Weekly journal entries from 2024-2025:

Week of May 19th-21st: Final two classes of WISRD. A huge leak sprang and we had to shut down the right side. It's very close to being finished, but we ran out of time. We harvested all the lettuce, and the biomass was 392 grams! The left side still works well and is growing cucumbers. Overall a productive year.

Week of May 12th-16th: There was even more leakage, so we reset and started two new end caps. The new ones worked well, and we started pumping water on the right side for the first time. The angle of the tubes made it less productive than the left side. We attempted to make the angle of the tubes steeper. We did wire management, and technically, the system works.

Week of May 5th-9th: We screwed on the end caps. We also made a new type of end cap that is sealed even better and looks very good. We had to redo the end cap Dash did, and we repaired a leak.

The week of April 28th- March 1st: A four-day week. We continued hydroponics work, but we have decided to start moving on to the other side to try and have a completely functional four-tube system. One side is working well, so we started screwing on the end caps.

Week of April 21st-25th: posters posters posters. I worked mainly on the chemistry poster, but assisted with hydroponics. Poster session went very well for hydroponics; the Ellison Institute was very impressed. On the other hand little to no one spoke to Noam and I about O chem. It’s intimidating!

Week of April 14th-18th: We really are pushing the pace in hydroponics since we have started moving the pumps underneath onto the table. The system is running well, and we will soon begin assembling the second half. Poster session next week.

Week of April 7th-11th: Board retreat this week. Extremely productive. Noam and I had our lab approved by the board. I am now the chemical safety officer. I have plans for next year to make the lab safer and more organized.

Week of March 17th-21st: Last week before break. Planning stuff for chemistry. when we are back from break it will get very busy. continuing hydroponics.

Week of March 10th- 14th: We finished the output and added our valves and piping. Half the hydroponics system is complete

Week of March 3rd- 7th: We made a ton of progress in the final plan of hydroponics. We decided to slant the entire setup to quickly have multiple tubes running. We printed and sealed off two tubes and hope to have the table for tanks underneath built soon.

Week of February 24th-26th: conferences this week, so another three-day week. Just worked on my WISRD section of my conference during class.

Week of February 19th-21st: three-day week. Really excited to begin working with Noam more intensively. The meeting went well and we are moving on to our board pitch planning.

Week of February 10th-14th: Noam and I are finalizing the prep document for the meeting with Tim and Megan.

Week of February 3rd-7th: Noam and I are making a lot of progress on the chem project.

Week of January 26th-Februaury 1st: I worked a lot with Noam, figuring out the chemical idea, and made a ton of progress. Reprinted piece. met with Dash for a plan on hydroponics. https://orgsyn.org/demo.aspx?prep=CV1P0254

Week of 19th-25th: We went to Ace, bringing a section of tube to test valves. We ended up purchasing some parts and are ready to begin building shortly. Also, 3D printing a part that was not purchasable.

Week of January 13th-17th: I just came back from the days as a result of the fires. We are finalizing our plan with hydroponics and preparing to buy things by next week. We made a new diagram for the future build.

First WISRD class of the semester - January 7th: My goal for this semester is to finish all testing and research using the EMG device to move toward writing a paper. Also, finish the hydroponics system.

Week of December 16th-20th: Poster session this week, so mainly collected items for poster and did final edits. I printed it and am ready for the big day. Post-poster session reflection: people were very impressed and interested in my concept, but I did not talk to many people. I was sandwiched between the other two posters, and most people thought I was working with Luc and Bowden.

Week of December 9th-13th: Very busy week. Worked mainly on posters. I also created the lab procedure for the kinesiology lab. Today, we ran the lab with the EMG data, which was a success. The Resistance bands showed similar results to the 25-pound weight. I recorded the graphs and data, and everything is ready for the poster.

Week of December 2nd-6th: We started this week by finishing the tank with the pump sealed down using caulk. We then added the bubbler tube into the tank and sealed off the lid, meaning tank #1 and pump #1 are complete. I did not have another class until Friday because of the schedule and soccer games. We planted cucumber seeds for the poster session and used our timed grow lights. I also set up a patient profile on the new iPad to use the new EMG device. I ran some tests and got some simple data using a 1 KG weight. I am in the process of writing the lab set up for next week to conduct on Monday.

week of Nov 18-22: We started to build the tank system, and we have spraypainted it. We cut off the top and sealed the pump inside and the bubbler. We are in the process of sealing the hole for the plugs and tubes.

Week of Nov 11-15: Ordered stuff for hydroponics and focused on the inquirer article.

Week of Nov 4-8: Started focusing more on my personal kinesiology project https://alcobrametals.com/alloy-steel/4130-cdn-round-tube/ found this link for tubing and the spring button system to adjust the handle length. Looked at some hoocho hydroponics videos but a lot of his videos are very experimental ex. Vertical 3d printed HP system. Also his deep water culture system is small and used to propagate roots. which is a good use for it but it can still be a full grow system.

update October 28th: From my last entry till now, Rhone Jake and I have ground out this project. First, we planned it out and researched materials. Then we waited for Megan to order and tested a classic whoosh jar. We then got the chemicals and spent two weeks practicing mixing them chemicals and trying different alcohols and ratios. Finally, we decided to boil the water, alcohol, and metal powder while mixing it. This allowed us to have the most combined liquid to add to the bottle, and then we added more alcohol to revive the solution and add a bit more flare. Here is the final result. https://drive.google.com/file/d/14jYsJ53uQKr5edcSlzIfmbh2jDUDKe3G/view?usp=sharing

Week of September 9th-12th: Starting research for inquirer pitch. Deciding between Astrochem or life in space relating to kinesiology research. Researched and figured out dark matter day presentation. Colored woosh jar so need chemicals and testing. Now looking at astrochem.

Week of September 3rd- 6th: Started research about astro chemistry. Trying to get a handle on the ideas and process of the subject. Bob told me to research the doppler effect. Looked into it. It is very interesting never thought about cars driving by.

Week of 26th-30th: Did research and realized my idea will work perfectly. It will be a more simple and affordable way of working out without worrying about gravity. My plan is to test the productivity of isometrics and then document the data. Once I have done that I can begin designing the product. Once both of these are done I can begin writing a report summarizing my findings and explaining why they are useful. I am also currently researching astrochemistry.

Week of August 20th- 23rd: New year, and I am looking into other groups and labs. My main idea for kinesiology is isometric training for astronauts. here are links to some of my ideas: https://rosstraining.com/blog/2009/02/homemade-isometric-tool/ https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/astronaut-exercise/