Take Action - Opportunities to Make a Difference!!

Below are some opportunities for making a difference in the lives of potentially many others! Please consider them and you can take part at whatever level of time commitment you wish. Just let Doc V know if you have an interest, and start immediately if you wish!!

Sierra Leone Project: We work with teachers (Miriam Mason-Sesay) in one of the poorest nations on earth, to develop STEM lab and active learning activities using only the most basic of materials - like rubber bands, paper, string, meter sticks, simple timers, sand, containers - because these schools have almost no supplies or equipment. Most of the schools we are partnering with do not have electricity, so Internet resources are useless. Also, they're new to the concept of DOING science, instead it has always been taught via lecture and memorization. See what already exists and are being used. We tend to do this work in the Research Center at whatever time(s) is(are) convenient for you; you can also partner with others on a project.
So you will be able to develop creative ideas for doing science investigations or demos, create the lesson and write up the lesson plan, and produce a short, few minute training video for the teachers to watch and practice with at training sessions, which they then take back to the schools for their classes, as well as train other teachers in the field. This has been working well! In fact, they are planning on eventually having a science fair using our experiments and ideas!! We are looking to expand this outside of Sierra Leone, and anyone on the planet has access to these lessons and resources. For instance, some of the lessons have helped teachers in Malawi, and just learned the lessons are going to be shared and used in Gambia. I'll be talking with a friend who is partnering with Jane Goodall's programs in Africa, so this could spread even more. Be part of this effort, let's share with kids and teachers who could use the ideas to improve their education in parts of the world that are largely ignored and forgotten!

CABS Project: Help create the CABS site for independent, original science research ideas and resources for any high school student and/or teacher to use. The vast majority of high schools don't have research programs, opportunities, or institutions like Northwestern just blocks away. But curious students are everywhere, and what we do in the Research Center or at your house is create research ideas and questions that can be done without professional facilities; instead, using basic, common science materials and equipment, original research can be completed!
In addition to doing your own research project that you then describe and give options to others, you can be a part of the effort to provide these resources to potentially thousands of students all across the country, and even globally.

Children's STEM and/or SEL stories: Are you a writer? Want to get super creative? Then consider writing a children's story about a science topic of your choice and write a story about it. Think children in elementary school, where science is often taught sporadically and varies a lot from teacher to teacher. This could be a picture book, short story or poem; it could be a short animated (or live action) video, if you want to try that; it could be a song or rap. Provide a creative, entertaining way for a science topic or concept is taught through the story. Another option for a story is to help with the work being done by the National Coalition for Safe Schools - incorporate social-emotional learning (SEL) skills and competencies into the story...provide an exemplar of how to deal with emotions and feelings in a positive way, be empathetic and compassionate towards others, and essentially be a good person who can resolve problems without anger or violence. Here's an example short video as a model.
We can imagine building an online digital library of these children's resources that anyone on the planet can use!

Global STEM Penpal with elementary students: We may get involved once again with classes in Australia. Elementary kids ask science questions about whatever they are interested in. You can take one of these questions and provide a fun, creative answer to the question and get it to your student; responses can be written, musical, video, demos/experiments/activities you create that the kids can do, etc. This could also start an exchange about cultures and whatever else comes up with that student. This potentially could happen with kids in other countries, as well.
One other option Doc V will pursue is with teachers in India, and the potential to help students with their writing. It might be something like a peer editing type project...TBD.

Tower Farming Engineering Challenge: We will eventually be getting a tower garden. These provide a means of growing fresh produce indoors, year-round. Doc V wants to put out an engineering challenge to students who want to try and build something similar to a tower garden, that is easy to work with, and about as productive as the tower garden, but for far less in cost! Can we find a design that can be built with, say, $50 or $100 with materials from Home Depot, rather than the $1000+ cost of towers and the other equipment??? If we can do this, perhaps we can find low income families that would want one in their home so they can have fresh produce year-round! This could be important in inner city areas that are food deserts, for instance.

Scientists taking on "the last great problem of classical physics' - Turbulence

Turbulence in fluid flow is everywhere, from the little whirlpools you see when you put your hand into a sink full of water, to the curling motions of water when a wave crashes on the shore, or the craziness of the air during storms, to the bumpy ride you may have experienced when a plane goes through regions of turbulence in the atmosphere. Turbulence has been studied for centuries, and yet there is still no mathematical law or rules that allows us to fully understand the nonlinear nature of this phenomenon. Fluid dynamics is a challenging area of research.

An international group of world-renowned scientists just received a $4 million grant to take on this challenge, using very sophisticated statistical physics techniques to try and better understand this behavior. If successful, computer models may be able to do things like help develop better designs to minimize the energy-sapping process of turbulence on motion of cars and planes through the air, perhaps saving billions of dollars in energy costs. Or improving the flow of water in the water systems of cities or directing water to where people need it.

For a high school student, check out a variety of fluid flow experiments you can set up to investigate turbulence in different situations, and see if you can make an experimental contribution to our understanding of this fascinating topic! One idea is to take different shaped objects, place them in the flow of water, and try to find shapes that minimize turbulent flow around that object. This is an example of looking at aerodynamics/hydrodynamics...if you can come up with shapes that have not been studied before, guess what, you are doing original research and should pursue it and share it!

Bio-essential sugars found in meteorites that struck the earth

As has come up a few times in classes, some of the most important molecules needed for life are found all over in the galaxy. Water, organic molecules such as amino acids, various sugars...and now, scientists have found key sugars necessary for life in meteorites. This fits in with the theory of how water got to earth originally, through comets hitting the young planet billions of years ago. Now, organic matter may very well have come to earth from space.

This could be HUGE if verified - a 5th force of Nature?!?!?!?

I need to find some of the primary literature on this one. This could be one of those big discoveries if verified, and looked at by independent groups. A 5th force of Nature is a game changer, going beyond the Standard Model that has been around since the 1960s. This is an exciting topic to follow, for you'll be seeing the science process in full display over the coming months and years!!

STEM Occupation descriptions - a full list!

If you want to see what is involved with just about any STEM job you can imagine, and not imagine, check out this site...very thorough.

Ways students and others can take action for climate change

Many students are concerned about climate change, but don't think there is much they can do. Here are two ways they can take some action.

One way is to contact local elected officials such as school board members, and let them know your concerns. Ask local officials to pass official resolutions stating how they commit to doing what they can to have their districts fight against climate change. Do the same by contacting elected representatives and officials at all levels of government. If students do this in an organized way, by sending dozens if not hundreds of letters and emails, officials will pay attention and at least take notice of your concerns. Check out this example.

A second way is to get your school's student council to write and pass a resolution! Yes, student representatives can mirror what adult governmental bodies can do, and actually submit a resolution to local officials on behalf of the student body of the school. Many have done this and met directly with their state reps and senators, as well as their congressional reps and Senators or their staffs. Make your voice be heard! Here is a presentation for student councils to learn how to do this.

Come meet Chem/Phys alum John Preston, Dec. 6

John Preston, an ETHS alum and former Chem/Physser, is coming on Friday, Dec. 6. He will be in H322 during periods 5 and 6, and wants to meet current students to let them know what is out there and coming in emerging technologies. See Mr. Preston's bio, which is truly impressive, and come meet him in person to see what some possibilities will be in your future!

There will be pizza, courtesy of the ETHS Foundation!

A national energy model from NU, Cornell replaces carbon sources

Thanks to Mayher for sharing this!
NU and Cornell engineers have published a paper outlining how it is possible to build up an energy portfolio for the U.S. that does not rely on carbon-based energy sources. This type of paper, while not likely to be implemented by policymakers any time soon, is important because it provides a detailed roadmap of what is possible. It will take political and economic leaders to step up at some point and embrace such plans, because we must recognize there are financial concerns to build infrastructure while we are still in an era of large deficits at the national and most state budgets. For example, the federal deficit for this past fiscal year is effectively $1 trillion. But having plans and models such as this can become the talking points and eventual action plans in the (hopefully) not so distant future.