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Weekly News FlashesMonday Morning Message, May 16, 2011Best Wishes from the Supercomputing Challenge staff with the culmination of another year of school. We wish the seniors well as they move on to new challenges. We hope you have all tooted your horns about your successes in the Supercomputing Challenge. If there are online articles about you, let us know and we'll add them to the publicity link at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/archive/10-11/expo/index.shtml#publicity More photos of the Expo and Awards Ceremony have been added to the Expo page as well. On Friday, May 6, ten schools in Doña Ana County got together to celebrate completing their first GUTS Club year. Meeting at Doña Ana Community College, they participated in Round Tables to share their projects and enjoy programming workshops. Topics included Flash, 3D graphics, and two robotics sessions. A fractals presentation opened the program. The eighth graders are looking forward to participating in the Challenge next year and the fifth-seventh graders will continue in GUTS with new projects. Congratulations all around! There are still some opportunities for students and teachers this summer. We have almost 30 teachers registered for the Summer Teacher Institute: http://www.challenge.nm.org/sti and spaces are available for students and teachers in the Summer Roundups, see: http://www.challenge.nm.org/sti/for_students.shtml Have a good rest of the year and we look forward to seeing many of you participating in the 2011-2012 Supercomputing Challenge. Sincerely yours, Monday Morning Message, May 2, 2011It's May, it's May, the lovely month of May! Expo/Awards DayOur end of the year celebration seems to get better and better with each passing year. We are especially proud of the first year teams who completed the Challenge marathon. We encourage these teams and the returning teams to come back next year. We wish all our seniors and especially the 20 scholarship winners all the best in their future endeavors and in college. We will invite them to join our alumni association and to come back and help us at the Kickoff and Awards Day. (Send Consult an email if you want to be added to the alumni email list.) Los Alamos Middle School team 72, Los Alamos High team 56, were named 1st, 2nd place winners and team 36 from Desert Academy in Santa Fe and 43 from Eldorado and La Cueva high schools in Albuquerque tied for 3rd place. Congratulations to the finalists and all of the awards winners for taking the Challenge! Visit the press release, and pictures of the Expo and the Awards Day. Natalie Willoughby from EPSCoR has just sent us 200 more pictures which we will post soon. Winners of awards: we appreciate you writing a thank you note to the organization or person who sponsored your awards. These volunteers and sponsors are the backbone of the Challenge. Supercomputing Challenge at the NMSTE/Innovate Educate ConferenceAt the April 29th-30th NMSTE/Innovate Education Conference, Talaya White, Challenge alum and mentor and Sara Harste, Desert Academy gave a presentation. Visit their recorded webinar, "The Black Death, Garbage Patches and the Supercomputing Challenge" at http://nmsu.na5.acrobat.com/p60482966 Dr. Ann Gates, keynote breakfast speaker, was introduced by Irene Lee, Principal Investigator for Project GUTS, GUTS Y Girls and President of the Supercomputing Challenge Board of Directors. The keynote topic was "Stuck in the Shallow End, Getting More Hispanics in Computing". Albert Simon teacher sponsor from Alamogordo presented a workshop entitled "Increasing Involvement and Success in Technology Among Minorities and Young Women". Dr. Richard Oliver, NMSU Associate Professor in the department of Accounting and Information Systems at New Mexico State University and Challenge mentor and facilitator, gave a talk outlining key Computational Thinking concepts. Summer OpportunitiesWe have many summer opportunities for students and teachers. We will have Summer Roundups at New Mexico State University, Northern New Mexico College, University of New Mexico, and in Las Vegas, and Silver City. Details for Roundups in Dona Ana County can be found at Seamless Summer: http://seamlesssummer.com. Information about the Albuquerque, Las Vegas, and Silver City Roundups will be up on that link soon. Write to Consult for more information. Additionally, GUTS y Girls workshops will be held in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. For information, Irene Lee ireneannelee @ gmail.com The Summer Teacher Institute will be held at New Mexico Tech during the last two weeks of July. Additionally, a Java programming course is open to teachers in the first two weeks of July at NMT. Graduate credit through the Master Science Teacher program at New Mexico is offered free to members of the Challenge and GUTS communities. Sincerely yours, Thursday Afternoon Message, April 21, 2011Congratulations to the first-round finalistsTeam 7 from Albuquerque Academy, Team 43 from Eldorado and La Cueva highs, Teams 56 and 66 from Los Alamos High and Teams 69 and 72 from Los Alamos Middle School. At the conclusion of the Expo, the Expo Judges will select another three or four teams to be second-round finalists. The schedule for Finalist presentations is at: http://challenge.nm.org//expo/finalist_sched.shtml Expo Presentation Schedule updateDouble check your Expo presentation time at: http://challenge.nm.org/expo/exposchedule.shtml arrive a half hour early to get registered (upstairs in the Study Center) and then find your presentation location. Scholarship InterviewsIf you applied for a scholarship, check the schedule page: http://challenge.nm.org/expo/scholarship_sched.shtml Phone NumbersIf you have need to contact us: WeatherThe weather forecast for Sunday through Tuesday of next week has a 30% chance of rain for Los Alamos with temperatures between 43 degrees in the mornings to 64 degrees in the afternoons so dress in layers and be prepared for the chance of rain. Do wear or bring comfortable walking shoes for the tours after your presentations. BradburyRemember the reception at the Bradbury Science Museum Monday night from 5:00-7:00, refreshments will be served. See the directions page on the Expo web site for a map that includes the Bradbury. SwimmingThere is the Walkup Aquatic Center if you want to take a dip while you are in Los Alamos. For more information see: http://www.losalamosnm.us/rec/aquatic/Pages/default.aspx Bus Access to LANLRemember, if you are coming in a bus, tell the bus driver to use Lane 7 of the Vehicle Access Portal and stop for the guard to make an inspection. Expo DetailsIf you have more questions, read over the Expo web page at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/expo then email Consult. Sincerely yours, Monday Afternoon Message, April 18, 2011Wow, are we excited! Only one week until the Expo. Double check the Expo schedule late Wednesday afternoon after the first-round finalists are announced. http://www.challenge.nm.org/expo/exposchedule.shtml Double check the housing lists and driving directions. Review the Expo details at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/expo 51 teams have submitted final reports and seven teams have entered the Web-based version of a Final Report competition. See them all at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/finalreports Be practicing your oral presentations and polishing up those poster displays. Don't forget about the 2011-2012 logo contest, the Challenge participants will vote for the best logo design for next year's Challenge. Don't forget to go to the Bradbury Science Museum on Monday night from 5:00-7:00 for a special Supercomputing Challenge reception. Tuesday morning's Award Ceremony is ramping up to be a high flying success. Sincerely yours, Monday Morning Message, April 11, 2011Expo and Awards Day49 Final Reports have been submitted and posted and the finalist judges are in the process of reviewing them and will select first round finalist teams next week. 38 Teams are registered for the Expo and Awards Day. That means that we still need to hear from a dozen or so more teams. Help us confirm our hotel reservations and order enough food by going to the registration link and letting us know your plans: http://challenge.nm.org/expo/registration.shtml. Remember that we need to know who is coming: bus drivers, teachers, parents, and teams so that we can be prepared. The housing lists have been posted for the Best Western and the Comfort Inn hotels in Los Alamos. If you live more that 60 miles from Los Alamos, check to make sure we have reserved a room for you. See: http://www.challenge.nm.org/expo/ and look for the Hotel arrangements. The Challenge covers the cost of the hotel. In general, students are placed four to a room and teachers two to a room. Rooms usually have two beds. Activities for this week:You can work on your poster presentation for the Expo. There are guidelines at http://challenge.nm.org/expo/displayboard.shtml. Your poster can become the basis for the Technical Poster. If you decide to enter the Graphical Poster contest for next year's logo, that design goes on a separate poster. Check out the details at http://challenge.nm.org/expo/logo_poster.shtml. This is probably not something you can get done on the bus on the way up the hill to Los Alamos! Web based presentations of Final Reports are due by 8:00 AM Monday, April 18, 2011. That is a week from today. Details are at http://challenge.nm.org/finalreports/html.shtml. Remember that at the Expo you will have 20 minutes to explain your project to a team of judges. Find some friends to practice your presentation or video yourselves. Friends can help you by letting you know if you are speaking clearly and if you are getting your ideas across. The Expo is an intimate setting but you still need to not be too soft-spoken. Here is the rubric the judges use to help them make good and helpful comments about your work. http://challenge.nm.org/expo/expo_rubric.pdf As always, please write to consult @ challenge.nm.org if you have questions about any part of Expo Award Days. Congratulations to Daniel Washington, Saturday Science and Math AcademyDaniel from Team 112 adapted his project and competed in the Senior Division, National Science Fair, of the National Society of Black Engineers, and took home Overall First Place. We are proud of you! "Spring is Fireball Season"The Science@NASA team is pleased to announce a new product: the ScienceCast.
Every week, we produce a short video highlighting a topic in NASA science news.
This week's episode is about the night sky. Check out "Spring is Fireball Season"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssMdlTbvHJk
Keep up the good work and we'll see you soon! Betsy, Celia and David for Consult. Monday Afternoon Message, April 4, 2011Final Reports! Due Wednesday, April 6.Email your final report to: finalreport11 @ challenge.nm.org See the details at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/finalreports Registration for Expo-Awards Day: Wednesday, April 6.If your team plans to attend, please fill out and submit the form at http://challenge.nm.org/expo/registration.shtml. Make sure you register as a TEAM, not individually. The Challenge will make the hotel reservations based on the information on the registration form. Be sure to include everyone who might be coming, teachers, chaperones, bus drivers ... There is still time to . . .Nominate your teacher sponsor for Teacher Appreciation Award. Send your nomination to Consult. Decide whether or not your team is entering the Web Based Presentation due April 18th. Details at http://challenge.nm.org/finalreports/html.shtml Make your display poster board. http://challenge.nm.org/expo/displayboard.shtml Practice your presentation. Have a 20 minute presentation ready to go and be ready for questions. You can bring a laptop to use in your presentation but you'll need to return it to your vehicle before going on the tours. Review the judges' rubrics for Finalist Judging: http://challenge.nm.org/expo/finalist_rubric.pdf Judging Criteria for the Expo: http://challenge.nm.org/expo/expo_rubric.pdf One team has ready submitted their final report and four teams have already registered to attend the Expo. We are looking forward to seeing your final reports and to greeting all of you in Los Alamos for the Expo and Awards Day. Betsy, Celia, and David for Consult Monday Morning Message, March 28, 2011Happy Spring,Checklist for teams:
Wow, it is a busy time of the Challenge year. Thanks to Nick and Harry! The Challenge revolves around the work of some dedicated volunteers. Harry Henderson and Nick Bennett helped students from Picacho Middle School with a tutorial on March 6th. They were in Albuquerque to go on the UNM Tour. Reports on the ToursHolly Campbell, Freedom High, Albuquerque, shares "I had a wonderful time on the Sandia tour. We went first to a solar energy tower, which uses concentrated solar energy to create power, or melt through metals in 30 seconds or less. They also use it to test how quickly the glass on fighter jets, which is now also used in transition lenses, changes from clear to sun shaded. Afterwards, we went to a presentation on what supercomputers are used for, which doubled as an advertisement program for their flash 3D system and their extremely high definition screen. Next we went to visit their supercomputer rooms where they had several processors, and memory storage units, each storing several hundred terabytes. We then had a great lunch consisting of Dion's pizza, sodas, and cookies. We then visited a building where they make microchips. We saw their clean rooms on a tour guided by someone who appreciates star trek as much as I do, and learned how clean rooms are kept "clean," and the process they use to dress themselves in clean suits. The last thing we did on our trip was the visit the core reactor. It was interesting on it is own, but I found the most interesting thing about it was that it wasn't in a building built for it. The building was built, seemingly as a giant garage, before they even knew they were going to have a core, and then the core was moved into it after wards. We all got scanned for radiation, even though there was no possibility of getting a mentionable amount without sticking out hands in the tank, as it was turned off. Leonel Herrera, from Picacho Middle School in Las Cruces, writes, "We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express and rested half an hour. Later Nick Bennett was in the lobby of the hotel waiting to help us to make the StarLogo model better and to help us with the PowerPoint. We learned that the UNM CARC (Center for Advanced Research Computing) was an old store of cars and that 3-D glasses use infrared to get the signals of the computer to do the 3-D effects. We saw movies in a big dome in a room and we know how different projectors work together to make only one picture." Felicia Martinez, also from Picacho, writes, "The GUTS group went on a field trip to Albuquerque to learn more about things we can do for our project, and we learned about other students' projects. There were two schools at UNM. Those middle schools were Picacho Middle School and Jackson Middle School. We learned that plasma was made out of energy and gasses such as helium and can create bombs or a power plant with energy. Also we saw how UNM students made robots with sensor detectors on them to move if they sense something in front of them and they told us that they will try to get something like a GPS on them if they had a specific destination and to make a 3-D map if it will need it. Finally in our last class we were with an assistant professor at UNM named Jamesina and she told us about her project on the different types of waves. There are many type of waves like if you call someone on your cell phone it will send phone waves and how the earthquakes and lightning storms can have waves to go across the world. Thank you for reading my paragraph on the field trip and letting us go on the field trip." Summer ProgramsSanta Fe Institute and Groton School Explore complexity science through ecology research in the fields and woodlands of northeastern Massachusetts. The Santa Fe Institute and Groton School--respective leaders in the field of complex systems and college prep education-offer this intensive two-week residential program on the Groton campus. Using computer modeling, field data, discussions and seminars, and team collaborations you'll conduct research in cutting edge complexity science. Days are made up of instruction, small working group sessions, and research time combined with sports and extra-curricular events. Excursions include a trip to Boston, hiking Mt. Monadnock and a canoe expedition. Scholarships available. Also alphabetically under Summer Programs, there are other opportunities for you: http://challenge.nm.org/resources We are also planning free Summer Roundups for teachers and students in Silver City, Espanola, Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Gadsden this summer. Stay tuned for details. Sincerely yours, Monday Afternoon Message, March 14, 2011Spring Break? Hope you are having, had or will have a wonderful spring break.Sandia Labs and UNM ToursIf you went on the Sandia or UNM tour and would like to write a short report, please send it to Consult. We think the Challenge community would like to hear about the two tours. Teacher Appreciation NominationsSo nominate your teacher sponsor to be recognized at the Awards Day Ceremony on Tuesday, April 26th in Los Alamos. Send Consult a note on why you think your teacher should be recognized. Project Display BoardA display board can be a critical component of your presentation. It is what people see first; it helps establish the quality of the project. Display boards can be purchased (at minimal cost) from your local hobby store, or constructed from many durable materials such as pegboard, cork board, particle board, or foam board. There is an award for the individual(s) who design the best display board. The winning design will also serve as the cover for the publication of the compiled finalists' reports. Details at http://www.challenge.nm.org/expo/displayboard.shtml Final Reports due April 6thRemember, you have about three weeks, 23 days, to prepare your final written report. Look here for some guidance: http://challenge.nm.org/finalreports/specs.shtml Science LinksResearch into human disease, climate and astronomy are set to benefit from a supercomputer facility launched in Melbourne. Supercomputingly yours, Monday Morning Message, March 7, 2011Project EvaluationsThe Project Evaluations at New Mexico Tech last Saturday went well. Over 50 teams have presented their projects and gotten feed back from the judges. Sandia Labs and UNM ToursToday, approximately thirty Challenge participants will be touring Sandia National Laboratories while another thirty Challenge participants will be touring the University of New Mexico. Graphics Poster ContestStart thinking now about creating a graphical poster to enter into the contest for next year's logo. See http://challenge.nm.org/archive/09-10/expo/logo_poster.shtml for more details. The logos submitted the past few years have been a little difficult to convert to silk screen masters so you might want to contact a local company that prints t-shirts to see what they recommend you do to create a logo for the 2011-2012 Supercomputing Challenge. Teams will bring the graphics posters to the Expo where all Challenge participants will vote for the best logo for the next year. Final Reports due April 6thRemember, you have less than a month to prepare your final written report. Start working on it now. Science LinksStudents get access to the latest technology. Read more at; http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2011/03/03/Dulce-Gallup-high-schools-new-PV-systems.html?ed=2011-03-03&s=article_du&ana=e_du_pub Or, take advantage of wind energy when you search the web:
http://www.gigablast.com Sincerely yours, Monday Morning Message, February 28, 2011Merry Month of MarchThere is a little more than five weeks until April 6 when Final Reports are due. Please take advantage of the comments from the Evaluation judges and seek help from mentors as you make the next steps towards completing the projects you began in September or October. Please write to Consult if you would like additional help. Remember to include your name and team number when you write. New Mexico Tech EvaluationsNext Saturday, March 5, is the last opportunity for Evaluations. The session will be at New Mexico Tech in Socorro. Please write to Consult if you plan to attend and aren't on the schedule. Sandia/UNM Tours, March 7thSignup is complete for the Sandia tour and registration for the UNM visit closes on Wednesday, the 2nd of March. To register, write to Consult with the names of those coming, school name and team number(s). The UNM tour will include the Center for Advanced Research Computing (learn about high performance computing and high speed networks), the ARTS Lab (home of Digital Media Garage), lunch with Computer Science, and the afternoon learning about Engineering programs. Mentoring/Tutoring - Afternoon of March 6thTeams who are travelling to Albuquerque for the tours can sign up for a tutorial Sunday afternoon before the Tours. If you are not planning to attend a tour but would like help with your project, please write to Consult. Scholarships for SeniorsThe application process will be online and current high school seniors registered with the Challenge were notified by email of the steps in the online process (to send their letters and scanned transcripts to Celia Einhorn). Please write to Consult if you are a senior and haven't received information about the online process. Message from a mentor about experiments:Here is a note Talaya White sent to one of the teams she is mentoring: "One thing to keep in mind is that you are creating an experiment in order to find out something you don't know already. Understanding the difference between an experiment and an illustration is something that a lot of teams have a hard time with. The best way I've found to think about this is to ask the questions "Could I find an answer to this question on Google?" and "Will my model show me anything I didn't know before?" An experiment is something that generates data (which could be numbers but could also be more visual, such as groups of infected people in close proximity to each other), and that data shows you something that you couldn't have proven without it." Keep up the good work! The Evaluation Judges report that we will see exciting projects at the Expo in April. We are looking forward to that! Sincerely yours, Tuesday Morning Message, February 22, 2011Computer Wins on 'Jeopardy!': Trivial, It's NotLast week Watson, an IBM computer, beat a champion human Jeopardy contestant. Read all about it here and find the answers to these questions: Why is the computer named Watson? And what question did Watson miss? February EvaluationsOur appreciation goes to our judges and hosts at NNMC and UNM for the February 19th Evaluations. A hearty Challenge thank you to Jorge Crichigno and Tim Thomas, hosts, and NNMC judges John Paul Gonzales, Cleve Moler, Anthony Sena and David Torres and UNM judges Mike Davis, Janeen Anderson, Scott Wilson (Challenge Alumnus), Melanie Moses, Tom Hayes, Max Lazo, Elizabeth Marie Kallman, Taylor Groves, Chuck Burch, Dorian Arnold, and Dana Roberson. Teams in Los Alamos and Melrose, please check the schedule for your evaluations. If your team has had to miss its evaluation, please write to Consult to schedule a time at New Mexico Tech on Saturday the 5th of March. http://challenge.nm.org/evaluations Sandia/UNM Tour, March 7thToday Tuesday, 22 February at NOON is the deadline for signing up for the Sandia Tour. Please write to sandiatour11 at challenge dot nm dot org. BEFORE noon with your Name, Date of Birth, City and State of Birth, School Name, School Address, and Team Number. For the UNM tour, we just need to know the names of those coming. Please write to Consult by the 2nd of March with the names of those coming, school name and team number(s). Scholarships for SeniorsThe application process will be online and current high school seniors registered with the Challenge were notified by email of the steps in the online process. Milestone Alert!It’s time to double check your calendars and be sure that these
dates are set: You can find out about these events online at the Challenge web page and we'll be sending you links and information to help you prepare. But for now, be sure these are on your calendars. Sincerely yours, Monday Morning Message, February 14, 2011Happy Valentine's Day,Enjoy your chocolate today! The candy company Mars has approached the Department of Agriculture and IBM in order to sequence and analyze the cocoa genome, through the use of a supercomputer. What? Cocoa genome? Why would Mars want to see the genome of their cocoa? Check it out! February EvaluationsOur thanks and appreciation go to our judges and hosts at NMSU and SFCC for the February 12th Evaluations. A hearty Challenge thank you to Shaun Cooper and Talaya White, hosts, and Larry (Gus) Landis, Chuck Burch, Tom Laub, Sharon Deland, and alumnae, Rocky Navarrete, Nayeli Ramirez and Dennis Trujillo. Teams in Albuquerque, northern NM, and in Las Vegas, please check the schedule once again for the February 19th evaluations. http://challenge.nm.org/evaluations Talaya shared that the evaluations at SFCC went well but teams said the judges do ask hard questions. Teams need to pay attention to the judges' suggestions as they will be some of the same judges at the Expo and Finalist Judging. Sandia/UNM Tour, March 7thIt's time to sign up for the tours of Sandia National Laboratories or UNM. The following information is needed for every participant for the Sandia Tour: Name, Date of Birth, City and State of Birth, School Name, School Address, and Team Number. For the UNM tour, we just need to know the names of those coming. See the announcements at: http://challenge.nm.org/archive/10-11/sandiatour For the Sandia tour, we need to know THIS week, if you would like to attend. Scholarships for SeniorsThe application process is all online and current high school seniors registered with the Challenge will be notified by email of the steps in the online process. Supercomputing Challenge Announces New OfficersAt its November meeting, the Supercomputing Challenge Board of Directors elected new officers. Irene Lee will serve as president and Edward Angel as vice president. David Kratzer and Mike Topliff will continue to serve as secretary and treasurer, respectively. Irene Lee is the Principal Investigator and Program Director for Santa Fe Institute's Project GUTS: Growing Up Thinking Scientifically and GUTS y Girls Previously, she designed and programmed educational and video games for Electronic Arts and Theatrix Interactive/Berkeley Learning Technologies and worked in informal education as a science and technology specialist within out of school time programs. Irene is the past president of the Swarm Development Group and serves on the board of directors of the Santa Fe Science Initiative and the Santa Fe Complex. She received her BA in Pure Mathematics from the University of Chicago and her EdM in Technology in Education from Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Edward Angel is Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at the University of New Mexico. He is the Founding Director of the Art, Research, Technology and Science Laboratory (ARTS Lab) at UNM. He is the first UNM Presidential Teaching Fellow. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of the Santa Fe Complex (sfcomplex.org) and on the Governor's Council on Film and Media Industries. He is co-PI of the NSF Partnership for Innovation grant "A Consortium for Fulldome Development," a project involving UNM, the Santa Fe Complex and the Institute of American Indian Arts. He received a BS in Engineering from the California Institute of Technology and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California. Welcome Irene and Ed. Thanks to outgoing President, Bill Blackler and Vice President, Ron Davis, Abba Technologies. We so appreciate your time and expertise. Is There An App for that?Joshua Thorp, Challenge Alumni, mentor, judge and facilitator, and Stephen Guerin, mentor, judge and facilitator, developers from the Santa Fe Complex, "a civic-minded technology and design think tank in New Mexico", have helped develop a new app, called Street Bump," which would automatically report potholes to the city by sensing when a car has hit a bump. The app, in development, would be sensitive enough to identify cracks and divots, alerting Boston city officials to pavement problems before they become car-crunching craters." For more info, click here. Way to go, friends! Sincerely yours, Monday Morning Message, February 7, 2011Good Day,Hope you are staying warm. Rather amazing that NM had the coldest temperatures in the nation last week. Tips for your February EvaluationHere are some tips for your PowerPoint presentation. Effective Presentations PPT from STI 2001 Here is the Judging Form that you will receive after your presentation. Bring your presentation on a laptop or on a flash drive. We hope to have StarLogo TNG, NetLogo and Microsoft Office will be on all machines. Please let us know if you will need any other software installed. Please check the schedules at http://challenge.nm.org/evaluations/schedule.shtml and contact Consult if you have difficulty with your assigned time or location. The schedules are subject to change so please check back during the week of your evaluation for last minute changes. This Saturday, Project Evaluations will be held at NMSU for teams from Deming, Hatch and Las Cruces, and at SFCC for teams in Santa Fe. TechGYRLSThe YWCA is now accepting registration for residential TechGYRLS camp TNT (Teens for New Technology). Camp is for any girl ages 9-14 and takes place in Tijeras at the YWCA Pinon Canyon Center, behind the Sandia Ranger's Station. This year, the YWCA has expanded to four separate weeks of instruction. Each week has a different theme. June 5-11 "Me and My Robot" June 12-18 "Science of Sports" June 19-25 "Film and Technology" and June 26- July 3rd "Technology and the planet". 1 week costs $350, 2 weeks $600, 3 weeks $900 and all 4 weeks is $1,000. There are limited scholarships available to those who can demonstrate need. If you would like to register, know a student who could benefit from a scholarship, or would like to volunteer at camp please contact Youth Director, Melanie Madrid at (505)254-9922 Ext 105 or at mmadrid @ ywca-nm.org Scholarships for SeniorsPlease check out the information page http://challenge.nm.org/expo/scholarships.shtml Online applications are due the 28th of February. Any senior who finishes her project is eligible for a scholarship. March 7th: Tour Either Sandia National Labs or UNM Center for Advanced Research ComputingWatch this page for details - http://challenge.nm.org/archive/10-11/sandiatour Get a bus for that day. Plan to stay overnight if you live more than 75 miles from Albuquerque. Game-Like Simulations Boost Disaster PreparednessJohns Hopkins University Center for Advanced Modeling in the Social, Behavioral and Health Sciences brings the power of computer-based simulation to bear on a host of real-world hardships, such as disease, economic turbulence and catastrophic disasters. Agent-based models, or ABMs, are "highly visual and spatially realistic. Read more by clicking on heading link. Send any questions about evaluations, the tour, your project to Consult and we will try to get back to you asap. Supercomputingly yours, Monday Morning Message, January 31, 2011February Project EvaluationsThe schedule has been posted for the February Project Evaluations. See: http://www.challenge.nm.org/evaluations and http://www.challenge.nm.org/evaluations/schedule.shtml to find when and where your team has been assigned to present. Let Consult know if you need to change your scheduled time. Sandia/UNM Tours-March 7thWe have settled on March 7th as the date for the tours. We'll be asking for commitments soon so that we can plan the details. Supercomputing in Plain English classCheckout the "Tyranny of the Storage Hierarchy" lecture in tomorrow's SiPE lecture from Oklahoma University. When: Tuesdays 1:00-2:00pm Mountain. See: http://www.oscer.ou.edu/education.php for details. There is a chance this talk might be postponed due to bad weather. US Cyber ChallengeThe Supercomputing Challenge encourages its participants to get involved with other programs and events so that you can find opportunities that interest you. Check out the video below about the US Cyber Challenge (http://www.uscyberchallenge.org).
http://vimeo.com/19286247 Past Challenge Participant, Future Interplanetary Scientist?Read this interesting interview with Erika DeBenedictis, a multi-year participant in the Supercomputing Challenge: http://www.dailybrink.com/?p=975 Science LinkTimeline: America's Space Program Sincerely yours, Monday Morning Message, January 24, 2011January Peer ReviewsPractice your public speaking this month in preparation for the February Project Evaluations. See: http://www.challenge.nm.org/peer_review.html for details. February Project EvaluationsThe schedule has been posted for the February Project Evaluations. See: http://www.challenge.nm.org/evaluations and http://www.challenge.nm.org/evaluations/schedule.shtml to find when and where your team has been assigned to present. Let Consult know if you need to change your scheduled time. We expect each team to present their project and judges will be expecting to listen and comment on the presentations. Don't stand them up by being a no-show! They are there to help you and be your advocates come April. Supercomputing in Plain English classTake advantage of a FREE online course in Supercomputing: This semester, Oklahoma University is again going to run their "Supercomputing in Plain English" (SiPE) workshop series. When: Tuesdays 1:00-2:00pm Mountain starting Tue Jan 25. See: http://www.oscer.ou.edu/education.php for details. You can watch it via QuickTime Broadcaster or EVO. See the above website for details. Slides will be posted before the class which you can download and use to follow along. If you miss a live session, the video of it can be watched at a later time. Let us know if you participate. March tours of Sandia and UNMWe're still deciding on March 7th or March 14th for tours of Sandia Laboratories and the University of New Mexico. Teams that participate in the February Project Evaluations are eligible to participate. More details will soon be posted at http://www.challenge.nm.org/archive/10-11/sandiatour Science LinkGirls, are you inventive? An MIT survey thinks so, and we need YOU to prove it! See the article at: http://web.mit.edu/invent/n-pressreleases/n-press-11index.html Young women in the United States represent an untapped group of potential inventors, according to the 2011 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index. The latest gauge on the perceptions of invention and innovation focuses on people between the ages of 16 and 25, and shows that women have many characteristics necessary to become inventors. The characteristic women most associate with inventors is creativity, and while 71 percent said they were creative, only 27 percent said they were inventive. Among men, 66 percent said they were creative and 39 percent said they were inventive. Also, 42 percent of women said math and science were their favorite subjects in school, compared with 53 percent for men, and 35 percent said they have a family member working in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM). The index shows that women have an innate interest in inventive fields, but less than 10 percent are pursuing STEM degrees. "This country needs innovative new programs to stimulate the interest of young men and women in STEM and to challenge them to use their intellect and creativity to invent solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems," says Chad Mirkin, a member of the U.S. President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. "Women have an enormous amount to offer in this regard, but aren't currently pursuing science or technology fields at a high enough rate." Sincerely yours, Tuesday Morning Message, January 18, 2011News from Dona Ana CountyOn Saturday, January 15, at Dona Ana County Community College in Las Cruces, 25 GUTS Club and Supercomputing Challenge teachers participated in an all day workshop to prepare for the spring Climate Change curricula for Project GUTS. Team sponsors from Picacho Middle School (Las Cruces) and Red Mountain Middle School (Deming) reviewed their Challenge team progress with the parent leader of the Las Cruces-Onate-Mayfield team. This group represents each high school in Las Cruces and all of the middle schools in Gadsden Unified and Las Cruces School Districts. Many of them attended the Kickoff and will be coming to Los Alamos in April. The Challenge teams will be going to NMSU for their February 12 Evaluation. And that brings us to Evaluations statewideEvaluations schedules are being prepared for NMSU, NMCC, UNM, SFCC, NMHU and New Mexico Tech. If your team is near one of these universities, you will be scheduled at that site for a one-half hour evaluations. This is a key Challenge year milestone. If you didn't see last week's message, please review the information at http://challenge.nm.org/evaluations. It is important to note that it is best if all team member can attend. Note, too, that the schedule at each site is subject to change to meet the scheduling needs of teams. If your team cannot attend the Evaluation at the college nearest you, you can write to Consult and ask to be scheduled at another university on a different Saturday. Consult can almost always find a date and place for your team to present its work. Again, this is one of our important milestones. Sandia - UNM ToursPlanning continues for the Tours for March 7 or 14th. Stay tuned as the date and schedules are finalized. Fractal FridaysIf you haven't ever attended that First Friday Fractals at the NM Natural History Museum, the first Friday of every month, you have a treat in store. These events are held at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History in Albuquerque. What are fractals? Check it out at http://fractalfoundation.org. This beautiful geometry is science and mathematics and art, too. Tickets for First Friday Fractals are available only online and in advance at: http://fractalfoundation.org/fractal-shows/first-friday-fractals/. Google Scholarships*Dr. Anita Borg devoted her adult life to revolutionizing the way we think about technology and dismantling barriers that keep women and minorities from entering computing and technology fields. Her combination of technical expertise and fearless vision continues to inspire and motivate countless women to become active participants and leaders in creating technology. In her honor, Google is proud to honor Anita's memory and support women in technology with the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship. Google hopes to encourage women to excel in computing and technology and become active role models and leaders in the field. Read more about this scholarship and other Google scholarships at http://www.google.com/anitaborg. Recipients also will attend a 2-3 day retreat at Google (which is an amazingly cool and fabulous opportunity!). *Thanks to Carl Bogardus at Chaparral Middle School for this link. Climate Change and SustainabilityThis article is from the National Science Foundation Media Gallery. We think you will find this an interesting example of a resilient people coping with climate change. Resilience
of Siberian Nomads (Image 1)
A winter camp of nomadic Nenets in the forest-tundra zone near Nadym, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Tent (chum) coverings are made of reindeer skins and some sledges are decorated with colorful textiles. These nomadic, pastoral herders have been in western Siberia, Russian, for over a thousand years, but changes such as industrial development, climate change and socio-economic upheaval may threaten their lifestyle. [Image 1 of 5 related images. See Image 2.] More about this Image Continue your good work. We look forward to seeing you in February. Monday Morning Message, January 10, 2011Thank you to review team!Challenge teams and Consult are very appreciative of the time and care reviewers have taken to give teams thoughtful feedback on the work reflected in Interim reports. Several team have written thank you notes to reviewer noting how they will take advantage of the suggestions the reviewers have made. If you have received your review please do not procrastinate in sending an acknowledgment to your reviewer. And remember, too, that the reviewers are judges and will be interested in seeing at the Evaluations in February how you have taken advantage of the assessments of your Interim reports. February EvaluationsPlease keep an eye on the schedule of Evaluations. You will be assigned to a university campus as near to your school as possible for your team's Evaluation. If the date is in conflict with another activity and you will be unable to attend, please write to Consult as soon as possible so that your schedule can be changed. Team members will make an oral presentation of approximately 20 minutes with 10 minutes for questions and answers, not to exceed 30 minutes, to a team of Supercomputing Challenge judges so that the judges can better understand the project, review progress and offer advice and direction on overcoming obstacles or finding additional resources. NOTE: All team members do not have to be present - but it is highly recommended that they be there if not competing elsewhere. Sandia-UNM Engineering and Computing Tours - Save the Date!Plans are underway for teams who have turned in Interim reports and attended an Evaluation to attend a tour at Sandia National Lab or the University of New Mexico. The Tours will held on Monday, March 7. Stay tuned for details as the schedule develops. ThinkQuestThe Challenge encourages participants to take advantage of other competitions with their projects. Take a look at the ThinkQuest International Competition 2011. The submission deadline is just after the Challenge Expo next April. Teams can choose any problem to solve and can leverage existing schoolwork across a broad range of curricula, including Writing, Social Studies, Civics, History, Science, Mathematics, Art, and Technology/ICT. See Entry Examples for ideas. All entries must be submitted in English. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.This week we remember and honor Dr King. Here are some of his thoughts on science and religion: "Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. They are complementary. Science keeps religion from sinking into the valley of crippling irrationalism and paralyzing obscurantism. Religion prevents science from falling into the marsh of obsolete materialism and moral nihilism." -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Keep up the good work! We look forward to seeing you in February. Betsy, Celia, and David for Consult Monday Morning Message, January 3, 2011Happy New Year,Don't be driven in 2000 and eleven, but do meet all your Challenge milestones. Recommended January Peer Review February Face to Face Presentation at a College Near You Online Application for Senior Scholarships due on Feb. 28th Interim ReportsYou should receive online feedback on your report by Monday, the 10th. If you have not, please write to consult @ challenge.nm.org (There are spaces in there to prevent spam). Hispanic Cultural Fund at UNMThe Kick-Off Beginning in the summer, approximately 100 high school students will experience a university campus for a four-day, three-night college empowerment program where students will learn to overcome both real and perceived barriers to college access. The students will participate in college and career workshops, connect with local Hispanic professionals, meet college admissions officers, interact with near-peer mentors, listen to inspirational speakers, and compete for scholarships. Click here to apply for the 2011 New Mexico HYI Kick-Off. Scholarships Launched in 1993, the Hispanic College Fund scholarship program identifies the nation's most promising Hispanic college students and rewards their academic achievement with educational scholarships. As of 2010, the Hispanic College Fund has awarded nearly $15 million in scholarships to over 5,400 students. The Hispanic College Fund is accepting scholarship applications now through March 1, 2011 for the 2011-2012 academic year. Scholarships range from $500 - $10,000. Click here to apply now! The deadline is March 1, 2011. 8 year olds get publishedFrom Thomas Christie, past teacher sponsor at Desert Academy and Summer Teacher Facilitator and Mr. G at Artesia High This is wonderful. You can read the full paper here: From the conclusion: "Before doing these experiments we did not really think a lot about bees and how they are as smart as us. We also did not think about the fact that without bees we would not survive, because bees keep the flowers going. So it is important to understand bees. We discovered how fun it was to train bees. This is also cool because you do not get to train bees everyday. We like bees. Science is cool and fun because you get to do stuff that no one has ever done before. (Bees-seem to-think!)" 8-Year-Olds Publish Scientific Bee Study - Slashdot "A group of British schoolchildren may be the youngest scientists ever to have their work published in a peer-reviewed journal. In a new paper in Biology Letters, children from... Start thinking about your final report now. Ask your English teacher for extra credit for writing a technical paper. Ask her if she will help you edit. Read your paper out loud as you are working on it. Consider submitting your final report to a peer-reviewed journal. Write to Consult for details. Geeks wish you happy holidays, musicallySincerely yours, Monday Morning Message, December 13, 2010Happy Holidays! This last week before Winter Break, we wish you health and happiness. Interim ReportsYou will be receiving an online response to your interim report sometime before January 10th. Please respond to your reviewer and pay attention to her advice. Contests to ConsiderIt is good to leverage the work you do with the Challenge with other contests. Take your project and use it in the science fair or in another venue. Congrats to Holden Hyer, Bernalillo sophomore who received a $2,000.00 scholarship/savings bonds for "The Thing To Do," an essay on a current issue. His teacher, Valerie Salas, won $100 also from Sandia National Labs. Think Quest International Competition 2011Students: Work with friends to solve a problem and share your idea with the world. Are you up for the challenge? Explore the steps below to learn more: Web Design Contest
Upcoming DatesRecommended January Peer Review Project Evaluation Saturday, February 5, 2011 through Saturday, February 26, 2011 GUTS NewsA roundtable discussion and a workshop were held at Dona Ana Community College on Friday, December 10th. More than 100 teachers and students from the Gadsden and Las Cruces attended. Another roundtable took place in Santa Fe at the Santa Fe Community College on the 11th. Both groups observed Computer Science Education Week. Supercomputing NewsSandia Labs researchers nab 65 million hours on a supercomputer! Read more at http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2010/12/10/Sandia-Lab-researchers-supercomputer.html?ed=2010-12-10&s=article_du&ana=e_du_pub On behalf of our entire community, Consult, judges, mentors, and facilitators, we wish you a safe vacation and holiday season and know you will come back in 2011 ready to complete our academic marathon. Sincerely yours, Monday Morning Message, December 6, 2010Happy Computer Science Education Week,You will be getting daily suggestions for computer science videos and audio announcements to share with your schools. Please let us know how that is going! Have a discussion with your principal, other students and teachers about how schools would run without computers. We see you as the creators of IT (Information Technology) not just the consumers. Creators are respected as they provide progress and pleasure to the rest of humanity. The whole process of creating brings progress and wealth to society. Include your ideas about technology in your discussion of Computer Science Week with your educational community. Interim ReportsBeing in the Challenge gives you project and time management experience. An important milestone is Friday, December 10th, when your Interim Report is due. We hear that St. Mike's in Santa Fe has theirs completed but not submitted yet! Kudos to them and we know that they will be posting it to the site this week: http://www.challenge.nm.org/interims Project GUTS NewsStudents from Edgewood Elementary School and Jackson Middle School in Albuquerque met for a Roundtable at the New Mexico Natural History Museum. They participated in activities with the Climate Change Educator in addition to presenting projects. Student reporters from Jackson will be sending in a report shortly. GUTS y Girls is a science, technology, math and engineering (STEM) program
for 6th-8th grade girls in New Mexico. It is currently being implemented in
Santa Fe. GUTS y Girls was designed to engage "gutsy" girls in exciting
technology-based learning experiences that expose them to and prepare them
for future careers in STEM and information and communication technologies (ICT). Expanding Your HorizonsA conference to motivate young women in science and mathematics will be held Saturday, Jan 29th, 8 - 1 at CNM for girls grades 5 -9. See the EYH web page and registration information at http://nmnwse.org/ceyh . Later on in 2011, there will be similar conferences in Silver, Santa Fe and Los Alamos. Science LinkScientists use NM CAC's Encanto supercomputer to unravel ribosome mystery.
"Theoretical biologists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have used a New
Mexico supercomputer to aid an international research team in untangling
another mystery related to ribosomes - those enigmatic jumbles of molecules
that are the protein factories of living cells." Summer OpportunitiesIt is not too early to think about what you will be doing next summer. There are some great opportunities out there for you. Go to http://www.challenge.nm.org/resources/#summer_programs. Some have early deadlines, like the Research Science Institute's January 14th deadline, so check them out and start applying. We are looking forward to reading your Interim Reports. Sincerely, Monday Morning Message, November 29, 2010Greetings!Interim ReportsWe are looking forward to reading your reports. They are due on or before next Friday, 10 December 2010. However, we will be happy to see them before that deadline. The Interim Report guidelines are at http://challenge.nm.org/interims/interim_guidelines.shtml where there is an example of a thorough Interim Report. We will ask a scientist to review your Interim Report just as we asked them to review proposals in October. The more complete your Interim Report, the better able the scientist will be to make helpful comments about your work. To see the range of Reports submitted last year, you can go to http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/view_interims0910.php. Please include the correctly-spelled names of everyone on the team. This helps us double-check that we have the right team names associated with your team. It is ok if your team has changed since the Proposal was submitted. After you write your report, one person on the team submits the report. Upload it the way you submitted your Proposal. To upload your Interim Report, go to https://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/interim_login.php. OK? Ok! Competitions!Siemens We Can Change the World ChallengeWho - K - 12 students For Challenge Students Over 16: ImagineCupSupercomputing like competition from Microsoft Contact our Challenge Alum at NMT, Omar Soliman at Omar.Soliman @ msptechrep.com He states, "I believe this would be a great opportunity for the students to take their work to a national+ level, or even try another category other than programming (they have many divisions including game programming, IT, digital media, etc.). If they win the national competition Microsoft will fly them full-ride to internationals (this year in NYC). This would be for this coming spring's competition. I believe this would not only encourage more teams to finish the challenge, but also give them incentive to compete with students from other states." It is a great idea to leverage your Challenge project and use it for Science Fair, Science Olympiads, ImagineCup, research paper for English class, etc. National STEM Video Game Challenge Youth PrizeWho - 5th - 8th graders December 2-6 is Computer Science Education WeekWhy Computer Science?
Go to http://www.csedweek.org/why-computer-science to read more. In next week's MMM we'll be sending some ideas for activities to celebrate CSEd Week. Meanwhile, what would a day without computers be like? Climate Change Conference in CancunThis week the United Nations is convening scientists and climate change citizen scientists from around the world to meet to enact new international treaties. Here is a New York Times article that outlines some of the important issues, including whether or not poorer countries should have to meet the same standards as big-power countries. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html . For more information, you can read about the Conference in Wikipedia and at the UN pages. In fact, some of the meetings will be web cast. http://unfccc.int/2860.php We hope this is a good week for all of you. Remember, if you need help with your Interim Report, let us know! Betsy, Celia and David, for Consult @ challenge.nm.org Monday Morning Message, November 22, 2010Thanksgiving WeekWe hope you will be enjoying the holidays with family and friends. We are grateful for your participation in the Challenge and are hearing about your work through your correspondence or visits to your schools. We are looking forward to seeing your interim reports on the 10th of December. Stay in touch with us if you need help in the next couple of weeks. For Challenge Students Over 16: ImagineCupSupercomputing like competition from MicrosoftRegister at http://bit.ly/nmtcup (preferably by December 1st) Contact our Challenge Alum at NMT, Omar Soliman at Omar.Soliman @ msptechrep.com He states, "I believe this would be a great opportunity for the students to take their work to a national+ level, or even try another category other than programming (they have many divisions including game programming, IT, digital media, etc.). If they win the national competition Microsoft will fly them full-ride to internationals (this year in NYC). This would be for this coming spring's competition. I believe this would not only encourage more teams to finish the challenge, but also give them incentive to compete with students from other states." It is a great idea to leverage your Challenge project and use it for Science Fair, Science Olympiads, ImagineCup, research paper for English class, etc. Climate Change News from "New Scientist""Weakening ice sheet could protect itself from the sea" "Glaciologists have long worried that the West Antarctic ice sheet will collapse over the next few centuries, raising sea levels dramatically. At present the ice sheet is grounded on underwater islands, which insulate some of the ice from the melting effect of the seawater upon which the rest of the sheet floats. But because the ice has started to melt because of climate change, more water is probably flowing underneath the sheet over the surface of the islands, accelerating its destruction. The ice sheet has a defence mechanism, however. As it melts, sea levels around it will fall, say Natalya Gomez and Jerry Mitrovica of Harvard University and colleagues. That is counterintuitive, because the ice sheet will release extra water into the sea - but because the mass of ice has shrunk, its gravitational pull on the seawater will be weaker. Also, the bedrock will rise up as the weight of ice on it drops." To read the whole article, go to: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19752-weakening-ice-sheet-could-protect-itself-from-the-sea.html Happy Thanksgiving! From Consult Staff - Betsy, Celia, and David Monday Morning Message, November 15, 2010Happy Mid November,Can you believe it? It is almost Thanksgiving time. We are thankful for each and every one of you! First Computer ProgrammerSara Hartse from Desert Academy writes: She was a pretty awesome person. If Babbage created the first computer, then she was the first computer programmer. School VisitsWe will be checking with all new schools to see if they would like to have a visit this fall. Other schools, please let us know if you are interested in a visit. Betsy Frederick, Consult, will be down in the Las Cruces/Gadsden/Deming area this week. And Nick Bennett, also from Consult, will be in the Artesia/Melrose neighborhoods. We are planning a visit to Farmington, some schools in Santa Fe and Las Vegas shortly. Challenge Archives and SearchWe have many past projects in our archives and we suggest that you utilize the search function of our web page to find any project similar to yours. The Archives are in the gray middle band under the header. The search function is on the left hand side of the gray band of the header. Interim ReportsYour progress report is due in less than one month, December 10th, before you go on winter break. The interim report should include the following information:
MentorsAnd from Nick: Climate ChangeResource from Project GUTS Science Page Supercomputing Challenge Board of Directors Announces Election of New OfficersIrene Lee, Executive Director of Project GUTS, is our new President, and Ed Angel, President of the Board of the Santa Fe Complex, is the Vice-President. The Board acknowledges with gratitude the leadership of Bill Blackler, past President and Ron Davis, outgoing Vice-President. They remain on the Board to continue their service focused in fund-raising work. Thank you to Bill and Ron and congratulations to Irene and Ed. You will be seeing profiles of these leaders in upcoming issues of the MMM. So What is on Those Neat Flash Drives from the Kickoff?Thanks to Nick Bennett, at this year's kickoff in Socorro, USB flash drives were handed out to all the attendees. Some of the classes used software installed on the flash drive, but some of you might not have had the chance to see what's there. For those who haven't yet erased them, here's a guide to the contents. It is attached here and will soon be on the Challenge web page on the kickoff. Sincerely yours, ========================Flash Drive contents=========================== USB Flash DrivesAt this year's kickoff in Socorro, USB flash drives were handed out to all the attendees. Some of the classes used software installed on the flash drive, but some of you might not have had the chance to see what's there. For those who haven't yet erased them, here's a guide to the contents. Software InstallersInstallers for the following free (and in some cases, open source) software packages are included in the \Documents\Installers directory of the flash drive. (All of the installers are for use with Windows, but most of the programs are available for other platforms as well.) Compiler and runtime environment for building and running Java programs. Open source integrated development environment (IDE) for programming in Java and other languages. This installer doesn't include the support modules for PHP, C/C++, Python, or Ruby, but they can be downloaded and installed on demand. Extensive agent-based modeling and simulation tool, based on a dialect of the Logo language, and extensible via Java. Open source, multi-platform office software suite, generally compatible with Microsoft Office. Open source Java-based environment with automatic code-wrapping features for an easy learning curve, and simple access to powerful 2D and 3D graphics libraries. This package actually isn't an installer, but a compressed archive containing the Processing program directory, which can be copied to the desired location manually. Open source IDE for Python development (Windows only). Open source interpreter, standard libraries, and basic development tools for the Python programming language. Agent-based modeling and simulation tool with visually oriented programming and three-dimensional terrain features.PortableApps.comIn some computing environments, including many schools, most users don't have sufficient privileges to install new software on the computers. Where these environments include Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7, PortableApps.com can be a lifesaver. This is an open source platform for running Windows applications from a USB flash drive, without the need to install the software on the target computer. The flash drives distributed at the kickoff include a PortableApps.com configuration, with several software tools installed. To access PortableApps.com, open the flash drive in the Windows explorer and double-click StartPortableApps.exe. A menu of of the following programs will appear (accessible thereafter via an icon in the Windows system tray). Open source archiving software, able to read and write ZIP, TAR, and GZIP archives (Windows only). Open source antivirus software (Windows only).
Course MaterialsFinally, the materials used for some of the kickoff classes are included on the flash drive. Due to production deadlines for the drives themselves, only a few of the courses are represented, and some of the materials on the flash drive aren't quite the same versions presented in the courses.
Monday Morning Message, November 8, 2010Challenge Community,School VisitsBelieve it or not, we are already in the third phase of the Challenge year. Challenge Representatives will, upon request from students and/or teachers, visit teams at their respective schools to address any issues, answer questions. If it can be arranged, the Challenge representative would like to meet with the Principal or Headmaster. Congratulations Are In OrderBarbara Marquez, Challenge student at Bernalillo High School won a scholarship from the NMTC. (New Mexico Technology Council). Education is a key focus of the New Mexico Technology Council. In recognition of the vital need for excellent technology education, NMTC and its sponsors will award scholarships to young women in the state of New Mexico pursuing a degree in an information technology (IT) field. Way to go, Barbara! First Six ProgrammersThe first six programmers of the first electronic, digital, general-purpose
computer, ENIAC, were all women, four of whom had majored in mathematics in college.
The profiles of these women - Kathleen McNulty Mauchly Antonelli, Jean Jennings Bartik,
Frances Snyder Holberton, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, Frances Bilas Spence, and Ruth
Lichterman Teitelbaum - can be found on the website at the Women in Technology International
Hall of Fame, [ http://www.witi.com/center/witimuseum/halloffame/1997/eniac.php ]
along with links to additional information about the women and a video from their
induction in the Hall of Fame. Each woman also has an entry on Wikipedia. Mandelbrot TributeRemember that Cleve Moler mentioned Benoit Mandelbrot's passing at the Kickoff Conference. There is a new tribute to Mandelbrot on the Shodor site: http://www.shodor.org/featured/MandelbrotTribute with links to interactive tools for exploring fractals. Challenge ChecklistHere is a checklist for your team. ___ One person reads the MMM (Monday Morning Message) and reports back to the team. Archives at http://challenge.nm.org/news_flash.shtml. ___ Your team has received online feedback on your proposal AND you have responded to that email. ___ Your team has a mentor, or maybe two, one for your science and one for your coding. Check out http://www.challenge.nm.org/resources#mentors. ___ Your team has done research which includes Internet and library hard copy. You have cited those references for your Interim report. Citing My Sources http://secondary.oslis.org/cite-sources. ___ Your team meets on a regular basis and is building a fine group of researchers and teammates. Tools for Teams http://www.teampedia.net/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page. New Supercomputer in Wyoming Will Track Climate ChangeScientists will use the supercomputing center to accelerate research into climate change, examining how it might affect agriculture, water resources, energy use, sea levels and impact on extreme weather events, including hurricanes. Read more at http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2010/06/16/new-supercomputer-will-track-climate-change Consult at challenge dot nm dot org Sincerely yours, Monday Morning Message, November 1, 2010Supercomputing NewsA Chinese research center has announced it has built the fastest supercomputer. Tianhe-1A boasts a speed of 2.5 petaflops (2,500 trillion calculations per second). There will be more news about this in the media this week as the Top 500 list of fastest supercomputers is updated. (New York Times, 28 October 10: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/technology/28compute.html) Proposal ReviewsHave you received a review of your proposal? If you have, be sure to send a thank-you note and it would be helpful if you sent a copy to consult at challenge.nm.org so that we can track progress. Be sure to write to consult if you haven't received a review. If you haven't gotten a review, have you submitted a proposal? We're still expecting some more to be posted at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/proposals Got Mentors?Most of you who have submitted proposals have received an email review from one of the scientists in the Challenge community. The next step is to find a mentor. Challenge teams report that mentors are very helpful to them as they develop their projects. You may decide after you get going and understand how you are going to develop your model that you need a mentor to help with programming. And finally, you may want a mentor to help with writing. Who are the mentors? A mentor may be someone you discovered while you were starting your research or it may be someone recommended to you by a scientist you met at the Kickoff. Or it may be a friend who had got you interested in your topic. Or you may need to find a mentor. A good place to start looking for a mentor is on the Challenge web page. You can start at the home page http://challenge.nm.org and click on the link at the TOP of the page that says Resources. Resources is chock full of useful links. Scroll down to Consulting-Mentors. You will see the Challenge Mentor Database. These scientists have offered to help teams with different aspects of their projects. As you can see, there are links to all kinds of topics. You'll also see the names of the scientists and their email addresses. Mentor-Consultants will answer questions by email and may be available to spend more time with you online or by telephone and in some cases can even meet with you if they are nearby. You and your mentor(s) will be able to figure that out. It is really important in the first message you send a mentor to identify yourself and to be very clear what it is you are asking. Be polite and write complete sentences. You might want to include sentences from your proposal. Be sure to give your name, your grade, and your school. The clearer your question, the better the mentor will be able to understand what you are asking. And always, remember to write back to the mentor and thank him/her for the help. Write to Consult if you need more help: consult at challenge.nm.org. Electrical and Computer Engineering at UNMThis Wednesday afternoon, 4 November 2010, the ECE Department will hold an Open House from 4-7 PM. Students who register ahead of time and attend, are eligible to win a newPod Nano. Lots of good information and refreshments, too. To register: http://excel.ece.unm.edu/welcome Engineering Open House at UNMUNM's School of Engineering will hold its annual high-school open house on Saturday, Nov. 6, from 1-3 p.m. See http://www.soe.unm.edu/open-house.html . Remember to stay in touch with us if you need information or help. Monday Morning Message, October 25, 2010Harvest and Hunters MoonsHave you enjoyed the moon this week? Read why in these two cycles the moon appears to be larger and brighter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter%27s_moon ProposalsSeveral more proposals were posted this week and we look forward to seeing the rest this week. Scientists are standing by ready to review your proposal so that you can make good progress by mid-December when the interim reports are due. If you have received a review from a scientist, remember to write back to thank them. If something isn't clear in what he or she said, you can write back or send a message to Consult: consult at challenge.nm.org. First StepsResearch is an important part of your work at this stage of planning and preparation. Research can be web-based but talking with an expert can be useful, too. The Challenge Resource page has some good links to help you with your research. http://challenge.nm.org/resources has great links to climate change topics AND to good research information. Remember to keep track of the websites you visit so that you can refer to them in your reports. You'll need the citation references for the Interim report as well as later for the Final Report. Engineering Open House at UNMUNM's School of Engineering will hold its annual high-school open house on Saturday, Nov. 6, from 1-3 p.m. See http://www.soe.unm.edu/open-house.html . Science LinkAnd speaking of research, check out climate impacts on ecosystems and species on the GUTS webpage at http://www.projectguts.org/?q=node/science Remember to stay in touch with us if you need information or help. The proposals to date suggest to us that this is going to be a good year. Betsy, Celia and David Monday Morning Message, October 18, 2010Wow! The positive energy we felt from our entire community - students, teachers and volunteers is amazing. So now the work starts. ProposalsWe have 31 proposals submitted. We need 70 more to be submitted at https://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/proposal_login.php this week. GUTS students will submit a proposal in January, if they like. See http://www.challenge.nm.org/proposals As soon as you have a proposal up , we will have one of our scientists or mentors email you some feedback on the proposal. Please reply to them and to the ideas that they give you. Intern OpportunityWork with Stephen Guerin, Santa Fe Complex, and David Gutlzer, UNM on a climate change model to be run on the simtable at a new installation at the NM History Museum. The exhibit will be about the NM watershed using large databases and working with the historical movement of people based on climate change. Work with snow depth and precipitation, tree rings correlated with stream flow, mitigation and demographics. Please write to consult at challenge.nm.org if you are interested. Class MaterialsMaterials from the classes presented at the Kickoff Conference will be posted on the Challenge web site. Keep coming back to http://www.challenge.nm.org/kickoff/classes as the site develops. Kickoff PicturesWatch the Kickoff page, http://www.challenge.nm.org/kickoff, this week for the link to Pictures to become hot. Use those pictures to promote your participants in the Supercomputing Challenge and Project GUTS. Past Challenge participant at the White House today!Erika DeBenedictis is presenting her past Challenge project at the White House as the president will celebrate winners of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Competitions and announce net steps to inspire all students to excel. See: http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/pressroom/10182010 For TeachersSSP launches new national middle school program with BroadcomThis would be an interesting place to take a well done middle school Challenge/GUTS project. Broadcom Masters Competition as announced by Society for Science & the Public: "In 2000, the National Science Foundation began funding graduate students who also wanted to help out elementary and secondary school teachers in the classroom. A novel idea at the time, the NSF Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education Program is now an established part of the foundation's $900 million portfolio aimed at raising the quality of U.S. math and science education. But it's taken a decade for NSF officials to formally acknowledge that improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is a legitimate research activity for a graduate student. " http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/10/nsf-graduate-fellowships-now.html Looking forward to an exciting and rewarding 21st year, Tuesday Morning Message, October 12, 2010Countdown to the KickoffFour more days til we will meet the majority of you at the Fidel Center at New Mexico Tech. See you Saturday between 10 - 12 for Registration. Buses will park by the Macey Center since there is construction near Fidel. Registration in Fidel CenterTeachers need to go to tall registration tables to get name tags and bags. Students need to get a t-shirt designed this year by a team from Artesia High, a pre-loaded flash drive and a bag donated by New Mexico Tech. Your flash drive will be pre-loaded with Challenge software drive and class materials that can be run from the flash. Thanks go to Nick Bennett for this indispensable addition to the kickoff. Your bag is your admittance to meals and electives, so keep it with you at all times. After you pick up your name tag from your teacher, you will get an individual and team picture taken. The individual pictures will be used at the Expo Celebration in April at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The team picture is for your local community and school paper and your yearbook. You will sign a users' agreement and receive a password for the computer systems at Tech. Keep this password in a safe place as you will need to use it all weekend. You will pick up an individual schedule coordinated to your math level. You will sign up for an elective, for Saturday night, from 7:45 - 9:15 ClassesYou will be having six classes specific to your math level. Three or four of them will be hands-on in a computer lab. Some of your classes will include a parallel processing activity, a data analysis hour, visualization, etc. We look at the keynote and the electives as classes also. So that will be eight classes in a 24 hour period. We are excited about the range of classes this year. ElectivesYou will get to pick from these electives at registration. The sign up will be "first come first served." Check out the links to see some descriptions.
BringThe weather in Socorro ranges from 75 - 40 degrees, so bring a jacket for the evening. It is always a great idea to pack your good manners whenever you travel. ProposalsChallenge teams need to have a proposal outlining their work for this Challenge year. We have only 12 submitted. By the end of the Kickoff, we hope to have 78 more! So come with your ideas written up so that you can work on submitting your proposal during the Kickoff. Scientists will be available to talk with you about your project. OpportunityIntern with Two ScientistsWork with Stephen Guerin, Santa Fe Complex, and David Gutlzer, UNM on a climate change model to be run on the simtable at a new installation at the NM History Museum. The exhibit will be about the NM watershed using large databases and working with the historical movement of people based on climate change. Work with snow depth and precipitation, tree rings correlated with stream flow, mitigation and demographics. Please write to consult at challenge.nm.org if you are interested. Write to Consult with any questions. Can't wait to see you! Monday Morning Message, October 4, 2010Happy October, Around ABQ, this time of year brings a myriad of hot air balloons and breakfast burritos with fresh Hatch chile! MilestonesThe important Challenge dates are located here: http://challenge.nm.org/dates.shtml We are getting close to our kickoff at New Mexico Tech, Saturday, October 16th and Sunday, the 17th in Socorro. KickoffThe current housing lists are located at http://www.challenge.nm.org/kickoff Please check to make sure you are on one of the lists and let us know if any changes need to be made. Please make sure any chaperone or bus driver is listed as well. The Challenge will cover the cost of the rooms, which includes breakfast on Sunday morning. Here is a big shout out to David for all the work he puts into organizing our housing. When you travel with a group from your school, you need to remember that you are representing your school and in this case, the Challenge too. This is important on campus at New Mexico Tech and at the hotels in Socorro. We have had little trouble with students' behavior at our 20 past kickoffs, but we do want you to know that we have called a few parents to come pick up their students if they were behaving inappropriately. As a courtesy to all guests, please observe quiet hours at the hotels. Registration at TechKickoff Conference Registration will take place in Fidel Center which you can locate at number 14 on the map at this link: http://www.nmt.edu/images/stories/maps/map_big.jpg Please print at least one map for your team to utilize. Registration will take place from 10 - 12. You will have several stations to go through to pick up a t-shirt and flash drive, and a schedule based on your math level. Your teacher will give you your name tag. You will get an individual picture taken for the ID you'll receive in Los Alamos at the end of the year celebration in Los Alamos. You will go to computer lab in Fidel to get a password for the weekend. You will take a tour of the campus at 10, 10:30 or 11:00. You will also get to choose an elective for Saturday evening after the Kickoff Keynote, from 7:45 - 9:15. The electives are Movie, Observatory, Web Design, Tech Writing, NetLogo for TNGers, Processing, Q&A with Amanda, game room, and perhaps the gym. General ScheduleThe overview schedule of the kickoff is located here: Please plan to join us for lunch on Sunday with dismissal at 1PM. Meet the ScientistEach detailed schedule will have teams meeting with a scientist to get some
feedback about your project for the year. They would like to see your draft
proposal at that time. Info about proposals are at
http://challenge.nm.org/proposals ProposalsSix proposals have been submitted so far, good job CEPi1, Cleveland, Eldorado/La Queva, Jackson, Los Alamos Mid and McCurdy! We are looking forward to many more proposals posted in the next two weeks. Team numbersTeam registration ids (1000-1099) will be changed in to team numbers (from 1-100) after sorting the teams alphabetically by school. Once you submit a proposal, you'll see what number your team is. Mountain HydrologyHere is an article to look at ahead of Amanda White's Keynote on Saturday evening after dinner. It describes a project she has been associated with recently. "Mountain Snow Equals River Flow" Looking forward to seeing you in less than two weeks, Monday Morning Message, September 27, 2010Kickoff Keynote SpeakerSaturday night's keynote speaker will be Amanda White, a postdoc at New Mexico Tech. Amanda received her B.S. at Old Dominion University in 1997, her M.S. and Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2001 and 2006, respectively, all in Civil and Environmental Engineering. She had been working as a postdoc at Los Alamos National Lab (2006-09) before becoming part of the New Mexico EPSCoR project. Learn more at the Kickoff Conference web page. RegistrationThere is still time to register for the Challenge but if you wish to go to the Kickoff in Socorro you need to register immediately while there are still a few hotel rooms available. Register today at http://www.challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml 244 students and 44 teachers have signed up for the 2010-2011 Supercomputing Challenge. Housing at the KickoffIs someone coming with you to Socorro who hasn't registered for the Kickoff (like a bus driver, chaperone, etc)? If so, please let Consult know as soon as possible so that housing arrangements can be made. Have you formed Teams?Once you have registered, click on the Register or Manage Teams button at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml GUTS Club member do not need to form teams. Looking for teammates? Write up your project idea and email it to Consult and we'll forward on to the student and teacher lists. ProposalsHave you started your proposal? You can see the ones that have been submitted to date at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/proposals. Challenge teams should have proposals posted before the Kickoff Conference and need to bring a hard copy of the proposal with them to the Kickoff so that they can discuss their project with a scientist. It's time to send in the Team Entry Authorization Form and the registration feePlease go to the Registration page to get a copy of the form. http://www.challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml TeachersYou are welcome to attach Purchase Orders for registration fees to email notes to consult @ challenge.nm.org or to fax them to 505.508.3662. There are several conferences and meetings coming up that may be of interest to you. They have all been announced on the NM Science Mailing List. You may wish to sign up for the Science list because we will rarely forward mail that is on the list. We assume you'll sign up! The list is moderated. To sign up for the list, go to: http://lists.aps.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/science The New Mexico Technology Council (http://www.nmtechcouncil.org) has an interest in education and women in technology. They are offering a scholarship for high school senior woman. To read about the Women in Technology scholarship link to http://www.nmtechcouncil.org/?page=WITScholarship The New Mexico Celebration of Women in Computing is a two-day conference in Albuquerque. It is inaugural and modeled after the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. There will be several interesting keynotes and panel discussions. There is no charge for the conference and hotels and meals are complementary. http://www.nmcwic.org UNM STEM Education Outreach Program (http://stemed.unm.edu) announces Society for Science and the Public - Middle School Broadcom MASTERS Competition. Info: http://www.societyforscience.org/MASTERS Target GrantsNeed money to get to the Kickoff (and pay the registration fee)? See the Target Field Trip Grants Got questions? consult @ challenge . nm . orga Monday Morning Message, September 20, 2010Will your school be listed on the Challenge t-shirt? If you register by today, it will! We need to send off the design to the printer tomorrow. RegistrationPlease register today at http://www.challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml 167 people have signed up so far. Next we will work on the hotel housing lists which are due next week to the hotels in Socorro. Register as soon as possible so we can make reservations for you. Next Form TeamsOnce you have registered, click on the Register or Manage Teams button at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml Twenty-six teams have registered so far. Next week the team registration id numbers will be changed to team numbers between 1 and 100, after sorting the teams by schools. Looking for teammates? Write up your project idea and email it to Consult and we'll forward on to the student and teacher lists. ProposalsStart working on a proposal for your project. One as already been posted at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/proposals. Challenge teams should have proposals posted before the Kickoff Conference and need to bring a hard copy of the proposal with them to the Kickoff so that they can discuss their project with a scientist. TeachersLexus Eco ChallengeWant to tie into the Lexus Eco Challenge? See http://www.scholastic.com/lexus Summer Logo InstituteThe Logo Foundation is planning a week-long workshop next summer. See the Logo Foundation Web site at http://el.media.mit.edu/logo-foundation/workshops/summer.html The Logo Summer Institute offers an opportunity for exploration and project development in a variety of Logo-based and robotics learning environments. Target GrantsNeed money to get to the Kickoff (and pay the registration fee)? See the Target Field Trip Grants Got questions? consult @ challenge . nm . org Monday Morning Message, September 13, 2010The roasting chile and pinon smells of autumn in New Mexico are here. Time to start thinking about a computational science proposal for the Challenge. It is starting to look a lot like La Nina http://www.cejournal.net/?p=3585 Registration Closes EarlySince the kickoff is October 16 and 17th, we need to get accurate numbers for ordering t-shirts, housing, food, etc. so our registration closes September 20th. That is in one week! We currently have teams registered from Artesia to Bloomfield from Quemado to Espanola. St. Michael's in Santa Fe and Next Gen Academy are two new schools. Please register today at http://www.challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml Next Form TeamsOnce you have registered, click on the Register or Manage Teams button at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml 21st Annual KickoffOur kickoff will be held at NMTech this year, Saturday and Sunday, October 16 and 17th. Students will take a series of classes related to their math level. Teachers will be involved in classes including teamwork, helping underrepresented students, and climate change activities from the NM Natural History Museum. We will be making housing arrangement at local motels in early October. Climate Change ResourcesOn our resource page there are links to weather and climate change resources, our theme
this year. Check them out at TeachersCheck out the NASA competition for future engineers: Sincerely yours, These News Flashes are archived at http://www.challenge.nm.org/news_flash.shtml so that you can review them at a later date. There is also a link at the top of each Challenge web page pointing to Newsflash. Tuesday Morning Message, September 7, 2010Many plans are being made for the 21st Annual Supercomputing Challenge. Yesterday, 10 Challenge staff/instructors/volunteers "labored" over plans for the Kickoff Conference and a very exciting Kickoff is coming together. RegistrationStudents and teachers are registering to participate in the 21st annual New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge. Ten so far, 300 to go!
Registration is open at Registration deadline is September 20th. ProposalsOnce you have formed a team think about your project and prepare a proposal. See http://www.challenge.nm.org/proposals for guidelines. Post a proposal before the Kickoff Conference. Kickoff ConferenceThe Kickoff Conference will be held October 16-17 in Socorro, New Mexico. Registration will be from 10:00-noon and tours of the Tech campus will take place at that time. Classes will be held Saturday afternoon with a Keynote session at dinner and some special activities after dinner. Another set of classes will be held Sunday morning and the Conference may end before lunch. The theme for this year's Challenge is climate modeling. Check out our partner, EPSCoR. TeachersPlease print a flyer to place in your school for advertisement. http://www.challenge.nm.org/archive/10-11/invitation_flyer.pdf Here is the invite link: Two special sessions just for teachers will be held on Saturday afternoon at the Kickoff Conference, during the same time students will be in class. Science LinksHere are links to two recent articles about climate change and computing:
http://www.hpcwire.com/offthewire/New-Computer-Model-Advances-Climate-Change-Research-100989444.html
Other OpportunitiesThe Challenge encourages participants to take advantage of other competitions with their projects. Take a look at the ThinkQuest International Competition 2011. The submission deadline is just after the Challenge Expo next April so use their guidelines as well, as you plan, prepare and work on your project. Looking forward to seeing more registrations, Betsy, Celia and David representing Consult, the Challenge Management Team These News Flashes are archived at http://www.challenge.nm.org/news_flash.shtml so that you can review them at a later date. There is also a link at the top of each Challenge web page pointing to Newsflash. Tuesday Morning Message, August 31, 2010Are you ready for the 21st Annual Supercomputing Challenge? RegistrationStart forming teams to participate in the 21st annual New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge.
Registration is open at Registration deadline is September 20th. ProposalsHopefully teams have been thinking about their projects and preparing a proposal. See http://www.challenge.nm.org/proposals for guidelines. Kickoff ConferenceThe Kickoff Conference will be held October 16-17 in Socorro, New Mexico. TeachersPlease print a flyer to place in your school for advertisement. http://www.challenge.nm.org/archive/10-11/invitation_flyer.pdf Here is the invite link: Future topicsIn future Monday Morning Messages (MMMs), we will be sharing Science Links and Cool topics so if you have found something to share, let Consult know. Looking forward to a wonderful year, Betsy, Celia and David representing Consult, the Challenge Management Team These News Flashes are archived at http://www.challenge.nm.org/news_flash.shtml so that you can review them at a later date. There is also a link at the top of each Challenge web page pointing to Newsflash. |
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For questions about the Supercomputing Challenge, a 501(c)3 organization, contact us at: consult @ challenge.nm.org |
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