For my final project in Engineering 57 (Operations Research), I implemented a linear programming formulation that optimizes the scheduling of Writing Associates in the Swarthmore Writing Center. My final report [download .pdf] was due today, and it’s a big relief to have it done. This was a fun project, and I especially enjoyed working with AMPL. Next semester, I’ll be doing more operations research work in Engineering 66 (Environmental Systems).
I recently had the honor of driving the Engineering Department’s 1986 Suburban Scottsdale. I first encountered this vehicle, a veritable institution of the Department first acquired as a chase car for a solar car race, in my freshman year trips to Chester to tutor with the Engineering Department. Until being instructed to drive to a water quality sampling site the other day, I never thought I would have the honor of driving this esteemed vehicle. (Esteemed meaning that the brakes are questionable, there’s no power locks or windows, and the lining on the back ceiling is falling down so as to obstruct the view out the rear-view mirror).
My Small Liberal Arts College Unexpected and Possibly Too Close for Comfort Vehicle and Professor Accessibility Index (SLACUPTCCVPAI) is now currently:
Number of Faculty/Administrators I’ve been driven by: 8
Number of Faculty/Administrators’ houses I’ve dined at: 3
Number of Faculty/Administrators’ vehicles I’ve driven: 1
Gross looking runoff under the Baltimore Pike overpass
On Wednesday while studying for my first exam in Water Quality and Pollution Control, I decided that I needed to go for a jog up the Crum Creek. I could get some exercise while at the same time exploring a local impaired stream - what better way to prepare for a test on urban runoff?
I’ve wanted to go explore Smedley Park, which is north of Baltimore Pike, for a while. What had stopped me up to this point was having to cross the creek, Paper Mill Road, and Baltimore Pike, all without any clear pedestrian markings. This means getting from the lower right to upper left corner of this picture unscathed:
I found the appropriate paths and made it to the park. The quiet woods and fat groundhog were enjoyable. I’m definitely glad I found the way up to the park and plan on returning there soon. Things should be gorgeous when the leaves change.
The Environmental Studies Program at Swarthmore sponsored a great talk tonight centered around mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia. Ken Hechler (Swarthmore Class of 1935), the former long-serving Secretary of State of West Virginia, and Larry Gibson, an environmental activist, shared their perspectives on the harms of coal inherent in its mining, processing, and combustion. I met both of them before the talk and was impressed by their passion and energy. At 94 years old, Ken was a little hard of hearing, but had a vast amount of experience and perspective to share. Larry shared some deeply personal stories about his childhood in West Virginia; more about his work is available at the Keeper of the Mountains Foundation. While Appalachia is a vastly different setting than Roxbury, MA, where I was working this summer, I definitely consider the issues they discussed tonight to be ones of environmental justice.
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