The program is cosponsored by Los Alamos National Laboratory and is designed for young women in grades eight through 10. Registration packets were sent to middle and high schools in the Chama Valley, Cuba, Dulce, Espanola, Jemez Mountain, Jemez Valley, Las Vegas, N.M., Los Alamos, Mesa Vista, Mora, Pecos, Penasco, Pojoaque, Questa, Santa Fe, Taos and Wagon Mound school districts.
Each attendee will participate in two "hands-on" workshops conducted by women scientists. Approximately 20 workshops will be offered. Past years' topics have included robotics, fractals, polymers, chemistry, radioactivity, spectroscopy and cryptology, said Georgia Pedicini of Los Alamos' High Performance Computing Systems Group. Lunch is provided for the participants.
The conference will conclude with a talk by keynote speaker, Abigail Sussman, a wilderness ranger, environmental educator and writer. Her talk, "Adventures of the Unexpected Scientist," is at 2:30 p.m.
"We hope our keynote's description of her unusual career path will inspire our attendees to keep all their options open," Pedicini said, adding that home school students also can participate in Expanding Your Horizons.
The teacher conference runs simultaneously with Expanding Your Horizons. Other speakers will discuss non-traditional careers and present options for including more math and science in the school curriculum. Teachers will have the opportunity to look in on some of the student workshops in progress.
For more information about the teacher conference, contact Dana Roberson of Los Alamos' Chief Information Office at 665-0601 or dsroberson@lanl.gov by electronic mail.
Early registration has ended, but additional students are being accepted on a space-available basis. Science teachers are asked to select the students they believe will benefit the most from attendance. Other students may contact their science teachers if they are interested in participating. In addition, parents may submit applications directly for their students, said Pedicini.
For registration materials, contact Lisa Colletti of Los Alamos' Actinide and Analytical Chemistry Group at lcolleti@lanl.gov by electronic mail.
Registration materials and additional information about the conference can be found at http://nmnwse.org/lawis/eyh online. Expanding Your Horizons in Science and Mathematics is licensed by the national Math and Science Network, a non-profit membership organization of educators, scientists, mathematicians, parents, community leaders, and government and corporate representatives.
The Los Alamos Expanding Your Horizons is sponsored by the Northern Chapter of the New Mexico Network for Women in Science, formerly known as Los Alamos Women in Science.
The Math and Science Network created the first Expanding Your Horizons conference at Mills College in 1976. This year marks the 31st anniversary of the national Math and Science Network and the 27th year of EYH in Los Alamos. The Laboratory has been a cosponsor of EYH since its inception in Los Alamos. More information is available about the Math and Science Network at http://www.expandingyourhorizons.org/ online.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Washington Group International for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.