Mind of a Scientist
Meet scientists and engineers in their native habitats...
...the lab and/or the field.
Mind of a Scientist is an opportunity for high school students--and science lovers of all ages--to experience a day in the life of a scientist.
Check out the videos below, or on our YouTube playlist, to get inspired about various careers in STEM. Each complete episode is accompanied by short highlight videos that offer a quick glimpse into the plethora of fields and topics that you can study about or even enjoy as a career! If you have any questions, please contact young adult services librarian, Rosalie Abbott, for more information.
See below for a list of previous episodes, highlight videos, and corresponding exercises!
Link to MOAS PLAYLIST
Episode 1: Hannah Salafia
Sonoma Water Agency
- Highlight Video: Tips & Tricks for Job Seekers
- Highlight Video: Why Engineering?
- Exercise: Water-Energy Connection Worksheet
Episode 2: Alejandro Angulo
Dow Development Laboratories, LLC
- Highlight Video: College Advice from a Chemist
- Highlight Video: Chemistry & Formulation Worksheet
Episode 3: Dr. Daniel Soto
Sonoma State University
- Highlight Video: Social Justice and Science
- Exercise: Instructor Guide
- Exercise: Conceptual Questions & Quantitative Exercise to Measure Power Use
Episode 4: Dr. Beth Rowan
UC Davis Genome Center
- Highlight Video: Why Lettuce?
- Highlight Video: Seed Germination Test Instructions
- Highlight Video: Seed Germination & Longevity Workshee
Episode 5: Brandon Postlethwaite
Keysight Technologies
- Highlight Video: Ham Radio
- Exercise: Cell Phone Wavelengths Exercise
Episode 6: Geoff Orth
Medtronic
- Highlight Video: Curiosity & Failures
- Highlight Video: Ethical Issues in R&D
- Exercise: Common Health Issues Related to the Heart?
- Exercise: Heart Answer Key
Episode 7: Bay Area Air Quality Management District
- Highlight Video: Scandals in Air Quality
- Highlight Video: Dimensional Analysis & Air Quality
- Exercise: Air Quality Permit Engineering Exercise
- Exercise: Air Answer Key
Episode 8: Dan Ovadya, Calgene, Inc.
- Highlight Video: The Number$ - Ag Biotech
- Highlight Video: What Does it Take to Become a Scientist?
- Highlight Video: What are Your Core Strengths
- Exercise: Vertical Farming Exercise
Episode 9: Dr. Pamela Ronald
American Plant Pathologist & Geneticist, UC Davis
- Highlight Video: Plant Genetics in the Lab
- Exercise: Making the Discovery
Episode 10: Maile Arnold
Horticulturalist & Biochemist
- Highlight Video: Why Farmers Like to Plan Seeds Resistant to Disease and Stress
Episode 11: Rad Sommer
Optical Engineer & Bodega Bay Marine Lab Experiments
Episode 12: Dan Ferlito
Citizen Scientist
- Highlight Video: Citizen Scientist
Episode 13: Katherine Wentz, Climate Scientist
- Highlight Video: Q&A with Rob Nelson, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab
- Highlight Video: Measuring Sea Ice
- Highlight Video: Youth Activism in Science
- Highlight Video: Good News in Climate Science
Episode 14: Amy Laverdiere
Episode 15: Dr. Steven Farmer
- Highlight Video: Fun with Fluorescence
- Highlight Video: NEON! Q&A
Episode 16: Shawn Boye, Data Scientist
- Highlight Video: Extreme Adventure and Risk Assessment
- Exercise: Data Science, Physics, and Stats
Episode 17: Shelly Spriggs
Wildlife Program Manager
- Highlight Video: Wildlife Corridors
- Highlight Video: Boating in the Laguna
- Highlight Video: Stolen Land
Episode 18: Sophia Grubb and Dyanna Stetina
Environmental Engineering in Sonoma County
- Highlight Video: Tips for Students Interested in Engineering
- Highlight Video: Fun & Challenges in Engineering
Episode 19: Zach Tolby
National Weather Service
- Highlight Video: The Art & Science of Weather Prediction
- Highlight Video: Fire Weather & Incident Meteorology
Episode 20: Randall Osterhuber
Snow Scientist & Avalanche Forecaster
- Highlight Video: The Physics of Snow
- Highlight Video: Evidence of Climate Change in the Sierra
- Exercise: Tips for Success
Episode 21: Devon Price
Software Engineer & Web Developer
- Highlight Video: Be Curious & Share
Episode 22: Anne Crealock
Sonoma Water
Episode 23: Steve McKagen
Coral Reefs
- Highlight Video: Coral Reef Q&A
- Highlight Video: Tips for Success
- Highlight Video: Coral Bleaching
- Highlight Video: Coral Reef Restoration
Episode 24: Dr. Randy Morgenstein
Microbiology
- Highlight Video: Exploring STEM Careers
Episode 25: Nick Meyers & Casey Glaubman
Avalanche Forecasting and Mountain Rescue
- Highlight Video: Avalanche & Mountain Rescue Q&A
Episode 26: Dr. Glenn Brassington
In Pursuit of Peak Performance
- Highlight Video: Finding Success
Episode 27: Alex Katz
Roblox software engineer
- Highlight Video: Distributed Physics in Software Engineering
- Highlight Video: A Day in the Life of a Software Engineer
- Highlight Video: What is Software Engineering
Episode 28: Joan Schwan
Vegetation Ecologist
- Highlight Video: Example of an Environmental Restoration Project
- Highlight Video: Journey to Become a Vegetation Ecologist
- Highlight Video: Q&A with a Vegetation Ecologist
Episode 29: Jacob Aman
Test Engineer
- Highlight Video: Q&A with a Mechanical & Electrical Engineer
- Highlight Video: Understanding Electric Motors
Episode 30: Mia Ludlow
Registered Nurse/Nurse Practitioner
Episode 31: Liz Martins & Kate Remsen
Audubon Canyon Ranch's mountain lion research
Episode 32: Tatjana Ellis
Integrating Computer & Marine Sciences
- Highlight Video: Get Involved!
- Highlight Video: A Podcast About Research at MBARI
- Highlight Video: Artificial Intelligence in the Ocean
Episode 33: Sabrina Manna and Chloe Ghent
Research at UC San Francisco
- Highlight Video: Characterizing Chromosome Segregation
- Highlight Video: Code in the Lab
- Highlight Video: Infectious Disease Research
- Highlight Video: Robotics in the Lab
- Highlight Video: SARS-COV-2 Research
- Highlight Video: Science in the News
Episode 34: Balm Krueger
The Making of Wine
- Highlight Video: Web Soil Survey
- Highlight Video: Joys & Challenges of Working in the Wine Industry
- Highlight Video: Opportunity Cost
- Highlight Video: Follow Your Passions
- Highlight Video: Climate & Wine
Episode 35: Ami Lyons
The Science of Exercise
- Highlight Video: VR & Fitness
- Highlight Video: Optimal Physical Health
- Highlight Video: Anatomy vs. Physiology
Episode 36: Joel Bradshaw
Computer Science
- Highlight Video: Electrical Engineering
- Highlight Video: Progress in the Tech Industry
Episode 37: Morris Brink
Cannabis Industry
- Highlight Video: The Science of Horticulture
- Highlight Video: Cannabis Q&A
Episode 38: Joe Szuecs
Being a Maker
- Highlight Video: Music, Making, and Tech
- Highlight Video: Chimera Arts
Episode 39: Hattie Brown
Natural Resource Management
- Highlight Video: Nerding Out
- Highlight Video: Advice for Students Interested in STEM Careers
Our primary goals:
To inspire and spread the love & curiosity of science among west county teens. To help students learn about various scientific disciplines with lessons, fun & interesting interactive experiments & activities, and hands-on/project-based educational experiences. We will also be highlighting a day in the life of a local science professional--offering insight into career opportunities.
To offer opportunities for teens to connect and engage with the world of science--so that they may see how it is interwoven within the fabric of our everyday experiences. Igniting the interest and imaginations of high school students. Benefits range from students learning one (or hopefully more!) new concept to a student who is motivated to dedicate their life to working in a science-based career or supporting causes with a scientific foundation.
This is a collaboration between Orchard View School Science Faculty member, Milo Mitchel, the Sebastopol Library/Sonoma County Library, and Shasta Public Libraries. For more information, contact Young Adult Services Librarian Rosalie Abbott: rabbott@sonomalibrary.org
MOAS in the News!
- Getting Sonoma Teens into the Mind of a Scientist! - Urban Libraries Council
- Virtual science program introduces students to engineers and scientists. - Sonoma Index-Tribune
- UC High School Articulation Bulletin Spotlight - University of California