Friday, July 20, 2018
By:
One of my closest friends Erin Brady and I have been on a constantly twisting and turning journey throughout our freshman, sophomore and junior years at HPU. Erin and I met our freshman year in Physics for Video Games---an elective taught by our department chair Dr. Aaron Titus. 
Although I had come to High Point as a physics major and was attending the class as a TA, Erin was enrolled as a graphic design major and was taking the class simply because it had sounded interesting to her when she was making her class schedule. Physics for Video Games was a course designed to teach introductory-level physics through engaging, old school, arcade-style programming activities. (All of the lessons can be accessed online here. I highly encourage you to check it out!) Lessons included remaking games like Space Invaders and Lunar Lander in GlowScript, analyzing the correct and (more often) incorrect physics at play, and eventually using that knowledge to code our own video game (here's the one I made called Bubble Bonanza, it's pretty addicting). It was strikingly obvious that Erin had the passion and analytical skills necessary to become a physicist, so Dr. Titus and I took it upon ourselves to convince her to switch to a physics major. After much nudging and persuading, Erin dove in head-first, adopting physics as a second major!
Since then she's participated in a summer undergraduate physics research program, switched her graphic design/physics major to a studio art/physics double major, become the president of an on-campus organization, served as our SPS secretary, has been elected as our SPS Vice President, and is currently working at a museum in New York---all while maintaining one of the highest GPAs at HPU.
One of the reasons we've become such good friends is our shared interest in both the arts and the sciences---two worlds that are often considered extremely separate. The most influential thing I've learned while participating in this internship is how essential the relationship between art and science is; how easily we find beauty in nature, and how often art is used as a tool for learning. It was discussing this topic with Erin (for the n-teenth time) this week that inspired me to draft the pictured Brush and Beaker Logo.
One of the unexpected compliments of pairing physics with design is that for both solving a complex thermodynamics problem and for designing an engaging infographic you need a heightened level of creativity. A quintessential example of this can be found in the age of the Renaissance, where the convention-breaking, revolutionary artists, and the visionary, scientific leaders went by the same name: Da Vinci, Michelangelo and so on. Though they may not be quick to admit it, most of the scientists I know are extremely creative people, inventing and innovating by means of out-of-the-box thinking. It's that out-of-the-box thinking that produces theories of relativity, increases the number of micro-chips on a circuit board, and detects gravitational waves.
Now-a-days however, it's rare that evolutions in STEM (such a relativity theories and gravitational wave detection) emerge out of one person's creative process. Despite the presence of a few "science celebrities" (Bill Nye, Elon Musk, Neil DeGrasse Tyson), the present world of STEM is mainly dominated by groups of creative people---just another reason why I'm happy to be here as a Communications intern!
(If you've been keeping up with my blogs, you may have noticed that this relationship between science and communication is not just a subtle theme but a significant portion of my narrative. I think all of the interns are noticing the importance of communication, especially as scientists in a political climate.)
Speaking of themes, Nathan and I got the amazing opportunity to attend a live town hall at the Congressional Visitor Center hosted by Senator Bernie Sanders titled "CEOs vs. WORKERS." Another topic I've written about before is passion, and, boy, Bernie Sanders is a passionate individual. Politics aside, seeing someone using their credibility and authority (even derived from an unsuccessful presidential campaign) to bring attention to public issues is incredibly inspiring. I look forward to attending more events like this one in the coming weeks.
We're in the final stages of organizing this year's edition of JURP for publication and I feel obligated to take this opportunity to mention how incredibly hard-working and driven the SPS National staff are. During an excersion to Chipotle the other day, I made a joke about how the first time I visited the American Center for Physics (ACP) building, I went through three stages of surprise: first, I was in awe that the Society of Physics Students had their own building! Only to learn that SPS is just one of many organizations that occupy office space in the building. Then, when we reached the second floor of the ACP building, I was astounded that SPS occupied an entire floor...only to find out that SPS occupies just a handful of offices and cubicles on that floor. A handful. I think it's the last realization that surprised me the most. All of SPS---outreach, budgeting, programming, marketing, communication, writing, editing, design, finances, intern coordination---is maintained by just a handful of extraordinary people.
I'm very lucky to be here working for these cool cats, and I'm also excited to get back to my cool cats in NC (shout-out to Erin!). Signing off.
Michael Welter