The Imaging Science Show

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Free open copyright vectors FTW

Oh yeah, remember that flyer I made last week that I was afraid was a little too cluttered and complicated? Well I wasn't the only one with that concern, so after a few iterations and some wording changes, the poster has been finalized:

Urban League Summer Camp: Day 2

Today's session with the Urban League Summer Camp met up in the new classroom, where we started out picking up where we left off yesterday. I asked the kids to tell me what were some of the things they learned were true about Imaging Science, and what were some of the misconceptions. After making a list of the board, we rewatched a bunch of the clips as a refresher. The kids were in charge of determining on their own whether a video response deserved to be BUZZed or DING DINGed, while Joe added the clip numbers to the appropriate sides of the board where we were keeping track of truths and misconceptions:

This was a useful activity because it reinforced what we went over yesterday, and also gave us a starting point for Friday's presentation. It was decided that the presentation will describe what Imaging Science is, and will start out with videos of wrong answers that will get buzzed followed by correct answers.

This activity didn't take as long as I was expecting but actually gave us a perfect segue into talking about resolution and frame rates. I was able then to present a bit about what digital images are, what resolution means, and how frame rate makes a difference in videos. Although the topic is a bit dry, it gets into some nitty gritty Imaging Science, and also provided some background for what was next to come, which was a presentation from our freshmen students that have been continuing work this summer on the craniofacial phenotyper.

This was good practice for the freshies since they will be presenting at the Undergraduate Research Symposium on Friday. It also provided an introduction for the Urban League students to 3-D Imaging, which is what the remainder of our week will focus on.

After the presentation, all of the kids were going to get their heads scanned, though only a few people could fit into the lab at a time so we had to split up. Most of us went across to the hall to the Reading Room where last week's winning team got first pick at the comfy seats and ice cream (as promised yesterday). In there, while groups went to get their faces scanned, we watched a few videos about 3-D Imaging including other medical applications, usage in film and television, and how you can make your own inexpensive 3-D scanner at home.

I tagged along with the last group to get their faces scanned and snagged a few cool videos of the process:

Overall I think things went pretty well today, though it wasn't as exciting as yesterday. The kids did seem to still appreciate it, though - one was nice enough to hand me an ice cream bar and say, "You did such a good job today, I think you deserve this." Heehee. Tomorrow the kids will be let loose with cameras to make their own 3-D anaglyphs, so that should bring the excitement level back up again!

Me-Me-Mee Mees!

For the intern field trips this year, we decided to do something a little different. The usual format was starting to get old, fewer businesses were giving quality tours, and the level of interest from the interns was definitely waning. (Just browse some of last year's intern blogs, and you'll see.) The last thing we want to do is give the kids a boring experience or inadvertently turn them OFF of pursuing imaging or optics or engineering. So instead of having several smaller trips during the day to local companies, we decided to try out one big field trip to more of a destination. The stars aligned (har har) for a trip to the Mees Observatory down in Bristol! Because of the connections we have with Mees through some professors and grad students here in CIS, we were able to arrange for a special tour and star gazing outside of the usual public tour schedule - and last night was THE night!

Everyone assembled in the lobby of Carlson to load onto the huge bus we rented, and we were on our way. All of the interns here today, along with a few REU students, some faculty and staff, myself & my husband, and one summer worker who is going to be a student this fall made up the group of 29 field trippers. Our first stop was Sticky Lips for dinner. Even though we called ahead to warn that our group was coming, our arrival still came as a surprise to the hostesses... But it all worked out because the weather was beautiful and there were a bunch of benches outside that we could occupy.

This picture shamelessly stolen from Nick's blog.

We happily stuffed our faces full of delicious BBQ and had a great time. The value of taking the interns out to eat should never be discounted - although it seems like we are just spending money to let the kids stuff themselves, there is a lot of bonding and getting to know each other that takes place over meals. The interns always have a lot of fun, and we get to connect with them on another level too. Overall, the effect an outing like this has on the overall experience and impression that we leave on the interns is worth way more than what the bill ended up costing (which was actually much less than I was expecting for a group of 29 people, by the way).

Anyways, after dinner we piled back onto the bus for the ride down to Mees. It's a lengthy trip but it's very scenic, plus the ride was super comfortable thanks to reclining seats that accommodated me and my then-swelling belly thanks to all the BBQ. Us "boring" adults sat towards the front of the bus, but it was obvious even from up there that the kids were having a great time behind us - never underestimate the excitement of a big comfortable bus when it comes to teenagers. It's just like class trips to DC: sure, you remember some of the stuff about the Capitol and whatnot, but what kids remember most and take the most pictures of are the bus rides to/from. (Oh, I remember.)

We made it to Ontario County Park and unbelievably, the bus took us ALL the way up the hill to Mees. (I was actually a little disappointed at this, as I always enjoy the intro at the Gannett House and spookily walking up the hill in the dark by flashlight - but with the teenager:adult ratio being what it was, it's probably just as well that we didn't get to do that.) As we unloaded from the bus, the sky was clear as could be - what a perfect night for star gazing!

Just arrived!

Twilight

Up on the deck

Old computers, tee hee. It seems like only yesterday we all worked on machines like these... My, how times have changed.

Getting a look through the telescope at Saturn

The inside of the observatory is lit by only by dim red lights, so as to not destroy our night-vision.

Denise checks out globular star cluster M13

Everyone was having a great time.

The clear, still night made for FANTASTIC viewing - Bob Crumrine, who joined us from the Astronomy Section, Rochester Academy of Science (ASRAS) and led the star gazing said he "had the nicest views of M13 and M57 I've had in years!" Through the telescope we got to look at Saturn (a nice clear shape, rings and all!); planetary nebula (the aforementioned M57); Epsilon Lyrae, a double-double star where each star in the double star is actually a binary star of its own; a globular cluster (the aforementioned M13, in the constellation Hercules, which was absolutely stunning); and another double star Albireo, in the constellation Cygnus the Swan, which looked like a single star to the naked eye but through the telescope was actually a yellow star and a blue star (and not necessarily a binary pair). We also had clear views from the deck of Antares (!!!!!! <3<3<3 He shined and sparkled so, so bright!), several satellites, a number of meteors (probably early Perseids!), and the International Space Station.


The ISS rose over Antares and glided smoothly right over us!

And there are many, many (, MANY) more pictures on Sadie's blog.

Overall we had a really fantastic night - the star gazing was magnificent, the meteors were spectacular, and everyone seemed to be feeling the magic. The inspiration and excitement felt by the interns really comes out in their blogs:

And the feeling was mutual from Mr. Crumrine: "I was impressed with the student's interest, focus and behavior, and enjoyed working with them. One student correctly identified M57 as a planetary nebula, many could correctly explain the different colors of Alberio, and we had a discussion of whether it was a binary pair or not. ... So yes, a great night for all, and was a pleasure to work with you!"

I cannot downplay the enthusiasm I myself had for this trip. It was really fantastic and I know I'll be bragging about it for some time to come. This was definitely one of the most successful field trips I've ever been on, and I'm so happy to see that it was definitely beneficial for the interns, too. The positive impact of a trip like this, quite simply, is astronomical (har har).

Though on top of all my positive feelings for the whole night, I couldn't shake some personal bittersweet emotions, what with so much talk about Antares - granted it was about the star, but it and my brother are now literally the same. Not to mention the only other time I've been to Mees was about 14 years ago with my Antares and my dad, back when Antares was in Astronomy class in high school. Not so long ago he also sent me and my dad an e-mail about observatory tours..... I wish so badly he could have been there with me. Though I know in many ways he was. :-/

Monday, August 6, 2012

Urban League Summer Camp 2012: Day 1

If you have been following my blog for over a year now you may remember when I ran a session last year as part of the Urban League Summer Camp. Well, it's that time of year again! The camp is set up a bit differently this year, in that I am only running one week of sessions, which also means that I get the entire group (whereas last week I had half the group, and for two weeks). Also, the other session has changed this year from GIS to Nano Bio Technology. There is a lot more participation this year, seeing as how my number of participating students has practically tripled(!). Other aspects of the camp have stayed the same: the kids start the day in a leadership workshop, then have lunch at Gracie's, and then are with me for 2 hours before heading back out. Oh, but there is one other noticeable difference versus last year: the kids seem to be really into it this year!

For our first day, I planned basically to do introductions of each other and an introduction to Imaging Science - but I wanted to find a way to somehow combine the two and do something more relevant than a normal icebreaker activity. After a little brainstorming in the morning with Bob and Joe, we decided to follow our usual first day routine of letting the kids loose with video cameras, but this time with a different purpose. Whereas last year I asked the kids to find examples of Imaging Science all across campus (which was not so exciting), this year Joe suggested we tell the kids to go out and find as many people across campus as possible and as them what they think Imaging Science is - so, like how Leno does his Jaywalking bit. They would get tallied for how many people they asked, but they had to get a minimum of 10 and no more than two of those were supposed to be inside the building. Also, they were supposed to start their video by each introducing themselves: their name, what grade they're going into, and at what school. They had 45 minutes to get as much footage as possible, and like last year we weren't going to show them how to use the cameras (but we would be available to help if they needed us). Aaaaand, GO!

Surprisingly, the kids went right off and started getting video, and we were never asked for help other than one anomaly where the camera froze and was totally unresponsive. Most of the groups finished up early, so I encouraged them to go out and ask more people. One team heard that going up to the 7th floor of Eastman would be an automatic win, so sure enough they ran off to try it. 1:30 came around and I started processing the videos while the kids had a little down time, and within a few minutes (and a few additional minutes of having to wait for one team whose cameraperson apparently was in the bathroom for quite some time - minus 100 points!) the videos were ready for viewing.

A few of the teams caught intern Olivia (who should have had a better answer, COME ON!)

An esteemed panel of myself, Joe, Bob, and Michelle (from the K-12 office) were to serve as judges. I had the role of tallying the number of people and awarding bonus points; Joe had a buzzer to BZZZZZ bad answers from people; Bob had a call bell to DING DING! good answers; and Michelle was in charge of pictures. Some highlights from the videos include answers from some notables across campus (which the kids had no idea were such important people), asking someone while they were in the bathroom, one of the answers actually mentioning the platypus, and of course visiting the President's office (which, although they didn't get to interview Dr. Destler himself, they did get a very nice answer from one of his staff assistants). We had told the students that they should introduce themselves and explain that they were part of this program, and we were very pleased to see that they did actually remember to do this. The kids were all extremely polite, and also thanked people for answering and sometimes even gave them handshakes. Although even despite this, there were still some people who had very adverse reactions to being asked "What is Imaging Science?" and/or were pretty upset to have been recorded; so for that reason I won't be posting any of the clips on here. (sad trombone)

The competition was FIERCE but as you can see, even with all the random bonuses and deductions (and miscalculations for Team 3), there was a clear winner.

Overall the experience went way better than I was possibly hoping for. The kids had a lot of fun making and watching the videos, and the clips were actually very educational, too. By having the buzzes and dings to indicate good and bad answers, the kids had a chance to learn what Imaging Science really is and what a lot of the misconceptions are. (They also learned that a lot of people simply don't know and won't even try to guess.) The kids also all learned how to use the video cameras (and did a good job, too!) and got to know their way around campus a bit more. And on top of all of these awesome things, we already have some really great material for their presentation on Friday! Originally we were going to reward the winners with Ben & Jerry's coupons, but we ended up being so impressed with ALL of the videos that we're going to give all the kids ice cream tomorrow. Oh boy!

Friday, August 3, 2012

Butterface

So I just had a lot of fun stretching my ImSci muscles! Check out this awesome picture Bob and I made of ourselves:

Dr. Angry & Mr. Smile.

View the picture up close, and you see Bob smiling and laughing (or looking terrified, you be the judge). Now move farther and farther away, and Bob's face will disappear while my sad pouty face will become clear. (You can be lazy and see pretty much the same thing happen by looking at the picture and then squinting - but come on, is it that hard to get up out of your chair?) Awesome, huh?!? IMAGING SCIENCE!

I had a lot of fun putting this together, because I had to try a number of techniques to get a good final image. I had the most fun playing around with Fourier transforms in ImageJ and remembering how to manipulate them like I used to in Digital Image Processing classes. I forgot how entertaining and interesting that was, and it was way more fun to do the knitty gritty, behind-the-scenes image processing rather than just having some automatic filter do all the work for me. Though I guess that makes it more difficult when I could have taken an easier approach, but it's pretty eye-opening to perform the science behind the magic (and makes for a better blog post, let's face it.).

Now that I think about it, Bob should have been the one making the pouty face, since just before making this image he stepped on his $900 reading glasses and broke them...

ImSci Intern Challenge #2 Recap: Oh, there you are, Perry

Some of the feedback from last week's Challenge was that it was too easy, so this week we really upped the ante. Maybe a little too much... The problem was related as such:

Challenge 2: The Imaging Science platypus was captured by cyber thieves and hidden in another domain.

Each of the teams was then given a case file containing a dossier all about the platypus:

And a ransom note left by his captors:

So the first step to solving the problem was the same as last week's challenge: separate the texts, and decipher the Greek. Easy peasy. However, we changed the colors of the texts to make it harder - the background text was a script font in light yellow, so it was basically unreadable without taking advantage of Imaging Science techniques. Our thinking behind this was that, if you put the effort into doing a good job last week, it would help you this week; plus, the teams were all reassigned, so the interns in each pairing should have been sharing their best practices from the week before, thereby doing some additional teaching and learning. Pretty awesome, right? And we're only at Step 1. (Spoiler alert! Step 2 is where pretty much EVERYBODY hit a brick wall.) The yellow text ended up saying:

And the Greek text was lyrics to a Third Eye Blind song, with "steganos graphei" repeated twice at the end, which translates to steganography.

So those were all the puzzle pieces... But no one was getting anywhere figuring out how they all went together. So, come Wednesday we decided to give the interns a break:

And with a little help and encouragement, one by one the teams started getting it. Instead of going through the effort of describing the steps to solving the puzzle, I'll let the winning team's video describe the tricky solution:

Do you think you could have gotten that? Okay, okay, it was pretty difficult. But they asked for it! Meanwhile, please take a minute to imagine all the work that went into creating this challenge. It was absolutely no small feat and took hours of brainstorming and preparation (major props to Bob for his invaluable help). Even with SO much time and effort put into this, I think we got a huge return on our investment (I mean, did you WATCH the video above?!). Even though the uptake was a little sluggish, with some interns thinking they wanted to give up because it was too hard, they all ended up getting really into it. Every team completed the challenge in time, some even going so far as to bribe for hints and bonus points. One team really set the standard for the "Best Design" award for this week by even creating an epic movie trailer! (They made a really good video about their solution, too; though it's missing the last step because the steganography software doesn't work on macs, and they didn't have admin access for the available windows machines...) We also received powerpoint submissions (good practice for the upcoming presentations), spot-on written descriptions ending with links to Monty Python (which I LOVED - way to steal a girl's heart), and flattering compliments such as, "Great job on the challenge though, that had to take a ton of time to plan out." Oh, and let's not forget cake!

Too bad I don't eat things with faces on them.

I think what's happening is really amazing and awesome and fun... Hopefully the interns would agree.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Cool town, evening in the city

Last night was the CIS Summer in the City alumni event! We had a very healthy crowd of 25 or so alumni, faculty, staff, and students join us for an evening downtown at Tapas 177. It was a great mix of people, about half of which I haven't previously met, so it was a great time getting to know folks while sharing some really tasty food. My favorite part was hearing old stories of pranks students used to play on their not-so-nice landlords back in the 60's when RIT was still located downtown. And a good time was had by all! Some pictures below...