Update on Vandegrift Home Boatbuilding Ideas.
What began last year as an effort to tell you guys how to build a
better AS-29, has evolved into an effort to initiate an on-line
student research website.
For the last 20 years I was a struggling physics professor trying to
support a family on a single income. That meant trying to be
a "research" professor, and the only money in "research" for me was
in "science education", which often felt to me like "pseudo
research". Eventually I decided to focus entirely on sponsoring and
supporting student-research projects.
Two big changes in my life are occurring this year: First my
youngest daughter is graduating from high school, and second I am
gaining experience in the much more employable field of teaching
lower-level math courses. These developments make it possible to
turn this project into a 100% pure hobby that I can pursue via the
internet with students all over the world. Meanwhile, there are
plenty of reasonably paying and fun jobs just teaching college math
and science.
This internet collaboration shouldn't take much time. And the way I
figure it, I can get 30 top-notch kids in the US alone to
collaborate, if (1) only one in a million has what it takes, and if
(2) all potentially interested students know about this opportunity.
So if you know of any student or science club looking for a quality
science project, please direct them to my (much improved) website at
http://faculty.valpo.edu/gvandegr/.
better AS-29, has evolved into an effort to initiate an on-line
student research website.
For the last 20 years I was a struggling physics professor trying to
support a family on a single income. That meant trying to be
a "research" professor, and the only money in "research" for me was
in "science education", which often felt to me like "pseudo
research". Eventually I decided to focus entirely on sponsoring and
supporting student-research projects.
Two big changes in my life are occurring this year: First my
youngest daughter is graduating from high school, and second I am
gaining experience in the much more employable field of teaching
lower-level math courses. These developments make it possible to
turn this project into a 100% pure hobby that I can pursue via the
internet with students all over the world. Meanwhile, there are
plenty of reasonably paying and fun jobs just teaching college math
and science.
This internet collaboration shouldn't take much time. And the way I
figure it, I can get 30 top-notch kids in the US alone to
collaborate, if (1) only one in a million has what it takes, and if
(2) all potentially interested students know about this opportunity.
So if you know of any student or science club looking for a quality
science project, please direct them to my (much improved) website at
http://faculty.valpo.edu/gvandegr/.