Lab CRADA supports cyber education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics

Mar. 10, 2010—Los Alamos National Laboratory has a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Network of Digital Schools (NNDS), a not-for-profit cyber education company in Pennsylvania, to showcase LANL science that will be used for public education and the national Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program. The NNDS has interviewed numerous LANL scientists for the "Cutting Edge Science" series of online courses, which is part of its Lincoln Interactive© curriculum that charter schools, public schools, and individuals can purchase and use to obtain a nationally accredited high-school education.

NNDS has produced 12 video interviews at the Lab, and this month, the not-for-profit will complete another set of eight interview videos to add to the STEM curriculum. The overall theme is "Energy and the Environment." A broad sampling of Lab expertise in the areas of climate modeling, paleoclimatology, nuclear power, high-temperature superconductivity, fuel cells, biofuels, artificial photosynthesis, nanomaterials, and carbon sequestration was drawn from several LANL divisions.

This project reaches out to students who otherwise might never think that they, too, could become scientists.

An explicit value in the CRADA is not only to bring relevancy and subject-matter expertise to the core curriculum, but also to enable the scientists to express the excitement and challenge of working on innovative, significant issues. To help spark interest in pursuing further study, and perhaps even careers in science, the interviews all ask variations of two questions: "When you were a kid, did you think you would grow up to be a scientist?" and "What is so special about doing science at LANL?" The series also showcases the important roles of women in science.

In addition to the video interviews, a pilot series of live videoconferences between students and Lab scientists is getting underway. To broaden this form of innovative STEM outreach, NNDS plans to develop an online blog to spark discussion between students, scientists, and engineers. The Lab's technical contact on this project is Steven Stringer of LANL’s Technology Transfer Division.

Photos by John Bass and Warren Young

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delivered to the Joint Genome Institute at UCLA. This segment will appear in an accredited high-school course module on genome sequencing, featuring LANL’s Patrick Chain.