Oliver Steinbock
@osteinbock.bsky.social
Chemistry professor studying chemical self-organization and far-from-equilibrium processes. Opinions are my own and not the views of FSU.
Some thoughts on grading ... if you want to see how ThermoTutor is doing it, check out thermo-tutor.qwyzzee.com
#HigherEd #Chemistry #STEM #college #thermodynamics #pchem
#HigherEd #Chemistry #STEM #college #thermodynamics #pchem
September 19, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Some thoughts on grading ... if you want to see how ThermoTutor is doing it, check out thermo-tutor.qwyzzee.com
#HigherEd #Chemistry #STEM #college #thermodynamics #pchem
#HigherEd #Chemistry #STEM #college #thermodynamics #pchem
My photo is in Discover magazine! Looks great 😀
September 19, 2025 at 3:30 AM
My photo is in Discover magazine! Looks great 😀
Over the past summer, I built an AI-powered learning platform for thermodynamics students. It’s called ThermoTutor. Here’s a short manifesto on what it does and why I think it’s useful:
thermo-tutor.qwyzzee.com
thermo-tutor.qwyzzee.com
September 16, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Over the past summer, I built an AI-powered learning platform for thermodynamics students. It’s called ThermoTutor. Here’s a short manifesto on what it does and why I think it’s useful:
thermo-tutor.qwyzzee.com
thermo-tutor.qwyzzee.com
And Einstein's dissertation? Basically physical chemistry! 😊
“A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions” estimated molecular radii and Avogadro’s number from sugar diffusion and viscosity. From macroscopic measurements to molecular insight ... classic pchem move.
“A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions” estimated molecular radii and Avogadro’s number from sugar diffusion and viscosity. From macroscopic measurements to molecular insight ... classic pchem move.
September 14, 2025 at 7:30 PM
And Einstein's dissertation? Basically physical chemistry! 😊
“A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions” estimated molecular radii and Avogadro’s number from sugar diffusion and viscosity. From macroscopic measurements to molecular insight ... classic pchem move.
“A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions” estimated molecular radii and Avogadro’s number from sugar diffusion and viscosity. From macroscopic measurements to molecular insight ... classic pchem move.
I agree it's complex and there are many layers to it. But then look at Nat Comm which published >10,000 papers last year, probably absorbing >$70m alone. Contrast this to the 2nd most cited paper ever that wasn't peer-reviewed at all ... The current system needs a fundamental overhaul, not tweaking
July 13, 2025 at 3:54 PM
I agree it's complex and there are many layers to it. But then look at Nat Comm which published >10,000 papers last year, probably absorbing >$70m alone. Contrast this to the 2nd most cited paper ever that wasn't peer-reviewed at all ... The current system needs a fundamental overhaul, not tweaking
Is this what you meant? My prompt was "write a fair and honest referee report for the following paper" + a recent paper from my group (tex) with inserted "secret white instructions". It wrote an okayish report (I'd say no impact of insertion), and when prompted again about ethical issues ...
July 6, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Is this what you meant? My prompt was "write a fair and honest referee report for the following paper" + a recent paper from my group (tex) with inserted "secret white instructions". It wrote an okayish report (I'd say no impact of insertion), and when prompted again about ethical issues ...
I'm too lazy to test it, but I asked o3 and it claims that it would ignore the hidden instructions.
July 6, 2025 at 1:44 PM
I'm too lazy to test it, but I asked o3 and it claims that it would ignore the hidden instructions.
List of so-called "chatGPT words". This is annoying ... do we look "suspicious" now if we write any those?! I have already cut back on the longer em dash -- 😠
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/h...
July 4, 2025 at 1:01 PM
List of so-called "chatGPT words". This is annoying ... do we look "suspicious" now if we write any those?! I have already cut back on the longer em dash -- 😠
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/h...
couldn't agree more, hahaha 😂
June 30, 2025 at 4:09 PM
couldn't agree more, hahaha 😂
The bony-eared assfish has the smallest known brain-body mass ratio of all vertebrates ... well, it has to be someone 😆
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain%E...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain%E...
June 30, 2025 at 3:53 PM
The bony-eared assfish has the smallest known brain-body mass ratio of all vertebrates ... well, it has to be someone 😆
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain%E...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain%E...
Two salt stains formed when NaHCO3 (baking soda) drops 💧 evaporate. We used these amazing patterns to measure the hardness of tap water with 25 ppm accuracy. For details on this AI-powered photo 📷 method, see: doi.org/10.1021/acs....
June 30, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Two salt stains formed when NaHCO3 (baking soda) drops 💧 evaporate. We used these amazing patterns to measure the hardness of tap water with 25 ppm accuracy. For details on this AI-powered photo 📷 method, see: doi.org/10.1021/acs....
Playing around with a modified Gray-Scott model. The unmodified version consists of two coupled nonlinear reaction-diffusion equations capturing
U+2V -> 3V
V -> P
We are watching the time evolution of V(x,y).
U+2V -> 3V
V -> P
We are watching the time evolution of V(x,y).
June 28, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Playing around with a modified Gray-Scott model. The unmodified version consists of two coupled nonlinear reaction-diffusion equations capturing
U+2V -> 3V
V -> P
We are watching the time evolution of V(x,y).
U+2V -> 3V
V -> P
We are watching the time evolution of V(x,y).
🤔 What if classic probability puzzles could be encoded in chemistry? We mapped the Monty Hall problem into a deterministic chemical reaction network using mass-action kinetics. Curious? ... then check out our latest paper with
@wenzhulab.bsky.social in @pccp.rsc.org doi.org/10.1039/D5CP...
@wenzhulab.bsky.social in @pccp.rsc.org doi.org/10.1039/D5CP...
June 26, 2025 at 7:37 PM
🤔 What if classic probability puzzles could be encoded in chemistry? We mapped the Monty Hall problem into a deterministic chemical reaction network using mass-action kinetics. Curious? ... then check out our latest paper with
@wenzhulab.bsky.social in @pccp.rsc.org doi.org/10.1039/D5CP...
@wenzhulab.bsky.social in @pccp.rsc.org doi.org/10.1039/D5CP...
Work hours have historically decreased (although it doesn't feel like it). If I had to guess, I'd say another big drop is coming b/c of AI and robotics. PS: I initially didn't see the Chicago Sun story ... that's crazy and bizarre, hahaha
May 25, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Work hours have historically decreased (although it doesn't feel like it). If I had to guess, I'd say another big drop is coming b/c of AI and robotics. PS: I initially didn't see the Chicago Sun story ... that's crazy and bizarre, hahaha
Before and after. OpenAI just discovered chemistry ... pretty big step for integrating things
May 24, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Before and after. OpenAI just discovered chemistry ... pretty big step for integrating things
Exploring extreme conditions, former group member Pamela Knoll (now UK Centre for Astrobiology) is currently on a field trip to Iceland, collecting samples to understand what we can expect on other planetary bodies 🦠🌋🧫
May 10, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Exploring extreme conditions, former group member Pamela Knoll (now UK Centre for Astrobiology) is currently on a field trip to Iceland, collecting samples to understand what we can expect on other planetary bodies 🦠🌋🧫
Picture from my grad course last semester ... the Lorenz attractor. Every initial condition eventually ends up on this strangely beautiful object, following deterministic chaos.
May 7, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Picture from my grad course last semester ... the Lorenz attractor. Every initial condition eventually ends up on this strangely beautiful object, following deterministic chaos.
This new paper studied whether multimodal GPT-4o can identify composition from salt stains left by drying solution drops. It got 57% correct; guessing gives 8%. Training images were provided. 1st author Deven Dangi was a high school intern at FSU!
doi.org/10.1021/acso...
doi.org/10.1021/acso...
May 3, 2025 at 5:54 PM
This new paper studied whether multimodal GPT-4o can identify composition from salt stains left by drying solution drops. It got 57% correct; guessing gives 8%. Training images were provided. 1st author Deven Dangi was a high school intern at FSU!
doi.org/10.1021/acso...
doi.org/10.1021/acso...
Low molecule counts turn the mechanism's kinetics into irregular, noisy pulses. The script is fairly straightforward ...
May 3, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Low molecule counts turn the mechanism's kinetics into irregular, noisy pulses. The script is fairly straightforward ...
Playing with MATLAB’s SimBiology toolbox. The figure compares the smooth, mean‑field oscillations of the Brusselator (top panel) with the noisy, discrete‑molecule oscillations when only a handful of molecules are present (bottom). 2nd panel is from Wikipedia; A and B are in vast excess and constant
May 3, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Playing with MATLAB’s SimBiology toolbox. The figure compares the smooth, mean‑field oscillations of the Brusselator (top panel) with the noisy, discrete‑molecule oscillations when only a handful of molecules are present (bottom). 2nd panel is from Wikipedia; A and B are in vast excess and constant
FSU campus this morning 🌞🌻
April 30, 2025 at 2:44 PM
FSU campus this morning 🌞🌻
Wow! Adobe now gives helpful text hints about figures/images in pdf's 😮😁
April 30, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Wow! Adobe now gives helpful text hints about figures/images in pdf's 😮😁
I asked ChatGPT to make a four-panel cartoon illustrating the Langmuir isotherm. I can't wait to see how good this will be in a few years! #o4-mini-high #OpenAI #Chemistry #PChem
April 22, 2025 at 1:37 PM
I asked ChatGPT to make a four-panel cartoon illustrating the Langmuir isotherm. I can't wait to see how good this will be in a few years! #o4-mini-high #OpenAI #Chemistry #PChem
