Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
April 25, 2024

Science & Technology



AHMAD ADLA / CC BY-SA 4.0
The fractal nature of the Mandelbrot set is frequently cited as one of the most wonderful mathematical objects. 

Finding wonder in religion and mathematics

When asked what my majors are, I often hear the same response: “Interesting.”  While I agree that Hebrew Bible and Mathematics are interesting, there are two very different connotations to that word: 1) “I’m genuinely interested in what you’re learning and would love to hear more about it,” and 2) “Why are you studying that? What do you hope to gain from it?”



COURTESY OF ELLIE ROSE MATTOON
Contrary to popular belief, STEM majors also enjoy reading at coffee shops. 

Four books that made me fall in love with science

There seems to be a stereotype going around that us STEM kids don’t know how to read. That we’re too engrossed with our mathematical proofs and cell cultures to be found between two pages of a book at Bird in Hand. From my interactions with several STEM majors, I would like to call cap on this idea. 


GAGE SKIDMORE /  CC BY-SA 2.0
The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program, established in 1986, awards up to $7500 to undergraduate students per year.

Three Hopkins students named 2022 Goldwater Scholars

Hopkins juniors Christopher Anchan, Sai Chandan Reddy and Sarah Syed were all awarded the 2022 Goldwater Scholarship on March 25. The scholarship is a partnership between the National Defense Education Programs and the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. 



COURTESY OF JIWON LIM
While some Hopkins students are applying to schools abroad, others grew up abroad and are looking to apply to schools in the US. 

Project MD 2027: International applicants and international applications

Originally, I was hoping to write this piece about student experiences with the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). However, my plans pivoted when I got in touch with Belle Hartshorn, a senior Molecular and Cellular Biology major applying to medical school this summer. Hartshorn has never taken the MCAT, and she doesn’t plan to. 



COURTESY OF NASA, ESA, BRIAN WELCH, DAN COE

An annotated image of the Earendel star within the gravitationally lensed "sunrise arc" galaxy.

A light in dark places: Hopkins student discovers the most distant star

Astronomers are fascinated with the early universe, peering outwards in space and backward in time to the very beginnings of the cosmos. Technological advancements help further their research, including the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which is specifically designed to see the earliest galaxies.





BEANTIN WEBBKOMMUNIKATION/CC BY-SA 2.0
Researchers at the International Vaccine Access Center developed VIRA, a chatbot designed to give personal, confidential answers to over 150 questions.

Vaccine chatbot answers public health questions

As the pandemic enters its third year, 23% of the U.S. population remains unvaccinated, many haven’t received a booster, and vaccine misinformation continues to spread. To address these issues, researchers at the Bloomberg School of Public Health’s International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) developed the Vaccine Information Resource Assistant (VIRA): a chatbot designed to give personal, confidential answers to over 150 questions.








ROSIE JANG/CARTOONS EDITOR 
Difficult classes can often have students feeling like they are sacrificing their physical or mental health.

Project MD 27: Do I really need to pass physics to be a doctor?

It feels like Trisha Parayil will be in school forever. Even during her two gap years between graduating from Hopkins and applying to medical school, Parayil opted to teach high school science in Bridgeport, Conn. through Teach for America. Outside of lab experiments and grading quizzes, Parayil is also working on getting a masters from the School of Education. 


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