Seven Chapters Host Innovative Computer Modeling Workshops

January-Feburary 2003 Sigma Xi Today Article

Seven Sigma Xi chapters are among the first to host innovative computer modeling workshops for undergraduate faculty in a new partnership with the Shodor Education Foundation, Inc. of Durham, North Carolina. Up to 15 additional chapters will be able to join the program in fall 2003.

The workshops explore how to develop computer models that can help science students "see" the invisible: phenomena that are too small (atoms and molecules), too large (galaxies and the universe), too fast (photosynthesis), too slow (geological processes), too complex (automobile engines) or too dangerous (toxic materials) to investigate in the classroom.

An example of this technology is available on the American Scientist Web site in a series of animated illustrations for George Saliba’s article "Greek Astronomy and the Medieval Arabic Tradition" from the July-August 2002 issue.

These animations, produced by Shodor high school intern Conrad Kirby, demonstrate how the position of an observer, combined with planetary motion, produce an optical illusion in which planets sometimes appear to reverse direction as they move across the night sky.

The chapter-based computer modeling workshops are being offered through the National Computational Science Institute (NCSI) funded by the National Science Foundation and managed by the Shodor Foundation. The first Sigma Xi chapters to participate are Bryn Mawr, Fairfield College, Alabama, Colorado School of Mines, Louisiana State, Marshall University and Muskinghum College.

This academic year program involves hosting two workshops on campus. Outreach to high schools and science museums, with an opportunity to engage the public, is another attractive feature of the program. For more information or to apply send .

The Shodor Foundation is a non-profit research and education organization dedicated to the advancement of science and math education, specifically through the use of modeling and simulation technologies. NCSI workshops are introducing the hands-on use of computational science, numerical models and data visualization tools across the undergraduate science curriculum. The initial target audience overall is faculty from predominantly undergraduate institutions, minority serving institutions and community colleges whose students are either the next generation of scientists and engineers, the next generation of K-12 teachers, or both.

Shodor offers workshops and internships to faculty and students on general modeling, Internet science, math explorations, medicine, forensic science, astrophysics, environmental science, scientific computing and computational chemistry. Visit www.shodor.org for details.

Other NCSI partners include the Education, Outreach and Training Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Clemson University and Appala-chian State University.

Additional partners include the National Computational Science Education Consortium, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the North Carolina Supercomputing Center and more than two dozen academic institutions, high performance computing centers and vendors. The Sigma Xi-Shodor partnership is part of the Society’s ongoing program on science and engineering education.

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For more information send .