Weekly AiS Challenge Updates

Monday Morning Message, May 10th

We are hoping that the end of the school year finds you looking forward to joining us for some vacation learning. We want to be sure we start the 2004-2005 year with the momentum our AiSC Summer Teacher Institutes have assured us in the past!

We would like you to keep open the two weeks from June 28th - July 9th for STI04. We are still do not know what form STI will take, but we are planning to have an STI of some sort take place during those dates.

We have thought about a residential workshop at New Mexico Tech if we find funding. But we are also thinking seriously about an online workshop with regional meetings, online chats, and threaded discussion. The amount of face-to-face time will depend on our budget as we come away from Awards Day.

We need your help with our planning. Please let us know if you are interested in working with us during these days. What topics would be helpful? It would be great if you could think back over the Challenge year milestones and could tell us where you could use some coaching. If there were a regional hands-on workshop (one or two days?) in your neighborhood, what would you like the agenda to include? Please let us know what you need. It would be great if you could Reply To All on this list so we could brainstorm together. But a simple reply is fine, too!

Looking forward to hearing from many of you! And thanks to all of you for all you have done in 2003-2004.

Tuesday Morning Message, May 4th

In following up on the hotel bills, we were pleased to hear that both the Los Alamos Inn and the Hilltop House Hotel were very happy with the behavior of the AiS Challenge participants. The LA Inn said they had no complaints about the students and there were no maintenance problems. They said "Bring them back again!". The Hilltop House said "They were all good kids" and that the manager enjoyed helping some of the boys get their ties tied just right.

It is rewarding to get feedback like that so teachers, thanks for your influence and you can be proud of the students you brought to Los Alamos, and students, thanks for your good behavior and the example you set for others.

Best wishes to everyone as the school year winds down, study hard to do well on your tests.

Seniors, best wishes as you start another adventure whether it is in college or some other endeavor.

To the rest you, this summer be thinking about what kind of project you can Challenge next year and start recruiting team members. Or investigate submitting your project in the Siemens Westinghouse competition http://www.siemens-foundation.org by October 1, 2004.

Anyone who would like feedback from the Expo judges, please let us know. Next year we will try to make it so that you get feedback quicker.

Please send thank you notes to those who sponsored the awards you received. If you need contact information just let us know. Special thanks to Michael Trahan, mwtraha@sandia.gov, and Nick Bennett, nickbenn@g-r-c.com, who were the head Finalist and Expo judges.

Wednesday Morning Message, April 28th

What an exciting past two days it has been!

The Expo allowed everyone to present the results of their efforts, the tours showed some of the things going on at Los Alamos National Laboratory and everyone got to see the ASCI Q supercomputers, and what a fantastic Awards Ceremony.

Now, your next assignment (the Challenge is never over) is to get publicity for your team(s). See the press releases under Publicity at the bottom of the Expo '04 page: http://www.challenge.nm.org/awardsday/index.shtml#publicity and the Ceremony Script (which I hope to get posted later this afternoon), then get your local paper to interview you for an article about your participation in the AiS Challenge.

Monday Morning Message, April 19th

Greetings!

Many of us will be together next week at the Expo and Awards Day! It will be great to see you and your projects.

On this coming Wednesday, the 21st, the finalist judges will have a conference call in the afternoon and Consult will call the teachers of the six finalist teams. These finalists will also be posted on the web site late afternoon on the 21st. http://challenge.nm.org/AwardsDay/finalists.shtml.
These teams will present to the finalist judges the morning of the 26th. Watch for that schedule online.

On Monday, the 26th, teams have another opportunity to become finalists. The Expo judges will pick about six more teams to present to the finalist judges the afternoon of Monday the 26th.

Please dress nicely for the Expo and the Awards Ceremony but do bring comfortable walking shoes. On some of the tours you will walk about three miles.

Please check http://challenge.nm.org/AwardsDay to see which hotel your team is staying in, to get a parking permit for the Lab, to find directions to the Expo, the requirements for the display board, the Expo schedule, and the rubric for the Expo judging. If you have any questions, please contact consult@challenge.nm.org.

Science news! Researchers develop 3-D search engine. http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/04/16/3d.search.ap/index.html
The mind-boggling speed and reach of Internet search engines mask a severe limitation: They are powered by words alone. Computing researchers have developed new search engines that can mine catalogs of three-dimensional objects, like airplane parts or architectural features. All the users have to do is sketch what they're thinking of, and the search engines can produce comparable objects.

We are so looking forward to seeing you all and are planning for this to be the best Expo and Awards Day ever! We are proud of all your work and you should be also!

Monday Morning Message, April 12th

Friends,

We have had about 170 people register to attend the Expo and Awards Ceremony and over 45 reports turned in. Check them out at: http://challenge.nm.org/finalreports

Each and every one of you is a winner!

Seniors, you have two days to get your scholarships into our PO Box in Albuquerque. Details can be found at: http://challenge.nm.org/AwardsDay/scholarships.shtml

Don't forget your mandatory display poster. Details at: http://challenge.nm.org/AwardsDay/displayboard.shtml

Optional graphics poster details at: http://challenge.nm.org/AwardsDay/poster.shtml

If you are interested in a free scholarship to math camp in Texas, please write to betsy@nm.net

Many details for you all!

Here is a great article:

In yesterday's Santa Fe New Mexican page B-3 there is a public service announcement from the Santa Fe Public Schools.

"Taking the Supercomputing Challenge"
Students at the SER/SFPS Career Academy have fused together two programs to create a great learning experience. Sarah Anaya and Mario Larranaga are competing in this year's New Mexico Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge. The Challenge is a statewide computer modeling competition hosted by New Mexico's two national labs and other private organizations. Students decide on a topic to model and then determine what computer program to use. Sarah and Mario are using the Starlogo agent-based computer modeling system. Their project involves population genetics, demonstrating how the breast cancer gene propagates through a population. The Challenge Expo will be held in Los Alamos on April 26th and 27th.
According to teacher Rhonda Ward, Sarah and Mario did an excellent job taking a complex situation and translating it into a real working program.
"We're proud of their achievement and we're so happy they have this opportunity to showcase their talents."

Congratulations to Rhonda, Sarah and Mario! Great publicity for the Challenge and for Starlogo. If you too can generate some local publicity, that would be super.

See many of you in two weeks in Los Alamos. Schedules and details are on our web page.

Sincerely yours,
Consult

Monday Morning Message, April 5th

AiSCers! Consult would like to thank three people this week for the work they are doing this month to gather awards and scholarships for our celebration at LANL on April 26th and 27th. They are:

Marianne Granoff from ZiaNet, president of the AiSC Board of Directors;
Irene Lee, from Santa Fe Institute and StarLogo, member of Consult; and
Shaun Cooper, NMSU, AiSC judge

Some highlights of their work are a one time $3500 scholarship to NMSU, donations for awards and a Star Logo award, new this year.

Here are important dates and deadlines:

April 7, noon, this Wednesday:
Final report sent to finalreport@challenge.nm.org
April 7, this Wednesday:
Online registration for Expo 04 and Awards Ceremony at http://challenge.nm.org/awardsday/registration.shtml
April 14 Scholarship applications from seniors mailed to AiSC, PO Box 30102, Albuquerque, NM 87190 Current new scholarships are at http://www.challenge.nm.org/AwardsDay/scholarships.shtml
April 16 Submissions for the Best HTML version of a final report due. Details for submission can be found at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/FinalReports/html.shtml
April 21 Judges' Conference Call
Finalists placed on website and teachers called
April 26 Display Board due, details at http://www.challenge.nm.org/awardsday/displayboard.shtml
Graphical poster due, details at http://www.challenge.nm.org/awardsday/poster.shtml
$100 awards for the best poster

Do you know anything about the FlashMob Supercomputing event? Visit this link to read about it. A couple of years ago, some students in the Challenge tried a much less extensive version of this called a Beowulf project. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/8352645.htm

Looking forward to seeing all your smiling faces on Monday, April 26th at LANL!

Monday Morning Message, March 29th

Happy Monday,

Have you registered yet for Expo 2004/Awards Ceremony? http://www.challenge.nm.org/awardsday

We are looking forward to seeing your report in nine days. Here is the link to the details: http://www.challenge.nm.org/FinalReports/specs.shtml

Please start thinking about the Graphical Poster: your design could be the Challenge Logo for 2004-2005! It is an optional project - but those of you who enjoy art and graphics will want to create a design for all of us to use next year.

You will need to bring a poster to the Expo. You have time to work on this after the Final Report is submitted. It doesn't hurt to start planning it now and then get it finished after the Final Report is turned in. The best poster becomes the cover for the Final Reports Publication. http://www.challenge.nm.org/awardsday/displayboard.shtml

Seniors, please look at the details for scholarships at http://www.challenge.nm.org/AwardsDay/scholarships.shtml

Did you get a chance to see the Five Planets? I hope so. It was spectacular. This week you may be interested in seeing the work of a high school student called "Pinpointing Killer Asteroids". It can be found at: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20040327/mathtrek.asp

Lots to do; please contact Consult if you have any questions!

Monday Morning Message, March 22nd

AiS Challengers!

Many details are up on the web for Expo 2004 and Awards Day at http://www.challenge.nm.org/AwardsDay
Please spend some time learning about the events there.

Here is are a few of the deadlines/timelines and web resources:

April 7 At noon Electronic copy of your Final Report attached to an email to finalreport@challenge.nm.org
http://challenge.nm.org/FinalReports/specs.shtml

April 7 Online registration for Expo 2004 and Awards Day
http://challenge.nm.org/awardsday/registration.shtml

April 14 Scholarship Applications (Seniors Only)
http://www.challenge.nm.org/AwardsDay/scholarships.shtml

April 26 Display Board Due (Mandatory)
http://challenge.nm.org/awardsday/displayboard.shtml

Graphics Poster for 2004-2005 AiSC Logo (Optional)
http://challenge.nm.org/awardsday/poster.shtml

Directions around Los Alamos
http://challenge.nm.org/awardsday/directions.shtml
Temporary Parking Permit http://challenge.nm.org/awardsday/2004_parking_permit.pdf

Last week teams from Chaparral Elementary School, Eldorado High, Farmington High, Manzano High, Melrose High, Monte Del Sol School, Santa Fe Prep, Shiprock High, and Tularosa High schools attended the Sandia National Labs Tour Day. Students from Mrs. Noble's teams in Shiprock wrote to Consult with comments:

We saw

what supercomputers look like and learned their names
a screen that has 40 projectors in the back
small objects that are hard to see
projects on model cars and the five senses

Some quotes from three of the students:

I have been participating in the challenge for two years. It has steered me in direction in my career decision.
The tour offered great and interesting information from what was being done in the laboratories and presentations that were offered.
The presentation that I thought was really interesting was the guy who was in the challenge a long time ago. He really was inspiring to me.

We look forward to hearing highlights from other students who attended the tour.

Consult would like to thank Tom Laub, AiSC judge, for his time and expertise in organizing the annual Sandia Tour.

Science News: Tonight without telescopes you will be able to see Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury plus the crescent moon. For more information, please link to http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/19mar_planets.htm?list890521
It should be spectacular.

Tuesday Morning Message, March 16th

On Thursday we heard the good news that we were awarded $80,000 for 2004-2005 School Year in House Bill 2. Many thanks to all of you who wrote to the governor to urge him to sign the legislation. We really appreciate your support.

Some of our community toured Sandia National Laboratories yesterday A former Challenge winner made a presentation. We ask those of you attending to report on your favorite activity!

We have found a new site for finding mentoring help. It is at SEDL (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory). Go to http://www.sedl.org/scimast/archives/askquestion.html and fill out the form on that page if you are looking for some assistance.

You now have about 22 days until your final report is due. That includes weekends and is just three weeks. Plan according. You can find all the details for final reports at http://challenge.nm.org/finalreports/specs.shtml.

The Registration page for attendance at the Expo and Awards Ceremony will be available by the end of the week. Watch for it at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/awardsday

And did you know about the discovery of the 10th planet? http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/03/14/planet.discovery/index.html

Monday Morning Message, March 8th

Remember that final reports do not have to be submitted in hard copy, but you should not wait until 11:59 am on Wednesday April 7th to send them to finalreport@challenge.nm.org

Next week we will have information about registering to attend the Expo and Awards Ceremony. The housing costs will be covered by the Challenge and several meals will be provided. It will be similar to last year, so check out the details of last year's Expo activities at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/Archive/02-03/AwardsDay

Taking a chemistry class? Check out this Periodic Chart: http://periodic.lanl.gov

Next Monday over 50 Challenge participants will be taking a tour of Sandia National Laboratories. If you are going, see http://www.challenge.nm.org/archive/03-04/sandiatour and if you aren't going, check that link in two weeks to see what went on.

Remember if you have any questions, just ask us at: consult@challenge.nm.org

Monday Morning Message, March 1st

Less than two months to go! The Final Reports are due by NOON on April 7th, the Expo is Monday April 26th, and the Awards Ceremony is Tuesday April 27th. The Expo and Awards Ceremony will be held in Los Alamos at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. More details will be made available later.

For the first 13 years of the Challenge, a hard copy report was required. The last two years we have asked for an electronic copy (in Word) and so this year, we will drop the hard copy requirement and see if we can proceed with just electronic copies.

See the details at http://www.challenge.nm.org/finalreports and at http://www.challenge.nm.org/finalreports/specs.shtml

Teams are further encouraged (but not required) to produce an HTML version of the final report. An award for the "Best HTML Version of a Final Report" will be given during the Awards Ceremony. For details see: http://www.challenge.nm.org/finalreports/html.shtml

Several AiS Challenge participants will be taking a tour of Sandia National Laboratories on March 15, 2004.

Special Scholarship Message, February 24th

This just in from:
Dr. Willard A. Smith, Professor
Center of Excellence in Information Systems
Tennessee State University

who is our NASA contact:

NASA MESSENGER Scholarship

The MESSENGER Scholarship was created to expand interest in the MESSENGER mission and to support continuing education. See http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/scholarship/index.html for details

Monday Morning Message, February 23rd

There are still a few more slots available for the Sandia Labs tour on March 15. See the February 10th MMM for details: http://www.challenge.nm.org/news_flash.shtml

Congratulations to all the teams that presented their projects to the judges this month. Now you have SIX weeks to finish up and write your final report. The final written report is due on April 7th.

NASA-supported researchers have discovered a weird new phase of matter called fermionic condensates. See the details at: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/12feb_fermi.htm?list1088821

Question for April 26th: Should there be any kind of organized activities for the Expo participants on Monday night? If so, what suggestions do you have?

Special message February 23rd

Dear AiS Challenge Friends,

We need each and every one of you to write to Governor Richardson and ask him to support the line item in House Bill 2 that is for the Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge. With this money from the legislature, we will be able to have an AiSC program next year!

Contacts for Governor Richardson are

Mail
Office of the Governor
State Capitol
Room 400
Santa Fe, NM 87503

Phone: (505) 476-2200

Fax: (505) 476-2226

Web based email only
http://www.governor.state.nm.us/constituentcontact.html

We need to show him that there are students, teachers and judges all over the state that support AiSC. Please write, call, fax or email by Wednesday, February 25th!

Message for Teachers, February 18th

Training opportunity(ies) this summer

Dear Challenge Teachers:

The Santa Fe Institute is announcing its Summer Modeling Workshop which will be held in Santa Fe in mid-July. Here is the link for information and applications. http://education.mit.edu/itest/announce.htm.

This link to the StarLogo 2003 Website gives a lot of information about the work that has gone on this year: http://education.mit.edu/starlogo2003. The Challenge judges who have been assessing the work of the Challenge Teams over the last three weeks at Interim Evaluations are really impressed with the work done by the students who are using StarLogo for their models.

If you have any questions about the Santa Fe Institute Workshop, please write to Irene Lee (lee@elf.org) or Susan Yoon (syoon@oise.toronto.ca).

What about the Challenge Summer Teacher Institute? We hope to have an STI in early June but our plans are still dependent on funding issues. In any case, the Santa Fe Institute Workshop is outstanding. It is designed for teachers of a variety of content areas and backgrounds in math and science. It will be an excellent supplement to the work you have done with the Challenge and will, I think, increase your preparation for working with Challenge Teams. We hope you will be able to do both STI and the Santa Fe workshop!

Tuesday Message, February 10th

One weekend of Project Evaluations over and two more weekends to go. See http://www.challenge.nm.org/evaluations for the details.

HB292 is progressing through the State Legislature so keep your fingers crossed that the State will provide some funding for next year's AiS Challenge.

The following is from Tom Laub of Sandia National Labs:

Sandia National Labs will host a tour day for participants in the AIS Challenge on Monday March 15, 2004.
Students are eligible to come to the tour day if their team has submitted an interim report and participated in the regional judging. Participants MUST be US citizens.
Space is limited to 50 AiS participants and registration will be on a first come first served basis. There is financial support available for lodging for those schools traveling long distances (so they can spend the night on Sunday). We will meet off-base and be bused on base with Sandia Lab transportation. We will meet at 8:30 AM (We will let you know of the location in a later email). We will be finished by 3:00 PM. Lunch will be provided.
Please coordinate your participation through your sponsoring teacher so I have one form per school.
I need the following information for every participant:
Name
Social Security Number
Date of Birth

School Name
School Address
Team Number

The Social Security Number and Date of Birth are critical as they are needed to get visitor badges for access to Sandia National Labs Technical Areas. In addition, all participants wishing to go on the tour MUST have a photo ID to be admitted to Kirtland Air Force base and be badged by Sandia National Labs.
Please only make a reservation if you will be able to attend as space is limited. I need your reservation by March 1, 2004.
You can either fax or email this information to me.
Fax to:
Attn: Tom Laub FAX Number 505-844-0092

Email to: twlaub@sandia.gov

Monday Message, February 2nd

We are still anxiously waiting for the opportunity to testify before the State Legislature for HB 292 so that the AiS Challenge can continue next year. The hearing will be held Wednesday afternoon. Please send copies to consult of any letters you sent to your representatives. See the New Flash for more details.

Mark your calendars now for the Sandia Tour on March 15. Everyone is invited to come and participate and learn about some things that are going on at Sandia National Laboratories, more details later.

Project Evaluations are on this weekend in Portales, Silver City, and Santa Fe. See http://www.challenge.nm.org/Evaluations for details and email consult with any problems.

Check out "Earth Adventure" at the new LANL web site "For Real" at http://www.lanl.gov/real

Special ACTION! Message, January 28th

Friends,
We are very pleased to share some terrific legislative news with you: Yesterday in the House a bill was introduced by Representative Bobby Gonzales (Taos) and supported by Speaker Ben Lujan for funding for the Challenge in Fiscal Year 2005.

The number of the bill is HB292 and it is named "MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PROVIDE SUPERCOMPUTING TRAINING TO MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS." Here is a link to the bill: http://legis.state.nm.us/Sessions/04%20Regular/bills/house/HB0292.html

The Bill will be heard by the Education Appropriation Committee next week. We will be telephoned as to what day we need to show up and give testimony. We will keep you posted.

Those of you who were at the Kickoff in Glorieta will remember that we talked with you about our efforts to raise funds so that the Challenge can continue beyond this school year. Governor Richardson spoke to us about the importance of the Challenge to you and to our state. So the AiSC Board and Consult prepared a bill for the Legislature and as you see, it is being sponsored by Representative Bobby Gonzales and Speaker Lujan. Now we need to support Representatives Gonzales and Lujan so that the bill be passed by the Legislature.

Please write to at least one member of the Legislative Finance Committee and Legislative Education Study Committee and urge them to support the House Bill 292 that funds the New Mexico Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge. The legislators care about what you think. They want to please their constituents. You can write to your own representative, too, even if he or she is not on one of these committees.

The letters need to be written and mailed as soon as possible - and no later than next week.

If the Challenge does not receive funding from the Legislature or from a grant, there will be no Challenge next year. It's as simple as that.

Please take a few minutes to write a letter to support the AiSC. It really will make a difference if you take the time to do this with your teammates. We need your teachers, students, parents, administrators, and community friends to write or phone their legislators to ask for support for the Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge. It would be great if you would also email us a copy of your letters so that we can put them in a notebook and have them to show the Committees when we go up to lobby for the bill.

PLEASE USE YOUR PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESS INSTEAD OF YOUR CHALLENGE ADDRESS IF YOU SEND EMAIL INSTEAD OF WRITING A LETTER.

Here is information about whom to write to and a suggestion for the letter itself.

This is the URL for the Legislature. From it you can figure out who is your Representative and Senator. http://legis.state.nm.us/newsite/legislatorsearch.asp. There is a link on that page to find Representatives and Senators based on your zip code. Find your legislators and jot their names down (or copy them to a word processing document).

Then go back to http://legis.state.nm.us/newsite/legislatorsearch.asp. This time look on left panel and click on Membership under Committees. http://legis.state.nm.us/newsite/committees.asp. On the Committees page, scroll down to Interim Committees and click on Legislative Education Study Committee http://legis.state.nm.us/newsite/committeedisplay.asp?CommCode=ALESC. Is your Senator or Representative listed there? Now go the Legislative Finance Committee page: http://legis.state.nm.us/newsite/committeedisplay.asp?CommCode=ALFC. Are either of your legislators there?

If none of your legislators are on either of these committees, please select any committee member to write to. I think you can write a good, simple letter without my telling you what to say. Include the name of the bill and why the AiS Challenge is important to you and your fellow students. Here is a sample.

The Honorable (name)
State Capitol
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Dear Representative (name):

I am at a student at (put in the name of your school) and I am writing today to ask for your support of HB 292 "MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PROVIDE SUPERCOMPUTING TRAINING TO MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS." I am on a Supercomputing Challenge team and it has been important to me because (put whatever you think is appropriate here, for example: I've learned how to work on science projects using computers. I think this will help me when I go to college and is preparing me for a career in technology).

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Your Name,
Address,
Phone,
E-mail

Thank you for taking time to do this. Your letter is key to whether or not there is an Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge next year.

Betsy Frederick
AiSC Management Team
PO Box 30102
Albuquerque, NM 87190
betsy@nm.net
505.220.5050

Monday Morning Message, January 19th

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Dear Teams:

The Evaluation Schedule is up on the Web at http://challenge.nm.org/Evaluations. Some of you have already reported conflicts and we'll be sorting those out this week.

The Evaluations are great practice for the Final evaluations. Each team has one-half for their presentation to the judges. You will have online access and MS tools. If you look at the form at the bottom of the Evaluations page you will see what the judges will be looking for.

If you have any questions about your presentation or equipment or software, please write to consult@challenge.nm.org.

Monday Morning Message, January 12th

Great job everyone on getting your Interim Reports submitted! There are 64 available on-line on the Challenge web site.

To prepare for the February Project Evaluations, we suggest you hold a Peer Evaluation late this month. Anita Gerlach, teacher from Santa Fe, first proposed this event to the Challenge community. Here is how she describes it:

I initiated the peer review many years ago. I ask students to bring in scientists, parents, etc and also have the students there. I have a rubric for judging which includes the topic, student knowledge of the topic, student dress, the powerpoint presentation, etc. The students present their projects just as they would in April, except they are interim, not final. They then are asked questions by the audience. Some parents are very aggressive - so be it. I also ask the audience to give constructive criticism, not destructive. Often a parent agrees to help the students with their presentation. The students receive all the feedback sheets, including one I fill out. I videotape them and let them watch themselves, as well. The presentations usually last about ten minutes with 5-10 minutes for questions. It is quite a "heads up" for them.

Other details are at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/peer_review.html

We hope to have the schedules for February Project Evaluations available by the end of the week. Watch the web site, http://www.challenge.nm.org/Evaluations then let us know if there are any complications.

Has anyone experienced EXPLORA in Albuquerque? http://www.explora.mus.nm.us
See http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/diversions03/121203_diversions_explora.shtml to learn about some of the exhibits.

Monday Morning Message, December 22nd

Many of you may be out of school now and not read this until January, but for those still reading email, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Keep up with Santa on Christmas Eve at: http://santa.lanl.gov

While you enjoy Christmas, some machines will still be working. Take a look at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/17dec_beagle2.htm to see what Beagle is doing on Mars.

If the skies are clear on Christmas night, take a look at the Christmas Sunset with the moon and Venus: http://science.nasa.gov

Or see what Saturn is up to as the clock strikes midnight on December 31st: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/12dec_saturn.htm

WISE - The Web-based Inquiry Science Environment Description: WISE is a learning environment where students in grades 5-12 examine real-world evidence and analyze current scientific controversies. Tools allow data visualization, modeling, simulations, on-line discussions, and assessment. URL:. http://wise.berkeley.edu/welcome.php

Monday Morning Message, December 15th

With Christmas break almost upon us, don't forget to submit an interim report before the break! See http://www.challenge.nm.org for the guidelines and to submit your Interim Report. Good job to the eight teams that have already submitted their reports!

Be thinking about holding a peer review at your school towards the end of January. See the link off of the dates page for January: http://www.challenge.nm.org/peer_review.html

Check out this NASA link: http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/freesoftware_page.htm In an effort to foster hands-on, inquiry-based learning in science and math, the NASA Glenn Research Center has developed a series of interactive computer programs for students. All of the programs are Java applets which run in your browser, on-line, over the World Wide Web. The programs can also be downloaded to your computer so that you can use them without being on-line. The programs are in the public domain and are constantly being modified and upgraded based on your input.

Monday Morning Message, December 8th

Two more weeks (or so) before Christmas Break and that means you need to be working on the Interim Reports. The main web page, http://www.challenge.nm.org, has guidelines and a link to submit your Interim Report. We have 74 Abstracts in, let's see if we can get 74 Interim Reports posted by the 19th of December!

Here are some interesting URLs: 1. http://wires.news.com.au/special/mm/030811-hubble.htm A beautiful show of space from the Hubble Telescope. 2. http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/index.html Molecular Expressions: Science, Optics and You - Powers Of 10: Interactive Java Tutorial 3. http://lawis.lanl.gov/career.htm Career information for girls from Women In Science

Monday Afternoon Message, December 1st

1.12.03 or 1 December 2003

Good Afternoon!

Perhaps some of you noted that if you write yesterday's date in the format I'm using above, it makes a very satisfying palindrome.

This is a great slide show. Click on the picture under Space Chronicles. http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space

So. Three weeks until the Interim Reports are due. How is it going? Is your research going well? How about the math model?

Stay in touch!

Betsy for consult@challenge.nm.org

PS We misplaced a Compaq laptop at the Kickoff. Any ideas?

Monday Afternoon Message, November 24th

Dear Challengers:

We hope that all of you have an excellent Thanksgiving Holiday. It's gotten cold around the state but that's winter. We send warm greetings your way and say again how glad we are that you are part of the 2003-2004 Challenge.

Here are some web sites that may be of interest to you:

NASA's Planetary Photojournal has beautiful photos taken on the various NASA missions. The photos can be expanded and downloaded. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04866

Interested in real time applications? J-Track 2.5 is a great way to locate the Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray Observatory or any of your favorite satellites. We even add the Space Shuttle (during missions). This tracker is also used by our remote scientists to keep up with the mission. http://science.nasa.gov/Realtime

Finding mentors? Research going well? Team sharing responsibilities? Are you where you want to be on your timeline? Need help? Remember to write to consult@challenge.nm.org if something isn't working for you and you'd like us to think with you about the problem.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving and we'll be in touch next week.

Betsy, Celia, David, and Eric for Consult

Monday Afternoon Message, November 17th

17 November 2003
Happy Monday!

This is the time for you to be searching for mentor(s) for your project. Please first check out our mentor database at http://challenge.nm.org/Mentors/mentors.shtml

Here is some information on HP's telementor project: http://www.telementor.org

Winning past teams say that one of the most important parts of their AiSC year is finding the correct mentor(s). Please write to consult@challenge.nm.org with any questions or problems.

Being able to be specific and tell these mentors exactly want you want assistance with will take practice and a complete understanding of your real world problem. Create a practice message for your teacher to preview!

From our webpage:

Challenge Representatives will, upon request from students and/or teachers, visit teams at their respective schools to address any issues, answer questions and ensure that you can connect to New Mexico Technet and Los Alamos National Laboratory. If it can be arranged, the Challenge representative would like to meet with the Principal or Headmaster.

Your team will have until late December when the Interim Report is due, December 19th to be exact, to refine your projects for the submittal of the Interim Report and subsequent participation.

Each team must electronically submit a report that describes the project, tells about the progress to date, and states the expected results of the work. Details on how to submit that report will be in our next Monday Morning Message.

Our colleague, David Kratzer from Los Alamos, is going to be at the Igniting Innovation, Supercomputing Conference in Phoenix this week, representing our program. David, we will be looking forward to your report!

Here are some math models in medicine and bioscience from the Shodar Foundation,

http://www.shodor.org/master/biomed

Environment Models http://www.shodor.org/master/environmental

http://www.shodor.org/cserd/Resources/Models/index.php More resources on models.

Yes, we are saying that with a proper Internet search, you might be able to find a math model for your project. Let us know if you need assistance in this area.

The Shodar Foundation states

"When students learn to build models of the world around them in an attempt to answer specific questions, they learn to inquire in an authentic manner, and build their own understanding. Computational science provides a content-rich method of inquiry-based learning. Students learn to understand and appreciate the process of science. Science today makes heavy use of computers for modeling, visualization, and data mining."

Supercompute! Get your model, your visualization and data mining going this week!

Sincerely yours,

Betsy Frederick and Celia Einhorn for Consult

Monday Morning Message, November 10th

Well, we are off and running in the 14th Annual AiS Challenge! The Kickoff Conference at Glorieta went well and hopefully all the students learned something and have thought about their projects, and abstracts, some more. Remember, the teams can update their abstracts on the Abstracts web page. We still need another twenty or so teams to submit abstracts. We will be bugging you soon.

Late in the summer, we contacted the people listed on our Mentors page, asking if they wanted to continue being on that page and we removed some folks who would not be able to help this year. If you don't get a response from someone on the mentors list, please let us know. When you contact a mentor, point them to your abstract and ask very specific questions. Avoid messages like "we need help".

Wondering where all the participating schools are located? See the School Map web page and scroll through the list of participating school, which shows where they are located.

On the Dates web page, we did not advertise a February Project Evaluation site for the southern part of the state as we were waiting to see where the teams were from, before selecting a site. There will be a Project Evaluation site (or two) for the southern part of the state, so stay tuned.

We hope to add more of the class material from the Kickoff to the Kickoff web page soon.

Anyone competing in the "Go Figure" math competition this Saturday? http://www.lanl.gov/worldview/news/releases/archive/03-147.shtml

Monday Afternoon Message, October 27th

Accounts for the 2003-2004 AiS Challenge on the computer mode.lanl.k12.nm.us have been created. The login name is in the form of chnnnaaa where nnn is the team number (between 001 and 093) and aaa is the student's initials. See http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/abstracts/teams.php for a list of everyone's login name.

The student's assignment for this week is to complete the Mode Tutorial: http://www.challenge.nm.org/Glorieta/curriculum/mode_tutorial.shtml by Friday noon.

The passwords for the accounts are the same as the online registration passwords. If the student does not know their password, (and they provided a valid email address when they registered), have them go to https://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/email_pass.php and if that does not work, send an email to consult.

The mode machine will be taken down on Friday at noon to be taken to Glorieta.

Again, please submit team abstracts online at http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/abstracts and bring a hard copy with you to Glorieta.

Monday, October 27th AiSCers!

We are looking forward to seeing each of you in one week. You can see the Kickoff schedule at http://challenge.nm.org/Glorieta/schedule.shtml. In addition to a program of classes, each evening teams can select a simulation activity or a movie. Information will be in your teachers' registration packet.

Student accounts on the mode computer will be available today. A separate message about them will be sent later.

We currently have 20 abstracts online. That means that 73 teams need to complete this task by the end of this week. Team abstracts must be submitted before the kickoff conference. You will not be able to upload abstracts after noon on Friday, October 31. To submit, edit and view abstracts, please link to http://challenge.nm.org/abstracts. Remember to bring a hard copy of your abstract with you.

We have several door prizes this year that will be given away at the keynote on Monday. You can register for these gifts at the College and Computer Fair in the Santa Fe Room next to the cafeteria during lunch on Monday, 11:30 - 12:45.

Linens (towels, washcloths, bedding, pillow, blankets) are provided by Glorieta, but you should bring your own toiletries.

All of the Monday Morning Messages can be found at http://www.challenge.nm.org. Click on News Flash. Phone numbers and other information can be found on the Flashes from the last two or three weeks if you missed any of the MMMs.

BARK BEETLE BULLETIN:
Here is research on the bark beetle in the interior West http://www.usu.edu/beetle

Look at the research, databases, models, software, and publications.

Do you think that this research will have any effect on the math model and the computer programs we share with you at the kickoff?

The Clovis area teams got themselves some great publicity, check it out at: http://www.clovis-news-nm.com/engine.pl?station=clovis&template=storyfull.html&id=2424

See you soon!

Monday, October 20th

This MMM has lots of information about the Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge Kickoff at Glorieta.

Phone Numbers: If your family needs to reach you while you are at Glorieta, they can call Betsy's cell 505.220.5050 or David's cell, 505.412.2559. Glorieta's number is 505.757.6161

Those arriving on Sunday for Session 1 registration (between noon and 2:00) should eat lunch before arriving at Glorieta. Everyone has lunch between noon and 1 on Monday before the Keynote. Lunch is NOT served on Tuesday at the end of Session 2.

We will be utilizing dormitory style rooms this year. It is especially important that you leave valuables at home. This includes laptops. This is not to say you may not bring a laptop but that we urge you to leave all your items of value at home.

Those teams who have submitted at abstract by Thursday, October 30th, will receive their AiSC Tee Shirts at registration. If you submit your abstract at Glorieta, you will be given your Tee at that time.

Please direct any questions about any of these items to Consult - consult@challenge.nm.org.

NASA's Science News site, http://science.nasa.gov/, has lots of good stuff this week about Leonid meteor showers, The Goldilocks Zone, Black Hole Sound-waves, DNA and other topics.

We are looking forward to seeing you soon.

Betsy for Consult

Monday, October 13th

Happy Monday!

Remember, we are asking teams to submit their abstracts for the AiSC before traveling to Glorieta for the Kickoff. Please bring a hard copy, too, for your discussions with the scientists. http://challenge.nm.org/Abstracts

We already have two abstracts from Yucca Jr. High, Clovis. Congratulations go to them for being the first to submit their abstracts. Outstanding, Mrs. Kemp and students! We will get feedback to you shortly.

The number of students coming to each session at Glorieta is about even, and we thank those schools that switched to help make that happen.

If you are at the second step of finding a mentor at http://www.challenge.nm.org/Mentors/mentors.shtml please remember to attach your abstract to your email, so that the mentor will know what you are working on.

We have a preliminary schedule for Glorieta posted at http://www.challenge.nm.org/Glorieta and we are meeting Tuesday to continue the planning.

We are getting T-shirts for all and bags for teachers. They'll be sporting the logo designed by Manzano High School teammates Brian Rosen and Alex Booker. They split a $100 cash prize for their winning design at Expo 03 in the spring. Their logo also appears on our website.

Here is a tip on backward planning. Follow this link, http://www.challenge.nm.org/Archive/02-03/AwardsDay/poster_session_rubric.html to see what the judges will look for in April at the Expo. The high point criteria for the areas of problem statement, mathematical model, computational model, results and conclusions, code, and poster display are clear goals for you now!

If you are having any difficulty choosing a problem or getting your abstract written or understanding if your abstract really is computational science, please write to consult@challenge.nm.org

Breaking Bark Beetle Bulletin

Here is a current link about the bark beetle infestation: http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news03/100603_news_beetle.shtml Here are some questions for you. What is more important to you: landscape or location of your home? Which of the four solutions for pinon protection do you prefer? Why are some beetles called bad news beetles? Why in the world would we chose this topic as a theme for a computational science project?

We are doing our research and sharing it with you. We are looking for a mentor and a keynote speaker. We will be working on mathematical and computational models to share with you at the kickoff.

Monday, October 6th

AiSC Community!

Have you thought of a good real-world problem to work on? Remember that a computational science project has measurable data. Review the flow chart to be sure that your idea can be modeled mathematically: http://www.challenge.nm.org/ctg/overview/project.shtml

This year we are asking you to submit your abstracts before you join us at the Kickoff in Glorieta, Nov. 2-3 or 3-4. Your session depends on how far away you live from Glorieta.

The place to go to submit your team's abstract is http://www.challenge.nm.org/Abstracts. You will need your team number and your passwords from registration when you submit the abstract. We will be creating the team numbers and mode accounts very soon and will give this information to the teachers. Plan to start submitting your abstracts next week. If you need any assistance with your team number or passwords or with submitting your abstract, please write to consult@challenge.nm.org

Please bring the hard copy of your abstract to the Kickoff at Glorieta.

Please get your TEAFs and registration fees mailed in by next Tuesday. Housing lists for Glorieta will be sent to the teachers late this week.

This is Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and here is a great link about the science behind ballooning. http://www.balloonfiesta.com/Education/i_education.htm

Sincerely yours,

Consult

MMM, September 29th

AiSC Students and Teachers,

DETAILS OF THE KICKOFF!

Keep an eye on the Kickoff webpage for news and updates. http://www.challenge.nm.org/Glorieta

Three hundred and nineteen students and 44 teachers have registered to participate in the 14th Annual AiS Challenge. There are 71 teams registered so far but 55 students have registered as participants but have not registered as a team. Please visit the registration page and sign up your teams! https://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us (see the middle of the page).

REGISTRATION FOR the AiSC YEAR

The fee to register for the AiS Challenge is $30 per student. Since teachers do so much for their students, they are not charged the registration fee. The fee and the TEAF are due on October 14. You can find the TEAF at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/Glorieta/teameaf.html. Please send both the registration fee and TEAF to NMAISC, P.O. Box 30102 Albuquerque, NM 87190.

BREAKING BARK BEETLE BULLETIN

How can we predict the epidemic of bark beetles in our state? How can we model a prediction of the spread of the disease and use a computational tool to demonstrate this model? Can we develop a prevention strategy based on our understanding of the spread of the disease? Please see this link to an overview of the process of computational science: http://challenge.nm.org/Archive/02-03/STI/mm

Here are some pictures showing the devastation caused by bark beetles:

http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/forestry/factsheets/barkbeetles/beetles4.cfm

ABSTRACTS

Please start choosing a problem from an area of science that is of particular interest to you and your teammates. You will be writing a abstract for you problem outlining your plan. We will have details up shortly about how to submit that abstract before you come to Glorieta. At Glorieta, your team can work on it with scientists and add to it with the new tools you learn to use.

Links to information about abstracts can be found on the Challenge web page: http://challenge.nm.org/Abstracts/abstract_guidelines.shtml

MENTORS

Successful AiSC teams attribute their success to having a mentor who really helps with either scientific or math research, a math model, use of a computational tool, or suggestions about a doable project. Write to any person on our database at http://challenge.nm.org/Mentors/mentors.shtml for assistance now! Got questions? Write to consult@challenge.nm.org!

AiS Challenge, 09/24/2003, Wednesday Afternoon Message

Sorry about not getting out a Monday Morning Message but the funding for the Glorieta Kickoff was again in question and that needed to be dealt with. Tuesday the Glorieta planning committee met in Santa Fe.

Hopefully next week we will be able to provide you more details about the Kickoff Conference that will be held at Glorieta November 2-4. Keep an eye on the Kickoff webpage as it develops: http://www.challenge.nm.org/Glorieta

About 234 students and 37 teachers have registered to participate in the 14th Annual AiS Challenge so far. Unfortunately, about 138 students who have registered as participants have not registered as a team yet. Please visit the registration page and sign up your teams! https://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us (see the middle of the page).

The fee to register for the AiS Challenge is $30 per student. Since teachers do so much for their students, they are not charged the registration fee. The fee is due, along with the TEAF ( http://www.challenge.nm.org/Glorieta/teameaf.html) on October 14th. Send it to NMAISC, P.O. Box 30102 Albuquerque, NM 87190.

BREAKING BARK BEETLE BULLETIN: As Eric and I were driving to Glorieta yesterday we noticed A LOT of dying pinon trees. See if you can count the dying trees when you travel to Glorieta. Our theme project during the classes at the Kickoff will be the study of the Bark Beetle infestation. Can we save the pinons? More information to come.

SCIENCE TIP OF THE WEEK: New Mexico scientists working at Sandia and Los Alamos Laboratories are recognized for their Research and Development breakthroughs. Will you be listed in these types of announcements in ten years? http://www.sandia.gov/news-center/news-releases/2003/other/rd1002003.html http://www.lanl.gov/worldview/news/releases/archive/03-088.shtml

AiS Challenge, 09/15/2003, Monday Morning Message

Seventy four students and teachers have registered so far for the 14th Annual New Mexico Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge. Please register at http://www.challenge.nm.org and click on Registration in the upper left corner.

If you haven't registered yourself and your teammates as a team yet, please do that soon on the Registration page.

The Kickoff Conference will be held at the Glorieta Conference Center (15 miles north of Santa Fe on I-25) on November 2-4. Schools more that 100 miles from Glorieta will come in on Sunday afternoon November 2, spend the night, and leave Monday around 2:00 pm. Schools closer than 100 miles from Glorieta will come in Monday morning, spend Monday night and leave Tuesday before lunch.

SCIENCE TIP OF THE WEEK: Going UP? Will you ride this elevator some day? http://www.lanl.gov/worldview/news/releases/archive/03-124.shtml

AiS Challenge, 09/08/2003, Monday Afternoon Message

The AiS Challenge board meet last Thursday to brainstorm ideas for a Kickoff since New Mexico Technet will not be able to fund it this year. We found that the rates at Glorieta are less in November so we are looking into the possibility of holding the Kickoff Conference on November 2-4 (having two sessions as in past years) and are looking for other sponsors to help cover the Conference costs. The registration fee for participation in the Challenge will be $30 per student.

We encourage teams to do some team building events to raise their registration fees and/or find local businesses or organizations that would like to sponsor their team. (We would always be happy to get other sponsors of the AiS Challenge to add to our list at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/sponsors.shtml)

Registration is open and 28 people have registered so far at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml

SCIENCE TIP OF THE WEEK: Take a look at http://math.nist.gov/ for interesting topics relating to Math, Statistics and Computational Science (including Java Numerics).

Tuesday, September 2, 2003

Registration is now open for the 14th Annual New Mexico Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge!

Visit http://www.challenge.nm.org and click on Registration at the top of the left hand panel. All teachers and students need to register and the students need to register as teams.

If you have any problems registering, please email consult!

Teams should be gathering ideas for their project and starting to compose an abstract. See the AiS Challenge archives for previous year's abstracts to use as examples.

SCIENCE TIP OF THE WEEK: Where will you be in 2014? First observed in New Mexico, an asteroid on it's way to earth: http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/09/02/asteroid.reut/index.html

David, AiS Challenge Consulting, consult@challenge.nm.org

Monday, August 25, 2003

Good Monday Morning!

This is the first Monday Morning Message for the 2003-2004 AiS Challenge (the 14th Annual).

The AiS Challenge board is very excited about this year as we have had a good summer with a great Summer Teacher Institute at San Juan College in July, and the addition of the Cyber Defenders Institute for students, also at San Juan College in Farmington in July.

Many people have contacted us about having teams this year so we expect several new schools to participate.

We hope to have the web page, http://www.challenge.nm.org, updated very soon to include an Invitation to Participate, the link to the registration page, and the updated AiS Challenge handbook. We expect to open up registration on Tuesday morning, Sept. 2nd.

We are a little concerned about the Kickoff Conference, usually held at the Glorieta Conference Center. New Mexico Technet will not be able to fund the event this year so we are brainstorming alternatives. The AiS Challenge board will be meeting in Albuquerque on September 4th to consider possible alternatives. The Kickoff had been planned for October 19-21st.

SCIENCE TIP OF THE WEEK: Be sure to look up and see Mars, its the best view for the last 60,000 years! http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/watchtheskies/18jun_approachingmars.html

LIST MANAGEMENT: If you are no longer involved in middle school or high school education and would like to be removed from this list, please let us know by sending an email to consult@challenge.nm.org and we will remove you. If you know of someone who is interested in the AiS Challenge and would like to receive these mailings, have them send consult@challenge.nm.org an email. If you need to talk to some one by phone, call David at 505-665-4444x811.

AiS Challenge Consulting, consult@challenge.nm.org