Hello, world!

I’m Sam!

I am a research scientist with an interest in brain imaging! My education background (B.E., M.S., and PhD.) is in biomedical engineering, but I’m interested in learning about all different fields of science. Besides that, I like coffee, reading, music, animals, and getting my heart broken by the Yankees.

I started a Science Communication blog for a few reasons, one reason being that I want to improve my scientific writing/speaking skills. I’m hoping that this project will help me develop those skills, while also having the opportunity share cool science with others. Science is fun for me, and I hope that this will help other people get excited about science too!

The act of science fascinates me (and frustrates me, if I’m being totally transparent here). Learning about something, enough to where you think you kind of get it. Asking questions along the way to learn more and more until soon, you come across a question that has yet to be answered. Then, taking that newfound knowledge, you plan. Plan an experiment. Plan six more. Plan to figure out how exactly you’re going to answer that question you’re looking to answer, and importantly, what you expect that answer to be. Then you run the experiments. Run them again. And again. And this time with a different factor because you realized the first three runs failed not on account of your total incompetence, but because of the methodologies or materials you’re using. You finally collect some beautiful data. You analyze it, with a speculative eye. Yes it would be great if everything you get is true, but never assume you’re always right (your reviewers sure won’t). Now write about it. Tell a story. Tell the story. Tell your story. What was known. What wasn’t known. What you’re going to do to help make that unknown thing, known. What data you collected and how you interpreted it to contribute to making the thing known. And what you missed that other people should try or consider if they want to do it all over again to replicate what you found (because let’s be honest, your work doesn’t mean too much if no one else can repeat it). That’s the act of science, and even though day to day it makes me frustrated, bored, sad, etc., I love it. 

I want other people to love it, too.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoy!

-s