[ad_1]
Promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in girls from a young age through targeted educational initiatives is critical to fostering and encouraging interest in and pursuit of STEM learning and careers. is.
In an effort to celebrate the amazing achievements of women in science and engineering, Stony Brook University’s Institute for Advanced Computational Sciences (IACS) is launching the IACS Challenge in honor of International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11th. Introduced.
More than 190 students submitted a one-minute video highlighting a female scientist selected from a list of nine famous women scientists provided by IACS, and created a video of that scientist using computers and household items. While introducing their research, they presented their own experiments and discoveries.
From applicants representing more than 70 schools in New York State, 13 teams were selected as finalists to compete in the IACS Challenge finals on February 7th at Laufer Auditorium. As part of the challenge, the team screened the original submitted video, followed by a three-minute presentation by him outlining the selected scientist and the reasoning behind his selection.
Monica Bugallo, vice provost for undergraduate affairs and diversity, equity and inclusion and professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Marivi Fernández Serra, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Institute for Advanced Computational Sciences. Coordinated and hosted by Mr. Event.
IACS Director Robert Harrison welcomed the group. “Stony Brook is full of talented women scientists who are changing the world around us and sharing their passion for science with the communities around them.”
In addition to Bugallo, Fernandez-Serra and Harrison, the panel of judges included Heather Lynch, IACS Endowed Chair in Ecology and Evolution; Margaret Schaedel, Associate Professor, Department of Music; Alec Wills, graduate student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
The finalists, who ranged in grades 2 through 12, were cheered on by their families and teachers. Nanette O’Grady, a teacher in the Half Hollow Hills School District, came to cheer on the finalists.
“I introduced it to the science courses and they bought into it,” O’Grady said. “Most people didn’t know who these scientists were, but they enjoyed being able to choose which scientists to study. The most difficult thing for them was figuring out what they wanted to say. We had to keep the video to 60 seconds because there were a lot of them.”
Julia D’Amico, a sixth-grader in the Mineola School District, was on the team with her sister, Valerie D’Amico, a second-grader. They presented on the life and work of Mildred Dresselhaus, the youngest finalist in the contest and the “Queen of Carbon.”
“It was a great experience to present in front of a crowd,” said Julia D’Amico. “I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to learn about such an important woman,” Valerie added.
The first-place team received $1,000, the second-place team received $750, and the third-place team received $500.
2024 IACS Competition Winners:
first place
Kayla Vesalico and Fiona Ash, Varner Middle School
Second place
Marina Ioannou, Southside High School
third place
Madison Lee and Chloe Kaplan, Plainview Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School
special award
Julia D’Amico and Valerie D’Amico, Mineola Middle School
Noah Berlin, Julia Zinkin, Noah Kay, Half Hollow Hills High School East
Eva Sakarin, Deer Park High School
— Beth Squire
[ad_2]
Source link