Weekly News Flashes

Monday Morning Message, November 16, 2009

What is the wind chill factor at your house? Pretty cold Sunday in Tijeras!

Kickoff Feedback

41 people have filled out our one page survey. Please spend five minutes filling it out at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=NP83jrI0Rsf0fYkLu_2f8iMg_3d_3d

Project Review

Our scientists and alums are emailing you with your second review of your project. Please write back to them, thank them for their time (they are volunteers) and cc consult @ challenge.nm.org. If you do not hear from someone within one week, please let us know.

December Interim Report

Your team needs to submit your Interim Report before you leave school for winter break. Guidelines can be found at http://challenge.nm.org/interims Then one of our volunteers will review your report in Jan. You need to have five sources and only three of them from the Internet and you need to cite them. There on online tools that can help you with that: Zotero, Citation Machine, Bibme

This bibliography will then be ready to paste into your final report. We are going to create a wiki with research tips.

Mentors

It would be prudent for you to find a mentor this month so that you can report your progress in the December Interim. Please let Consult know if you need some assistance. You can get an online expert, a parent, a community member, an university professor or graduate student, a Challenge alum or a business person to help you with your project in many different areas.

Aspen Visit to the Santa Fe Complex

Aspen Elementary students from Los Alamos participated in a supercomputing field trip to the Santa Fe Complex. Many of the students enjoyed the hands-on training and learning to write programs in Star Logo TNG and Net Logo. One thing that all students found fun to work with was the sand table as it helped them to see elevations and how the different terrains could affect an experiment. The computer program developed for the simulation of fire propagation and other natural events were very interesting. The students learned that the fire propagates upward because of the hot air moves upwards. They could see this on the sand terrain that the simulation results were projected. They change the terrain properties to prevent the fire etc. This field trip showed the students that computers can do so many more things than they ever imagined.

The students want to thank all who helped them at the Santa Fe Complex. They highly recommend it for future supercomputing students and suggest the class be taught all day. By having an all day session, the students would gain additional guidance in the programming of their Supercomputing Challenge projects.

Thanks so much for allowing us to come to the Santa Fe Complex and all of the hands-on training they received.

Aspen Elementary School

November

Any team needing a school visit? Please let Consult know.

Epidemiology

Robin, our keynote, continues with these goals for epidemiologists:

1. Identify causes and risk factors for disease.
2. Determine extent of disease in the community.
3. Study natural history and prognosis of the disease.
4. Evaluate preventive and therapeutic measures.
5. Provide foundation for public policy.

Perhaps, if your project is about epidemiology, your team might want to focus on one of these goals.

Project Proposals

We currently have 86 proposals on the web. We will be nagging the others registered to submit their proposals to https://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/proposal_login.php. We really want each team who registered in September to finish in April.

Teaming

We are also creating a teaming wiki http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/wiki/index.php/Teaming where you can get ideas to keep your team moving forward. You can create an account and add some ideas to our wiki. Deb Loftin currently from Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho, shares that food really helps teams focus. Get a schedule made out for whom brings snacks to what meetings.

Warmly,
Betsy, Celia and David

Monday Morning Message, November 9, 2009

Good Day,

Lovely weather we are enjoying, crisp night and mornings and pleasant days.

Kickoff Feedback

Only 21 people have filled out our one page survey and most of them are staff. Please give us your feedback.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=NP83jrI0Rsf0fYkLu_2f8iMg_3d_3d

Research Phase

Now is the time for you to be finding at least five sources that pertain to your project. Interviews, surveys, previously written code, and even past Challenge projects. You can use our search process which is found on the upper left hand side of our home page. Type in a word like "epidemiology" or "ecology" or whatever it is you are interested in researching for your project. That will take you to a list of past Challenge investigations. Teams would be honored to be cited as a resource.)

Utilize the advanced search mode from Google http://www.google.com.au/advanced_search.
Here are some tips from Google on how to use this feature: http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=136861

Project Review

Our scientists and alums are emailing you with your second review of your project. Please write back to them, thank them for their time (they are volunteers) and cc consult @ challenge.nm.org. If you do not hear from someone within one week, please let us know.

November

In the Challenge milestones, November is the time to let Consult know that your team wants someone to come visit and help them focus on their project. Please write to consult and let us know. We have visits to Bloomfield High, Navajo Prep and Tibbetts Mid in the Four Corners, Northern NM College in Espanola, and Edgewood Elementary, as well as Sandia Prep and Albuquerque Academy in Albuquerque planned so far. Please let us know if your team would like a visit this month.

Epidemiology

We failed to share the site of Robin's keynote with you last week. It is http://rmbush.bio.uci.edu/Robin.Sacramento.pdf

Questions she raises about modeling epidemiology:

• Who has already been infected?
• Who of those left are the most susceptible?
• What are the co-morbidity factors?
• What is the relative risk?
• Who should get access to limited antivirals and vaccines?
• What if the most susceptible people are fat teenage smokers?
• Would you give one of them your vaccine?
• How do we best allocate resources to keep the evolution of antiviral resistance at bay?
• If the disease is relatively mild now, would it be better to risk catching it, so that you might be partially resistant if it were to come back in a more virulent form?

Project Proposals

We currently have 78 proposals on the web. We will be nagging the others registered to submit their proposals to https://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/proposal_login.php. We really want each team who registered in September to finish in April.

Challenge as a Marathon

We like to look at the Challenge year as an academic marathon. Each and every one of you can finish your project! Please read about our marathon at http://www.challenge.nm.org/archive/07-08/marathon.shtml

So, just as the completion rate in a modern marathon is over 90%, participants in this year's New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge are likely to enjoy the rewards and satisfaction of the presenting their final projects in the spring.

Mentors

Successful teams credit their success to having the correct mentors. You can have several mentors. Get someone to help you with your research, someone to help you with your science, someone to help you with your agent based or mathematical modeling. We have a database for you to utilize at http://www.challenge.nm.org/resources/mentors.shtml. Write a polite and articulate note to one of these volunteers and let us know of your success. Contact Consult if you are having difficulty obtaining a mentor. We suggest that by the end of November that you have some mentors in place.

Mini Challenge

Santa Fe Complex is hosting an "Art of Systems Biology" Show in the Spring 2009 with Los Alamos National Lab. They're recruiting students and mentors to learn about Systems Biology and develop models and visualizations for the show and for projects in Supercomputing Challenge. Please contact Stephen Guerin for more info.

Aspen Elementary Challenge Students visited the Complex last week and worked with Project GUTS. We will ask them to send us a review. Consider taking a field trip to the Complex for a marvelous view of art, science and technology.

Teaming

There is some old research that talks to teams' progression: forming, storming, norming and performing. We assume that you are currently in the second stage of storming. "Decisions don't come easily within group. Team members vie for position as they attempt to establish themselves in relation to other team members and the leader, who might receive challenges from team members. Clarity of purpose increases but plenty of uncertainties persist. Cliques and factions form and there may be power struggles. The team needs to be focused on its goals to avoid becoming distracted by relationships and emotional issues. Compromises may be required to enable progress. Leader coaches."

There is also an excellent free test at Don Clark's Big Dog site, to indicate whether your team is forming, storming, norming or performing.

The correct way to site this source according to IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ) rules is

A. Chapman, "Bruce Tuckman 1965 original 'Forming-storming-norming-performing' concept.". [Online]. Available: http://www.businessballs.com/tuckmanformingstormingnormingperforming.htm [Accessed: Nov. 8, 2009].

We will be talking about citing sources throughout the year.

Warmly,
Betsy, Celia and David

Monday Afternoon Message, November 2, 2009

Happy November!

We loved meeting many of you at our 20th kickoff in the Sacramento Mountains. Please check out the pictures on our home page, http://challenge.nm.org

On a more serious note, we are still missing a Dell 3200MP projection system. If you know the whereabouts, please email Consult or call 505-667-2864. There is a reward for the projector's return.

Keynote

Look at Robin's presentation (8 megabyte pdf file). Many of our classes will be listed at http://challenge.nm.org/archive/09-10/kickoff/classes. If one you are wanting to review isn't there, please let us know.

Survey Monkey

We want your feedback about the kickoff. Please fill out this short survey created by John Paul Gonzales. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=NP83jrI0Rsf0fYkLu_2f8iMg_3d_3d

Project Proposals

We currently have 65 proposals on the web. To the other 60 or so teams, please let us know about YOUR project by submitting YOUR proposal too. For details see: http://www.challenge.nm.org/proposals

Project Review

Our scientists and alums are emailing you with your second review of your project. Please write back to them, thank them for their time (they are volunteers) and cc consult @ challenge.nm.org If you do not hear from someone within two weeks, please let us know.

Research

You need to include five resources for your project in your Interim report, due by Winter Break. Two of your sources need to be non-internet sources. Utilize your librarian and get some extra credit from your English teacher.

Here are some research tips: http://challenge.nm.org/archive/04-05/sti/research/index.shtml

Also, please check out Zotero It is a powerful, easy-to-use research tool that helps you gather, organize, and analyze sources and then share the results of your research. www.zotero.org

Epidemiology

Robin has offered her honorarium to the team(s) who does the best project(s) on our topic of epidemiology. This award will be presented at our Awards Day on April 27, 2010.

Important Challenge Dates are available at http://challenge.nm.org/dates.shtml

Let's review the SIR model here, to model the progress of an epidemic in a large population. Here is a good link from Duke University: http://www.math.duke.edu/education/ccp/materials/diffcalc/sir/contents.html

Can you answer these questions from Duke University?

1. Explain briefly the modeling steps that lead to the SIR model.
2. Given a population and disease combination for which the SIR model is appropriate, what are the possible outcomes when a trace of infection is introduced into the population? How can you tell whether there will be an epidemic?
3. Does "epidemic" mean that almost everyone will get the disease? If so, what keeps the spread of disease going? If not, what causes the epidemic to end before everyone gets sick?
4. How can it happen that a large percentage of a population may get sick during an epidemic even though only a small percentage is sick at any one time?
5. Explain briefly the key idea for finding solutions of an SIR model without finding explicit solution formulas.
6. Describe briefly the meaning and significance of contact number.
7. Describe briefly the meaning and significance of herd immunity. How can an inoculation program lead to herd immunity?
8. The contact number for poliomyelitis in the U.S. in 1955 was 4.9. Explain why we have been able to eradicate this disease even though we cannot eradicate measles. Give a careful argument -- "smaller contact number" is an observation, not an explanation.

November

In the Challenge milestones, November is the time to let Consult know that your team wants someone to come visit and help them focus on their project. Please write to consult and let us know.

Python Forum

There was talk after the electives on Sunday night to have a Python club. If you are interested in joining an online forum about Python, please write to consult and tell us of your interest. We will then set up an Open Source (free) forum for you to talk with some New Mexican "Pythonistas."

Sincerely yours,
Betsy, Celia and David, Consult Management

Thursday Morning Message, October 29, 2009

Let's keep the enthusiasm from the Kickoff going!

Proposals

So far 55 teams have submitted their proposals. To the other 70 or so teams, please let us know about YOUR project by submitting a proposal too. For details see: http://www.challenge.nm.org/proposals

Missing equipment from the Kickoff Conference

When we finished packing up the equipment around noon on Monday, we realized that we were missing a Dell Latitude C820 laptop computer and a Dell 3200MP projection system. If you know the whereabouts of these items, please email Consult or call 505-667-2864. There is a reward for their return.

Santa Fe Complex visit

Several students from Aspen Elementary school will be visiting the Santa Fe Complex on Tuesday for some instruction in StarLogo TNG and to learn about some of the exciting things that are happening at the Complex.

Friday Morning Message, October 23, 2009

Students and Teachers,

We will be greeting you in about 48 hours to welcome you to the 20th annual Supercomputing Challenge Kickoff!

Here are some reminders from Monday's message:

Pack

Don't forget your flashlight for your night classes. And remember your pillow, sleeping bag, towel, tooth brush, etc. It will be in the 30's in the evening and in the 50's during the day, so dress accordingly.

Valuables

If you have a laptop, please bring it with you, but make some plans with your teacher about where you might be able to lock it up. Perhaps you can talk to your bus driver and lock the bus. Please leave other valuables at home. We will have phones available for emergencies.
Phone Numbers for Emergencies
Betsy Frederick 505-220-5050
SMA - 1.800.667.3414
1.575.687.3414

Maps and Directions to SMA

Road map

http://www.sacramentoassembly.org/docs/Map%20to%20Camp.pdf There will be balloon bouquets at important intersections.

Camp map

http://www.sacramentoassembly.org/maps.php Print out how to get to the camp and also the layout so that you can find your classes and dorm.

Rules of the Grounds

http://www.challenge.nm.org/kickoff/SMA_rulesofthegrounds.pdf while at the Sacramento Methodist Assembly.

Individual Schedules

http://www.challenge.nm.org/kickoff/session_one.html with drop down menus for math levels 1 - 11.

Housing

Here is the housing list http://www.challenge.nm.org/kickoff/housing_session1.html

Proposals

We now have 37 proposals online. We will work with all teams on their proposals and help those who don't have one online yet.

Registration

See you in the small cafe Sunday 12 - 2 to get your schedules, t-shirts, etc.

Overview, 2PM in the gym

Our Nick Bennett will talk to you about the kickoff, our epidemiology theme, computational science and complex systems. Got questions? consult @ challenge.nm.org

Anxiously awaiting your arrival,
Betsy, Celia and David

Monday Morning Message, October 19, 2009

Good Day,

The majority of us will be together next Monday at the Sacramento Methodist Assembly (SMA) Camp having computational science classes and then taking the bus home. Our team of facilitators have planned seven wonderful classes for you.

Projects

Talk with your team about your school year long project. We already have 17 proposals submitted at http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/view_proposals.php One of the main goals of the Kickoff is to help you focus on the problem you want to solve. There will be a session most of you will attend to help you plan your proposal. Attached are some suggested past projects that you could study and improve upon also.

Pack

Don't forget your flashlight for your night classes. And remember your pillow, sleeping bag, towel, tooth brush, etc. It will be in the 30's in the evening and in the 60's during the day, so do bring layers that you can place on and then take off. We will be over 7000 feet elevation.

Valuables

If you have a laptop, please bring it with you, but make some plans with your teacher about where you might be able to lock it up. Perhaps you can talk to your bus driver and lock the bus. Please leave other valuables at home. We will have phones available for emergencies.

Phone Numbers for Emergencies

Betsy Frederick 505-220-5050
SMA - 1.800.667.3414
1.575.687.3414

Maps and Directions to SMA

Road map
http://www.sacramentoassembly.org/docs/Map%20to%20Camp.pdf . There will be balloon bouquets at important intersections

Camp map
http://www.sacramentoassembly.org/maps.php Print out how to get to the camp and also the layout so that you can find your classes and dorm.

News from a Cruces friend:
We are in the midst of a movie filming here. It has complicated travel on Highway 70 for several weeks. Closures will be posted online at NMRoads.com and through the automated system at (575) 526-0795. More information is available by calling the Department of Transportation at (575) 525-7340 or the film office at (505) 227-2663.

Registration at SMA, starting at noon

Your teacher will come to the first table in the small cafe and get your name tags. You will pick up a t-shirt at the t-shirt table. You will pick up a schedule for the two days at the schedule table. You will sign up for an elective and you will get your picture taken so you have a picture ID for our end of the year tour at Los Alamos National Labs.(LANL)

Lunch

Some teams will receive a sack lunch from 12 - 1. Teachers, please make sure you have placed your order today.

Overview, 2PM in the gym

Our Nick Bennett will talk to you about the kickoff, our epidemiology theme, computational science and complex systems.

Epidemiology

Talk about a timely topic! If you have a fever, please stay home. We will have a health professional to work with us. We need to use the hand sanitizer in the dining hall before every meal and the bottles in the computer labs.

Three Hourly Classes from 2:30 - 5:30

Birthday Dinner

It is our 20th birthday celebration. LANL is sponsoring a special dinner for us all!

Keynote, Skipper Hall, Gym

Dr. Robin Bush, Associate Professor, University of California, Irvine, in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, will be our Keynote Speaker. Learn more about her. We will all have a piece of birthday cake afterwards.

Electives

Six of your classes are based on your math level. You may be separated from the rest of your team. After the keynote and cake, you can choose to watch a movie in the gym: How Kevin Bacon Cured Cancer and then do some fun related activities. Or you can choose to go to one of these impressive classes:

1. Web Programming - For Beginners to Advanced -HTML Syntax, FTP, Cascading Style Sheets, JavaScript, Applets, Server Side Scripts, Resource Booklet
2. Introduction to Python - Dynamic Programming Language, Immediate Feedback, Links, Epidemiology Model
3. Virus Game - Palm Pilot Virus Simulation Game
4. Career Workshop - Want to Make Money? Take STEM classes! Learn what STEM means
5. Gaming with StarLogo - Learn Some Gaming Fundamentals
6. I am a Technical Woman - Watch a DVD about Women in Technology then discuss how to be a "woman of influence" in technology
7. Tower of Hanoi - Play this Mathematical Game Online. What is a Recursive Algorithm Anyways?
8. AP CS - Advanced Placement Computer Science Online Class
9. Student Mentoring - College kids helping high schoolers, high schoolers helping mid-schoolers, mid schoolers helping elementary students
10. More Visualization - Visual Delights: Data visualization is about the combination of visual and statistical thinking
11. Parallel Processing - Learn How to Work Faster and Smarter
12. Open Source- Learn what Free Open Source Means and What Programs the Challenge Uses

Curfew 11 PM

You need to be in your room with lights out. Teachers are working on what the consequences will be if you choose not to follow this rule.

Breakfast 7:30 - 8:25

Three more classes

Lunch 11:30 - 12:30

Teachers once again please place your orders for either a sack lunch for the bus or a cafeteria lunch if you haven't already.

Sincerely yours,
Betsy, Celia and David
Supercomputing Challenge Consulting

Monday Morning Message, October 12, 2009

Good Day,

We are now almost 400 strong. Here are some statistics we have gathered. 79 of you are taking Algebra 2. 143 of you are in the 12th grade. 333 teachers and students are coming to the kickoff. 44% of you are girls. 253 of you are new to the Challenge. 35 of you have been GUTS (Growing Up Thinking Scientifically) participants. 133 of you ordered a medium t-shirt.

Checklist Pre-Kickoff

_____ Send in TEAFs and registration fees.
      http://www.challenge.nm.org/archive/09-10/teaf.pdf

_____ Form Team.   http://www.challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml

_____ Submit Proposal.
      http://challenge.nm.org/proposals/  We will help you with a
      proposal if you do not have one.

_____ Read Kickoff Ground Rules.
      http://www.challenge.nm.org/kickoff/SMA_rulesofthegrounds.pdf

_____ Read Acceptable Use.
      http://www.challenge.nm.org/archive/09-10/aup.shtml

_____ Fill out the Pre-Challenge Survey.
      http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Tl54WswqoCSvEyEqrpgwpQ_3d_3d

_____ Find a sleeping bag, pillow, toiletries and towel to bring with
      you to the kickoff.

Birthday Celebrations

Please check out the first cake of our 20th birthday celebrations at the Santa Fe Convention Center. That picture is attached to this message. The Challenge was the honored guest of Innovate/Educate and Qwest that night.

We are going to have five mini monthly challenges to celebrate our birthday. The first one is for the 87 of you that have been in the Challenge before. We want you to create a short You Tube video that explains the Challenge process. There will be monetary awards from NMTC (New Mexico Technology Council) for all those videos that come in.

Create a three minute video of the Challenge process with the important dates highlighted. Use costumes, insert pictures, make a TV show, dance, sing a song, etc. Our experienced teams have much to share with our new teams and this may be fun! We will play the videos and give out the awards at the kickoff. Come on Artesia, Melrose, Bloomfield, Hope, Manzano, Silver, Socorro and others. Help us celebrate! Include that we are 20 years old, a statewide program, 8000 participants, mentors, the Kickoff conference, interim and final reports, face to face evaluation, end of year expo and awards ceremony and scholarships and prizes. We can't wait to see the experienced teams' creativity!

Kickoff http://challenge.nm.org/kickoff

The Kickoff Conference at the Sacramento Methodist Assembly will be held on October 25-26. Sacramento is located about 30 miles southeast of Cloudcroft and 80 miles west of Artesia (in the Sacramento mountains). See their website for maps and directions.

Schedule Highlights

12-2 Registration in the small cafe: Receive schedule according to math
     level, get t-shirt, get picture taken
12-1 Lunch: Request form will go to teachers this week.
   2 Kickoff and Epidemiology Overview
2:30 - 5:30  Three classes
5:30 Birthday Bash
7:30 Keynote
8:30 Elective or movie
11 Curfew
7:30 Breakfast
8:30 - 11:30  Three more classes
11:30 Lunch (Sack lunches for those who need to leave early.)

Epidemiology

From Project GUTS, here is an introduction to epidemiology: http://projectguts.org/files/Fileshare_Area493/Unit1/GUTS_unit1-Overview.pdf

"Epidemiology is the scientific study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations. The basic premise of epidemiology is that the cause of a disease results in higher rates of the illness in those that have been exposed to the cause than in those who have not been exposed. And thus, one can look for the commonalities in those who are infected when searching for the cause. Epidemiology serves as the theoretical foundation and cornerstone methodology of public health research. Computer simulations are used in the field of epidemiology to study the spread of diseases and the outcomes of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine.

Epidemiology was chosen as the first unit in the Project GUTS curriculum and for the Challenge yearly theme,because it is a timely and relevant subject and a topic that can be studied as a complex system using a variety of technology tools. We have seen students relate "infectivity" to many situations and scenarios they witness in every day life: the fads and fashions that spread through a school, the spread of rumors, and the infectious quality of bullying behavior have been chosen as students' research topics that relate to epidemiology."

Supercomputing Link

This week's link comes from Mr. G, the Library Guy, a teacher sponsor from Artesia High School. Keep those cards and letters coming about supercomputing and parallel processing.

NASA Science News for October 6, 2009
Archeologists are using NASA satellites and supercomputers to crack the mystery of the ancient Maya. New findings suggest the Maya may have played a key role in their own downfall.

FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/06oct_maya.htm?list1087052

See you in two weeks! We can't wait.

Sincerely yours,
Betsy, Celia and David, Challenge management team

Monday Morning Message, October 5, 2009

Team Formation

There are still 61 registered participants that haven't formed teams. Please form teams soon as part of step three of the Registration process.

Team Entry Authorization Forms

Step five of the registration process above is to submit with the TEAF for each team, along with the Supercomputing Challenge registration fee.

Pre-Survey

Have you filled out the pre-Challenge survey at step seven of the registration process?

Kickoff Schedule

We hope to have the Kickoff Schedule ready to share with you soon. Much work is being done behind the scenes to make the Kickoff a valuable event for you. Mark your calendars, arrive in Sacrament, NM by 2:00pm on Sunday October 25. Classes and activities will be held Sunday afternoon and evening and on Monday morning. Lunch will be provided on Monday before your departure. Help us celebrate our 20th annual kickoff!

Proposals

Step nine of the registration process is to prepare a Proposal about the project you wish to work on this year. See http://www.challenge.nm.org/proposals for details and submit your proposal online and bring a hard copy of it to the Kickoff so that you can discuss it with a scientist.

Looking forward to see all of you October 25th!

Monday Morning Message, September 28, 2009

Registration

Our registration is at 248 people. New schools to register this week are Tibbetts Middle School in Farmington, San Jon High and Hatch Valley High.

After registering, start forming your teams. Click on "Register or Manage Teams" at https://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/teamreg_login.php. 51 teams have registered so far, so there are still 83 students that need to form, or register, their teams.

Please send in your in Team Entry Authorization Forms which can be found at http://challenge.nm.org/archive/09-10/teaf.pdf

Class at the Kickoff

Are any of you out there mad scientists? Would you like to learn about Arduino? Learn about it at http://www.arduino.cc/

This micro-controller programming environment is based on the same editor as Processing uses. If we find that some of you are interested, we may offer this as an optional class on Sunday evening. Please write to consult @ challenge dot nm dot org with your interest.

Research

The Oregon School Library Information System has six steps to doing research:

1. Define
2. Plan
3. Research
4. Create
5. Present
6. Reflect

Step Four is Create. Steps One - Three are on our webpage under Newsflash.

Putting It All Together - the Post-Search

• Prepare your presentation and evaluate your results.
• Communicate what you have learned.
• Create your presentation.
• Cite your sources appropriately.
• Use Citation Maker MLA or APA
• Prepare to present the results of your research to others to edit or make suggestions prior to actually turning in or presenting the project.

Don't forget!

Record titles, authors, publishers, dates and other relevant information for citation purposes.

Research Terms Dictionary

Interesting Supercomputing Link

From Computer World, September 22, 2009

"They aren't selling personal supercomputers at Best Buy just yet. But that day probably isn't too far off, as costs continue to fall and supercomputers become easier to use."

Proposals

Do you have an idea for a project? Start working on your proposal now. You can check out the two that have already been posted at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/proposals

Most Challenge teams will have proposals posted before the Kickoff Conference and need to bring a hard copy of the proposal with them to the Kickoff. If you are a new team and are not sure about this process, bring your ideas and we will help you get a proposal planned at the Kickoff.

Sincerely,
Betsy, Celia and David among others!

Monday Morning Message, September 21, 2009

If you have registered since last Monday, see the past MMMs at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/news_flash.shtml

Registration

Register today at http://challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml

After registering, start forming your teams. (Click on "Register or Manage Teams" at the above link.) 20 teams have registered so far, so there are still 100 students that need to form, or register, their teams.

Supercomputing Link

The Supercomputing Challenge is an exciting program that offers a truly unique experience to students in our state. The opportunity to work on the most powerful computers in the world is currently available to only a very few students in the entire United States, but in New Mexico, it is just one of the benefits of living in the "Land of Enchantment."

The Supercomputing Challenge is a program encompassing the school year in which teams of students complete science projects using high-performance supercomputers. Each team of up to five students and a sponsoring teacher defines and works on a single computational project of its own choosing.

Throughout the program, help and support are given to the teams by their teacher sponsors and the Supercomputing Challenge organizers and sponsors.

The Supercomputing Challenge is open to all interested students in grades 6 through 12 on a non-selective basis. The program has no grade point, class enrollment or computer experience prerequisites.

Participants come from public, private, parochial and home-based schools in all areas of New Mexico. The important requirement for participating is a real desire to learn about science and computing.

Research

The Oregon School Library Information System has six steps to doing research:

1. Define
2. Plan
3. Research
4. Create
5. Present
6. Reflect

Step Three is Research

• Gather your information,
• Collect what you can use,
• Evaluate the content of your sources,
• Digest Your Own Info

Don't forget!

Record titles, authors, publishers, dates and other relevant information for citation purposes.

Research Terms Dictionary

Interesting Link

http://www.technologyreview.com/TR35/Profile.aspx?Cand=T&TRID=818

Complex physics simulations can run on everyday PCs. Adrien Treuille simplifies simulations by "streamlining the mathematical representation of a scenario, removing unlikely outcomes. For example, he says, a full simulation of how a shirt might be folded would include fantastic origami-style shapes."

He also co-created a downloadable game called Foldit, "that allows players to fold and tug on simulations of known proteins to design new molecules." http://fold.it/portal/user/46/show_scores. More than 90,000 users have registered and played since the game's launch in May 2008. Treuille wonders if someone--perhaps even an amateur--might someday use Foldit to discover a protein that cures cancer."

Proposals

Start working on a proposal for your project. One as already been posted at: http://www.challenge.nm.org/proposals/
Challenge teams should have proposals posted before the Kickoff Conference and need to bring a hard copy of the proposal with them to the Kickoff.

Got questions?

consult @ challenge . nm . org
Betsy, Celia and David among others!

Monday Morning Message, September 14, 2009

It is State Fair time in Albuquerque. We know many of you participate through 4H and such, so good luck and enjoy that cotton candy.

Registration

New schools to register this week are Chaparral Mid, Los Alamos High and Mid and the Media Arts Charter School. That takes us from Anthony through Albuquerque up to Los Alamos.

Register today at http://challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml

After registering, start forming your teams. (Click on "Register or Manage Teams" at the above link.) Fourteen teams have registered so far.

Supercomputing Link

What is supercomputing? Why is this program called the Supercomputing Challenge?

Supercomputing is performing computational science on high-performance computers. This statement introduces two questions: what is computational science, and what are high-performance computers.

Computational science is a discipline in which a scientific problem, be it one of biology, physics, geology, medicine, engineering, or any other field, is modeled by one or more mathematical equations. These equations are typically so computationally intensive that it might take human beings years to solve the problem by traditional pencil and paper methods. Thus, these equations must be solved by a computer, where the work can be accomplished in relatively little time. Similarly, the output can be so complex that it must also be interpreted by a computer. Often this means displaying the output in some type of graphical format.

As you can see, computational science isn't just computer programming, but it includes any general area of science along with math and computer science. The definition of a high-performance computer (or a supercomputer), changes daily since computers are continually getting stronger and faster. Therefore, a high-performance computer could simply be considered to be one of the "best" at the current time.

Your current desktop is more powerful than the supercomputers teams used 20 years ago. The Supercomputing Challenge is an exciting program that offers a truly unique experience to students in our state. The opportunity to work on the most powerful computers in the world is currently available to only a very few students in the entire United States, but in New Mexico, it is just one of the benefits of living in the "Land of Enchantment."

The "Challenge" is to come up with a project that could be expanded to require the processing power available with supercomputers.

Research

The Oregon School Library Information System has six steps to doing research:

1. Define
2. Plan
3. Research
4. Create
5. Present
6. Reflect

Step Two Plan

• Any time you want to know about something, you're going to need to do some research. Good research requires a good plan, whether it's just for a quick answer to something you wonder about or if it's for a major research project for a class assignment.
• Learn how to plan your research, locate the best sources, and put it all together for a great presentation.
• Use the Online Research Planner ...(Be sure you PRINT this planner after you enter your answers! AND before you close it!!!) ...to map your own project as you go through this "How-To."

NASA Link

Spectacular First Images from the Rejuvenated Hubble Space Telescope
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/09sep_hubbleimages.htm?list195095

Sincerely yours,
Betsy, Celia and David

Tuesday Morning Message, September 8, 2009

Happy September!

We hope you enjoyed your day off on Monday!

Registration

Have you ever heard that saying the early bird gets the worm?

We have some early bird registration information:
TOTAL: 90 (students: 77 | teachers: 13)

If we get that many students and teachers registering each week, we will reach our participant goal for this year.

Register today at http://challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml

Proposals

So what problem is your team going to work on this year? We are going to study epidemiology together here online and at the kickoff. So you can do an epidemiology project.

You can look at all the final reports from past years and study them and improve upon those. Look in the archives at http://challenge.nm.org/archive to find these projects.

Or you can think up your own problem.

Each of these three categories will have awards connected to them. Guidelines for proposals can be found at http://challenge.nm.org/proposals/proposal_guidelines.shtml

We hope to have a Meet the Scientist workshop Sunday, the 25th in the Sacramento Mountains that will really help you with all of this technical writing and computational thinking.

Supercomputing Link

Eleanor Walther, judge, mentor, friend of the Challenge, at Sandia National Laboratories suggested this link

Personal Supercomputers Promise Teraflops on Your Desk
"True supercomputers, the rock stars of computing, are capable of millions of calculations per second. The shift away from large supercomputers to smaller versions has also made research more cost effective for organizations."

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/08/personal-supercomputers

Research

The Oregon School Library Information System has six steps to doing research:

1. Define
2. Plan
3. Research
4. Create
5. Present
6. Reflect

Step One Define

1. Define Your Timeline:
2. Challenge Dates
3. Essential Question

Resources: Define

1. Picking a Topic
2. Guidelines for Choosing and Picking a Topic for the Challenge

These are your tips for registering early.

Thanks, Artesia, Espanola, Freedom High and Melrose for having several teams already registered.

Sincerely yours,
Betsy, Celia and David

Monday Morning Message, August 31, 2009

Registration

Registration is live at http://www.challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml

Be the first one in your neighborhood to register.

Registration deadline is September 30th.

Links

Every week we will be sharing either a research, supercomputing or science link. Please send us any interesting links that you come across.

Research Link

What skills do college students need and does the Challenge help provide?
http://studyskills.suite101.com/article.cfm/job_skills_that_every_college_student_needs

The Challenge Board of Directors would like you to become a creator of technology, not just a consumer. We want to take you on a journey that is beyond Information Technology. We want you to "know about data and idea and combine these resources to solve problems." We want you to "move beyond using tools and information to creating tools and information". We want you to "manipulate data, using abstractions." Pat Phillips defined this as computational thinking. We borrowed these thoughts from a PowerPoint on the web, so we need to cite that source and if we were writing a technical paper, the citing would look like this.

Phillips, Pat. Computational Thinking: Preparing Students to Succeed in the Creative Age. Retrieved August 29, 2009, from http://www.csta.acm.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/sub/CSIT09Presentations/Phillips_Computational.pdf.

NASA Link

COLBERT, Leonardo and a Neutralino Heading for Space Station
http://www.universetoday.com/2009/08/28/colbert-leonardo-and-a-neutralino-heading-for-space-station/

Teachers

This is a seminal article by Jeanette Wing on Computational Thinking
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/usr/wing/www/publications/Wing06.pdf

This topic would be a good one to use if you are teaching a Supercomputing Class this year. Here is a class being offered at Towson College:
http://triton.towson.edu/~compthnk/meetings/jan09/EverydayComputationalThinkingJan2009.pdf

Thoughts?

Hoping your semester is off to a good start. We are looking forward to seeing you at the kickoff, October 25th and 26th in the Sacramento Mountains.

Betsy, Celia and David,
Supercomputing Challenge Consulting, consult at challenge.nm.org

Monday Morning Message, August 24, 2009

Registration

Registration opens September 1st. Start forming teams now.

Please register at http://www.challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml

Registration deadline is September 30th.

Once all team members have registered individually, be sure to register the team: https://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/teamreg_login.php

Look Into The Future

Important dates are available at http://challenge.nm.org/dates.shtml. Please note these dates in your school calendar, your personal calendar, the calendar on your refrigerator, etc.

Kickoff Conference

Join us for the kickoff, classes and community building, in the Sacramento Mountains, Sunday, October 25 and Monday, the 26th.

Proposals

Teams should be thinking about their projects and preparing a proposal. See http://www.challenge.nm.org/proposals for guidelines. Teams will have a chance to work with scientists on Sunday, the 25th to finalize a project.

Theme

The keynote theme at the Kickoff is epidemiology and several of the workshops will have examples of techniques used to study how diseases spread. Teams may wish to choose a project that relates to epidemiology. The website will also soon have suggested past projects that teams can study and improve.

We are excited to be starting our 20th year and hope you can join in the celebrations!

Sincerely yours,
Betsy, Celia and David representing Consult, the Challenge Management Team
Supercomputing Challenge Consulting, consult @ challenge.nm.org

Monday Morning Message, August 17, 2009

Are you ready for the 20th Annual Supercomputing Challenge?

Registration

Start forming teams to participate in the 20th annual New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge.

Registration opens September 1st at
http://www.challenge.nm.org/registration.shtml

Registration deadline is September 30th.

Proposals

Hopefully teams have been thinking about their projects and preparing a proposal. See http://www.challenge.nm.org/proposals for guidelines.

Kickoff Conference

The Kickoff Conference will be held October 25-26 in Sacramento, New Mexico.

Teachers

Please print a flyer to place in your school for advertisement. http://www.challenge.nm.org/archive/09-10/invitation_flyer.pdf

Here is the invite link:
http://www.challenge.nm.org/archive/09-10/invitation.shtml

Is the Challenge hard? Remember our discussion of the Challenge as a Marathon at http://www.challenge.nm.org/archive/07-08/marathon.shtml

NASA Connect

Check out the Blast Back to School With NASA Educational Resources web page.

Future topics

In future Monday Morning Messages (MMMs), we will be sharing Science Links and Cool topics so if you have found something to share, let Consult know.

Looking forward to a wonderful year,

Betsy, Celia and David representing Consult, the Challenge Management Team
Supercomputing Challenge Consulting, consult @ challenge.nm.org

These News Flashes are archived at http://www.challenge.nm.org/news_flash.shtml so that you can review them at a later date. There is also a link at the top of each Challenge web page pointing to Newsflash.