News :: Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach

See an article from the front page of the November 23, 2008 Tennessean about the state of science education and how our office is working to improve the problems facing Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, as well as schools in general.

View the article on the Tennessean's website or view a PDF of the article.

The results of the 2008 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology are in and two School for Science and Math seniors have earned semifinalist recognition in the prestigious national Siemens Science Competition. Congratulations to Hana Erkou and Elizabeth Wei for this tremendous accomplishment!

Hana Erkou is a student at Nashville School of the Arts and she is working in the laboratory of Louise Rollins-Smith in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. The title of her research paper is, “Antimicrobial Peptides that inhibit HIV and protect Beneficial Lactobacilli.”

Elizabeth Wei is a student at Hume-Fogg and she is working in the laboratory of Chris Williams in Gastroenterology. The title of her research paper is, “Creating an inducible expression system where the role of MTG8 in colorectal cancer can be better understood.”

All ten School for Science and Math Seniors applied to the competition. Last year one SSMV senior, Uyen Pham, earned semifinalist recognition.

Ten School for Science and Math seniors and 19 Research Internship Program (RIP) students will present their summer research at two poster sessions on July 10, 2008.

The poster sessions will run from 9:30 to 10:45 am and 11:00 am to 12:15 pm in the north lobby of Light Hall.

We encourage everyone to stop by and witness the extraordinary work that these students — the next generation of research scientists — have produced.

See a related article in The Reporter from June 27, 2008

On April 18, the School for Science and Math senior class attended the 66th annual TN Junior Academy of Sciences Symposium, held at Belmont University. In addition, four School students were chosen to present their senior research project at the symposium. Over 100 written research reports from across Tennessee were submitted to the competition. Natalie Christian, Natalie Darar, Runbin Dong, and Cheng Zhang were each invited to give a 10-minute presentation to the audience which included their classmates, fellow students from across the state, parents, teachers, and judges from the TN Academy of Sciences. This event was a valuable experience and the School for Science and Math was grateful for the opportunity to participate.

For more information about applying to the School for Science and Math, please click here.

For more information about applying to RIP, please click here.

The application deadline for both programs is March 7, 2008.

The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt debuted its new website design and released applications for its 2008-'09 freshman class today at http://theschool.vanderbilt.edu/. The website will continue to grow in the coming months as student projects and events from the current school year continue with 24 freshmen and 8 seniors enrolled in the School's inaugural year.

Applications for next year's freshman class will be accepted through 5:00pm on February 8. Applications for current high school juniors being released in mid-February along with the Center for Science Outreach's other summer program for rising high school seniors, the Research Internship Program (RIP).

On December 3, students of the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt hosted Nobel Prize winner Dr. Stanley Cohen. Dr. Cohen won the 1986 Nobel Prize for his work with Dr. Rita Levi-Montalcini in discovering nerve and epidermal cell growth factors. He came to Vanderbilt University in 1959 as an Assistant Professor in the Biochemistry Department where he explored the chemistry and biology of epidermal growth factor (EGF).

The School students, instructors and staff also hosted a banquet luncheon for Dr. Cohen where they had the opportunity to discuss his influential work and receive his advice to, "find what you love and do that.”

Freshmen at the School for Science and Math have been thinking about water and, as they do each Monday, asking questions: What does water look like? Where does it come from? Where does it go? What can it tell us about the past?

From a string of articles by the Tennessean, students learned that millions of gallons of water is “lost” through leaks in the middle Tennessee water distribution system. Students brainstormed ideas for improving leak detection throughout the system, and then held a class vote to determine the best idea. The class then visited and got a first-hand look at Nashville’s wastewater and drinking water treatment facilities. During the wastewater plant visit, the student who had generated the winning (by a landslide) leak detection method, presented her idea to Metro Water Services representative Sonia Harvat.

Looking at water as a link to the past, Vanderbilt researcher Dr. Molly Miller shared stories from her numerous voyages to the Antarctic Ice Shelves including the recently discovered underground lakes below the shelves. Students witnessed an ice core sample through videoconferencing with Mark Twickler of the National Ice Core Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire prompting some students to begin planning their expedition to Antarctica!

Students have begun their semester project using Wisconsin Fast Plants to discover what happens when plants are exposed to caffeine, the most common drug found in water bodies, due to the incomplete breakdown in the wastewater treatment process. Stay tuned for the results-which could make us think twice before ordering that next frappuccino!

Uyen, a senior at the School for Science and Math, is one of 7 semi-finalists chosen from Tennessee in the Siemens-Westinghouse Science Competition. 8 seniors from the School for Science and Math entered the competition which is held annually and is open to high school students. Five regional finalists were chosen from Tennessee and will go on to compete for the national finals.  School for Science and Math seniors have the opportunity to enter their projects in two additional science competitions, Intel and the Middle Tennessee Science and Engineering Fair. Congratulations Uyen!

On a recent Monday, freshman students of the School for Science and Math conducted a survey of water quality in the Little Harpeth River. Students learned how to use Global Positioning System devices to map their coordinates. They also collected water quality sample data and they identified species living in the river. The students used the data they collected to assess the water quality and overall "health" of the river.