Q & A with SSP Fellow Sydney Bergman

Sydney Bergman, a 2010 Society for Science & the Public (SSP) Fellow, is a biology teacher at School Without Walls, her own alma mater, in Washington, D.C. Sydney has two students attending the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) this May in Pittsburgh and has successfully created multiple partnerships with area organizations.

 

What made you decide to apply to be a SSP Fellow?
I had been supporting the science fair program at School Without Walls (SWW) for a few years, but struggled with funding for student projects. I appreciated the flexibility of the grant, particularly in terms of funding all aspects of student projects, not just supplies and equipment.  In my time at SWW, we've gone from having one or two students compete in the citywide science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM) fair to having 11 compete.

 

What is your background in science and research?
I got into science by working in gardens. I worked at the garden for my summer camp as a kid, and worked in a community garden before high school, teaching kids about gardening and science. I majored in biology and writing, intending to become a science writer, but was drawn into teaching instead. I've been teaching at School Without Walls, where also I went to high school, for five years.

 

Can you describe what your experience as an SSP Fellow has been like?
My experience as a Fellow has been fantastic. I had students work on extracurricular projects their first year, in conjunction with the school's senior thesis project class. This year, I taught a section of Senior Project in Science, which is an independent investigations class. I had 11 students, all of whom completed projects and competed in the citywide STEM fair. The stipend from the Fellowship, provided by SSP and Intel, as well as funding from other sources, has been crucial in making such a class possible.

 

Can you describe the progress you have made at your school and in your community?
This year, I had students compete at the citywide science fair. Six won their categories; the remaining five were competing in categories with SWW students. Three students won first, second, and third overall and the top two are going to be attending Intel ISEF this year as well. All students won special awards. Their success in the program has definitely attracted attention, as has students' pride in their own projects. I'm actively recruiting students for next year's program.

I’ve also developed major partnerships with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), and with George Washington University and Chef Jose Andres. Jose and GWU approached the school about developing a curriculum centered around food. I developed and piloted lessons related to science and food, particularly looking at the evolution of lactose tolerance, protein structure, and biotechnology techniques in the context of insulin manufacturing.


Chef Jose visited class one day, and did a wonderful demo about the science of spherification and other cooking techniques. It was amazing! It was really special for students to get to see that cooking is applied science, and Jose is an extremely energetic and charismatic educator.

 

How has the support you offered impacted students and the broader community?
Students in the research class are going to college knowing that they can be successful doing long-term science research projects. Students are definitely more confident in their abilities in terms of doing lab procedures, as well as in their ability to work on projects that need a lot of attention and revision. Many of them plan to major in science or math, which is great! In terms of the larger community, the school is definitely supportive of the science program, and more and more students are expressing interest in taking upper level sciences.

 

What advice would you have for other individuals attempting to increase interest in science in their communities and nurture students through the research process?
Community partnerships are absolutely key.  I don't try to mentor all eleven students; I partnered with NIH and NOAA to provide mentors. I, of course, support students and supervise them, but it helps kids a lot more if they connect with actual working scientists.  I'm lucky that my school is in Washington, D.C., near a lot of government agencies that can provide mentors; I would encourage teachers to reach out to whoever is in their communities. Students need to see that the scientific community is incredibly diverse in terms of background, experience, and interest. They also need to learn how to work with an adult, in terms of learning business communication, punctuality, etc.

 

Do you have any advice for young students interested in pursuing science?
Science is a verb - students need to do science in order to learn it. I wanted students to experience what it's like to take a project from an initial idea to a completed set of research, and to present that research. That being said, it doesn't happen in a vacuum. Almost all of the students in my research class took or are taking an AP science, often doubling up.

That said, you don't need to be a straight-A student to do science well, nor do you have to be a 'genius' or 'brilliant.' People have this misconception that scientists are born knowing everything and that science is inaccessible to people who aren't somehow gifted. That's pretty much nonsense. So, I would tell students who are interested in doing science to do well in their science classes, but also to have a variety of experiences that they can bring to their projects. They should also know that 'soft skills' like perseverance, reliability, and communication skills, etc., are just as important as knowing the content in completing a project.

 

What are your future plans?
Right now, I'm gearing up to attend Intel ISEF for the first time, which I'm very excited about. In addition, I am working with George Washington University to arrange a forum for students with Dr. Ferid Murad, who won the Nobel Prize in medicine. I'm also actively recruiting students for next year's research class!

 

Final Thoughts?
Don't be afraid to ask for help supporting your program. I get support from NIH and NOAA, as I said, as well as part of the school's senior project curriculum. Reaching out to people in the scientific community has been a fantastic experience. You don't know if people are willing to help until you ask!

 

Q & A with SSP Fellow Dominique Evans-Bye

Dominique Evans-Bye, a 2011 SSP Fellow, is a biology and geographic information systems (GIS) teacher at Clark Magnet High School in La Crescenta, CA. Students from her school recently won the Lexus Eco Challenge.

 

What made you decide to apply to be a Society for Science & the Public (SSP) Fellow?

I applied to be a SSP Fellow in order to give my students the best research experience possible. I look forward to the valuable training, mentorship, and peer support that I will receive through the program. A research stipend was a top motivating factor to ensure my program is sustainable through these tough economic times.

 

What first drew you to science?
My background is in marine biology and geographic information systems science. As a child, any show on TV about animals was, for me, a source of great entertainment. I bred hamsters to predict the color variations that would be produced by different crosses. I was especially fascinated by the marine environment and could hardly wait until I was old enough to enroll in a scuba diving certification program.

 

How has being a SSP Fellow impacted your ability to develop a research program?
I value the experience I’ve had as an SSP Fellow. Project management was an area I wanted to grow in, and SSP gave me the opportunity to expand my knowledge in that area and gave me the experience I needed to set up my own project management plan. Having a plan has helped me give my students research opportunities that they normally would not have until graduate school.

 

What activities have your students participated in?
My students have enjoyed the positive response their projects have garnered at community events. They have presented posters and displays at “GIS Day,” at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works headquarters, the Western Society of Naturalists (WSN) Annual Meeting, Clark Magnet High School’s o pen house, the Los Angeles County Science Fair,  the California State University, Northridge Student Research Symposium, and to the Glendale Unified School Board. They have entered their projects in competitions such as the WSN poster symposium, Los Angeles County Science Fair, Lexus Eco Challenge, Siemen’s, QuikScience Challenge, and Thacher Environmental Research Contest.

 

How has the support you offered impacted students and the broader community?
I have watched my students gain confidence in their abilities and I’ve watched that confidence grow immensely. My students’ parents have expressed their gratitude for the opportunities that have opened up for my students who are involved with the programs I have to offer.

 

What advice would you have for other individuals attempting to increase interest in science in their communities and nurture students through the research process?
Support from the school’s administration is critical. An educator must have the flexibility to structure a class or a school program around scientific research. The administrators need to allow students to take trips for field work, travel to competitions, and miss a class or two to concentrate on meeting a deadline.  Promoting competitions around environmental issues or robotics engineering seems to interest students most. You have to do a lot of marketing to bring in enough students to make the program viable to run. I’ve created a series of science elective courses with an emphasis on research. The program should be structured in levels so students get credit for a new class each year they sign up. There must be a balance between the rigor of the class and fun. I set minimum requirements, and leave it up to the student to put in the extra effort to reap the benefits competitions offer. That seems to take a lot of the pressure off the students and as a result, most will rise to the challenge.

 

Do you have any advice for young students interested in pursuing science?
Students will be more likely to pursue higher education and a career path in science if they have the knowledge, experience, and some early success in the field. My advice to students is to look past the worksheets and end of the chapter questions. Science is setting up your own experimental design, working in the field or laboratory to gather data and observations, performing your own data analysis, and then communicating your findings. Science allows you to express your creativity. In science, you can be part of a team working to solve some of the world’s most important and complex mysteries. My advice to students is to consistently push yourself. Don’t just take the easiest classes or do only the minimum requirements for graduation. Take those harder math classes you don’t think you’ll need. Set yourself up early to have an easier time in college, and then set a clear path to graduation. Plan on going to graduate school. Get experience through volunteer work and internships. Apply for lots of scholarships and keep applying every year. Build a resume as you go.

 

What are your future plans?
I will be working with the Coastal Marine BioLabs during the coming summer, to bring the “Barcoding Life’s Matrix” program to my Marine Science Research class. My students will be extracting and analyzing DNA of local marine life to upload to a growing online database of genetic information of species on our planet. This will be another component of the ongoing project mapping the abundance and distribution of marine life in the Channel Island National Marine Sanctuary using ArcGIS. 

 

Your students recently competed at the Lexus Eco-Challenge. Can you describe that experience?
My second-year GIS students were tasked to investigate an environmental issue and create a research project focusing on the issue they chose. Out of four projects submitted by my student teams, one won the regional Air/Climate Challenge, then went on to take First Place in the Lexus Eco Challenge. The winning project used spatial analysis and spatial statistics in ArcGIS on ozone smog data from the Environmental Protection Agency to analyze patterns of ozone smog pollution in California. 

 

The Lexus Eco Challenge is geared toward community involvement and environmental activism. They want students to make a difference in the environment through their actions. Students love doing that because they feel empowered when their efforts lead to positive outcomes. In the ozone smog project, students identified a problem and then promoted a solution to use less fossil fuels in order to decrease smog leve ls.

My other team did some amazing projects as well. One project used GIS to model sea level rise. FEMA’s Hazus- MH software was used to estimate economic loss in the areas flooded by a 20-foot increase in sea level. They found huge impacts in Sacramento, the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach, Marina Dey Rey, and Los Alamitos Bay.

 

Final Thoughts?

I have found that the team format works great for students. They enjoy the camaraderie and can progress their project much further than when working alone. A big weakness that my teams seem to fall into is that they don’t fully understand the role of each team member or how that role fits in the project. That has been a major obstacle for success in science competitions for my students. I think this can be avoided with a more equitable division of tasks. I’ve suggested this to the teams, but have taken a more hands-off approach to allow the team leader and the teams themselves to decide the details of their projects. In the future, I will have more structured requirements. People tend to gravitate towards their strengths. The main goal, however, is to encourage students to continue with their education, not just win a contest. Each team member needs to know every part of the project they have worked on.

 

About the SSP Fellowship- Each year, ten top U.S. high school science and math teachers are selected by SSP as Fellows based on their unique plans to reach students in underserved communities and inspire excellence in independent scientific research. Funded by Intel, the program includes a stipend, ongoing training and resources, and attendance at the Fellows Institute in Washington, DC.

Q & A with SSP Fellow Kathryn Hedges

Kathryn Hedges, a 2011 SSP Fellow, is a pre-college teacher at Lew Wallace STEM Academy in Gary, IN. Students from her school recently won a regional robotics competition. Each year, ten top U.S. high school science and math teachers are selected by SSP as Fellows based on their unique plans to reach students in underserved communities and inspire excellence in independent scientific research. Funded by Intel, the program includes a stipend, ongoing training and resources, and attendance at the Fellows Institute in Washington, DC.

 

What made you decide to apply to be a SSP Fellow?
I have been helping students throughout Lake County conduct research for many years, but it is difficult to help many of the less fortunate kids without funding. The stipend from the SSP Fellowship allowed me to purchase project boards, art materials, rice and arsenic testing kits, solar panels, and other assorted materials for kids to use to do experiments. It also provided materials for robotics and funds for students to attend the robotics contest.

 

What is your background in science and research?

I have loved science for as long as I can remember. As a teen in New Zealand, I went to the beach and caught an octopus in a large glass. I filled my beach bag with water and took it home on the bus.  I also had an albatross that was injured.  I splinted its wing and bought fish to feed it for a month before releasing it.  When I came to the U.S., I was fascinated with the roaches that lived in the trees in the area of Texas that we moved to.  I captured and kept them in a shed because my mother wouldn’t let me bring them inside. 

 

I participated in the science fair while living in New Zealand, and as a freshman in college got more involved with research- I actually worked on the Apollo Program in Houston.  I grew the plant tissue cultures and tested moon dust on them to be sure that they didn’t carry viruses that might destroy the earth. I graduated and continued doing research at the University of Illinois, Naylor Dana Institute, Sloan Kettering Institute, Purdue, and Indiana University. 

 

About 15 years ago, I took over joint leadership of the Calumet Regional Fair.  We have one of the most ethnically diverse science fairs in the state and generally are the only fair that sends minority students to the state fair.

 

How has being a Fellow impacted your ability to develop a research program?

Being an SSP Fellow has enabled me to convince school officials to allow me to work with students that I would not normally have access to.  I am trying to plan a summer research program and the money will help buy materials to get more kids started on research. In addition, I am trying to find a permanent place to set up a research lab for students in our area.

 

Can you describe the progress you have made at your school and in your community?

We formed a robotics and science club for middle school students and a robotics club for high school students.  This group won first place in the first outside science competition the school had ever participated in. Multiple students entered projects into the Calumet Regional Science Fair, and they won an assortment of awards. Three students were able to attend the state science fair, and were the only African-American competitors. Two students from Lake Central High School that I have advised will be attending the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) this May. In addition, I will be bringing another teacher and two of my current advisees as student observers so they can learn more about competing in science fairs.

 

What advice would you have for other individuals attempting to increase interest in science in their communities and nurture students through the research process?

It is difficult working with some groups of students, because they can be transient and have little support from home, community, or school but even a small win- a couple of interesting experiments- can change a child’s life.  To maintain a strong program, I need to find more mentors, additional commitments from local businesses, and more teachers to support students who would like to compete in science fairs.  In our area, there are few schools supporting science fairs and I am working with parents to form science clubs that offer support to local students. 

 

Why do you think it’s important for students to participate in scientific research?

I tell students and others that doing a science fair is a great training ground for almost any career.  Students learn technology, networking, and organizational and presentation skills.  These are all skills needed for any career. Students are better citizens and are able to make better informed decisions as a result of these skills. In a few cases, the results have been life changing- students stayed in school and went on to college as a result of science fair participation and changed the paradigm of a community.  They discovered that they could do what many had told them they couldn’t, and that changed their lives.

 

Your students recently competed in a regional robotics competition. Can you describe that experience?

I formed a robotics club as an after school activity. My students learned to build and operate a robot and then we entered this competition. Brenda Thomas, a teacher I partnered on robotics with, said that she would be happy if the students learned what the competition was about – and truthfully so would I, but I told the kids that I didn’t come to competitions to just play, I expect to win- and that is what they did.  I think the kids were particularly good at reacting quickly to figure out strategies of the game. Next year, I hope to have one robot for every two to three students, instead of the one to ten ratio I had this year.

 

Final thoughts?

If you are a scientist, please consider giving of your time to help a child who needs support.  Consider giving a poor student the opportunity to work in your lab for a few weeks in the summer.  If you work for a company who hires scientists, promote mentorships and donate funds to those who might help a child learn to love science by participating in research.  

 

 

Q&A with SSP Alumna Meredith MacGregor

Meredith MacGregor

Meredith MacGregor, the Intel Science Talent Search 2007 Ninth Place Winner and one of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2006 top award winners, discusses the Brazil Nut Effect, research at Harvard, inspiring girls to do science, and more.

 

What are your memories of Intel STS and Intel ISEF? What was it like to win the top award at Intel ISEF?
It is very difficult to distill all of my memories from Intel STS and Intel ISEF into a short enough response to fit into this interview.  While it may sound cheesy, some of my favorite memories from high school are from Intel STS and Intel ISEF.  Beyond that, some of my best friends are from Intel STS and Intel ISEF and I still keep in touch with many people from my year at Intel STS on a regular basis. It is truly a gift to know and have connections with such a talented group of scientists.

 

Winning the top award at Intel ISEF was an amazing experience.  I was absolutely floored when I heard my named called, so it took me a second to realize that I had to walk up to the stage. Given the incredible talent and competition at Intel ISEF, I think it is impossible to expect winning such an award.  I remember just being stunned and overjoyed at the same time. And, I definitely remember the confetti! (I saved some of it afterwards.)

 

What exactly is the Brazil Nut Effect?
The Brazil Nut Effect (BNE) is a phenomenon that occurs in granular materials.  Essentially, vigorous shaking of a container holding a granular material will cause the components to separate by size, the largest particles rising to the top and the smallest sinking to the bottom.  The name was coined because when you first open a can of mixed nuts, all of the large Brazil Nuts are on the top with all of the smaller nuts underneath, but you can also observe this effect in your morning breakfast cereal.  For my Intel ISEF and Intel STS project, I conducted a series of experiments to study the convective flow that gets set up in a shaken container of granular material and to track how larger “intruder” particles of different densities are carried in that flow.  As it turned out, air pressure plays a critical role in determining how quickly the larger particles rise to the surface.

 

How has doing research when you were young affected your career trajectory?
Doing research when I was young had a definite impact on my career trajectory.  My early research projects gave me my first tastes of the thrill of finding something new out on my own and observing something that nobody else had seen before. By the time I began college, I could not imagine doing anything else but scientific research for the rest of my life and I am still following that goal today.

 

What are you up to now?
I just graduated from Harvard College in May of 2011 and I decided to jump right into graduate school afterwards.  Currently, I am studying as a first year graduate student in Astronomy and Astrophysics at Harvard University.  It was just too difficult to leave Cambridge and all of the amazing research opportunities here. For my current research project, I am studying the disks of dust and debris that exist around young, recently formed stars. By performing observations with submillimeter interferometers like the SMA and ALMA, we hope to be able to probe the process of planet formation within these disks.

 

What got you involved with Harvard Science Club for Girls?
Science Club for Girls (SCFG) is a larger organization in the Boston and Cambridge area that aims to provide mentorship for young girls who are interested in science by running afterschool programs in science for girls in kindergarten through 6th grade.  Undergraduate and graduate women go once a week and teach an experiment-based curriculum on topics that range from Oceans to the Human Body to Rockets.  I heard about SCFG over an email list when I was a junior in college and I knew that I wanted to get involved.  I remember how much my mentors meant to me when I was first beginning my path towards a career in science and I love having the opportunity to fill that role for today’s aspiring scientists.  Most physical sciences are still vastly male-dominated fields and I think that it is critical that we continue to encourage and inspire young girls and women to pursue careers in these fields.

 

After I had been involved with SCFG for two years, we began the process of forming a Harvard Science Club for Girls student organization.  Having this new organization makes it much easier to reach out to other Harvard undergraduate and graduate students and get them involved in the program as well.  The more mentors we have, the more girls we can reach!

 

Do you have any advice for young students who are interested in science?
First, I would say that it is important to have a goal.  Think of what you ultimately want to be doing (and, don’t worry about the fact that it might change in the future) and then go for it! Having a target in mind makes dealing with the day-to-day challenges a little easier.  Second, jump into research.  Sitting in a classroom is one thing, but there is no better way to get excited about science than to start getting your hands dirty.  It is also a really good way to figure what areas of science you are particularly excited about.

• Visit the Intel STS 2007 Alumni Page
• Volunteer at the Intel ISEF 2012 in Pittsburgh, PA

 

 

 

SSP Alumnus Micah Toll Builds on his Intel ISEF Experience in Pittsburgh

SSP Alumnus Micah Toll with his PEVO

Micah Toll (DCYSC 2000, 2002; Intel ISEF 2006 and 2007; STS 2007 semifinalist) invented a building material that could revolutionize the way we build buildings. He recently shared his thoughts on Intel ISEF, his project, and what he is up to now at the University of Pittsburgh.

 

What are your memories of Intel ISEF?
I attended two [Intel] ISEFs, the 2006 in Indianapolis and the 2007 in Albuquerque. Both were incredible experiences for me in terms of shaping me as a scientist and engineer. The ISEF is an almost overwhelming collection of the brightest students in the world, each sharing their own specific research and fields of study. While I enjoyed viewing the other projects in my category of Engineering, I also loved walking around the other categories and learning about things I never knew existed. Students my age were doing research in every possible field imaginable and it was such an amazing experience to get to see all of this intellectual capital brought together in one place.

 

Oh, and being at trackside for the qualifying for the 2006 Indianapolis 500 wasn't too bad either...

 

Can you tell me a little bit about your project?
For my project I worked on research and development of a portable construction beam that could be used to build life-saving, rapid deployment shelters for remote areas of the world. The idea was to design a new type of material that could be quickly and easily shipped all over the world after natural disasters or used in refugee situations. My solution was a new type of construction beam made of plastic and foam that was light enough for children to use, easy enough to cut and build with so that it didn't require power tools, but could support thousands of pounds. I eventually founded a R&D company, Disaster Rebuilding Solutions, to continue work on the beams.

 

How has doing research when you were young affected your career trajectory?
It has defined my career trajectory and helped me to be a better engineer. I work with fellow engineers all day, and have found that many engineering students these days have made it through their education without learning or utilizing the scientific method. This means they are often missing important results because they haven't learned how to structure their experiments. By doing research when I was young I was able to learn valuable skills that have helped me to better comprehend and analyze my own engineering innovations by ensuring that I can control variables and really understand what my experiments and data are telling me.

 

Can you tell me a little bit about what you are up to now?
I recently founded an electric vehicle startup, Pulse Motors, with two of my classmates from the University of Pittsburgh. We are currently manufacturing a fleet of the first vehicle we have designed, the two wheeled Personal Electric Vehicle Zero, or PEV0, as we like to call it. The vehicle is similar to an electric motorcycle but with functional pedals that allow someone to pedal it as well, if they wish. We are building vehicles here in Pittsburgh and seeking funding to expand our operations and continue R&D on our next generation vehicle slated for release in 2013.

 

Final thoughts:
I think the biggest benefit I've had from [my] early scientific and engineering background is how to think outside the box and be creative. Sometimes things simply don't work; that's life. Those who know how to adapt their procedures or find creative ways to solve problems and fix experiments are innovators in every sense of the word and have the skills to be very successful at what they do. I never take for granted that I had great teachers, mentors, and parents that taught me the value of science, technology, and education from a young age and have helped me to achieve the success I have today.

 

• Get involved with the Intel ISEF 2012 in Pittsburgh
• Learn more about the SSP Alumni Program

 

GE Energy Sparks Students’ Innovation with Intel ISEF Special Awards

Intel ISEF 2011 GE Energy winners

 “GE is very interested in promoting science and engineering to the students of the world because we need innovative and imaginative scientists to sustain our company,” says David O’Connor, Principal Engineer at GE Energy, who has been working with SSP to provide special awards at Intel ISEF for the past three years.

 

GE Energy awards are presented to projects that best display creative or efficient generation or usage of energy with special consideration of the GE Ecomagination commitment. “We are looking for imaginative, impactful ideas that affect the use, generation, and storage of energy,” David says, adding that GE judges especially look for projects that can make business sense.

 

David, who serves as a special awards judge for GE Energy, says he has enjoyed going to Intel ISEF and seeing that much excitement for science and engineering among youth.  “I am often surprised at how young some of the people are,” he says. When he started judging, he figured it would be all high school seniors, ready to go off to college.  But this year, their top winner was a 15-year-old freshman, which the judges were surprised to learn after picking her as the winner because her project was so impressive.

 

David also values the judging experience because students are “always full of enthusiasm, excitement, and ideas,” and they are eager to learn from the judges how they can improve their project.  He has also enjoyed seeing the innovative ways some students get around their lack of technical resources. “We are very supportive of the mission of Intel ISEF,” David says. “It’s an amazing collection of talent in one spot.” 

 

Intel ISEF 2011 GE Energy Awards

 

First Award of $2,500
Reducing the Cut-In Wind Speed of Wind Turbine Blades by Redirecting
the Boundary Layer Airflows
Lauren Heather Reid, 15, O'Neill Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Oshawa,
Ontario, Canada

 

Second Award of $1,500
Modeling Wind Power Generation Using Polynomial Chaos Expansion
Ryan Thomas Baker, 17, Hillcrest High School, Midvale, Utah

 

Third Award of $1,000
Increasing the Efficiency of Solar Tracking Systems
Michael Anthony Cerabona, 17, Yorktown High School, Yorktown Heights, New York

 

Tim Lundt Helps His Students in Rural Alaska

Tim Lundt's students conduct an experiment

By Caitlin Jennings, Communications Specialist, Society for Science & the Public

“It’s hard to get stuff up here,” says SSP Fellow Tim Lundt, who teaches in Wasilla, Alaska.  “We don’t have the big universities like everybody else does.” His school, the Mat-Su Career & Technical High School, is 40 miles from Anchorage and 300 miles from Fairbanks.

 

However, with the help of SSP, Tim is making new connections for his students. They have been able to connect with scientists from as far away as Finland and Hawaii and, using Skype, his students have overcome distances to get the mentoring that allows them to advance to the next level in their projects.

 

Tim has leveraged SSP funds in other ways too, in order to help the nearly 70 kids he works with after school on Ocean Bowl, Science Olympiad, and other projects. For Ocean Bowl, the students work in teams to create a 20-page report and a presentation. They also practice for the Quiz Bowl, which is sort of like Jeopardy! for all things ocean related. Science Olympiad participants do a range of activities, from building towers to studying physiology, in order to prepare.  Tim supplies snacks to the kids, who often haven’t eaten in hours, to help keep them going after school.  

 

“SSP has funded a lot of that, from the treats to the materials for some of the classes, to transportation o some of the events,” Tim says, adding that, without that support, “We wouldn’t be able to do a lot of the things we have been doing.” The students’ current projects are helping them prepare for science fairs with the goal of eventually competing in Intel ISEF and Intel STS.

 

Alaska, like much of the nation, is seeing shrinking resources, and Tim’s school is no exception.  This year, he and his fellow teachers are each taking on an additional class, and the class sizes are growing, resulting in more papers to grade and less time to spend on extracurricular science.  With resources already slim, Tim says the SSP funding and support is even more important.

 

“When money is tight, I don’t have to worry about ‘do I need to get this,’ ‘do I have to have approval for this,’ I can just go order it and get it done,” he says. “We can go a lot quicker and get stuff accomplished.”

 

• Read more about Tim Lundt and his program
• Learn about the SSP Fellowship

 

 

Zipangani M. Vokhiwa: Why I Joined

As a young boy in Malawi, I remember loving the nature studies class, where we would do simple experiments such as placing a bean in a container with water. Three days later, we’d come back to examine what had happened to the bean. My fascination with science only grew as I continued my education in Malawi and then in America, where I earned a Ph.D. in Range Ecology from Colorado State University.

 

But, despite my own interest in science, I am often reminded that all the scientific theories and practical implications in the world won’t do any good unless one can convince people to use and apply that information. I learned the value of engaging the public first-hand when I worked with local farmers in Malawi on a Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) project. The program allowed members of the public, even those who did not have a college degree, to be part of science, to understand how science affects them and their community. The farmers were able to make selections of sorghum and cowpea varieties that had characteristics that were suited to their taste and local environments. The varieties were adopted by the Government of Malawi as a result of this research project.

 

As a judge at Intel ISEF, I also had my eyes opened to the reminder that the next generation of scientists is already contributing to the scientific community. As a member of the Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR), I am a strong advocate of incorporating scientific research activities into science classes.

 

This is why I joined Society for Science & the Public earlier this year. I am proud to be a member of an organization that not only advocates for scientific research, but for the engagement of the public. We need everyone to help move scientific solutions beyond the lab and into the world.

 

• Learn how you can join SSP

United Technologies Corporation Encourages Students to Help Solve the World’s Problems

Bob Wisner (far right) with the Intel ISEF 2011 UTC Special Award winners

At the Intel ISEF 2011, United Technologies Corporation (UTC) once again gave Special Awards to recognize students’ hard work.  Eight projects received $2,000 in shares of UTC common stock as well as plaques, digital cameras, pens, backpacks, and the UTC Annual Report.

 

“United Technologies has been a long-time sponsor of the Intel ISEF special awards program because we see great value in encouraging high-potential students to be creative in solving the world’s tough problems.  The UTC Special Awards gives UTC the opportunity to recognize outstanding students for their challenging work in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  Intel ISEF is the world's premier competition for high school-aged scientists, and the experience they gain through participation is invaluable,” says Michael McQuade, Senior Vice President, Science and Technology, United Technologies Corporation. “The 2011 UTC Special Award winners encompass the fields of math, engineering, computer science, and physics –addressing real world concerns such as renewable technologies, control algorithms, parallel computing, advanced mathematics, human interface design, and flow evaluations.  UTC is proud to recognize these students for their efforts, as their growth in the fields of STEM will further encourage the growth of innovative technologies for the future.”

 

This year’s winning projects included,

 

• A Novel Framework for Quasi-Dynamic Task Scheduling on Parallel Computers, Jonathan Abraham Goldman


• Stability Analysis of Control Algorithms, Keegan Robert Mann
• Water for the World: Developing a Portable, Solar Powered Desalination Unit, Ryan Christopher Erickson


• An Adsorption Chiller Prototype for Obtaining Green Refrigeration from Solar Heating, Robert Huntington Verkuil


• PAWT (Polygonal Airfoil Wind Turbine), the Greener Future: An Innovative Approach to Engineering a Bladeless Wind Turbine, Shawnalyn Wing Chun Sunagawa and Sara Elisabeth Middendorf


• Linearly Many Faults in (n,k)-star Graphs, Allen Yuan


• The Flow Feature around Insects and Bionic Wing Based on Wind Tunnel Test, Yimeng Shi


• Testing a Nonlinear-Oscillator Neuron Model with Optical Illusions, Sara Kornfeld Simpson

 

Other recent notable winners of the Intel ISEF UTC Special Award, which UTC has given every year since 1989, include Amy Chyao, Intel ISEF 2010 Gordon E. More Winner; Jacob Fox, winner of the Konig Prize; Erkia DeBenedictis, Intel STS 2010 top award winner; and Philip Streich, founder of Streich Solar Industries.

 

UTC Special Awards Judge Bob Wisner (ISEF 1958 and 1959) worked for UTC for many years before retiring in 1999 and has been involved with science fairs for decades. “I think the most wonderful part of the experience really is interviewing and meeting the students on the floor,” he says. “As we all know, we are dealing with the best and brightest, and their ideas and aspirations are wonderful to hear first hand.”  

 

• Learn more about the Intel ISEF Special Awards
• Read more about Bob Wisner, and other alumni who returned to Intel ISEF 2011
• See all the 2011 Special Award Winners

 

 

Thirty Exciting Calls

 “Wow.”

 

“Oh my gosh!”

 

“I’m very honored.”

 

“Yay!

 

“That’s pretty awesome.”

 

“Thank you so much.”

 

“I’m speechless.”

 

These are some of the things Society for Science & the Public staff, along with Broadcom Foundation Executive Director Paula Golden, heard last night when they called the Broadcom MASTERS finalists to let them know they had been selected. The students were chosen based on their science fair project and an application to the MASTERS™ (Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars), a national STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) competition for sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

 

Even though the calls disrupted activities, such as one nap and another shopping trip, the finalists were happy to hear the news.  They were very excited, and often surprised, to learn they had been selected from the 300 semifinalists and would be competing in the nation’s capitol next month for a top prize of $25,000.

 

As one finalist said, “I can’t wait to go to Washington!”

 

• See a list of the 30 Broadcom MASTERS finalists
• Learn more about the Broadcom MASTERS,