NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
September 2011 News & Announcements Alice J. Teter* Journal of Chemical Education, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53715, United States ABSTRACT: This article highlights current information of interest to the chemical education community. KEYWORDS: General Public, Public Understanding/Outreach, Conferences, Professional Development
’ CONTESTS AND CHALLENGES
of industry and education experts for judging. Teams in each region will compete for $17,000 in cash prizes. The formal launch of the program will occur in August; teachers are encouraged to register themselves as team leaders to begin receiving program updates in preparation for this fall’s challenge. For more information about The Clean Tech Competition or to learn how to register, go to http://www.cleantechcompetition.org/Home.aspx (accessed Jul 2011).
Three Contests for Earth Science Week
The American Geological Institute is sponsoring three national contests, in photography, visual arts, and an essay contest, for Earth Science Week 2011. Focusing on the event theme of “Our Ever-Changing Earth”, the contests allow both students and the general public to participate in the celebration, learn about Earth science, and compete for prizes. The photography contest, open to all ages, focuses on “A World of Change in My Community”. The visual arts contest, titled “Picturing Our Ever-Changing Earth,” is open to students in grades K 5. Finally, students in grades 6 9 are eligible to enter the essay contest: “How Change Shapes Our Planet”. Essays of up to 300 words should describe how interactions among Earth systems—geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere—change our planet over time. Entries may be submitted any time up to the Friday of Earth Science Week, October 14, 2011. The first-place prize for each contest is $300 and a copy of AGI’s “Faces of Earth” 2-DVD package. To learn more about these contests, including how to enter, visit http://www.earthsciweek.org/contests (accessed Jul 2011).
Ocean Optics Photo Video Challenge 2011
Ocean Optics has opened the submissions period for its second annual Photo and Video challenge. Cash prizes will be awarded for best overall photograph and best overall video. Second-place and three runner-up prizes will also be given. The application period ends on November 15, 2011. To see last year’s winning entries and apply for the 2011 challenge, visit http:// www.oceanphotochallenge.com/ (accessed Jul 2011).
’ AWARDS 2011 Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers Awards
The Toyota TAPESTRY grants are awarded to educators who are making a difference by demonstrating excellence and creativity in science education. This year, 50 $10,000 grants were made to support environmental science education projects. The proposals were evaluated based on creativity, impact on the community, and originality. Projects ranged from creating biofuel in an effort to help school communities go green, to increasing food production on farms in urban environments. A small sampling of titles includes: “Heat Island: Search for Solutions”; “Where did the Oil Go?: Exploring the Gulf Using Molecular Biology”; “Thunder Bay River Water Shed Project”; and “Bluebird Restoration Project”. Information about these awards, including a complete list of award recipients and descriptions of the projects, can be found at http://www.nsta.org/pd/tapestry/ (accessed Jul 2011).
Clean Tech Competition for Students
The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), in partnership with Applied Materials and the Chinese Association of Children’s Science Instructors, recently unveiled a new design contest—The Clean Tech Competition—aimed at engaging students ages 13 18 in real-world challenges that illustrate the powerful potential of clean technology to address critical global issues. The inaugural year of the competition is open to students living in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Xi’an, China. Although youth of all skill, ability, and interest levels in each region will only compete against other student teams in their own region, the competition will engage students in both countries in a common challenge to highlight the roles that science and technology and the strategy of design play in solving problems that transcend national boundaries and to help prepare students for success in life. The 2011 challenge posed to students is “Solar Solutions to the Rescue”. Teams of students will design a solar-powered solution to a basic human need identified in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Participants will identify a situation, explore the issue, and then present their unique clean tech solution to a panel Copyright r 2011 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Science Prize for Online Resources in Education
The Concord Consortium’s Molecular Workbench software has been awarded a SPORE Prize (Science Prize for Online Resources in Education). The American Association for the Advancement of Science established the SPORE Prize to “encourage innovation and excellence in education, as well as to encourage the use of high-quality online resources by students, Published: July 14, 2011 1207
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Journal of Chemical Education teachers, and the public”. Winners are chosen by a panel chaired by the Editor-in-Chief of Science magazine, which publishes essays from prizewinners. According to the award announcement, the Molecular Workbench is a free, open-source software tool that helps learners overcome challenges in understanding the science of atoms and molecules. Using sophisticated computational methods based on first principles, the Molecular Workbench simulates atomic-scale phenomena and permits students to interact with them. Developed by Charles Xie, the Molecular Workbench models electrons, atoms, and molecules, which makes it applicable across physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. Xie’s “Visualizing Chemistry with Infrared Imaging” appeared in the July 2011 issue of this Journal (pp 881 885; DOI: 10.1021/ed1009656), and images from his work are featured on the cover in the same month; see http://pubs.acs.org/action/ showLargeCover?issue=358639768 (accessed Jul 2011). Read more about the Concord Consortium and the Molecular Workbench at http://mw.concord.org/ (accessed Jul 2011) and at http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2011/0624spore_award.shtml (accessed Jul 2011). The SPORE prize is described at http://www.sciencemag.org/site/feature/data/prizes/spore/ (accessed Jul 2011).
’ SEPTEMBER DEADLINES Dorothy and Moses Passer Education Fund
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
• Earth Science Education: http://www.agiweb.org/geoeducation. html • International Year of Chemistry: http://www.chemistry2011. org/ • National Science Foundation: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/ • NSF Education and Human Resources: http://www.nsf. gov/dir/index.jsp?org=EHR • NSTA New Science Teacher Academy: http://www.nsta. org/academy/ • Research Corporation for Science Advancement (Cottrell Awards): http://www.rescorp.org/ • Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge: http:// www.wecanchange.com/ • Toyota TAPESTRY Grants: http://www.nsta.org/pd/tapestry/ • Vernier Technology Awards: http://www.vernier.com/grants/ nsta.html
’ DO YOU HAVE NEWS OR ANNOUNCEMENTS TO SHARE? If you have news or announcements of interest to the chemical education community, send a brief description to Alice Teter at
[email protected].
’ AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected].
This Fund was established by a generous donation of Dorothy and Moses Passer. Moses (Mike) Passer was for many years the head of the ACS Education Division. Grants from this fund are for teachers at two- and four-year colleges or universities that do not have any advanced degree programs in the chemical sciences. The awards support continuing education activities that must be directly related to the applicant’s teaching and must take the applicant away from his or her campus. The next application deadline for this fund is September 1, 2011. Find information about the history of the award, details about the application process, and lists of previous awardees at http://www.divched.org/index.php?module=webpage&id=19 (accessed Jul 2011). Cottrell College Science Awards
These awards support high quality research through early career grants to individuals or teams of faculty. The target date for completed applications is November 15. A preliminary proposal, with a September 15 deadline, is required for all applicants. Find an extensive FAQ about these awards at http://www.rescorp. org/cottrell-college-science-awards/faq (accessed Jul 2011).
’ WEB SITES OF ONGOING INTEREST A number of Web sites regularly add information about programs and funding sources for science educators. These sites sometimes post dates and deadlines too late to make it into print. Here is a partial list of such sites. We encourage you to visit them often (all accessed Jul 2011). • ACS Grants and Scholarships: http://www.acs.org/ (Home > Funding & Awards > Grants) • ACS Meetings: http://www.acs.org/ Home > Meetings • AGI Earth Science Week: http://www.earthsciweek.org/ • Dorothy and Moses Passer Education Fund: http://www. divched.org/index.php?module=webpage&id=19 1208
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