ESP Biography

ALYSSA ZISK, Engineer of complicated standing at URI

Major: Mech Eng/Chinese/Math

College/Employer: University of Rhode Island

Year of Graduation: 2015

Brief Biographical Sketch:

MATH. Also engineering. And chainmail. And LARPing. Yeah, I am both a geek and a nerd. I study Mechanical Engineering at URI in the International Engineering Program (language of choice being Chinese) and do some insane amount of math. I learned how to make chainmail at my first SPLASH and have been passing it on since. On top of this, I assist classes with the Art of Problem Solving with the username Baozhale, so some of you might know me from there.

Past Classes

(Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

X6390: Make Chainmail! in Splash! 2012 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2012)

Plate armor: Heavy. It waaaayyyy reduced mobility. Chainmail is still heavy, but not as heavy, and unless arrows are the biggest worry, it wasn’t much worse. It was a lot cheaper too. So we’re going to learn how to make it (it being European 4-in-1, one of the more common weaves in Europe.)

S6391: Autism 101 in Splash! 2012 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2012)

There's a decent chance you've seen some sort of statistic about autism, perhaps the infamous "more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, AIDS, and muscular dystrophy combined." Come find out what Autistic Spectrum Disorders actually are, anyways, with a breaking down of some popular stereotypes about autistic people.

X5612: Make Chainmail! in Spark! 2012 (Mar. 10, 2012)

Chainmail- the stuff used for armor, not the annoying emails. I'm going to teach you how to make it if you take this class. You'll be learning European 4-in-1.

X5768: Boffer Swords 101: Expanded Section in Spark! 2012 (Mar. 10, 2012)

Have you ever wondered what a real swordfight might be like? Whether your a fan of LOTR or Star Wars, this course is for you! This course will teach you how to make a homemade boffer sword that can be used in all forms of entertainment, from swordfights with friends to LARPing. Time permitting, we will also give a short demonstration on using your sword, and discuss both basic swordfighting concepts and basic footwork.

X5294: Make Chainmail! in Splash! 2011 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2011)

Plate armor: Heavy. It waaaayyyy reduced mobility. Chainmail is still heavy, but not as heavy, and unless arrows are the biggest worry, it wasn't much worse. It was a lot cheaper too. So we're going to learn how to make it (it being European 4-in-1, one of the more common weaves in Europe.)

X5295: More Chainmail! in Splash! 2011 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2011)

I got colorful/different sized/ maybe even different shaped rings to play with, and I can teach other weaves/ increasing or decreasing in weaves you already know. It's pretty much up to you.

X5580: Boffer Swords 101: Expanded Size in Splash! 2011 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2011)

X4528: Make Chainmaille in Spark! 2011 (Mar. 12, 2011)

We're going to learn to make chainmaille! That's one of the kinds of armor knights would wear. It kept people from getting their arms chopped off, so it's cool.

X4605: Boffer swords 101 (expanded class) in Spark! 2011 (Mar. 12, 2011)

X3808: Make Chainmaille! in Splash! 2010 (Nov. 20 - 21, 2010)

Knights wore chainmaille, so someone had to know how to make it, right? Well, now you can learn, and there is much more than just armor. (Armor is pretty cool though. I mean, really, someone swinging a sword at your arm not causing the loss of the arm is useful...) I'll try to teach at least two weaves, more if there's time.

X3809: More Chainmaille in Splash! 2010 (Nov. 20 - 21, 2010)

So you can make some chainmaille already, but you want to know more? I'll teach a few weaves that were not covered in any of the Make Chainmaille! sections, probably ones that are used for chains or jewelry instead of sheets. We might also play with scales or other funky pieces.

X3979: Textbook Stupidity in Splash! 2010 (Nov. 20 - 21, 2010)

The answer doesn't make sense because the problem doesn't make sense. It happens. Sometimes his favorite orange weighs nine pounds, and the problem is even wronger than that. We're mostly going to laugh at examples of this and explain why it's bad for having people get good at math, with the amount of each depending on what most of you want.

S3981: Mass-less and Frictionless: Why? in Splash! 2010 (Nov. 20 - 21, 2010)

The pulley is mass-less and frictionless. The plane is of uniform density or charge (but has none of the other one), has no thickness, and extends to infinity in all directions. Why do we do this, and why is it okay? Also, what degree of accuracy do we need before it ISN'T okay?