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Outreach:
CSEM's
Outreach Program for High School
Minority Youth, 2001
On
March 26-27, 2001, the CSEM hosted
an Outreach Program for High
School Minority Youth. More
than 100 high school students
from science and technology programs
throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan
area had a stimulating first-hand
exposure to cutting-edge work
in science, technology, and mathematics
at Caltech and CSEM.
 Participants
assembled each morning in Dabney
Lounge for refreshments and registration.
The program began with an ice
breaker, and orientation, and
two keynote addresses. With Caltech
graduate students serving as their
guides, participants visited various
labs and professors on campus;
and partook in workshops, seminars,
social activities, lab visits,
student reports,
video presentations, and lunch.
The overall goal of the conference
was to encourage minority youth
to consider or continue to preparation
for a career in math or science.
A
program on the connections
between science and Native American
life was created by Caltech
CSEM scientist Mario Blanco and
a Native American artist Rosemarie
McKeon; this was a highlight of
the second day. Blanco and McKeon
connected scientific concepts
and diagrams to art and cultural
concepts, interpreting from multiple
perspectives how one might understand
the molecular representation of
the structure of matter (RealPlayer
clip: on-campus
and off-campus).
The
complete program is reproduced
below, with links to short video
clips (Real Player format) of
student reports. The "on-campus"
versions are for high-speed connections,
and the "off-campus"
versions are for home modem connections.
|
| Monday,
March 26, 2001 |
| 8:30
|
Arrival
and Refreshments. Greetings, registration,
distribution of program materials;
Southwest Museum Native American Materials
Exhibit. |
| 9:00
|
Opening
Session. Introduction to staff
and participants. Overview of materials,
goals, and activities. Welcome to
Caltech by Director of Minority Affairs,
Susan Borrego. |
| 9:15 |
Human
Bingo. An ice-breaker activity
designed to familiarize participants
with the program and each other. |
| 9:45 |
Materials
Science Keynote Briefing. Professor
William Goddard, CSEM, Applied Phyics,
Chemistry. What is Materials Science?
Historically, what contributions has
this important field made to science
and our world? What kind of problems
are now being addressed? What kind
of work is involved? What are the
goals of CSEM at Caltech? |
| 10:05 |
Computational
Sciences Keynote Briefing. Bob
Gotwalls, Shodor Education Foundation,
National Computational Science Alliance.
What is the Computational Sciences
Model? How does it differ from the
traditional scientific approach? What
problems can application of high-performance
computing help us solve? What are
the key elements, challenges, and
limitations of this approach? |
| 10:30 |
Community
Presentations #1. An opportunity
to share information and field questions
about your school and community. |
| 11:00 |
Round
Robin #1. Along the Path to Success.
The full group will divide into four
groups and rotate around Dabney Garden
for 12 - 15 minute presentations by
Caltech graduate students, who will
be instructors and guides for the
remainder of the program. Learn about
the challenges and rewards long their
personal paths to Caltech, their field
of study, how computers enhance their
work, and about their career goals.
Feel free to ask questions! |
| 12
noon |
Lunch. |
|
Optional
activities: (1) Visit work space of
program instructors. (2) Teacher Workshop
with Bob Gotwalls (12:30 - 2:00, Computational
Science Resources for the Classroom).
(3) Native American Exhibit. |
| 1:00 |
Community
Presentations #2. An opportunity
to share information and field questions
about your school and community. |
| 1:40 |
Appointment
Briefings and Transfer. Follow
instructions, ask questions, and proceed
to appointments. Have fun! Remember
to take notes and report back. |
| 2:00 |
Observations
and Appointments #1. The full
group divides into several teams for
appointments with Caltech professors,
students, and staff who will discuss
research and work in several fields.
Topics: Seismology, Planetary Geology,
Biology, Physics, Infrared Astronomy,
Chemistry, Aeronautics, Applied Mathematics,
and more. |
| 3:00 |
Student
Reports #1. After ten minutes
of prep time, each team of student
participants presented information
about their lab visits and appointments
to the full group.What did you
learn? Was the presenter excited
about his/her work?
RealPlayer
Video Clips (the "on-campus"
versions are for high-speed connections,
and the "off-campus"
versions are for home modem connections):
Report
#1 (synthetic nose):
on-campus / off-campus
Report #2 (chemistry):
on-campus / off-campus
Report #3 (chemical sensor):
on-campus / off-campus
Report #4 (scientist profile):
on-campus / off-campus
Report #5 (super computers):
on-campus / off-campus
Report #6 (materials science):
on-campus / off-campus
Report #7 (computer simulation):
on-campus / off-campus
Report #8 (neuroscience):
on-campus / off-campus
|
| 3:40 |
Departure
for Home and Schools. End of first
day. |
| Tuesday,
March 27, 2001 |
| 8:30
|
Arrival
and Refreshments. |
| 9:00
|
Morning
Briefing. What's in store for
today? |
| 9:10 |
Remaining
student reports or community presentations. |
| 9:20 |
Future
Visions. Group discussion. What
will the future look like? Our homes?
Communities? Jobs? Where is your place
in this world? Who will decide where
that is? What combination of hard
work, intelligence, and creativity
will it take to get there? |
| 9:40 |
Round
Robin #2. Computational Science Fair.
Presentations and exercises on key
elements of the computational sciences
model. Station 1 - Processing Speed:
What engineering innovations have
increased the speed of computer calculations?
Station 2 - Applications: What kinds
of problems can we try and solve utilizing
this speed? How does scientific visualization
help? Station 3 - Algorithms (Modeling
and Mathematics): To solve these problems,
what models need to be developed and
tested? Why is this necessary? Station
4 - Architecture: What kind of computer
hardware and software do we need?
How will our choice affect our results?
Featuring Caltech anad Shodor Educational
Foundation presenters. |
| 10:40 |
Appointment
Briefings and Transfer. Follow
instructions, ask questions, and proceed
to appointments. Have fun! Remember
to take notes and report back. |
| 11:00 |
Observations
and Appointments #2. The full
group divides into several teams for
appointments with Caltech professors,
students, and staff who will discuss
research and work in several fields.
Topics: Artificial Life, Biology,
Economics, Scientific Visualization,
Neuroscience, Chemistry, Aeronautics,
Quantum Physcis, and more. Special
track of appointments on Materials
Science work involving High-Performance
Computing. |
| 12
noon |
Lunch. |
| 1:00 |
Student
Reports #2. After ten minutes
of prep time, each team of student
participants presented information
about their lab visits and appointments
to the full group.What did you
learn? Was the presenter excited
about his/her work? Students spontaneously
composed a rap-science tune and
taught it to the entire group
near the end of the second day!
RealPlayer
Video Clips (the "on-campus"
versions are for high-speed connections,
and the "off-campus"
versions are for home modem connections):
Report
#9 (cognition):
on-campus / off-campus
Report #10 (vorticity):
on-campus / off-campus
Report #11 (materials science):
on-campus / off-campus
Report #12 (lasers):
on-campus / off-campus
Report #13 (energy of light):
on-campus / off-campus
Report #14 (scientist profile):
on-campus / off-campus
Report #15 (molecular biology):
on-campus / off-campus
Report #16 (molecular chemistry):
on-campus / off-campus
|
| 1:40 |
Special
Presentation: Science, Art, and Native
American Traditions. What can
we learn from the approach Native
Americans have to the natural world?
How can they be applied to the scientific
world? To the understanding of our
communities? To artistic creations?
Featuring Rosemarie McKeon (Native
Amercan Artist and former San Diego
Supercomputer Center Fellow and Mario
Blanco (Caltech, Chemistry, CSEM).
(RealPlayer clip: on-campus
and off-campus.) |
| 2:30 |
Special
Presentation: Imagine This! Featuring
David Durham, an internationally famous
animation and ride designer for Walt
Disney Imagineering, and a Caltech
Alumnus. |
| 3:40 |
Program
Evaluation. Please take time to
tell us your thoughts. |
| 3:55 |
Closure
and Goodbye. Be sure to sign our
mailing list. |
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