UMaine Helps Middle School Girls Explore Math, Science Careers May 12

Contact: Rani Gould, (207) 581-1259, George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

ORONO — Hundreds of Maine middle school girls will spend a day at college May 12, learning about math- and science-oriented careers historically pursued by males.

Coming from all corners of the state, more than 300 girls will attend the University of Maine’s 19th annual “Expanding Your Horizons” program to get a look at more than a dozen math-science career fields. With fun, hands-on experiments, students will learn about the physical makeup of grease-fighting dish detergents, non-point source pollution; “stacking” liquids of different densities; art through CAD (computer-aided design) engineering modeling software; creating art with mirrors and geometry; discovering the beauty and diversity of “ocean flowers” — seaweeds and phytoplankton; solar-powered, photosynthetic sea slugs, or “leaves that crawl;” and how astronauts handle water in space.

The day’s events were rescheduled from March 1, when a snowstorm forced a postponement. “Expanding Your Horizons” has been coordinated for the past seven years by the University of Maine Women’s Resource Center with support from the Office of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. It is a one-day event designed to increase the interest of girls in mathematics and science through hands-on experiences, foster awareness of opportunities in math and science careers, provide young women opportunities to interact with positive female role models active in math and science careers, and provide opportunities for young women to explore gender socialization and equity issues in a supportive environment.

Visiting students can choose among a variety of 45-minute workshops and will have a chance to tour UMaine’s new Laboratory for Surface Science & Technology, with a new state-of-the-art “clean room” laboratory so tidy that scientists wearing special white suits perform molecular research in a hyper-ventilated, dust-free environment.

The girls will be mentored by almost 200 teachers from their schools, professional women from UMaine and the community, as well as university students.

A keynote presentation and welcoming remarks by physics professor Susan McKay begins the day at 9:15 a.m. at Room 100 lecture hall in the D.P. Corbett business building behind the Maine Center for the Arts. Registration starts at 8 a.m.

Workshop sessions are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., with lunch available in the Memorial Union from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Ceremonies reviewing the day’s activities are scheduled from 2:30-3 p.m. at Room 100, D.P. Corbett. Workshops will be held in classrooms and laboratories throughout the campus, but clustered around Jenness, Murray, Neville, Barrows and Sawyer buildings.

Visitors also will have an opportunity to tour university research facilities, including the Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Laboratory, the Advanced Manufacturing Center and the Electron Microscopy Laboratory in the Laboratory for Surface Science & Technology.

Schedule of Events:

Expanding Your Horizons (EYH)
University of Maine
May 12, 2005

8:00-9:00 a.m. Registration/Check-In
Donald P. Corbett Atrium

9:15 –9:45 a.m. Welcome
Keynote- Susan McKay, UMaine Professor of Physics
Donald P. Corbett, Room 100

10:00- 2:15 Workshops (see workshop schedule)
Various locations on campus

11:00- 1:00 p.m. Lunch
Marketplace- Memorial Union

2:30- 3:00 p.m. Closing & Evaluations
Donald P. Corbett, Room 100

3:00 p.m. Conference ends

For questions pertaining to EYH, please call Rani Gould at 581-1259 (available prior to and during the day of the conference).

Expanding Your Horizons Workshop Schedule
May 12, 2005

Workshop & Presenter Location Time(s)
Bubble-ology
Alyse Volovick- Math Instructor at Warsaw Middle School
Students will learn the fighting action of everyday dish detergents based on principles of the scientific theory, data analysis, and the elasticity of bonds; all with an experiment of blowing bubbles. Tough on grease, not on your brains!
(103 Murray)
10:00 — 11:00
12:00 — 1:00
1:15 — 2:15

Creative Design Using CAD
Karen Horton- Associate Professor at UMaine
Participants will use the CAD (computer-aided design) and modeling software MicroStation to create and color their own designs. They will be able to export an image of their design to email for themselves or for a friend.
(318 Boardman)
10:00 — 11:00
12:15 — 1:15

Going with the Flow
Laura Brothers- Graduate Student/Research Assistant, School of Marine Sciences at UMaine
The workshop will feature an introduction to the concept of density. Participants will identify factors that contribute to a liquid’s density, then experiment by “stacking” liquids of different densities and observing the different outcomes. Students will then observe the circulation associated with density gradients in an aquarium. We’ll briefly discuss where this type of density driven circulation might occur (anywhere in the ocean, estuaries, etc.).
(101 Bryand Global)
10:00 — 11:00
11:15 — 12:15
1:15- 2:15

Mirrors, Geometry and Art
Susan McGarry- Lecturer in Mathematics at UMaine
In this workshop, we will explore the mathematics of some popular art and use our discoveries to create some art of our own!
(131 Barrows)
10:00 — 10:45
11:00 — 11:45

Ocean Flowers: Exploring the Beauty and Diversity of Seaweeds and Phytoplankton
Jessica Muhlin- Ph.D. candidate in Marine Biology at UMaine
Participants will explore the world of marine algae (both microscopic and macroscopic) and have an opportunity to learn a few of the common seaweeds in the Gulf of Maine, as well as look at phytoplankton under compound light microscopes. There will be an opportunity to press a specimen of seaweed, starting your own algae collection.
TBA 10:00 — 10:45
1:30 — 2:15

Non-Point Source Pollution: A Little Goes a Long Way!
Jean MacRae- Assistant Professor at UMaine
We will “pollute” a model of the Penobscot watershed and have a rainstorm, then see what happens to the pollution. We’ll discuss where it comes from, what it does in the environment, and what we can do to prevent problems. (17 Boardman)
11:00 — 11:45
1:30 — 2:15

Solar-Powered Sea Slugs
Mary E. Rumpho-Kennedy- Professor at UMaine
Dr. Farahad Dastoro- Research Associate at UMaine
Mr. Jared Worful- Graduating Senior at UMaine
The fascinating world of photosynthetic sea slugs, or “leaves that crawl”, will be explored. These very green mollusks steal chloroplasts from algae and then live like plants using the energy of sunlight. Students will work in teams to isolate and separate the pigments from sea slugs and various algae and plants to determine a possible source of the stolen chloroplasts.
(184 Hitchner)
10:00 — 11:00
12:00 — 1:00
1:15 — 2:15

Water is Essential in Space
Robin Kennedy- Challenger Learning Center
Victoria Baker- Flight Director
Water is essential for life on earth and in space. The students will learn about the process astronauts use to clean and store water in space. The students will create a filter and try and clean contaminated water. (180 Hitchner) 10:00 — 11:00
1:20 — 2:20

Tour of the Advanced Engineered Wo
od Composite Center
Carmen Cherry & Olivia Sanchez
(Advanced Engineered WoodComposite Center) 11:15 — 12:00
1:30 — 2:15

Tour of the Advanced Manufacturing Center
Scott Dunning- Professor & Coordinator of Electrical Engineering in School of Engineering Technology at UMaine
(Advanced Manufacturing Center) 11:00 — 12:00
Tour of the Laboratory for Surface Science & Technology
George Bernhardt- Research Scientist & Radiation Safety Officer at UMaine
10:00 — 10:45
1:30 — 2:15