An Interview with Dan Goldin

Dan Goldin was Administrator of NASA from 1992 - 2001.  Dan had a strong upbringing in music both playing and listening.  His father regularly took him to museums and to planetariums. This was where he discovered his love for space. Dan's passion to work in space and go to space grew through his childhood.  He made planes and dreamed of becoming an astronaut.  When Dan was a youngster, NASA has not yet been established so space exploration was new and unknown. 

Doctors advised Dan not to play contact sports due to his extreme myopic eye condition. There was the risk of becoming totally blind if his retina detached so his astronaut dreams were always going to be challenging.

"My eye doctor laughed so hard I thought he was going to fall over"

Dan's father taught him to "pick an objective and never give up no matter how difficult it got"

"Don’t let anyone or anything get in the way of your objective"

Even to this day, Dan still has a dogmatic approach.  His story about his approach to learning to paddleboard resulted in 3 broken ribs and he was black and blue all over BUT he didn't stop until he had mastered it!

"You cannot stop the march of technology! "

Dan believes that the greatest opportunities in the near future are in the life sciences.  Leaning how our environment impacts our physical make up - the size of our bodies, shape of the face, etc.

This knowledge can then be used in a weightless space environment - what can we learn from life science that will help us in space?

Currently, there is a lot of research being carried out by geneticists.  Crucial decisions are being made by ethicists as we manipulate gene structures.  What then if an error were to occur, where do we as humans get to have our say?  Society sleepily goes about it's daily business whilst the actions of some scientists are being executed which will have a huge influence the future.  Dan believes that "Humans need to be more in charge of their futures."

The purpose of the Space programme has always been for the benefit of humanity.  A balance of science and ethics might enable astronauts to transform biology to be better prepared in space. Dan sees manufacturing as something that will be done by bacteria and not human hands.

"The future lies in the balance of biomedicine and bioethics with physics and engineering skills"

The concept of being able to "walk and chew gum" is an expression that Dan used often.  It means that have the ability to attend to the problems of today but we also must look to the future otherwise concentrating too much on the here and now will stifle exploration and development.

Some parting advice from Dan:

• Never worry about what others think of you. Whatever is in your core is right.
• When you make a change it’s not a popularity contest. Don’t expect to be loved. Accept the consequences
• Believe in yourself and understand you are fully in charge of your destiny. Believe in your version of life and your conduct in life.
• Be outstanding in whatever you do.
• Don’t lose energy in worrying about things you don’t have control over.
• Don’t fight the battle of increasing the number of women.
• Develop yourself to be the best and then you will be contributing to the world.
• Competition is great as long as it is to sharpen the mind; rather to 'win'
• Be the best engineer that happens to be a woman, not a woman who is an engineer

Recommended Reading:

Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe

The book also argues that due to the immense size of the universe, even if another habitable planet like Earth does exist elsewhere, and that the Earth is not the only planet in the universe with complex life, such planets would still only appear in relatively small numbers compared to planets that are habitable only to bacteria, and would most likely be too far away for any intelligent life, if they exist, to make contact with each other as well as with our own planet, as the vast distances between those planets would essentially isolate them, and by the time any signals reach their destination, the planet the signal originated from may no longer be habitable anymore except for at least bacteria, and whatever life that sent said signal may already be extinct, making any form of contact with each other useless. 

Beginning to Code

The Year 3 students will begin using Scratch Junior. They will be developing their skills in coding by using the Scratch Junior App. This will be building on from the computer science foundation these girls received as Year 2’s.

ScratchJr Mission statement - ‘As children code with ScratchJr, they learn how to create and express themselves with the computer, not just to interact with it. In the process, children learn to solve problems and design projects, and they develop sequencing skills that are foundational for later academic success. They also use math and language in a meaningful and motivating context, supporting the development of numeracy and literacy. With ScratchJr, children aren't just learning to code, they are coding to learn.’

Minecraft Club

Another technology club that has been introduced in Term 2 is the Minecraft Club.  

We are delighted that three Year 7 girls have been mentored to be facilitators of this group.  

Imogen Masters, Maia Stanbury and Ceira Roche are using their leadership skills to guide

students through tasks using Minecraft.  Currently, students are learning a variety of skills

within Minecraft which will enable them to exist in ‘survival mode’. A number of strategies

can be executed to collect resources, build structures and battle mobs, manage hunger and

explore the world to survive and thrive.