Science Heroes Home Page > Miranda Fix

Miranda Fix

OMSI: Where were you born? Where did you grow up?

MF: Austin, Texas. I grew up in Portland, Oregon.

OMSI: What three words best describe you?

MF: Passionate, thoughtful, and trustworthy.

OMSI: As a child, did you have any hobbies, interests, or experiences that helped prepare you for success in science?

MF: I have always held a deep connection to Nature, and I used to spend a lot of time observing plants and animals and learning their names. I collected leaves, sticks, rocks, shells, and anything I found that looked interesting, and through this I think I developed an appreciation for the beauty of the natural world.

OMSI: Please tell us about a mentor or teacher who helped to inspire your interest in science.

MF: My math teacher in middle school, Mr. G., was my favorite teacher of all time, and one of the most dedicated teachers I've ever known. Back then we were learning "visual math," which meant that we didn't have text-books and used a lot of visual methods of problem-solving. Mr. G. made math fun, and he instilled in his students a sense of pride in their work, plus the whole thing was very hands-on. Basically, I had a wonderful time and decided to be a mathematician.

OMSI: What's the worst trouble you ever got into in school? Have you ever blown anything up?

MF: I can't think of a time when I got into trouble at school, but I've been involved in some explosions... this year in IB Chemistry class we were playing around with dry ice, and we put some dry ice and water in a bottle and sealed it tightly, then put the bottle in a sink full of water. Some time later, after the gas inside the bottle had built up, there was a (literally) deafening noise and water sprayed everywhere. The force of the explosion even blew the dust off of the ceiling and it all came floating down. It was very amusing.

OMSI: Describe a difficult situation that you were in and how you handled it.

MF: I have been an outdoor school student leader (SL) for two years. The first year I was a SL, I found the experience extremely challenging because I am naturally very shy and didn't have much experience working with kids, so I decided to come back the next year. When I did, I took a risk and tried very hard to be energetic and enthusiastic and participated in all of the activities, even volunteering to sing on stage. This made the experience much more rewarding for me, and allowed me to transcend my self-consciousness to interact with others, especially connecting with the kids.

OMSI: What is your favorite class this year?

MF: Definitely IB HL Physics.

OMSI: What is your dream? What do you most hope to accomplish in your career?

MF: My dream is to do something that makes a real, positive, impact on the planet and in people's lives. I've started to work towards this goal in a grassroots way, but I would love to be part of something broader in its scope. I hope to have a career that utilizes mathematics and/or science, and that allows me to work with others to achieve my (previously stated) dream.

OMSI: How do you feel about the current state of science education in the U.S.?

MF: Luckily, I was fortunate enough to go to a middle school that was a math and science magnet school, and then attend a high school that has a strong science program. Not all students get that, and I think that standardized testing and too much book-work has a negative impact on learning. Personally I learn the most through hands-on experiences, so it's important to have sufficient equipment as well as smaller classes, which can be difficult to manage these days. Also, I think students would benefit from increased exposure to research and the scientific community.

OMSI: What do you like to do in your free time?

MF: Free time? I have a hectic schedule, but when I'm trying to avoid doing homework I like to play the piano because it lets me forget about everything else and I can just surrender myself to the music. I also enjoy leading volunteer work parties as a crew leader with Friends of Trees and doing other conservation/volunteer work with the CHS Earth Club. Another activity that re-energizes me is doing martial arts -- I look forward to Friday-night sparring classes all week!

OMSI: What do you consider your very best skill?

MF: I suppose one of my better skills is organization, since I rely on it to get things done. I'm the happiest when I'm doing several things at once and running around (order from chaos!), and being organized has helped me to be a better leader.

OMSI: Please tell us about your science fair project. How did you come up with the idea for your project? How did you go about researching and building your project? What was it like to participate in the science fair, and what do you remember most from the fair?

MF: I didn't participate in the science fair -- I was invited to be on this website because of my Academic All-Stars Science portfolio. This was just a compilation of all the best work I had done in my science classes throughout high school, as well as some additional projects. I'm most proud of my IB Extended Essay, which was on the topic of spiral phyllotaxis, combining my love for math and biology. It was an independent research project and investigated the central problem of spiral phyllotaxis, which is the prevalence of the golden angle, and how mathematicians and other scientist have explained this through mathematical models.

OMSI: Please tell us about your educational plans and goals.

MF: I plan to attend college next year and most likely I will pursue a major in mathematics, and perhaps a concentration in environmental studies.

OMSI: Have you had any on the job training or science related work experience?

MF: The summer after freshman year, I volunteered at the PSU Robotics Lab, where I built robot heads, created a website for student projects, and learned some programming languages. At the time I had no prior experience with robotics or physics or programming, so it was very challenging for me, but I was proud of what I had learned by the end of the summer.

I currently tutor students in Physics at my high school through the National Science Foundation program.

This isn't work, but last summer I also participated in the Summer Experience in Science and Engineering for Youth (SESEY) at OSU, and researched transdermal patches in a small group. We presented our results at the end of the week-long camp.