12/16/02
 |
This picture was made by Randy Bollinger, who liked that picture of the neutrino symbol done in an ice carving, and used it as a basis for this cool neutrino art. This picture will have to stand in for all the thank-yous I made but didn't have pictures for. |
Well, it's over, as I knew it would be some
day. Time to leave this vast whiteness. I worked on this trip
for two years, and, as always, it's more about the journey than
the "goal" at the end. In this case the goal was the
journey (but stay with me here).
What did I learn along the way? Here's a short list:
a) It's possible to get used to cold weather,
and even grow to like it, and to fly kites in it.
b) A desert can be made of snow as easily as sand.
c) It's very hard to be away from my family for this long.
d) Snow at 30 degrees is very scrunchy.
e) If beauty can exist here, it must be possible everywhere.
f) Finding the most ephemeral particles of existence means going
to the end of the earth.
What were the best things about the trip?
a) Bai, Philipe, & Christian have a good
sense of humor.
b) Sundogs and ice halos
c) The sparkling ice on the ground
d) Breathing the clean crisp air in the morning
e) really supportive South Pole staff, especially technology folks
f) our friend the sun, who never goes away
What was not so good?
a) The white "bunny boots" that kept
my feet constantly wet
b) The otherwise eternal dryness of existence here
c) So long in the close company of so many strangers
d) Working too long outside a couple of times and getting too
cold
e) Being away from my real job and family so long.
Would I come again? Probably, but not next
year. It's a funny little utopia here, people usually say "hi"
to each other, but with a cocoon-like bundled-up existence of
work sessions divided by mealtimes.
Was I able to contribute to the science tasks, looking for neutrinos
and cosmic rays? Maybe, in a very small way. But it's very hard
to jump into someone's world for a couple of weeks and make any
meaningful contribution. How would any of the scientists fare,
thrust into my working world for the same amount of time?
How did the Kite Aerial Photography go? I got pictures of the
Pole and the dome, and that's been a huge goal for 18 months.
I wish they were better, but I think I did really well under the
circumstances. A month ago, I'd never flown a kite in below freezing
weather. And who would, in their right mind? Kites are still more
fun in the summer.
And the portable cosmic ray detector? A fun idea, finished too
close to my departure date to be super-useful. But I made the
packaging well, and it arrived safely, unlike nearly every other
experience transporting it. The detector needs to be accompanied
by a barometer and thermometer for the data to be meaningful.
The computer interface (Vernier LabPro) does not record nearly
enough data to be useful for a several hour experiment, like the
high altitude balloon experiment I've been planning. This required
using my computer, which was in use several hours a day for TEA
work, so the detector was, in the end, underutilized. But the
result I was really interested in was whether a direct solar effect
could be detected. And I did this experiment, and the answer was
no, even at this altitude, with the Sun always in the sky.
Webcasts to schools? 7 attempted, 5 delivered, along with one
phone call. The TEA real player 'casts were surprisingly effective,
and both very easy logistically, thanks to Steve Stevenoski and
Arlyn Bruccoli of the TEA program. The QuickTime streaming server
was really fun, but hampered by bandwidth and satellite issues.
But I'll use this more in the future.
Movies/pictures/computers/technology? I was really glad I brought
my own laptop, and 2 cameras. Olympus digital camera: great panoramic
feature, 0 out of 5 on durability. Sony camcorder: tough as nails,
even on a kite at 45 windchill. Extra hard drive was a great
idea, but the hard drive, a Kanguru portable, was slow and very
very finicky. Don't buy one. Sort of like a car with no windshield
and muffler. Use it, when there's nothing else.
Effect on students? Too early to tell. Certainly not much in the
way of penetrating or perceptive questions during the webcasts.
"How's the food?" was a common theme. I made close to
100 movies and multimedia pieces that tried to communicate the
experience, but it's an open question how many of my students
or friends or family read the journals or looked at the pictures.
But there were other folks, total strangers, who got some inspiration.
This morning, a guy emailed me a picture out of the blue, his
computer art takeoff on the ice sculpture of a neutrino symbol
I posted in one of my journals. Cool. Amazing synergy.
Effect on me? Too early to tell in some ways. I certainly learned
a lot of neutrino physics and detector technology. And I had a
big, multi-faceted project to work on, which is crucial to my
sense of purpose in life.
I'm also exhausted, and at a crossroads, having completed something
I've been planning so long. There have been many times over the
last couple of years I've thought about leaving teaching, and
this trip was, a few times, the best single reason I could find
to stay in the job. But I've got a job now in a place I really
like, at Roosevelt High School. Did TEA keep me in teaching long
enough to find a job in Seattle I want to work at for more than
a year? Yup.
Who to thank for help along the way?
a) Drachen Foundation folks, especially Ali Fujino, Scott Skinner, and Jim Day, who thought that a kite picture of the South Pole would be cool, and put a lot of things in front of me to help make that happen.
 |
Special thanks to Ali Fujino & all the Drachen Foundation board, staff, and support personnel (!) (especially Scott, Leslie, Matt, and Jim), who generously supported the kite aerial photography part of the adventure, and whose commitment to education and kids is profound, creative, and has been a lot of fun. Ali (left) is assisting a student from TEA Shannon Graham's photography class get a kite aerial photography rig set up. For more information about flying kites (all kinds, all conditions), check out www.drachen.org |
 |
My thanks to Jim Day, who taught me some things about flying kites and taking some pictures from them. |
b) Jim Madsen and Bob Morse of the AMANDA collaboration at the
University of Wisconsin, who decided to involve teachers in their
research.
 |
Thanks also to Bob Morse, the P.I. (head AMANDA guy) from the University of Wisconsin, who's been instrumental in bringing teachers along to the Pole for several years. |
 |
Jim Madsen, from the University of Wisconsin at River Falls, has a pretty good sense of humor, for someone from Wisconsin. Of course, he's not a native... |
c) The NSF folks, except for Guy Guthridge, mostly unknown to
me, who approved my application, and the TEA program itself, and
sent me to the pole.
d) Xinhua Bai of Bartol Research Institute, whose good humor and
hard work paved the road at the Pole
e) The rest of the AMANDA folks at the Pole, especially my McMurdo
roommates Christian Spiering and Philipe Herquet, who are more
down to earth and fun than any physics professors should be.
e) Arlyn Bruccoli, Steve Stevenoski, and Stephanie Shipp of the
Teachers Experiencing Antarctica program, who had answers to every
question.
 |
Thanks to Steve Stevenoski, who runs the technology that makes the TEA webcasts work ! |
f) Teachers Paul Witt, Bob Olona, and Becky Fowler, who came with
me last summer to learn about neutrinos.
g) Roosevelt High School staff, especially Louie Hamm, who filled
in for me, Jeff Rosenfeld, who fought the webcast battle, and
Science Department Chair Kathy Olson, Assistant Principal Elizabeth
Guillory, and Principal Lisa Kodama, who were immediately supportive
from the first moments they heard where I was going.
------------
And Gabi, who took on the solo care of our little monsters (and
her own problems) with good cheer and mighty willpower
And every morning before I'm awake
I walk around the world to make sure she's all right
And every evening before I bolt the door I give the stars a stir
To make sure they will spin all night
For I see people who will scratch and spit and kick and fight
And I see nations war about whether right is left and whether
wrong is right
And I know storms inside your head can amplify the plight
But no matter what the weather
You and the clouds will still be beautiful.
- That's from an XTC song, by Andy Partridge, called (you guessed it)
"You and the Clouds Will Still be Beautiful."
And I was glad to have it along to listen to, because it brought me here & brought me home.
 |
Thanks also to my family, who lost a big piece of me as I prepared for nearly 2 years for this trip. That's Enrico, Gabriella, and Eleuterio. I did a web conference with Tello's class on Friday, and it sure was good to hear his voice. |