West Virginia student discovers new pulsar
NewsA West Virginia high-school student has discovered a new pulsar, using data from the giant Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT). Shay Bloxton, 15, a participant in The Pulsar Search Collaboratory, an ITEST project in which students analyze data from the radio telescope, spotted evidence of the pulsar on October 15. Bloxton, along with NRAO astronomers observed the object again one month later. The new observation confirmed that the object is
High school student discovers strange astronomical object
NewsA West Virginia high-school student has discovered a new astronomical object -- a strange type of neutron star called a rotating radio transient. Lucas Boylard, a sophomore at South Harrison High School in Clarksburg, W.Va., made the discovery while participating in the Pulsar Search Collaborative, an ITEST project, in which students are trained to scrutinize data from the National Science Foundation's giant Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope
Contest helps boost math, science skills
NewsThe Global Challenge, a Vermont-based contest and ITEST project aimed at improving American high school students' math and science skills, brings together 58 teams of American students coupled with students from China, India, and Japan to tackle technological solutions to global warming during the school year. Teams chat online, divide jobs based on skill, consult with advisers, and in the final grueling weeks, write a professional business plan.
Web game boosts girls' interest in science
NewsAbout a dozen girls, from 6th through 12th grade, have joined an afterschool program called Universe Quest. Through their participation in this ITEST project, they're learning about astronomy and building their own 3-D, immersive online game that centers around creating characters, who explore the cosmos and answer questions along the way.
Congratulations to Sarita Saju: student in ITEST-Nano program wins science award
NewsSarita Saju, student from George Washington High School involved in the ITEST-Nano program (also known as Nanotechnology and Bioengineering in Philadelphia Public Schools), recently received top awards at science fairs for her nanotechnology project, titled "Polymer-Wrapped Carbon Nanotubes as Electrode Materials for Supercapacitors." Her project was based on work during her internship with expert scientists from the School of Engineering and
World’s busiest Web site headquarters hosts, mentors PV youth
NewsITEST project the Girl Game Company took its 40 middle school girl participants on a half-day field trip to visit Google headquarters. The girls were able to interact with elite computer engineers, check out what it's like to work in a corporate environment, and present their software creations to Google engineers. Field trips and partnerships like this are important in helping youth understand the real-world application of the skills they
NSF grant supports education outreach
NewsDr. Tirupalavanam Ganesh and his research team earned a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support a three-year ITEST project titled “Learning through Engineering Design and Practice: Using our Human Capital for an Equitable Future.” The project, which launched this fall in collaboration with the Mesa Unified School District, will provide 96 seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade students from Powell and Carson junior high
Middle school students immersed in computer programming at UNCW
NewsAbout 50 middle school students and 20 teachers from New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties attended a workshop at UNCW. They primarily worked on a program called Squeak, free educational software that allows students to run simple animations to develop and model complex science experiments.
In ecology classes, kids see Boston’s true nature
NewsITEST project Urban Ecology Institute supports science teachers with environmental curricula, materials and training. Of note, UEI’s focus on the needs of urban students and their teachers has led the organization to develop a curriculum on environmental justice and injustice: how power and poverty determine which communities suffer environmental hazards, and which do not.
Head of the class
NewsITEST project Reach for the Sky is doing more than connecting students to STEM—it has facilitated partnerships between three University colleges, University Extension, the White Earth Tribal College, three Reservation schools, and two businesses. This article highlights Reach for the Sky's program features.