Science Day 2009 Workshops

Review the following workshop titles and descriptions from the list below. Select 6 workshops and rank them from 1 (most preferred) to 6 (least preferred). You will be registered for 3 workshops based on your preferences and workshop availability.

Biology

Biology of the Bacteria

Students will discover the important roles that bacteria play in the natural world, including how bacteria keep track of time, how they build flagella to swim, how they sense and respond to their environment, and how they make many useful therapeutic drugs. Limit: 60 students.

Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy

Explore the skeletal anatomy of the vertebrates (fishes, reptiles, birds, mammals) guided by professors using real dissection samples. Ideal for students interested in biology, medicine, and the health sciences. Limit: 30 students.

Fluorescent Microscopy

Tour the Babst Biology Laboratory and visualize cellular structures using a glowing jelly fish protein in brewer’s yeast and bacteria, utilizing cutting-edge microscopy equipment. Limit: 6 students.

Whales That Don’t Want to be Seen

Right whales are enormous and ecologically important, but they live far from land and are difficult to observe. Learn how indirect methods are being used to infer where they go and what they do. Limit: 100 students.

Chemistry

A Cue from Nature: Photonic Beetles

Discover how a simple creature like a beetle provides scientists with one of the most technologically sought-after structures for the next generation of computing. The goal is an ultrahigh-speed computer with optical integrated circuits that runs on light instead of electricity! Limit: 100 students.

Explosives and Explosions

An exhilarating discussion on what explosives are and how they work, including selected demonstrations of explosions. Bring your earplugs!! Limit: 200 students.

Magical Magnets

This workshop will demonstrate the principles of magnetism – a key technology for the modern world. Learn about an entirely new class of magnetic materials derived from polymeric organic compounds similar to everyday plastics – a discovery that promises to have unique commercial applications. Limit: 75 students.

Nature’s Medicine

Explore a variety of molecules from nature that contains medicinal properties. How did we find them and what do they do? You may be surprised! Limit: 100 students.

College of Science

Opportunities for Women in Science

Learn about the ACCESS Scholarship Program for Women in Science and Mathematics. ACCESS is a highly successful program aimed at getting young women a head start in the sciences. ACCESS Director, Rosemary Gray will describe the program including the $3500 cash stipend award and the research laboratory placement provided during your freshman year of college! Limit: 100 students.

Geology and Geophysics

Monitoring Earthquakes in Utah and Yellowstone

Tour the seismology laboratory and learn how the station monitors earthquakes, why Utah and Yellowstone are considered ‘earthquake country’ and what resources you can use to see real earthquake data. Learn how to prepare for a major earthquake in Utah. Limit: 20 students.

Zapping Crystals with Lasers

Discover how lasers can be used to decipher the 2-D and 3-D structure of crystals, and even measure the spacing between individual atoms in a crystal! Limit: 100 students.

Industry Workshops

FilmArray – A Diagnostics Lab in a Box

Idaho Technology has developed an easy-to-use system for testing large groups of pathogens. Rapid and sensitive identification of these pathogens is key to providing effective treatment. Our first panel, the FilmArray RP uses a flexible plastic film container and multiplex DNA amplification chemistry to detect dozens of pathogens causing flu-like symptoms including the swine-flu variant. Limit: 75 students.

Mining Rocks!!

Kennecott Utah Copper’s Bingham Canyon Mine is the largest man-made excavation in the world. It is so big, it is visible from outer space. Come learn about the exciting career opportunities in this industry. It’s no longer about picks and shovels, but about the best technology, cutting edge science and sustainable development. Kennecott relies on science and engineering graduates to fulfill high-paying technical careers in Utah and around the world. Meet company engineers and discover exciting career opportunities. Limit: 40 students.

XMission: Starting a Business When You’re a Scientist or Engineer

Starting and running a business can be intimidating to individuals who are more used to labs and computers. Taking the plunge can be rewarding, and sometimes scientists and engineers make more stable businesses and better bosses. Learn what is needed to get your own idea into the marketplace without a highly paid cadre of managers and millions of venture capital. Limit: 100 students.

Mathematics

How to Become Invisible Without A Cloak

We will show how to render an object invisible by actively manipulating wavelengths with special devices. In this way the object is not surrounded by a "blindfolding" cloak. Limit: 60 students.

The Mathematics Behind Google

Learn how mathematics is used for internet search engines such as Google. For example, "PageRank" is the math algorithm behind Google searches. What is it and how does it work? Limit: 60 students.

Modeling High School Geometry with 25-Points

Consider a 25-point finite geometry that is a step beyond your familiar high school (Euclidean) geometry. Mathematicians often invent models for familiar structures and then ask questions. We’ll be doing mathematics, and see what surprises we can discover. Limit: 60 students.

Metallugical Engineering

Extreme Makeover: Human Body Engineering with Metals

Explore the science behind extreme makeover of human body parts, including artificial hip joints, cardiovascular stents, spine implants, and electrodes – all products of metallurgical engineering! Limit: 50 students.

Magnets in Modern Life

Advanced magnetic materials are used in numerous applications that impact modern life. These include computer data storage, motors, power generation, anti-lock braking systems, magnetically levitated trains, and acoustic speakers. This workshop will include a tour of the University’s magnetic materials laboratory and demonstrations. Limit: 15 students.

3-D Analysis of Internal Structures using Micro CT

This workshop will cover the fundamentals of X-ray computed tomography. Internal structures such as rocks, concrete, biomaterials, and micro-machines will be scanned and visualized in 3-D with micron resolution. Limit: 20 students.

Meteorology

The Hurricane Intensification Mystery

Most hurricanes actually fail to reach their maximum potential intensity, and while forecasts of the storm track are quite accurate, we can’t forecast maximum wind speed very well. This workshop explores two current ideas about what controls hurricane intensity. Limit: 25 students.

Tornado Formation and Destruction

Tornadoes are the most destructive phenomenon that the atmosphere can produce. Learn how tornadoes form and why their destruction patterns appear so random at times. You will also get to interact with a simulated tornado. Limit: 50 students.

Mining Engineering

Ground Movement and 3-D Satellite Imaging

Rapid advancement of technology has brought “sight” to computers, providing vision analysis capabilities and tools for interactive image and scene exploitation. Students will learn, and see for themselves in 3D (glasses provided), how engineers have adopted remote sensing and machine vision technologies in order to collect, analyze, and visualize large data sets in a comprehensive, safe, and accurate manner.

Physics and Astronomy

Astronomy at the Observatory

In this workshop, you will tour the University’s astronomical observatory and make observations of the sun through solar telescopes. Discover techniques used to observe the universe. Limit: 30 students.

Stellar Imaging: Back to the Future

Although stars are easily observable to us in the night sky, they remain the objects astronomers have the least imaging capability. Explore how reviving a star observation technique abandoned 40 years ago may provide totally new insights and images of the twinkling lights of the most popular nursery rhyme. Limit: 100 students.

Demolicious Physics

What is physics? Some says it’s the study of how thinks work. Enjoy an interactive demonstration on various physics topics, including spinning fog rings, smelling electricity in the air, and hearing thunderous rumblings. Limit: 200 students.

We Are All Made of Stardust: Spectroscopy Demo

We will use diffraction gratings in a lab setting to view both continuous and line spectra emitted from different sources. Employing this kind of technique to stars, astronomers can infer the astronomical histories of stars, stellar systems and galaxies including our own Milky Way. Limit: 100 students.

Utah Museum of Natural History

The World of Dinosaurs

An introduction to the world of dinosaurs, with particular attention on recent dinosaur discoveries in Utah. Limit: 75 students.

Changing Landscapes of the Western United States

Learn how scientists use a variety of historical archives to study ecosystem change during the past several hundred years. Students will learn about how Utah scientists study the importance of climate change and the role of human activities in shaping our past, present and future environment. Limit: 15 students.

Reconstructing Past Environments

Scientists use fossil plant remains (e.g. pollen, seeds, spores, charcoal) from lake sediments to reconstruct vegetation, disturbance, and climate regimes over time. In this workshop you will learn how scientists use these fossils to study ecosystem change over thousands of years and get the chance use a microscope to examine the fossils yourself. Limit: 15 students.

Parents and Educators

University Admission 101: How To Prepare Your Student

Join Tony Gonzales from the Student Recruitment & High School Services Office at the U to learn about the steps that you and your student can take now to ensure that the transition to college is a smooth one. Topics will include the application process, scholarships and financial aid, housing, and student life. Bring your questions, as this presentation will be interactive. Limit: 200 parents and educators.

For more information contact Lisa Batchelder, (801) 581-6958 at the University of Utah's College of Science.

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