Community Programs Office
Connections Newsletter
The Lab's Connection to the Northern New Mexico Community!
May 2012

More than 200 New Mexico students and their teachers participated in the 22nd annual New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge held at Los Alamos National Laboratory in late April. The winner was Jordon Medlock from Albuquerque’s Manzano High School. He won for his computer algorithm that automates the process of counting and analyzing plaques (substances in the blood such as fat and cholesterol) in magnetic resonance images of persons diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The program vastly speeds up the process of identifying the very small and difficult to see plaques. Cole Kendrick, from Los Alamos Middle School took second place.

In all, 60 teams representing elementary, middle, and high schools in New Mexico, had an opportunity to take part in tours, talks, and demonstrations with Laboratory scientists and researchers. It took more than 100 LANL employees to help make the Supercomputing Challenge a success.

“The mission of the Supercomputing Challenge is to teach students how to use powerful computers to analyze, model, and solve real-world problems,” said David Kratzer of the Laboratory’s High Performance Computer Systems group and the Supercomputing Challenge coordinator.

The goal of the year-long competition is to increase knowledge of science and computing, introduce students and teachers to computers and applied mathematics, and instill an enthusiasm for science in the students, their families, and the community. The Challenge is project-based learning, geared to teaching participants a wide range of skills, including research, writing, teamwork, time management, oral presentations, and computer programming.

Any New Mexico elementary, middle-school, or high-school student is eligible to enter.

Santa Fe Community College’s (SFCC) Early Childhood Development Center becomes “Kids Campus at SFCC” on May 8 with an open house 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. and the launching of a new website. Parents and children will have an opportunity to interact with staff and see the Center’s facilities, located at the south end of the campus. The program accepts children from eight weeks to five years old and is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. It also holds a five-star rating (the highest possible) from the State’s Children, Youth, and Families Department.

For more information, or to apply for the program, which operates year-round, go to http://www.sfcc.edu/early_childhood_development_center.

Each year, the Golden Apple Foundation of New Mexico recognizes the State’s teachers who exemplify a high standard of teaching in elementary, middle, and high schools. The seven teachers who will be selected for the 2013 award will receive a $1,500 stipend, funding for a comprehensive professional development plan, ongoing professional development as a member of the Golden Apple Academy of Fellows, and a laptop computer donated by Intel Corporation. Teachers selected are judged not only by the information provided on the application, but also through an onsite visit to observe their teaching techniques firsthand.

Do you know an outstanding teacher who should be considered for the award? If so, you need to submit your nomination by May 31. Only one nomination per teacher is needed.

A winner of the 2012 Golden Apple Fellow was Nathaniel Evans, with the Taos Charter School. Evans teaches seventh and eighth grade science and math and was recognized for his outstanding teaching ability as he engaged his students in critical-thinking skills through questioning and the scientific method.

To nominate a teacher or learn more about the awards or the Golden Apple Foundation of New Mexico, go to http://goldenapplenm.org/.

Students from Los Alamos High School recently traveled to Utah to participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition. It was the team’s first-ever entry in the regional event, and they finished 14th out of 44 entries from nine states. The Los Alamos team was also recognized with the “Rookie Inspiration Award,” among other distinctions. The team had six weeks to build the robot from a kit, which they named Oppie. Once complete, Oppie was boxed until the competition. The robots against which they could complete could weigh up to 120 pounds and be up to seven feet tall!

Feats expected of the teams and their robots included the preprogrammed shooting of as many baskets as possible in two minutes and the ability of one robot to help another team’s robot over an obstacle. One of the goals of the program is to engender cross-team cooperation that will hopefully carry over into other areas of life

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Platt Electric Supply sponsor the Utah regional competition. The event was hosted by the University of Utah’s College of Engineering and Utah Governor’s Office for Economic Development. Los Alamos National Security, LLC supported the event with a sponsorship.

For more information on the Utah regional event, go to http://www.utfrc.utah.edu/frc_2012.html.

To learn more about the FIRST Robotics Competition, go to http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc.

Holly Erickson, from Los Alamos High School, will compete against more than 1,500 students from 65 countries at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair scheduled for later this month in Pittsburgh.

The event is the largest pre-college science fair in the world and is a program of Science for Society & the Public. The organization's goal is to "promote the understanding and appreciation of science and the vital role it plays in human advancement." Last year, the competition's participants received more than $4 million in prizes, including the Gordon E. Moore Award of $75,000.

For a complete list of winners of the 2012 Northeastern New Mexico Science and Engineering Fair, go to http://www.nmhu.edu/science_fair/winners.aspx.

For more information on the Fair itself, go to http://www.societyforscience.org/intelisef2012.