August 2014
 
Louisiana STEM Girls Collaborative Project updated contact information! 
  • We're now on Twitter!  Follow the latest STEM information for Louisiana and beyond.  Search for @LaSTEMGCP
  • New email address. Add [email protected] to your contact lists!  This email will be forwarded to the Leadership Team members for the Collaborative.

 DHS Summer Robotics Camp

 

St. Mary's Dominican High School under the direction of science teacher Crissy Giacona hosted a summer robotics camp for girls ages 10-13. The camp encouraged the girls to use STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) skills. The girls participated in several challenges increasing in difficulty. They used the Lego EV3 robot and the Lego Space Challenge to install and setup a space facility for future residents on the planet Mars.

 

The girls began working on their engineering skills by building their robot and learning some basic programming. Then they began their adventure through the weeklong activities. They continued developing their engineering skills by building onto the robot different components to accomplish their missions.

 

The missions included setting up solar panels, collecting rocks, retrieving the rover, rescuing the flight captain, and launching the rocket. In the process of doing the challenges, the girls learned progressively more challenging programming, which included color sensor, motor control, switches, loops, and following the line.

 

Another component of the camp was to work on team building skills.  The girls took turns being the leader of the team to accomplish problems.  They were able to understand being a leader is not always easy and all ideas need to be listened to and taken into consideration. One person cannot always take charge and do everything. Some of their activities included working together to construct a body out of connecting blocks, recreating a city scene with directions from one person, recreating a geometric figure, building the tallest structure out of spaghetti and marshmallows, and building a tall tower with the builder being blindfolded.

 

The girls were also given a folder with helpful robotic information, journaling, code breaking activities and color sheets. Programming can get intense and overwhelming. When the students get a glossy eye look, they get a break to work in their folders for some down time and to refresh their energy.

 

On the last day, the girls took their robots out to lunch with the other campers and showed off their robots. They used iPads to demonstrate what the robots were capable of doing and let the other campers have a turn to control the robots. The app called Lego Commander was downloaded to allow the girls to control the EV3 robot with the iPad. The iPad was used like a remote control to move the robot around and to activate the robots attachments.  The other girls hovered over their robots asking them questions and maneuvering the robot around. The girls loved it. Their self-esteem soared as they showed off their accomplishments. 

 
New Leadership Team Member: Heather Kleiner "Pathogen Slayer" 
  •  What excites you most about your work (both past and present)? Giving students (particularly those from underrepresented groups, including women and minorities) that very first chance in the laboratory, to do their own experiments, and realize their potential. 
  • What do you most appreciate in a collaboration/partnership? Being able to share ideas and synergize with strengths from different backgrounds.
  • Who are or were your role models? Dr. Serrine S. Lau, my Ph.D. mentor, who taught me that a girl can do anything, and gave me the encouragement I needed pursue my passions.
  • What are some of your passions? Training students and watching them fly on their own, or mentoring their own students someday--the ripple effect of someone who truly wants to make a difference.
  • Bio: Heather Kleiner received her Bachelor's in Biology in 1991 and Ph.D. in Pharmacology & Toxicology in 1996 both from the University of Texas at Austin. She has worked as a Biomedical Scientist from 1996 until 2013, most recently as Associate Professor of Pharmacology at Louisiana State University-Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. She has taken a break from laboratory research to pursue a Master's of Education-Secondary and work at Sci-Port, Louisiana's Science Center. As a researcher, HK created and directed two hands-on science programs (SUPER and BioStart): one for undergraduates and one for high school student interns. She also mentored over 60 students hands-on in the laboratory and guided them in pursuing STEM careers. 

NOBCChE STEM Weekend September 26-28 2014

The National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) is proud to invite you to take part in our 2nd annual STEM Weekend September 26-28 at the Marriott on 555 Canal Street in New Orleans, LA.  Participation is free!

 
STEM Festival
This all day event features hands-on activities focused on the applications of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), as well as demonstrations and presentations to engage students, parents and the general public. Presentations are invited by scientists, STEM and STEM Education faculty, science centers, planetariums, science museums, and any individual or organization that does STEM outreach. Middle school and high school students, parents, and the general public are invited to explore science and learn about local STEM resources in the community.

 

Activities will include: 

  • Science Bowl featuring 4-person teams from the local area and around the nation competing for awards and recognition.  
  • STEM Festival featuring hands-on science activities for students and the general public to explore Science, Technology, Engineering and Math  
  • Science Fair for middle and high school students.  Projects previously submitted to other Fairs are welcome.  
  • Science Teachers Workshop with tracks for middle and high school teachers.  Participants will learn new teaching strategies, experiments and activities, receive teaching materials and can obtain professional development credit
  • Step-Up To Science - Poster fair for 3rd - 5th graders. Projects previously submitted to other Fairs are welcome.       

To Register or for more information, visit https://www.nobcche.org/conference/stem. For general questions contact [email protected] or for event specific questions contact the following:   

 We look forward to seeing you in New Orleans!

 NOBCChE STEM Weekend Planning Team

 

LaSTEM Supporter Spotlight: Louisiana Tech
Representatives from Louisiana Tech University's College of Engineering and Science and College of Education were recently invited to present their collaborative work and highlight their outreach partnership to colleagues from around the world at the International Conference on Chemistry Education, held in Toronto, Canada.

 

Alicia Boudreaux, outreach coordinator for the Louisiana Alliance for Simulation-Guided Materials Applications (LA-SiGMA), and Lindsey Keith-Vincent, director of SciTEC at Louisiana Tech, presented a poster about the LA-SiGMA/Shell Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program and its collaboration with Louisiana Tech's Office of Professional Education Outreach.

 

"In every conversation we had, we realized more and more that the Louisiana Tech culture is special," said Boudreaux. "Worldwide, we are unique in how departments, even colleges, work together to create the most innovative programs and research."

"We at SciTEC are so grateful to be part of a university family supportive of innovative interdisciplinary projects that highlight fascinating research and allow opportunities to aid teachers in translating those findings to the community and children of all ages," said Keith-Vincent. "It was an honor for our unit to be part of the project and the presentation."

 

Since 2011, the LA-SiGMA RET Program has impacted 33 teachers and over 3,000 students throughout the State of Louisiana. This has involved partnerships not only across Louisiana Tech's colleges, but also with other LA-SiGMA institutions such as Louisiana State University and Tulane University.

 

"It is very hard to achieve true collaboration that yields a whole that is much more than the sum of its parts," said Ramu Ramachandran, executive associate dean for research in the College of Engineering and Science and a Co-PI of the LA-SiGMA project, "But that is exactly what we have been able to achieve with SciTEC."

Louisiana Tech's RET Program is funded by LA-SiGMA and Shell. The LA-SiGMA 

Alliance includes Louisiana Tech, Louisiana State University, Tulane University, University of New Orleans, Southern University, Xavier University and Grambling State University, and is funded by a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

 

The Shell-sponsored North Louisiana Regional Collaborative is an extension of the Texas Regional Collaborative, and has as its objective to provide professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers of science and mathematics.

 

Reproduced from : http://news.latech.edu/2014/08/06/science-education-partnership-presented-at-international-conference/


Congratulations! We're So Proud of You!

Dear STEM Equity Pipeline Leadership Team,

Per a request on a conference call, Aimee Cronan has provided information about Louisiana's participation in the Intel International Science Fair.  Here are the awards/winners from Louisiana: 

 

SPECIAL AWARD WINNERS: 


GoDaddy - $1,500 Data Award- 
SNAP: A Novel Algorithm for Fast Global Sequence Alignment and Database Search
Venkatesh S. Sivaraman, 16, Caddo Parish Magnet High School, Shreveport, Louisiana

IEEE Computer Society First Award of $1,000
SNAP: A Novel Algorithm for Fast Global Sequence Alignment and Database Search
Venkatesh S. Sivaraman, 16, Caddo Parish Magnet High School, Shreveport, Louisiana

European Organization for Nuclear Research-CERN - All expense paid trip to tour CERN - Alternate 
SNAP: A Novel Algorithm for Fast Global Sequence Alignment and Database Search
Venkatesh S. Sivaraman, 16, Caddo Parish Magnet High School, Shreveport, Louisiana

West Virginia University, Academic Excellence/Presidential Scholarships, Renewable Tuition Scholarship Awards - 
A Greener Shade of Grey: The Effects of Fly Ash in Concrete, a Second Year Study
Marygrace Summers Duggar, 17, Saint Joseph's Academy, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Olivia Jane Guidry, 17, Saint Joseph's Academy, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
 

GRAND AWARDS WINNERS: 


Computer Science - Third Award of $1,000
SNAP: A Novel Algorithm for Fast Global Sequence Alignment and Database Search
Venkatesh S. Sivaraman, 16, Caddo Parish Magnet High School, Shreveport, Louisiana

Cellular and Molecular Biology - Fourth Award of $500
VEGF-3 Antibody Functionalized Gold Nanoshells for Near Infrared Photothermal Ablation of Lymphatic Endothelial Cells
Morni A. Modi, 17, Caddo Parish Magnet High School, Shreveport, Louisiana


 
Cyber Discovery Program: NICERC (National Integrated Cyber Education Center) CIC (Cyber Innovation Center) Competition  

Week 1:  

2nd place winner was Catholic High School from Baton Rouge 

1st place was Airline High School in Bossier Parish

 

Week 2:  

2nd place winner Haughton High School in Bossier Parish 

1st place winner St. Joseph's Academy in Baton Rouge 


About Us / Partners  
The Louisiana STEM Girls Collaborative Project brings together organizations throughout the state of Louisiana that are committed to informing and motivating girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).