FYFD

Category: Admin

  • FYFD at APS DFD 2014

    I’m excited to announce that I will be attending the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics meeting in San Francisco next month. This year I will be co-teaching a workshop on communicating science to general audiences. Here’s the lowdown:

    Scientist-Reporter Workshop: How to tell your science story

    Want to share your research with the public? Five experts lead a workshop on ways to draw attention to your research. Join science journalist Flora Lichtman, whose work has appeared on NPR, and in The New York Times and Popular Science; Jason Bardi, writer and Director of Media Services at AIP; Nicole Sharp, creator of “F! Yeah Fluid Dynamics”; Rachel Levy, creator of “Grandma got STEM” and biomechanic David Hu for a workshop on disseminating your research to news outlets.

    To learn more or register to attend, check out: http://apsdfd2014.stanford.edu/?q=content/special-events

    We’ll have a follow-on to the workshop at Sunday night’s banquet. For those who can’t make it to the conference in person, never fear: we will be taking to the Internet, too. More on that at a later date.

    So who all is coming?

  • 200k Followers!

    200k Followers!

    Exciting milestone: 200,000 Tumblr followers! What a great early birthday present. Thank you to everyone who follows, shares, asks questions, and submits topics. FYFD wouldn’t be what it is today without all of you.

  • Nautilus Article

    Nautilus Article

    Spend an hour watching the clouds roll overhead and no two of them will be the same. The complexity and dynamic motion of turbulence make these flows fascinating, even mesmerizing, to watch. Humans are a pattern-seeking species. We like to seek order in apparent chaos, and this, perhaps, is what makes turbulence such a captivating subject for scientists and artists alike.

    Nicole Sharp, “The Beautiful Unpredictability of Coffee, Clouds, and Fire”

    Something a little different today. I have a guest post over at Nautilus about looking for patterns in turbulence. Go check it out!

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    4th Birthday: Intro

    Next week marks FYFD’s 4th birthday! It’s hard to believe that it’s been so long, or that the blog and I have come so far. I set out with the intention of explaining fluid dynamics to a broad audience because it’s a subject we all experience daily and yet one that few learn formally. (I also, as you may have guessed from the blog’s name, didn’t take things too seriously.) Many things have surprised me these past four years, but one of my favorites is how much I’ve learned. In researching and writing FYFD, I am constantly learning new and fascinating physics. I love it every time something new stuns me with its beauty, its cleverness, or its jaw-dropping, mind-blowing awesomeness. In celebration of that feeling, next week’s posts will revisit some of my favorite subjects, especially those that did and do amaze me. In the meantime, try not to let the ice cream melt. Unless you’re into that. (Video credit: I. Yang; submitted by Stuart B.)

  • Graduation!

    Graduation!

    Last night I walked across the stage as a student for the last time, receiving my PhD in aerospace engineering and getting hooded by my advisor in a tradition with roots back to medieval scholars. Even more so than the defense, it marked an official end to my PhD. None of that is really fluid dynamical, but I wanted to use the opportunity to thank each and every one of you who read and support FYFD. This blog began on a whim while I was a graduate student waiting for an opportunity to do the experiments I needed. I never could have predicted at the time the impact it would have on my life. FYFD became a part of my daily life, and thanks to you, readers, it became a source of inspiration and motivation for me as I pursued my studies. I have learned so much more about fluid dynamics in writing FYFD and answering your questions than I would ever have on my own. I have had opportunities to travel, to communicate and even meet with people from all corners of the globe who share some of my enthusiasm for the subject. It has been a wonderful experience so far, and I hope for many more ahead. Thank you all for being a part of it! (Photo credit: J. Mai)

  • Happy 1000 Posts!

    Happy 1000 Posts!

    Today is FYFD’s 1000th post! It’s been a wild ride over the last three-and-a-half years and I cannot thank you all enough for coming along. I’m continually amazed by FYFD’s popularity among readers of all ages and backgrounds, and it’s truly a joy to see excitement for fluid dynamics spreading.

    The keen-eyed among you may have noticed a subtle change to the main page: I successfully defended my PhD Friday! I’m still working on wrapping my head around the idea of not being a student any more.

    Anyway, I just wanted to take a few minutes to celebrate. I encourage you to take a look back at the archives, which are full of amazing science and physics, or read one of the themed series FYFD has featured. And, if you’ve enjoyed the blog, please don’t hesitate to spread the word! Thank you all again for your support. 🙂

  • APS DFD etc.

    It’s time! The American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics meeting opens in Pittsburgh tomorrow morning. It promises to be a very busy few days. Most of that activity will probably not be immediate apparent here on FYFD, but I encourage you to follow along on @fyfluiddynamics, where I’ll be giving a running commentary.

    For those attending APS, I have two talks:

    I’m looking forward to the chance to meet in person as well, so keep an eye out (I’ll have FYFD stickers on my nametag) and be sure to say hello! There’s been some interest in an informal FYFD get-together, too, so keep an eye on Twitter for that.

    Finally, I want to extend my thanks again to all the donors who made it possible for me to get to APS this year. I deeply appreciate your generosity. Special thanks are due to Pointwise, Symscape, and @cenyree for their outstanding support of FYFD! Thank you all again. – Nicole

  • Interview at Pointwise

    There’s a new interview with me up at Pointwise’s Another Fine Mesh. In it I talk about FYFD, my advice to students, the future of CFD, women in engineering, the space program, and where to find great burgers. Be sure to check it out!

  • Thank You!

    Thank You!

    I have the best readers in the world. Seriously, everyone one of you is amazing. In less than 23 hours, you have blown past the goal I set. I will be going to the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics meeting thanks to you. THANK YOU!

    For those of you reading who will be at APS, I plan to do my utmost to be available to grab a coffee between sessions, hang out, discuss research, talk outreach, go out to dinner – whatever! For those of you who won’t be there, I want to share as much of the experience as possible with you through social media. Prepare to be inundated at the end of the November. Without all of you, I wouldn’t be at APS, and I’d like everyone who contributed to have a chance to enjoy the experience.

    Per IndieGoGo’s terms, the campaign will remain open until its October 11th deadline. Any contributions I receive above and beyond my APS costs, I plan to set aside for improvements to FYFD. The reader survey indicated lots of you would like me to make my own videos, and I aim to. Extra funds will first go toward equipment for that purpose.

    Thank you again to each and every one of you, whether you contributed your money or helped spread the word. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and will continue striving to bring the best of fluid dynamics to FYFD every weekday. Thank you all!

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    Help FYFD Get to APS DFD 2013

    Readers, I need your help! Funding for my project got cancelled prematurely thanks to sequester-induced budget cuts and my research group no longer has the funds to send me to the American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics meeting where I am scheduled to give two talks, one about FYFD and one about my research. APS’s DFD meeting is the big fluid dynamics conference of year, where thousands of researchers, professionals, and students come together to present their work. It’s always a major source of beautiful, interesting, and exciting photos and videos for FYFD. I’m asking you to help me raise the $2000 I need to attend. Watch the video, check out the perks available for donors over at IndieGoGo, and please help me spread the word by reblogging, retweeting, etc. Thank you!