Education News Archive
2011
Distance Learning Students Visit SNS Powder Diffractometer
Ashfia Huq, instrument scientist for the POWGEN Powder Diffractometer at SNS, instructs students from Clark Atlanta University in use of the instrument to study the structure of materials. The students were part of a larger group of 22 students and professors from Clark and from Morehouse College, both in Atlanta, taking part in an onsite visit.
As part of a 2-day onsite experience at ORNL in March 2011, Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College students participated in an experiment on the SNS Powder Diffractometer. The visit was part of a distance learning course in nanoscience and technology. The event included lectures, facility training, tours of several ORNL user facilities, and discussions of experiments and outcomes. Students from four colleges and universities, which also include Tougaloo and Tennessee State University, are taking the course offered by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, adjacent to SNS.
SNS Simulator Exhibit Brings Neutron Science to Kids and Teachers
SNS staff volunteer at the SNS simulator exhibit to teach kids (and adults) about neutron science. This photo was taken at the 2011 Secret City Festival in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
In 2010, a group of SNS staff developed the "SNS Simulator." This 10 by 30 foot display is designed to represent how SNS works. This display is interactive and is targeted at middle school students. It debuted at SNS for the 2010 National Laboratory Day. The display has made appearances at the Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C., several local career days for students (photos of one event), a local community festival in Oak Ridge, and others.
Students play the part of an ion beam going through a simulated particle accelerator at nearly the speed of light and then emerge from the exhibit as neutrons, ready to conduct experiments. It takes two able-bodied people eight hours to set up the display. Requests are pouring in for the SNS simulator to come to other schools and special events.
Siemens Teachers as Researchers Program at POWGEN
Ashfia Huq (front), instrument scientist for the POWGEN instrument, views part of the POWGEN setup with STARs teachers studying at HFIR and SNS. Back row: Jim Harvey, Karen Shepherd, Michelle Swenson, and Kendall Morton.
Twenty middle school and high school teachers from around the country are at ORNL for two weeks (June 20 – July 2) as participants in the STARs (Siemens Teachers as Researchers) program, a professional development experience in which teachers conduct mentored research at ORNL. STARs allows teachers to engage with experienced scientists and researchers on short-term research projects on topics of national interest that are related to ongoing research at the Laboratory.
Neutron Sciences is hosting four teachers – Jim Harvey, Kendall Morton, Karen Shepherd, and Michelle Swenson. The four are attending lectures at the National School of Neutron Scattering and X-ray Scattering, attending seminars conducted by Neutron Sciences researchers, and conducting brief research projects on instruments at SNS and HFIR.
STARs is part of the Siemens STEM Academy, which works to advance science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in the United States by engaging teachers in hands-on development activities that will help them improve STEM classes back in their home schools. The STEM Academy was created by Siemens in cooperation with Discovery Education, Oak Ridge Association Universities, and the College Board.
The 20 STARs teachers were chosen from more than 100 applicants.
2010
National School on Neutron and X-Ray Scattering
Students participating in the 2010 National School on Neutron and X-Ray Scattering. This photo was taken during the neutron portion of the school, which is hosted by ORNL.
The 2010 National School on Neutron and X-Ray Scattering, sponsored by ORNL and Argonne National Laboratory, is in full swing at SNS and HFIR this week. The 63 participants are graduate students at U.S. universities studying physics, chemistry, materials sciences, or related fields. The school educates them on the use of neutron and x-ray facilities in scientific research.
Researchers from academia, industry, and national laboratories present lectures, including basic tutorials on the principles of scattering theory and the characteristics of the sources, and seminars on applying scattering methods to a variety of scientific subjects.
Antonio Moreira dos Santos of ORNL (second from right) instructs students in the 2010 Neutron Scattering School.
Students conduct short experiments at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source (APS) and ORNL’s SNS and HFIR facilities to gain hands-on experience in using neutron and synchrotron sources. Students in the school were selected from among more than 200 applicants. Information about the school, including videos and pdf copies of the lectures are available at http://neutrons.ornl.gov/conf/nxs2010/.
This year’s school, the 12th annual session, is June 12—26. APS hosted the first week. DOE’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences funds the school.
