COSMOS Student Profiles
COSMOS is a month-long residential program for California high school students who demonstrate high achievement in science and mathematics and are motivated to explore complex topics in depth. Participants attend classes and live in the residence halls at one of four UC campuses--Davis, Irvine, San Diego or Santa Cruz-- and have the opportunity to engage in social activities during the evening and field trips on weekends. Special events are designed to enhance students' personal, social and academic growth. Each COSMOS site offers different theme-based course clusters that reflect the unique resources and specialties of the campus.
SWATI CHOUDHARY
Presentation High School
San Jose, Santa Clara County
12th Grade
UC Davis COSMOS 2005
Participated in Cluster on Physics and Technology
COSMOS was a truly memorable experience for me. At first, I had been a little doubtful as to whether my experience would be worthwhile because my first choice had been the "Biomedical Sciences" cluster. Nevertheless, I chose to get the most out of whatever "Physics and Technology" had to offer. This was a very good choice because I learned things at COSMOS that I never thought I would-or even could-as a high school student.
My favorite part about COSMOS was probably getting to know the professors; these were a couple of extremely dedicated educators who had worked hard to get where they are today and truly wanted to instill their love of learning in all of their students. Professor Yankelevich taught the course on optics and lasers. I really liked his teaching style because of the way he managed to convey fairly complex ideas in simple terms. During his course, we learned about lasers while experimenting with their various properties, such as the total internal reflection technique that is employed in fiber optic cables, for instance. As our final project, we built a device that transmitted voice signals using a laser to a set of speakers elsewhere in the room. All the while, I met graduate students who had chosen to major in electrical engineering and studied far more complex concepts than what we COSMOS students were being given a taste of. Through them, we learned a about some of the latest breakthroughs in laser technology.
My other professor, Dr. Jensen, taught the course about the history of technology beginning from the ancient Greeks moving up to the World War II and its aftermath. He was especially demanding in that he expected us students to grasp concepts quickly or to ask questions until we could. From him I learned to always question what I knew and what people were telling and teaching me. In particular, I remember that after we had come back from our tour of the Los Alamos National Lab at New Mexico, some of us were unsure as to why we were spending many hours driving up to see some telescopes on a hilltop. He explained that it was important to realize that the displays we see in museums are just research that has been packaged into a pleasing form in order to help the majority grasp the ideas behind them. The real and hard work takes place behind the scenes and is often not as crisp and clean as what we see in the presentations in museums.
Overall, my experience was truly worthwhile. I felt that COSMOS had not only helped me to increase my knowledge of Physics but also imparted to me knowledge that I could use in the biological sciences, the field which I plan to explore in college. My parents were also extremely impressed with the COSMOS program and all that it had taught me. In conclusion, I would recommend to all students who are accepted that they attend one of the clusters in the program even if it is not their top choice.