Thoughts, ideas, and reflections from coastal scientists and engineers in academic research.

7/2024 — This is my first attempt at creating a public website, so consider it an experiment! Hopefully it won’t be too consuming and difficult to maintain. I’ll share an honest review in six months.

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I started this website for several reasons:

1. I am currently more involved in educational outreach.
2. I believe having an online presence is beneficial.
3. I wanted to gain more experience with the GitHub and Jupyter ecosystems.
4. I agree with the notion that the best way to master a subject is to teach it.

A little less than a year ago (August 2023), I started working full-time with the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), a research organization within the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Teaching and advising students is not a pillar of my job description. However, I do enjoy working with motivated students eager to learn topics that interest me. This past spring, my supervisor, Dr. Patrick S. Cross, presented me with an opportunity to act as “Director of Outreach” (unofficial title) for the newly rebranded Hawaii Marine Energy Center (HMEC). Although limited in scope, I viewed this as a chance to gain more experience working with students and engage in public dissemination outside the formal confines of academia.

During the HMEC rebranding process, I proposed that our mission statement include the interests of the United States Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI). Without a doubt, significant action is required to fulfill this grand vision, and I’m not going to pretend I have all the answers. However, I do know that for a community to adopt outside support, a commitment to public outreach is necessary. Specifically, educating communities on the benefits of new technologies and engineering practices empowers them to take ownership. One way I can support this outreach initiative is by documenting my local efforts online, allowing them to transcend geographic barriers and have a global impact.

The challenge of the task at hand is how to build a platform where I can effectively communicate STEM material. I do like podcasts, but I think it is important to see the material and learn at your own pace. Sure, you could rewind videos, but I anticipate a lot of code and LaTex in what I’d like to present. Enter the GitHub and Jupyter ecosystem. I’m a firm believer in the open source community and probably would not be where I am today without it. In fact, almost everything you will engage with on this website is from the open source community! The only exception is Matlab-related material, which as an engineer is like my second language (you can thank their university marketing strategy for that). However, if I could rewind the clock, I’d ask my professors to also teach Python given its incredible versatility. In an attempt to practice what I preach, I’ll try to use Python where I can, but if I’m pressed for time, I’ll resort to Matlab. Nevertheless, in today’s world, it’s not hard to get AI to translate for you if needed. To digress slightly, Julia is a relatively new language, which I think holds great promise. I have not done a whole lot with it, but I’m sold at face value.

The Jupyter ecosystem allows you to work with multiple languages (50+) and is quite effective when it comes to dissemination. Specifically, Jupyter Notebooks are well-known for their ability to educate users, allowing the seamless integration of Markdown text with code. If you ask me, to educate users on the functionality of software code, the content should be made up of about 67% comments and 33% code. OK, maybe that is a stretch, but you get my point. Jupyter Notebooks make the comments the primary focal point and the code secondary. The rise of Jupyter Books (yes, they are different from Notebooks) pushed me over the edge in choosing to work with the Jupyter ecosystem. On my website, I’ll try to keep blogs short and self-contained. However, some blog posts may eventually be collected under one umbrella to create a Jupyter Book. In the blog, I already use Markdown and Jupyter Notebooks, both of which can be compiled to create a Jupyter Book. This is the organizational approach I envisioned.

In the opening lines of chapter 51, section 4, Professor Richard Feynman starts his lecture on surface waves: “Now, the next waves of interest, that are easily seen by everyone and which are usually used as an example of waves in elementary courses, are water waves. As we shall soon see, they are the worst possible example, because they are in no respects like sound and light; they have all the complications that waves can have.” Formally educated as a coastal engineer with a passion for water waves, I find this quote humbling. I still find the subject challenging today despite all I’ve learned. I also believe Einstein said it best with: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” I don’t know if this was meant to be paradoxical, but there is certainly a level of truth to it. In creating this website, I’ll strive for simplicity, in the hope that not only my readers will improve their understanding of challenging subjects, but I will too.

I hope you enjoy exploring my website and find the material instructive. If you’d like to get in touch, the best way to reach me is via email. Please use a clear and informative subject line and ensure your email address is valid, otherwise your message may be filtered as spam.

Warning

This is my personal website. The opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect the views, positions, or policies of my employer or any other organization I am affiliated with. The content provided is for educational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. While I strive for accuracy, the information may contain errors or inaccuracies. Readers should verify any information before relying on it.

Vision

The success of this website will be measured by its broad impacts. While I can present material to individual audiences, the true value lies in reaching and benefiting a wider community. I will strive to create and maintain a significant portion of the content, ensuring the website’s appeal and functionality. However, I also encourage friends and colleagues to contribute. Contributors will be recognized as authors and given full credit for their work.

Who knows? Maybe a few blog posts will evolve into a collaborative book, eventually leading to an academic publication. Over the next few months, I’ll consider the best ways to foster this collaborative environment. I understand that not everyone is comfortable with this framework, so I’ll work to minimize barriers to entry. Ultimately, I hope this website becomes a community space where ideas flourish and are shared with the communities we aim to support.