Highlight
Educational outreach gaining momentum
Achievement/Results
We have continued our outreach to the science programs of the high schools in our area. We approached the Miller Place High School for the first time. For the third year in a row we have had presentations to sophomores, juniors and seniors at the Ward Melville High School (WMHS). The first two years all the 3MT trainees visited the InStar (Science) program of WMHS and gave short presentations of their work. This past Spring 3MT faculty, including PI/PD Schoonen and PI Tsirka, gave presentations to the WMHS students. We have several students requesting to work in the 3MT-related laboratories and explore environmental science. Two of the WMHS students are currently in the Tsirka lab, one in the Demple lab, one in the Simmerling lab. Moreover participating faculty Simmerling and 3MT former and current trainees in his lab (Campbell and Bergonzo) mentored WMHS InStar student Dianna Hu who became a 2010 semifinalist in the Siemens Competition in Math,Science & Technology. As an additional outreach effort, Trainees Cypser and Bergonzo served as poster judges in a science fair organized by another local high school, the Half Hollow Hills HS (HHH). The trainees interacted with the students, encouraged them and asked questions. It was particularly successful, especially since trainee Cypser is a graduate from HHH! All these outreach efforts are starting to generate more recognition for the program and our research focus. It is worth noting that we were approached by the HHH asking our faculty and trainees to be involved with their students and science efforts.
Address Goals
We are encouraging a number of young, future scientists to be aware of environmental science issues. They are becoming knowledgeable of the problems, and they are also becoming aware of the idea that science is interdisciplinary. Collaborations and cross talk between different scientific areas is necessary to push the field forward and address the concerns and health issues that arise.
