technology we can help improve lives.I learnt from the fourth plenary session that we need to have mathematical knowledge to take up IT for Animation.I learnt from the fifth plenary session that the surface of the ocean is not flat.The sea is deeper near the icebergs as the water is drawn towards the gravity caused by the size of the ice.The plenary session that leaves the deepest impression on me is the one on disappearing glaciers.What I like about it is that I find the fact that the surface if the sea is not flat very interesting.I have always thought the surface of the sea was flat.

Reflections for Day 1 (Tim Yap)

In day 1, we attended the 5 plenary sessions, in which a variety of specialised professors spoke about their respective careers.

First was "Importance of Water - Dirty and Clean" by Prof. Ng Wun Jern, who works on ways to manage waste water. I learned of the many harmful substances that can flourish in polluted rivers such as the Singapore River 50 years back. I learned of the main problems pollution poses to people as well as the irony of the societal and economic development, in which economic development compromises the water resources from which it began. Other interesting facts were statistics on people who have clean water-related problems and some basic sewage history, and the fact that Singapore is a one-of-a-kind country in which the island itself is practicallly a water catchment.

Next was "Revolution of Microelectronics Technology" by Prof Yeo Kiat Seng. I learned of the many areas in daily life where electronics reach out to, BioNanoElectronics, the 9 'O's that spell out 'BRAINWAVE' and the many fields of electronics where people can work in. Interesting facts were the visible development of products and the semi-conductor industry.

Then was the "Innovative Breakthroughs in Nano-Science and Nano-Technology" by Prof Ma Jan, in which were displayed many fascinating products of nano-tech, bio-tech and def-tech.

Next was the "IT for Animation" by Prof Seah Hock Soon, who gave us a brief introduction on the field of animation, of 2D, 3D, stop motion and motion capture. We learned of geometric modeling expressing the necessity of the knowledge of mathematics.

Last was Prof Emma Hill, who told us about the work of geodisists, showing how the earth continues to change the shape of its surface and how the melting of glaciers affect the rise of sea levels.

The plenary session that leaves the deepest impression on me is the last lecture. What I like about it is that now I know how the earth continuously changes in the surface very rapidly and how glaciers affect sea level and change direction of water flow globally.

Daniel Chan:Day 1 Reflections

From session 1, I have learnt that there are many people in the world and water systems are used before Christ.From session 2, I have learnt that electronics has the most overall and rounded training, and also I have, learnt about the 9 "o"s.From session 3, I have learn that the 3 different types of technology which are Defense Biology and Nano Biology.From session 4, I have learnt that much labour is required in order to make animations, and that there are both 2D and 3D animations.From session 5, I have learnt that when glaciers melt, sea level of places closer to the glacier will lower and sea levels of places further from the glacier will increase.The plenary session that leaves the deepest impression on me is the plenary session on Disappearing glaciers,rising sea levels and why gravity is even more important than you think.What I like about this plenary session is that it talks about how glaciers melting affect sea levels differently and not have the same effect like everybody thinks.

Reflections for day 1

Project 5 reflections...

Reflections of the Water Tower Competition (7 June)

Daniel-
When I first tried lifting the 2kg weight,I thought it was impossible for the flimsy Balsa wood structure to hold it for even half a minute.I was proven wrong when it supported the 2kg weight with little trouble.We turned down 5kg for the next bar as we thought it would be impossible.When we mustered the courage to get the second bar,we had to do 10kg because we turned down the previous one.I was yet AGAIN proven wrong when it supported 10kg.To improve out structure,I think we should have had more of the structure directly supporting the weight.

Amrit-
At first, I was reluctant to attempt the 2kg test. I felt that we had not strengthened our structure enough and It would collapse. Having tuned down the 5 kg test, we had to support 10 kg to get our second bar. However, once it went past 6kg, we were confident to do the 10 kg. We should have made our structure more symmetrical.

Tim-
When we tested the miniature water tower with 2kg of weights, I was not worried, confident that the tower should be able to carry such a load. However, during the testing, I was discouraged as the structure seemed to waver under the weight. After strengthening, I anxiously anticipated the 5kg test. It worked. Then the weight was doubled to a jaw-dropping 10kg. Amazingly, the tower carried the weight without even shaking or wobbling. Perhaps it may be able to support 20kg or more for the final assessment.

Ethan-
At first, when the challenge for trying to carry 2kg weight was suggested, I was unsure whether the structure would be able to carry 2kg or not. However, after lifting 2kg worth of weights, I was quite confident when trying the 2kg weight and I was eager to see whether the structure would be able to support a weight of 10kg. I was surprised that we were the first group to be able to support 2kg and 10kg during the tests. Our design is quite random and it is unique compared to other groups as it does not have a definite or uniform shape.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Introduction

Welcome to Group 2 DATE in Project 5, the Water Tower Competition.

DATE is simply an acronym for:

Daniel Chan (2-05)
Amrit Singh (2-05)
Tim Yap (2-09)
Ethan Soh (2-08)

We will upDATE readers on our learning experiences throughout the NTU Flagship Camp.