Posted on behalf of Materials Girl

So… it has sadly been ages since I wrote a post for TSC. Finals for winter quarter are rapidly approaching, and unlike Stu, I don’t have the legitimate reason of starting up Nature Chemistry. It’s just been long hours in class/lab and late nights spent writing lab reports or essays – nevermind battling senioritis. (The latter is especially difficult these days as my peers on the semester system are preparing for graduation, while the rest of us will be in school through June).

At the beginning of my undergraduate studies, the difference in academic standards between high school and university came as an unexpected shock. It felt as though that nothing could upstage the difficulties of earning all As instead of A-minuses. Now, those gruelling undergrad o-chem labs seem trivial and writing a 10-page paper in any subject is more of an extended frustration than a hair-ripping horror (although theses still scare me). With whatever wisdom my 3.5 undergraduate years have imparted, I have: 1) discovered that constantly working hard is a given, 2) come to terms with “bad” grades, and 3) learned the importance of higher education in the sciences.

This raises a subject that has lately piqued my curiosity: It comes without saying that a majority of chemists need graduate degrees, but how important is it to have them from a top university, renowned advisor, or an especially demanding program? It’s been said that the undergraduate institution attended is of relatively little consequence, but will the name of my graduate school make a real impact on my future prospects?

Radio 4’s schedule page is completely shafted this week, so much of the radio listings are guess-work based on last week. Some good TV shows to watch out for, though – notably a couple of docs about Darwin on Thursday and a new show about science education on Friday.

Monday

How Do They Do It (Five, 19.30-20.00) How to extract gold, and fireproof buildings. Not at the same time.

Grow Your Own Drugs (BBC2, 20.30-21.00) How to grow your extract natural remedies from familiar plants. Skeptics of alternative medicine will be watching this one closely.

Islam and Science (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Nature’s very own Ehsan Masood concludes his investigation of science in modern Islamic society.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Listeners’ questions about the natural world.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-21.50) Why are so many of us ashamed of nudity? Is this science? Oh, wait, the blurb says “people’s embarrassment about their bodies can be traced back to a specific stage of evolution – the period when mankind’s ancestors lost their fur.” Hmmmm.

Wednesday

Nature’s Great Events (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) 100 million sardines invade Africa’s east coast.

Thursday

Jimmy Doherty in Darwin’s Garden (BBC2 20.00-21.00) Darwin season continues with a look at Darwin’s domestic botany at Down House.

Darwin’s Dangerous Idea (BBC2, 21.00-21.00-22.00) This week’s must-see science show has Andrew Marr investigating the effects of Darwin’s theories on religion and morality.

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00)

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21-21.30) The latest scientific stories.

Friday

Rocket Science (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) In a quest to make science more sexy for 13-year-olds, teacher Andy Smith falls back on that old workhorse of chemistry-is-fun: the firework.

Sunday

Richard Hammond’s Engineering Connections (BBC2, 20.10-21.00) Hammond travels out to a gas rig in the North Sea to check out the science and engineering behind these platforms.