Registration

Proposals
Interims
Final Reports

Dates

Kickoff
Evaluations
Expo
STI
Wiki

School Map
Sponsors

Mail

Challenge
Technical Guide


Past Participant Survey

GUTS

Weekly AiS Challenge Updates

Monday Morning Message, May 2, 2005

Congratulations to the 36 teams that submitted final reports and participated in the Expo and Awards Ceremony. See all the good press coverage we received at http://www.challenge.nm.org/expo/index.shtml#publicity

We have been receiving some good feed back from you and are still trying to digest all your comments.

The mementos have been secured and now we are trying to organize them so that we can send them to the teachers.

Tapia Conference

Teachers

Non-Seniors

Seniors

Monday Morning Message, April 18, 2005

Next Monday, April 25th, is the Expo!

There is a lot to read about the activities at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/expo

Expo schedule

The Expo schedule web page will be updated on Wednesday afternoon, after the judges' conference call, and the first round finalists will be notified at that time, so check back.

Parking Permit

Weather

Housing in Los Alamos

Graphics poster

Way to go Betsy!

Looking forward to seeing you on Monday,

Betsy, Celia, and David, AiS Challenge Consulting, consult@challenge.nm.org

Monday Morning Message, April 11, 2005

Congratulations to 35 teams for taking the Challenge and submitting final reports.

DATES to Remember

Monday, April 18, 2005 Submissions for the Best HTML version of a final report due.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005 Judges' Conference Call. About half a dozen teams will be selected as first round finalists and will be called Wednesday afternoon or evening. Watch the Challenge home page for a late Wednesday afternoon update.

Display Board - Mandatory

Graphical Poster - Optional

Tour, Lodging, Rules

Description of the Expo

Awards

Science Links of the Week

Did you see the Solar Eclipse last Friday? http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/01apr_solareclipse.htm?list1210197

See you in TWO weeks!

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

Monday Morning Message, April 4, 2005

Final Reports

Be sure that you double check your final report for spelling and grammar. It does matter! One final report last year included an Executive Summery. Hmm. It could have easily passed an electronic spelling check. However, if the student had asked an English teacher to read it that probably would not have slipped past. Remember that teamwork skills include having your team read through your writing for sense as well as grammar and spelling.

Here is a great question from a Challenge Final Report author: "Our main references are Internet sites. I was wondering if the address of the site is all I need to put, or if there is more information that I need to include." And the answer to her question can be found by going to http://challenge.nm.org and then linking to Students, and scrolling down to Citing Resources. On that link, you will see a link to Citing Internet Resources.

There are no exceptions to the deadline. These must go out to the Expo/Finalists judges immediately.

Registration for Expo/Awards Day

It is polite to let your hosts know whether or not you are attending as soon as possible. It is also necessary for hotel room reservations and to plan for pizza.

Community Presentation

Summer Opportunities for Students at Mathworks

The Junior Summer Math Camp - http://mathworks.txstate.edu/student/JSMC/description.htm - runs from June 6-17. It is half-day Monday-Friday Camp and full scholarships are available for AiSC students. If you have family/friends in San Marcos who could be your host, this is an excellent opportunity.

Mathworks' Honors Summer Math Camp ( http://mathworks.txstate.edu/student/HSMC/description.htm) is a six week residential math camp for high school students. Again, AiSC students are eligible for full scholarships. Please read the description and see if this is something that you would be interested in. Mathworks is very eager to have students from NM apply. If you enjoy mathematics, please consider applying. A course like this can help you build a solid foundation for continuing high school work, college, and of course, your AiSC project. We can arrange for you to talk with the director, Max Warshaur, who is very approachable, if you have questions.

Science Link of the Week

We can't wait to see you all in Los Alamos!

Monday Morning Message, March 28, 2005

Good Day!

Hope you have or will enjoy your Spring Break during these couple weeks!

Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines

To review:

Wednesday, April 6, 2005 at NOON. Deadline to submit final report.
Wednesday, April 6, 2005 Registration deadline for Expo and Awards Ceremony in Los Alamos.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 Deadline to submit scholarship applications.
Friday, April 15, Nominations for best teacher sponsor sent to consult@challenge.nm.org
Monday, April 18, 2005 Submissions for the Best HTML version of a final report due.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005 Judges' Conference Call.
Monday, April 25, 2005 AiS Challenge Expo in Los Alamos
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 Awards Ceremony in Los Alamos

HTML Award

Project Completion

If your team has come this far, with an interim report, and an oral presentation, please get a final report in so that you can come and celebrate with us at LANL! Project based learning, like the Challenge, is similar to working in the real world, with deadlines, realities, and stress. Going through the whole year with the Challenge will be an experience you can be proud of.

Science Links of the Week

Learn about an eminent computer scientist, Donald Knuth, in this NPR story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4532247

Why colonize the Moon before going to Mars? NASA scientists give their reasons. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/18mar_moonfirst.htm?list1210197

Monday Morning Message, March 21, 2005

Good Day!

Hope that spring is really ready to spring into our lives. The weather created some havoc for our registered students for the Sandia Tour!

Sandia Tour

Our thanks go out to Tom Laub and his colleagues at Sandia for providing Challenge students with such a great opportunity.

Ahead

Final Reports

Registration Deadline for Expo/Awards Ceremony

Scholarships for Seniors

AiSC Teacher of the Year Award

Best HTML Award

Science Link of the Week

Source: http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,66770,00.html?tw=wn_story_mailer

MIT Web Page on synesthesia: http://web.mit.edu/synesthesia/www/synesthesia.html

Monday Morning Message, March 14, 2005

Good Day,

Updates for Sandia Tour participants:
Please check out important information at http://challenge.nm.org/archive/04-05/sandiatour

Remember that the first participant report from the Sandia Tour will receive a prize and have their report published in for the Monday Morning Message. Take notes as you travel throughout the day, write them up at home that night and send them to consult@challenge.nm.org

AiSC Teacher of the Year Award

The winning teacher will receive an award at the Awards Ceremony, in Los Alamos on April 26th. Your nomination is due April 15th. Just email your nomination to consult@challenge.nm.org

Final Report and Expo/Awards Ceremony Registration Deadlines

In early April a panel of judges evaluates the written team project reports and the individual scholarship applicants. Several teams are selected as finalists based on their written reports. All of the team prepare poster presentations of their work for the Challenge Expo. A number of teams from the Expo will be selected as finalist teams. During finalist judging, the team members present their projects and respond to questions about their projects. The project presentations are allotted 30 minutes. After the presentations, teams will go on tours of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

All Challenge participants who have submitted a final report are encouraged to attend the Expo and Awards Ceremony in Los Alamos in April to present their projects.

Science Link of the Week

March is Women's History Month

Monday Morning Message, March 7, 2005

Good Day,

Final Reports:

The link about the final reports is at http://challenge.nm.org/finalreports/specs.shtml

Hints on how to write your final report are at http://challenge.nm.org/finalreports/writing.shtml

You now have just under a month to get this done. Shiprock High has a good model. They have their English teachers help them with the report and then get credit in English class also.

Don't forget to add your bibliography from your abstract and any new research you might have.

Registration Deadline

Mentors

Sandia Tour

Science Link of the Week

Monday Morning Message, February 28, 2005

Happy Almost March!

Evaluations

Sandia Tour

Looking at Dates

• Wednesday, April 6, 2005 at NOON. Deadline to submit final report.
• Wednesday, April 6, 2005 Registration deadline for Expo and Awards Ceremony in Los Alamos.
• Wednesday, April 13, 2005 Deadline to submit scholarship applications.
• Monday, April 18, 2005 Submissions for the Best HTML version of a final report due.
• Wednesday, April 20, 2005 Judges' Conference Call.
• Monday, April 25, 2005 AiS Challenge Expo in Los Alamos
• Tuesday, April 26, 2005 Awards Ceremony in Los Alamos

Science Link

Summer Teacher Institute

Monday Morning Message, February 21, 2005

Greetings Challengers!

We hope you enjoyed your long weekend.

The Sandia Tour is at the top of our message this week.

Sandia has planned several interesting demonstrations including tours of Red Storm, the supercomputer cluster, complex microelectronics, Cyber defenders, robotics and aqueous foam. All this and a buffet luncheon.

Details:
Date of tour: Thursday, March 17th

DEADLINE TO REGISTER: MARCH 1st. That's next Tuesday!

Please send your school's information to
Attn: Tom Laub
FAX Number 505-844-0092 or
Email twlaub@sandia.gov

See last week's MMM or the News Flash link at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/news_flash.shtml for details.

Mentors

February Evaluations

Summer Science Program

Science Link of the Week

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/watchtheskies/swift_nsu_0205.html

Please stay in touch!

Monday Morning Message, February 14, 2005

Happy Valentine's Day!

February Evaluations

Sandia Tour, March 17th

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 Wednesday). 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

Science Link of the Week

This month's issue, available at most libraries for checkout, had an article on Virtual Smallpox in a Real City. It is a good article for two of our teams and for those of you who enjoyed the Palm virus simulation at the kickoff or in your classroom. If you would like a copy of the article If Smallpox Strikes Portland (Advanced computer simulations let epidemiologists unleash virtual plagues in real cities to see which interventions could best quell outbreaks of the disease) and can't find it at your library, please email celia@pobox.com and she will send you a copy.

Monday Morning Message, February 7, 2005

Hello Out There in Computational Science Land!

February Evaluations

You should receive immediate feedback from the judges. If you do not, please email consult and we will mail you your feedback forms.

Mentors

Science Link

FUTURE PROGRAMMERS take note:

Monday Morning Message, January 31, 2005

Happy Almost February,

February Evaluations

Project Evaluations begin this Saturday, keep checking back to our evaluations page to see if there are any schedule changes: http://challenge.nm.org/evaluations

If you can not make your scheduled presentation, please let consult know as soon as possible.

Presentation Hints

• Dress appropriately. You don't have a second chance to make a first impression.
• Some suggested points to make in your presentation:
  1. Introduction
     Include your school name, team number, group members, advisors & mentors, topic
  2. History
     Give a brief history of your project. Include why you chose your topic and why it is important to you and your team.
  3. Process
     Describe the process you have been involved in
  4. Data/Research
     Tell the judges about the research you have completed and give them some data/statistics. Tell them what your research/data shows.
  5. Charts
     Based on your data/research, create charts and be able to explain the charts.
  6. Math Model
     Show the mathematical model of your project or your Star Logo ideas.
  7. Code/Program
     Tell the judges about your code. Your code may not be complete, but tell them what your code is suppose to do.
  8. Results
     Tell the judges about the results you have gotten from your project. Also tell them the results you hope to get.
  9. Conclusion
     Wrap up your entire project. Did you prove or disprove your hypothesis? (question or problem) What areas do you need assistance with?

Science Link

We on Consult thought that was an interesting view until Gina Fisk, LANL, pointed us to a Snopes report on this picture which you can read at http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/computer.asp

She reminds us that many emails contain urban legends and wrong information and it is always wise to check out information you receive in your email. Here are some other sites to bookmark for hoaxes: http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org and http://www.snopes.com

Best of luck in your presentations this month.

Monday Morning Message, January 24, 2005

AiSC Community!

FEBRUARY EVALUATIONS

Please check back at this site as times may change. IF YOUR TEAM CAN NOT MAKE THE SCHEDULED TIME, please contact consult@challenge.nm.org asap.

Please note that the surrounding Santa Fe schools are going to be at Santa Fe High this year. Thank you, Mrs. Gerlach and the SFHS Science Club!

Directions and maps can be found at http://challenge.nm.org/evaluations

It would be polite to write to your host or hostess after your presentation and send a little note of appreciation. Your judges' emails are posted there also, so you can write and ask further questions of them or thank them for their volunteer time and expertise, also.

GIRLS

SCIENCE LINK

"Scientists from RAND Corporation have created this model to illustrate how a "home computer" could look in the year 2004. However the needed technology will not be economically feasible for the average home. Also the scientists readily admit that the computer will require not yet invented technology to actually work, but 50 years from now scientific progress is expected to solve these problems. With teletype interface and the Fortran language, the computer will be easy to use..."

Tuesday Morning Message, January 18, 2005

RSVP for February Evals!

Then do not pass go, but first write to us to let us know that you will be in attendance at that time.

What To Expect at the Evaluation

You can create a PowerPoint presentation, a website, have charts, handouts, whatever you need to share your progress so far. Here is a link that shares how to scores points with PowerPoint http://www.fno.org/sept00/powerpoints.html

Missing Interims

Science Link of the Week

Monday Morning Message, January 10, 2005

Good Morning!

WebCT Discussion Forums

Abstract/Interims posted on Public Web Site

Peer Evaluation

February Evaluations Are Nearing

Project Evaluation

• Saturday, February 5, 2005 - Eastern New Mexico University
• Saturday, February 5, 2005 - Santa Fe Community College
• Saturday, February 5, 2005 - New Mexico State University
• Saturday, February 12, 2005 - San Juan College
• Saturday, February 19, 2005 - University of New Mexico - Abq.
• Saturday, February 26, 2005 - New Mexico Tech

Here is our science link for the week:

Next on NOVA: "The Boldest Hoax" http://www.pbs.org/nova/hoax

Broadcast: January 11, 2005

(NOVA airs Tuesdays on PBS at 8 p.m. Check your local listings as dates and times may vary.)

For decades, a partial fossil skull discovered in Piltdown, England, was hailed as the missing link between apes and humans. Entire careers were built on its authenticity. Then in 1953, the awful truth came out: "Piltdown Man" was a fake! But who done it?

In "The Boldest Hoax," NOVA gets to the bottom of the greatest scientific hoodwinking of all time. The search for clues takes the NOVA team to the archives of Britain's august Natural History Museum in London, where intriguing documents shed new light on the notorious case. offering theories on the deception are two prominent paleontologists at the museum, Chris Stringer and Andy Currant. Also sleuthing for NOVA are archeologist Miles Russell of Britain's Bournemouth University, historian Richard Milner of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and Giles Oakley, son of Kenneth Oakley, the scientist who blew the whistle on the hoax in 1953. Can NOVA and this team of experts unravel the enduring mystery of "Piltdown Man?"

Wednesday Morning Message, January 5, 2005

A Healthy and Happy New Year to you all!

Congratulations to teams who met the December deadline for their Interim Reports. The Challenge does perk your interest in math and science, but it also works with technical writing (abstract, interims, final reports), research, and meeting deadlines. Our mission statement states that AiSC improves "students' understanding and use of technology by developing their skills in scientific inquiry, modeling, computing, communications, and team work."

On our calendar for January, we recommend a peer review. Check out the details at http://challenge.nm.org/peer_review.html

This will get you ready for your in person February Evaluation at a school near you. Please visit the links at http://challenge.nm.org/About/phases.shtml#evaluations and http://challenge.nm.org/evaluations/

See the dates for the February Evaluations

Please stay tuned as these dates and places may change.

Science link for the week:

On Jan. 14, 2005, the European Space Agency's Huygens probe will descend to the surface of Saturn's largest moon.

Two hours. That's how long it will take the European Space Agency's Huygens probe to parachute to the surface of Titan on January 14th. Descending through thick orange clouds, Huygens will taste Titan's atmosphere, measure its wind and rain, listen for alien sounds and, when the clouds part, start taking pictures. It has taken Huygens four years to get from Earth to Saturn. It will take eight hours to transmit the data.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/30dec_titan.htm?list1210197
If you'd rather read this story in Spanish, here is that link:
http://ciencia.msfc.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/30dec_titan.htm?list1210198

Looking forward to a great 2005,
AiS Challenge Consulting, consult@challenge.nm.org

Monday Morning Message, December 20, 2004

Interims

If your team hasn't posted their Interim report to WebCT yet, please do so as soon as possible. There is a file called interim.html in your WebCT area that you can edit. If you want to upload an Interim, delete the interim.html in your area and name your uploaded file interim.html then see that you (and your teammates and teacher) can view it. Please contact consult@challenge.nm.org if you are having trouble accessing WebCT.

February Project Evaluations

Science link of the week

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Consult

Monday Morning Message, December 13, 2004

Greetings AiSC Community!

WebCT Discussion Forum

Interims

Magazine Winner

Science Website

We hope you are enjoying this festive month of December. We are going to feel really joyful when we see all your good interims!

Consult

Monday Morning Message, December 6, 2004

WebCT Discussion Forum

Mentors

"Our project is really going well this year, the biggest difference has been connecting with a mentor for the kids that can really help them. That seems to make all of the difference in the world!"

Mike DeField, Farmington High Physics Teacher

Don't be bashful about contacting a mentor multiple times, just be polite. Sometimes a person is too busy to answer at that moment and a gentle reminder, or rephrasing of a question, might get a response.

Contact consult if you are having trouble getting a mentor!

WebCT Interim Reports

Special Award

Interesting URLs

Monday Morning Message, November 29, 2004

Happy End of November,

Hope you enjoyed your holiday time with good friends, food and family!

WebCT Info

Please go to discussion forum on WebCT, later this week. Find your team's thread. You will notice that you have some comments from an abstract reviewer (an AiSC judge, a mentor or kickoff instructor) who is giving you some hints for your Interim reports due before Winter break, on the 17th, about three weeks away. Please have at least one person on your team respond so that Consult and your reviewer know that you have read the information in your team's forum.

This weekend Kevin Claytor from Los Alamos High School will be making his presentation at the Siemens Westinghouse Competition Finals. Here is a link to his project: http://www.siemens-foundation.org/docs/2004_finalists_bios.pdf

Interesting NM Science Links

Ancient Observatories: Chaco Canyon [Macromedia Flash Player] http://www.exploratorium.edu/chaco/

The Chaco Canyon installment in the Ancient Observatories series is designed to introduce students to the field of archeoastronomy, the study of astronomy of ancient cultures. Available in both Flash/broadband and an html version for slower connections, the site includes a wealth of documentation of astronomical observations conducted from Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, from petroglyphs to NASA photographs. For example, see a 1997 photograph showing a supernova in a distant galaxy compared with a petroglyph created in AD 1054, thought to be a representation of a supernova in our own galaxy. There are also maps, animations showing seasonal alignments of the sun, and a time-lapse Quicktime movie showing how sunlight changes throughout the day at Chaco. Links are provided to NASA's Sun-Earth Day main site, featuring other ancient observatories, such as Stonehenge, and Sun Watchers Through Time. On December 21, 2004, at 12:00 noon PST, NASA and Observatorium plan to present a live webcast showcasing the work being done at Chaco Canyon. [DS]

The bird flu pandemic ... http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/11/25/birdflu.warning/index.html

Tuesday Morning Message, November 23, 2004

And a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

WebCT

You can now log into WebCT ( http://salsa.nmsu.edu), go to the AiSC homepage, and click on Discussion Forums. Your whole team will be able to access a threaded discussion about your Abstract and hints for your Interim Report. Abstract Reviews will be using the Discussion Forums to communicate with you. We expect to see some interesting conversations go on in these forums! Please make sure that all your team members are listed in your group.

Abstract Reviewers

Mentors

A Quote to Ponder

"My point is simply that it isn't enough just to learn -- one must learn how to learn, how to learn without classrooms, without teachers, without textbooks. Learn, in short, how to think and analyze and decide and discover and create."

-Michael Bassis (president, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, UT)

Monday Morning Message, November 15, 2004

Friends,

Hope you had a good day out of school for Veterans' Day! We think you might be able to find a science, programming or cheerleading mentor among the veterans in your town. Ask around!

Abstracts

Interims

Math/Science/Environment Teachers' Conference

Mentors

Siemens Foundation

Daniel Appel, Eldorado High School, Albuquerque
Robert Cordwell, Manzano High School, Albuquerque
Two other NM students were also named Regional Semi-finalists:
Kevin Claytor from Los Alamos High and Adita Dendluri from St. Pius in Albuquerque.

From this group of four, Kevin became a Regional Finalist and went on from there this weekend to become a National individual finalist, one of six in the nation! He has won $3000 and will compete in early December in Washington, D.C., for $100,000 in scholarships. His principal is Lynn Saccaro, Los Alamos High School. Here is a link to his project: http://www.siemens-foundation.org/2004/UT%20Austin

Congratulations to all of you! We are proud of you!

Projects developed by teams and individuals are submitted to Siemens in the fall. Therefore, Challenge teams should consider developing their projects over the summer after Awards Day for entry to the Siemens Westinghouse Competition. If you are a junior this year think about getting your project in shape for a Siemens entry in the fall. If you are interested, please contact consult@challenge.nm.org

Monday Morning Message, November 8, 2004

Challenge Community,

Technical writing is one aspect of the Challenge. We would like all abstracts up on WebCT (http://salsa.nmsu.edu) by this Friday, the 12th. Good work to the 14 teams who already have their's posted.

Here is a review on how to post your abstract.

WebCT Abstracts

1. Log in to WebCT, and click on the "New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge" link.
2. In the left-hand margin, click on the "Project Abstracts" link.
3. Scroll in the list of teams to find your team; note that you will only see an "Edit Files" link for your own team.
4. Click on the "Edit Files" link.
5. You are now looking at the contents (initially empty) of a folder which is shared by, and accessible to, the members of your team, and your sponsoring teacher(s).
6. You can create and edit an HTML file on-line, by doing the following:
   1. Click the "Create File" button on the right-hand side.
   2. Change the file name as desired in the "Filename" edit box (remember: your abstract will not be visible, unless it is in a file called index.html, or is in another HTML file linked to from a file called index.html).
   3. If you have created any subdirectories of your team's main shared directory, you can specify one of these with the "Folder" pull-down; however, the main index.html file must not be in a subdirectory.
   4. You can begin typing immediately in the "File Content" editing area; however, this will not give you full control over HTML formatting options. To get more formatting options, click the "HTML editor" button, below the "File Content" editing area. (Before the HTML editor appears, a Java applet will be downloaded automatically to your computer; you must click on the "Yes" button in the security dialog to allow this download.)
   5. When you are done editing, click the "Save" button, below the editing area.
7. Instead of editing your HTML file(s) on-line, you can upload them, using the "Upload" button (instead of the "Create File" button). (You can also upload images, and refer to them in your HTML pages.)
8. Important: Do not upload your abstracts as Word documents! Also, remember that you MUST end up with a file named index.html in your directory; this file will either contain your abstract, or link to your abstract.

Information about your WebCT password can be found in the NewFlashes Archives at http://challenge.nm.org/news_flash.shtml

If your team needs a visit from Consult this month to get you rolling on your school year long project, please let us know.

If you are having difficulty finding a mentor for your project, please let us know also. First do check out our mentor database at http://challenge.nm.org/Mentors/mentors.shtml Write any member of the this database an email and if you do not hear from them, please let us know. Remember to be polite and describe your project and needs to the mentor clearly.

Hope your research for your project is going well.

AiS Challenge Consulting, consult@challenge.nm.org

Monday Morning Message, November 1, 2004

Friends, New Mexicans, and Challenge Participants,

We enjoyed seeing and working with you all! Congratulations to everyone who won a door prize at the Keynote Session. Here is a packed full Monday Morning Message.

WebCT URL

WebCT IDS

Teachers, your ID is webct + (first initial) + (middle initial) + (first three letters of last name). For example, a teacher named Mary B. Rogers would have a WebCT ID of webctmbrog. (Where no middle name was given, the form is webct + (first initial) + (first four letters of last name).)

WebCT Passwords

Treasure Hunt (Some of you have done this already!)

Please have fun with the treasure hunt/quiz (all of the answers can be found within three mouse clicks of the WebCT homepage), and remember to fill in the last question (your requested password). At the end of each week, we will submit all password changes (whether requested via the Treasure Hunt or via other means) to NMSU, and notify those requesting the changes when the new passwords are in place.

WebCT Abstracts

1. Log in to WebCT, and click on the "New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge" link.
2. In the left-hand margin, click on the "Project Abstracts" link.
3. Scroll in the list of teams to find your team; note that you will only see an "Edit Files" link for your own team.
4. Click on the "Edit Files" link.
5. You are now looking at the contents (initially empty) of a folder which is shared by, and accessible to, the members of your team, and your sponsoring teacher(s).
6. You can create and edit an HTML file on-line, by doing the following:
   1. Click the "Create File" button on the right-hand side.
   2. Change the file name as desired in the "Filename" edit box (remember: your abstract will not be visible, unless it is in a file called index.html, or is in another HTML file linked to from a file called index.html).
   3. If you have created any subdirectories of your team's main shared directory, you can specify one of these with the "Folder" pull-down; however, the main index.html file must not be in a subdirectory.
   4. You can begin typing immediately in the "File Content" editing area; however, this will not give you full control over HTML formatting options. To get more formatting options, click the "HTML editor" button, below the "File Content" editing area. (Before the HTML editor appears, a Java applet will be downloaded automatically to your computer; you must click on the "Yes" button in the security dialog to allow this download.)
   5. When you are done editing, click the "Save" button, below the editing area.
7. Instead of editing your HTML file(s) on-line, you can upload them, using the "Upload" button (instead of the "Create File" button). (You can also upload images, and refer to them in your HTML pages.)
8. Important: Do not upload your abstracts as Word documents! Also, remember that you MUST end up with a file named index.html in your directory; this file will either contain your abstract, or link to your abstract.

Interims

Mentors

Consult

Tuesday Morning Message, October 19, 2004

Greetings,

Have you thought of a good real-world problem to work on? Remember that a computational science project has measurable data and behaviors that can be modeled.

KICKOFF DETAILS

Emergency phone numbers for the center include:

Glorieta Office: 505-757-6161
Betsy Frederick's cell number: 505-220-5050

As guests of the Glorieta Conference Center, please review and adhere to the rules of the center at

http://www.challenge.nm.org/glorieta/glorieta_rules.shtml

Teachers, when you arrive please first come to Holcomb Hall to register for the Challenge, pick up materials and get ID pictures taken. Second, register for your rooms and receive meal tickets at the New Mexico Hall.

People arriving on Sunday for our first session need to remember that meals will start at dinner. We furnish three meals for each group of students.

EMERGENCY EGRESS EPISTLE

http://www.hkoch.com/heels.cfm

Check out the vehicle occupant restraints, parachute canopy releases, and emergency lighting systems an engineering company thinks about when it plans for emergency egress.

MENTORS

http://challenge.nm.org/Mentors/mentors.shtml

REGISTRATION FEES

Looking forward to seeing you this next week. Got questions? Write to consult@challenge.nm.org!

Sincerely yours,
Consult
Nick Bennett, Grass Roots Consulting
Celia Einhorn, AiSC
Gina Fisk, LANL
Betsy Frederick, AiSC
David Kratzer, LANL
Irene Lee, Santa Fe Institute

Tuesday Morning Message, October 12, 2004

Good Morning Challenge Community!

The Challenge is about the components of Computational Science. One definition might be: Computational Science is the Application of Modeling and Math to Understand Real World Problems.

Ellen Lohman, one of the earliest teacher sponsors has sent us a link to an overview of computational science. We have added this link to our Teachers Web page because we especially like this information about "What is Computational Science, Anyway?", see it at:
http://www.enc.org/features/focus/archive/computational/document.shtm?input=FOC-003631-index

ABSTRACTS
Hints for abstracts can be found at http://challenge.nm.org/abstracts/abhints.shtml

Please bring a hard copy of your team's abstract. You will have an opportunity at the Kickoff to fine-tune it. In fact, you may decide to make some major changes, but you must bring an abstract to work from.

REGISTRATION FEE AND TEAM ENTRY AUTHORIZATION FORM
The registration fee for the Challenge year activities and the TEAFs are due now!

EMERGENCY EGRESS EPISTLE
Continuing to think about evacuations, here is a link about how to evacuate a ship: http://www.dcfp.navy.mil/mc/presentations/Egress.htm Each evacuation procedure has specific requirements and here are some interesting vocabulary for evacuating a ship: Stowage Berthing Photoluminsescent paint Enabling Objectives Donning Procedure Seed Holster

We are looking forward to seeing all 320 of you soon in beautiful Glorieta. We are told that the air is crisp and fresh and the trees are beautiful. You will probably want to plan to bring a jacket for cool evening. Classes will be held in the Holcomb auditorium class room area, see http://www.challenge.nm.org/glorieta/glorieta_map04.jpg for the areas of Glorieta that we will be using.

Have a great week!

Consult for the AiSC

Monday Morning Message, October 4, 2004

Happy Autumn! Happy October!

Deadline coming up - Tuesday, October 12th for two items:

1. TEAF (pdf file) or (HTML file) - the Team Entry Authorization Form - Address to mail to is at bottom of file. You can find this on the registration page at http://challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml
2. $30 Registration fee due for each student participating in the AiS Challenge. Scholarships are available. Please contact aisc-consult@lanl.gov

Edward MacKerrow of the Complex Systems Group in the Theoretical Division of the Los Alamos National Laboratory will be our keynote speaker on Monday at the kickoff. His talk will fit into our theme of emergency egress. He will discuss agent based simulation, insect colony algorithms, and some applications of these types of models, including tips and suggestions, lessons learned, real world applications, and the need for more of these types of models.

Before and at the kickoff, we will be studying how to simulate the evacuation of rooms, buildings, homes, and living areas in the event of emergencies.

Here is a link to consider for emergency egress from offices:

http://www.crowddynamics.com/Myriad/Office.htm

Look at all the diagrams and charts. The plan is simple to understand with risk based results and pictorial analysis. We hope to see similar strategies in your projects!

We will have an emergency egress "epistle" every week until the kickoff.

It is time to be thinking about your abstract. Guidelines for the abstract can be found at

http://challenge.nm.org/abstracts/abstract_guidelines.shtml

At Shiprock High, students involve their English teacher and the school librarian in their Challenge work. They work with them on technical writing and research and get a grade for their abstracts, interims and final reports. What a neat way to "kill two birds with one stone!"

Sincerely yours,
Consult
Nick Bennett, Grass Roots Consulting
Celia Einhorn, AiSC
Gina Fisk, LANL
Betsy Frederick, AiSC
David Kratzer, LANL
Irene Lee, Santa Fe Institute

Monday Morning Message, September 27th

Welcome to the 15th year of the New Mexico Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge (AiS Challenge)! We will celebrate our birthday in the evening at the kickoff.

You will be receiving a Monday Morning Message almost every Monday this school year. Sometimes, it becomes a Thursday afternoon message, but we will be in constant communication through email. These messages will review deadlines and have important information for the Challenge year. Give one member of your team the responsibility of sharing these communications with the rest of the team.

Please follow the steps 3 -- 9 on our registration page at

http://www.challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml.

• Understand the AUP - the Acceptable Use Policy.
• Choose a computational science project. See science projects, areas of science, and project development for ideas and look at past projects in the archives.
• Mail in the TEAF (pdf file) or (HTML file) - the Team Entry Authorization Form - Deadline October 12. (Address to mail to at bottom of file)
• $30 Registration fee due for each student participating in the AiS Challenge. (Send with the TEAF- Deadline October 12.
• Learn about the Kickoff - the activities, rules, and expectations
• Prepare your Abstract - you must bring one with you to the kickoff. See Abstract hints An Abstract template is to be filled out for each team.
• Look into the Future by browsing through the important dates.

Current deadlines here are October 12th for your TEAF, Team Entry Authorization Form, and your Challenge registration fee. Scholarships are available for the registration fee. Write to aisc-consult@lanl.gov for more information.

We will be studying how to plan evacuations from:

• Flooding, like from the rains in southeastern NM this weekend, or the eye of a hurricane in Florida
• Forest fires, like in Los Alamos or Pecos recently and
• Burning buildings, like planning a safety plan for your school or any large building.

This area of modeling is called emergency egress or exit. We will be having emergency egress bulletins all the way up to the kickoff in Glorieta the week of October 24th. We will talk about this topic at our keynote and in our classes.

We are looking forward to meeting you at the kickoff. In April, we hope that you will be able to say, "I took the Challenge!" You are undertaking a school year long project and we are proud of you!

Sincerely yours,

Consult, currently at aisc-consult@lanl.gov

Nick Bennett, Grass Roots Consulting
Celia Einhorn, AiSC
Gina Fisk, LANL
Betsy Frederick, AiSC
David Kratzer, LANL
Irene Lee, Santa Fe Institute

Monday Morning Message, September 13th

Friends,

You have one more week to register for the 15th annual Supercomputing Challenge. We will adhere to the deadline of September 20th because we have to order t-shirts, reserve rooms, and buy materials.

We hope we have a great showing for our 15th year. Come celebrate our birthday at the kickoff.

After you register individually, each team of students needs to register as a team. There are several things for you to share with your students and to send into us: see the Registration link.

1)      Each student must read the Acceptable Use Policy at
        http://challenge.nm.org/archive/04-05/aup.shtml
2)      Help your students choose a computational science project. See science
        projects, areas of science, and project development for ideas and look
        at past projects in the archives. 
3)      Mail in the TEAF (pdf file) or (HTML file) the Team Entry Authorization
        Form - Deadline October 12. (Address to mail to at bottom of file) 
4)      $30 Registration fee due for each student participating in the AiS
        Challenge. (Send with the TEAF- Deadline October 12. 
5)      Learn about the Kickoff: the activities, rules, and expectations.
6)      Help your students prepare their Abstract. They must bring one to the
        kickoff. See Abstract hints An Abstract template is to be filled out
        for each team. 

Our theme for this Kickoff Conference will be Emergency Egress and Ed MacKerrow will be our keynote speaker.

Remember, please write to consult@challenge.nm.org with any questions.

Consult

David Kratzer and Gina Fisk, LANL
Betsy Frederick and Celia Einhorn, AiSC and LANL
Irene Lee, Santa Fe Institute
Nick Bennett, Grass Roots Computing

AiS Challenge Consulting, consult@challenge.nm.org

Thursday Morning Message, September 9th

Colleagues,

Here is the first of many weekly messages you will be receiving from Consult and the New Mexico Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge!

We hope that you have already registered for the 15th annual Supercomputing Challenge! The deadline is September 20th. We can't wait to see you in Glorieta in October!

Please visit the registration page at

http://www.challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml

There you will read about the acceptable use policy, ideas for projects, the TEAF (Team Entry Authorization Form), registration costs, the kickoff, the abstract and dates for the year.

Allow me to clarify the registration fee. It is $30 per student and is for the Challenge year and not for the kickoff at Glorieta. Teachers, bus drivers and chaperones are our guests!

Our topic for this year is emergency egress, modeled after a project Goddard High did a couple years ago! You will be receiving Emergency Egress Emails to discuss with your teams shortly!

As always, please feel free to write to consult@challenge.nm.org with any questions, suggestions, kudos, chocolate (?), etc.

Help us celebrate our 15th year! We hope that it will be our best!

Warmly, Celia for Consult

Tuesday Morning Message, August 31st

Friends,

Please join us for the 15th annual Challenge. Please go to and print a flyer to place in your school for others to join. http://www.challenge.nm.org/archive/04-05/invitation_flyer.pdf

Can't wait to see each and every one of you at Glorieta, October 24 - 26th.

Here is the invite link:

http://www.challenge.nm.org/archive/04-05/invitation.shtml

AiS Challenge Consulting, consult@challenge.nm.org