Interests


SCIENCE!
I'm currently on the Users' Executive Committe for the Advanced Light Source. I traveled to Washington in April, along with representatives of other national science facilities to lobby for science. Lobby?! Yes, well, I really do believe that education is the key to everything, and that science in particular teaches people how to think critically. The Advanced Light source is a synchrotron facility that provides x-rays for all kinds of experiments and supports the resaerch of scientists from all around the country. Here is some of the work made possible by the synchrotron: detecting contaminants in soil samples, imaging live cells, determining protein structure for the purpose of designing drugs to cure diseases, studying superconductors and other unusual materials, building nano-gears out of polymers, studying the composition of space dust, increasing the efficiency of solar cells. My dream is to someday start a national science tutoring program: free to everyone and for all ages. Obviously, this would take a lot of money.

WRITING!	"...articulate language partakes of the process of creation, and is, I suspect, our best evidence of the existence of God." (Lance Morrow)

Wrote my first story in third grade about a giant time-traveling humanoid potato. Needless to say, it was clear I was heading toward science fiction from an early age. Attended Clarion in 2001. Here is a list of my classmates and instructors: Mart Allard, Phil Brewer, Amy Forbes, Kathy Gabriel, John Gonzalez, Theodora Goss, Genevieve Kierans, Beth Adele Long, Ty McQuillar, Susan Mosser, Ryan Myers, Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, Al Ong, Rick Polney, Thomas Seay, Karina Sumner-Smith, Tom Wagner, Jason Wittman Steven Barnes, James Patrick Kelly, Geoffrey Landis, Kelly Link, Pat Murphy, Mary A. Turzillo To see my fiction and non-fiction publications, follow my writing link.

RUNNING!
Last October I ran the half-marathon in Humboldt with my dad. Running time: 2 1/2 hours. We finished just seconds ahead of the people running the full marathon. We're hoping to increase our speed this year and possibly finish ahead of the run-walk people. I'll be continuing my training just as soon as I recover from the nasty infection I got when my cat bit me. Note to self: do not try to pick up a cat when it is in the middle of a fight.

READING! *Here are my current favorites:*

	It's not anti-faith; it's anti-dogma. It's about the beauty and depth of the human experience and what it means to have free will and consciousness.

	Everyone in America must read this book. Everyone must stop eating high-fructose corn syrup.

	Very fine short fiction, indeed.

	Essays, short fiction. Refreshingly real stuff about real people.

	A most amazing book. The only thing that cannot be taken away from you is your attitude about what has happened to you.