kcollins | September 16, 2011Even as a child Terence Boylan was a dreamer with big ideas. Collaborating in 1957 with his friend, nine-year old Terence made plans to build a rocket that could carry a mouse into the sky and bring it back safely. But Terence did not have the money to buy the aluminum they needed so he asked his father (a physician and medical researcher at the University of Buffalo), where he got his research money. Dr. Boylan told him the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to whom the boy then wrote to ask for $10 to build the rocket. The request reached the chief of NIH Grants and although the NIH…
kcollins | September 12, 2011In his prolific career of more than 30 years as an author of science books for children, Seymour Simon has penned more than 250 children's books, taking young readers on exciting, unforgettable journeys across the breadth of the scientific landscape -- from exploring outer space, its planets, earthquakes and super storms to delving into the intricate workings of the human heart and brain, the internal clocks of chrysanthemums, and the behavior and mystery of butterflies, gorillas, cats, dogs and other wonders of nature. In fact, says one book reviewer, "There is no place on, in, or around…
kcollins | September 9, 2011Jeff Goldstein is a renowned astrophysicist and director of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education in Washington DC. But he is equally known as a first-rate science educator with a knack for creating and implementing approaches in teaching that truly engage students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The teacher's job, he contends, is to "immerse the students in the act of the journey by letting them do science, and acknowledging it is their journey."
Dr. Jeff, (as students and colleagues like to call him), took his message recently to the National…
kcollins | September 6, 2011When biomedical engineering scientist Erin Lavik received the prestigious New Innovator Award last year from the National Institutes of Health for her work in advancing the development of synthetic (artificial) blood platelets, she was already becoming known in biomedical circles as a rising researcher.
Erin's laboratory at Case Western Reserve University, where she is currently an associate professor of Biomedical Engineering, was attracting attention for its focus on developing new approaches to understand and treat hemorrhaging, spinal cord injury, glaucoma, and diseases of the retina…
kcollins | September 2, 2011To hook kids on the excitement of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) you must not only engage them via meaningful hands-on classroom experiences, but engage them early and often, says noted outreach expert and engineering educator Elizabeth Parry.
With more than 15 years working in K-12 and higher education environments to inspire young learners in science and engineering, Elizabeth is coordinator of STEM Partnership Development at The Engineering Place in North Carolina State University's College of Engineering.
"If you really want students to learn STEM, teach them not…
kcollins | August 29, 2011At AT&T, research scientist Alicia Abella is known as a "change agent," an innovator who is keeping her corporation on the cutting edge of developing new and better ways to help people and companies communicate with each other -- including through innovations in teleconferencing, Web-based solutions and iPhone application-based approaches that increase work efficiency and rapid-response collaboration across the globe.
"We are really trying to enhance the way individuals communicate with each other over distance and time," says Alicia, Executive Director of Innovative Services Research at…
kcollins | August 26, 2011When was the last time you saw a science special in prime time on one of the major networks? Better yet, when was the last time you heard rock stars speaking passionately and convincingly about the value of science, engineering and technology? If you had to think long and hard before answering, you're not alone. These phenomena are as rare today as sightings of Halley's comet. But they did happen -- in case you missed it -- as recently as this month when will.i.am, the front man and producer for the award-winning musical group The Black Eyed Peas, teamed up with eminent technology innovator…
kcollins | August 22, 2011What is your impression of these jobs?
--Mechanic
--Welder
--Electrician
--Air Conditioning Technician
Despite the consummate skill and training that these and similar maintenance professions require today, they often still bear the unfortunate stigma in the public's eye of being menial "grease monkey" jobs -- occupations that (unlike many white collar four-year college professions) require workers to fix things and get their hands dirty.
Therein lies both the challenge and mission of Joel Leonard, a Skill TV producer and host and self-proclaimed maintenance evangelist, as he warns America of…
kcollins | August 19, 2011Joy Hakim is trying to change the way we deliver information in our schools. She says stories are the way to go; they not only charge the mind, they provide a base for remembering. So she has tackled the traditional subjects--history and science--and put their information in narrative clothing.
Says Joy: "Much school learning in recent years has been fact and test driven, with no narrative base. It hasn't worked. The way cultures have traditionally passed on their ideas is through stories. The Greeks knew that, and so, too, did Mr. McGuffey, whose 'readers' taught generations of Americans."…
kcollins | August 15, 2011If there is a piece of advice that Kathie Olsen would give students, it would be this: "Be aware that you're most likely going to be changing your directions and your careers throughout your entire life and you need to be open to it and look forward to the opportunities."
She should know, because that's how the professional path for this neuroscientist, consulting firm executive and long-time science policy leader for the federal government has unfolded over the past 30 years.
Had you told Kathy at the time that she completed her training in neuroscience that she would eventually become…
kcollins | August 12, 2011Insects make up the largest and most diverse group of organisms on the planet, with the over 1 million described and 4-30 estimated species all playing a crucial role in biodiversity of the ecosystem. They are also critical for a wide variety of science and technology fields including agriculture, environmental and even biomedical science, and are even being explored as a vital source of food.
"Insects are much too important to leave out of an event like the USA Science & Engineering Festival," says Dr. Aaron T. Dossey, a Ph.D. biochemist and postdoctoral research entomologist, currently…
kcollins | August 8, 2011The USA Science and Engineering Festival's Volunteer Outreach Team is planning a special Back to School Blast Off Meeting Sunday, August 28th in Washington, DC from 3-5pm as a launching pad to spread the word about the Festival for the 2011/2012 school year. From 2-3pm, we will have a special Youth Volunteer Public Speaking Workshop. Adults are welcome to attend at 2pm to help with the youth training.
Register for Back to School Blast Off and Youth Public Speaking Workshop:
Youth Public Speaking - August 28th, 2-3PM
Volunteer Meeting - August 28th, 3-5PMK&L Gates, 1601 K Street Northwest…
kcollins | August 5, 2011CALORIE COUNTS AREN'T TELLING THE FULL STORY
By Joe Schwarcz, Freelance
July 30, 2011
There are undoubtedly all sorts of terrorists out there hatching intricate plans aimed at destroying the western world. They needn't bother. All they have to do is wait and westerners will eat themselves into oblivion. The average western diet, with the U.S. leading the pack, is atrocious. People are getting fatter and fatter. Obesity-related ailments such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes take a giant toll both in terms of tax dollars and human misery. Something needs to be done.
The standard answer is…
kcollins | August 1, 2011Dr. Kit Nast, a psychology instructor at Bishop State Community College in Mobile, AL, is putting together a website filled with videos related to careers and college degree programs. He is looking for volunteers to help develop more Career Videos and College Program Videos related to the sciences for his site - www.drkit.org. He is seeking STEM professionals to contribute self-made videos to the web site with the hope of steering more students toward these careers. For more information, please contact Kit at knast@bishop.edu.
What kind of video would you like to contribute to, or see, on…
kcollins | July 29, 2011AT&T sponsored Nifty Fifty program speaker and widely acclaimed science writer Carl Zimmer just published this very interesting New York Times piece on "...a small but growing number of field biologists who study urban evolution -- not the rise and fall of skyscrapers and neighborhoods, but the biological changes that cities bring to the wildlife that inhabits them. For these scientists, the New York metropolitan region is one great laboratory." Carl brings to light recent findings on mice stranded on isolated urban islands that are evolving to adapt to urban stress, fish in the Hudson…
kcollins | July 25, 2011
While this image may look like a creature from a science fiction movie, it's actually a hydrothermal worm marine organism viewed on an electron microscope from festival sponsor FEI Company, a world leader in the production and distribution of electron microscopes, including scanning electron microscopes (SEM), transmission electron microscopes (TEM), DualBeamâ¢Â instruments, and focused ion beam tools (FIB), for nanoscale research. See this recent Huffington Post article for more information on the image.
What microscopic organisms would you like to photograph through an electron microscope…
kcollins | July 22, 2011Fed by the news media, our fascination and reverence for celebrities has reached shameless heights.
But when you add the element of royalty to the mix, celebrity worship can take off into the stratosphere, triggered even by an item as seemingly mundane as a dress.
This leaves me wondering -- and angered -- over what is happening to us and our priorities.
I'm referring most recently to the whirlwind North American tour this month of newly weds Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton (a.k.a. Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge), who seem to be a wonderful couple committed to fostering…
kcollins | July 18, 2011+Meet Brian Malow, a science comedian scheduled to perform at the USA Science and Engineering Finale Expo. He will also perform at the Night of Science Comedy before the Expo with two other comedians, Norman Goldblatt and Pete Ludovice.
Based in San Francisco, Brian has performed for NASA, JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), the American Chemical Society, Scholastic Library Publishing, the National Association of Science Writers, the Koshland Museum of the National Academy of Sciences, Apple, Dell, and Microsoft. He has also appeared on…
kcollins | July 15, 2011He's known to his students and fans simply as "Dr. Joe," but then Joe Schwarcz, professor of chemistry, has always kept things light, uncomplicated and a little magical, especially when pursuing his challenging goal: demystifying science for young learners and the public.
Joe has created a multi-faceted career in using his skill as a chemical scientist, magician, author, broadcaster, food expert and motivational speaker in communicating science to others in very interesting ways. This includes his role as Director of the Office for Science and Society at McGill University in Montreal, Canada…
kcollins | July 11, 2011Lifting off with the Expedition 14 mission crew on September 18, 2006, American businesswoman Anousheh Ansari made headlines around the world as the first female private space explorer. In doing so, Anousheh, an engineer by training, also earned a place in history as the fourth private explorer to visit space and the first astronaut of Iranian descent.
Asked before her historic mission to the International Space Station what she hoped to achieve on her spaceflight, she said, "I hope to inspire everyone--especially young people, women, and young girls all over the world, and in Middle Eastern…