Newton's Third Law

As part of National Engineers Month in February I presented to a group of 25 third grade students at Cornelius Elementary . The local IEEE chapter encourages members to participate each year. Believe me , I've done my fair share of presentations - however this was a whole new ball game. How do we get young people interested in math & science and fuel the next generation of innovation? Well for one --we need to get out in front of them and 'inspire'. It is about igniting that fire of imagination that opens the door to possibility and belief that 'what' you've imagined is really 'possible'. Somewhere between building and designing balloon rockets with these students last Monday and hopefully permanently linking that activity in their minds with Newton's Third Law of Motion and careers in aerospace engineering -- it struck me --- One way to get there is to actually 'be the action' and step aside and watch for the waterfall of reactions. The reactions that I'm talking about are that sense of wonder and possibility on those 25 faces when I proclaimed "Who wants to build a balloon rocket and goto Mars ?" The response was electric -- What a rush.

In other news- in an effort to find work -life balance again amidst all the rapid evolution and speciation at work -- I am going to China ! We're planning to spend a few days hiking sections of the Great Wall. I'm still working through a route that makes sense and soliciting feedback from other travelers. We'll also spend 1 or 2 days in Beijing and take in some of the other world heritage sites. Signing off for now .. see you in Beijing '08!