FEMMES would not be possible without the wonderful Duke faculty.
Take a look at some of the activities from last year’s program!
DUKE FACULTY
"Creating a 3D Interactive Story"
Susan Rodger is an associate professor of the practice in the Computer Science Department at Duke University. She completed her PhD in Computer Science at Purdue University. Her research interest include creating interactive and visual software for teaching computer science. Dr. Rodger's faculty webpage is available at http://www.cs.duke.edu/~rodger
Project Title: Creating a 3D Interactive Story
Participants will learn the basics of computer science programming by creating a 3D virtual world. Using the programming environment Alice on a laptop, they will first select 3D objects from a library. They will then learn how to select commands to make the objects move, talk and interact, and how to create events and event handlers (when the key 'b' is pressed, a bee turns around and buzzes). Participants will then learn how to combine these to write a short interactive story.
Susan Rodger is an associate professor of the practice in the Computer Science Department at Duke University. She completed her PhD in Computer Science at Purdue University. Her research interest include creating interactive and visual software for teaching computer science. Dr. Rodger's faculty webpage is available at http://www.cs.duke.edu/~rodger
Project Title: Creating a 3D Interactive Story
Participants will learn the basics of computer science programming by creating a 3D virtual world. Using the programming environment Alice on a laptop, they will first select 3D objects from a library. They will then learn how to select commands to make the objects move, talk and interact, and how to create events and event handlers (when the key 'b' is pressed, a bee turns around and buzzes). Participants will then learn how to combine these to write a short interactive story.
“Pharmacologists as Sleuths: Finding Salicylates”
Rochelle D. Schwartz-Bloom, Ph.D.
Professor of Pharmacology
Director, Undergraduate Studies
Director, RISE
As a pharmacologist, Dr. Schwartz-Bloom studies how drugs cure diseases, or cause trouble. Her expertise is in neuropharmacology, or how drugs affect the brain. Dr. Schwartz-Bloom’s research focuses on how to prevent cell death in the brain with drugs. Her most recent research is in the area of science education, and she has developed several science curricula at the K-12 level. Dr. Schwartz-Bloom is director of RISE at Duke (Raising Interest in Science Education) and activities of her office can be viewed at www.rise.duke.edu
Project Title: Pharmacologists as Sleuths: Finding Salicylates
The project for FEMMES participants will focus on the role of plants in providing drugs used as medicines. We will discuss the origin of aspirin from the willow tree, and its cousin, salicylate, which is found in numerous plants. Salicylate has been added to a number of household products, including shampoo and chewing gum. The FEMMES participants will perform experiments to determine if certain plants and products contain this drug. They will learn why the drug is found normally in plants and why it is added to products that society uses. They will also learn how it works.
“It’s in Our Genes”
Dr. Alison Hill is trained as a geneticist and enjoys sharing her excitement and enthusiasm for genetics with other people. Her faculty web page is available at http://fds.duke.edu/db/aas/Biology/faculty/alison.hill.
Project Title: It’s in Our Genes
Have you ever wondered why is it that our world has such a wonderful and varied mix of people, animals, and plants? Why is it that members of one family may all look very similar to one another or very different? How do we explain that approximately half of new born babies are boys and half are girls? How is it that in one litter of puppies there might be an array of brown, white and black fur? The answers to these questions start with an understanding of genes and how genetic traits are inherited from parents to offspring.
In this workshop, the participants will study the patterns of inheritance of multiple genes by constructing a family of imaginary creatures. This activity will demonstrate that by knowing the genotype of parents, it is possible to use basic rules of probability to predict the frequency with which specific traits will appear in their offspring. The appearance of each imaginary creature that is produced during this workshop will reflect the genes it has inherited from its parents. We will see if we can predict, in advance, the frequency with which the different traits will appear in the family.
“The Fly and I”
Nina Sherwood is interested in understanding how the nervous system works, and thinks
that fruit flies are a great way to address this and many other questions about biology.
Her lab studies why certain genes, found in humans as well as flies, are necessary for
nerves to function. She is an assistant research professor in the Biology department and
scholar in the Institute of Genome Sciences and Policy at Duke. You can read more about her research at her webpage, http://fds.duke.edu/db/aas/Biology/faculty/ntangs.
that fruit flies are a great way to address this and many other questions about biology.
Her lab studies why certain genes, found in humans as well as flies, are necessary for
nerves to function. She is an assistant research professor in the Biology department and
scholar in the Institute of Genome Sciences and Policy at Duke. You can read more about her research at her webpage, http://fds.duke.edu/db/aas/Biology/faculty/ntangs.
Project Title: The Fly and I - How flies can teach us about ourselves.
How similar do you think you are to those little flies you see buzzing
around your fruit? Do they have a brain? Feelings? Do they sleep? Groom? Fight?
Get sick? In this workshop we will learn how the tiny fruit fly can teach us about how
our own bodies work. We will look at a variety of flies, observing their physical
traits using the microscope and a few of their behaviors, and then identify mutants in
these traits or behaviors from a set of "mystery" flies. You'll be amazed by what can
happen when a single gene - one that you may have too - has a mistake in it!
How similar do you think you are to those little flies you see buzzing
around your fruit? Do they have a brain? Feelings? Do they sleep? Groom? Fight?
Get sick? In this workshop we will learn how the tiny fruit fly can teach us about how
our own bodies work. We will look at a variety of flies, observing their physical
traits using the microscope and a few of their behaviors, and then identify mutants in
these traits or behaviors from a set of "mystery" flies. You'll be amazed by what can
happen when a single gene - one that you may have too - has a mistake in it!
“Pollution in our Environment”
Dr. Hsu-Kim is an environmental engineer who studies pollutants in the aquatic environment. Her research activities are focused on mercury, a pollutant metal that contaminates our watersheds and eventually bioaccumulates in the food web. Dr. Hsu-Kim’s research group is currently investigating the transformation of mercury in restored and engineered ecosystems in the Durham area. Her webpage is available at http://www.cee.duke.edu/faculty/hsu_kim/index.php.
Dr. Stapleton is an environmental chemist who is interested in the behavior and transport of organic pollutants in the environment. Her current research is focused on the transformation and fate of brominated flame retardant chemicals in indoor and aquatic environments. Specifically, her research lab is studying how sunlight exposure degrades these chemicals and she is also exploring how fish accumulate and metabolize these chemicals. Her webpage is available at:
Project Title: Build your own aquifer
Why can we get water from a well built into the ground? When rain water seeps into the ground, it is stored in underground aquifers. These aquifers are a source of drinking water for many communities in North Carolina. In this workshop, FEMMES participants will build a model aquifer and discover how water is stored underground. We will discuss how aquifers represent a part of the water cycle. Participants will experiment with the model aquifer and observe how human activities can pollute it.
“Physics Fun – Three Activities”
The Society for Women Engineers (SWE), founded in 1950, is a not-for-profit educational and service organization promoting engineering as a highly desirable career aspiration for women. For more information, please visit http://www.duke.edu/web/SWE.
Project Title: Marshmallow Madness Design Challenge
Using marshmallows and toothpicks, FEMMES participants will explore the field of architectural engineering. The focus will be on strength and height of structures, and participants will be introduced to various geometries that serve as architectural strengthening techniques. The objective is to develop a simple understanding of optimization of both height and strength. Points will be awarded for each component, and prizes will be given to high-scorers.
Project Title: Physics Fun
Do you want to see a fresh banana shatter into pieces? Do you want to know how to make yourself spin in circles just by holding a bicycle wheel? If the answer is “yes,” then come to the physics demonstration table to watch (and perform!) fun experiments involving liquid nitrogen and rotating pedestals. Through these activities, you will learn about physics topics such as angular momentum and the states of matter.
Project Title: Goo Chemistry
Why does the goo behave like, well, goo? Why doesn’t it dissolve in water, but then spread out and act like water? How can goo act like a solid and a liquid? In this experiment, you get to find out exactly what goes into our special goo (by making it yourselves!) and how it works, with a little chemistry (the fun chemistry…we promise!)
“How Ultrasound Works”
Rebecca Willett is an assistant professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Duke University. She completed her Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University. In addition to studying at Rice, Professor Willett has worked as a Fellow of the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics at UCLA, as a visiting researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA), and as a member of the Applied Science Research and Development Laboratory at GE Medical Systems (now GE Healthcare). Her research interests include signal processing and communications with applications in medical imaging, astrophysics, and wireless sensor networks. Additional information, including publications and software, are available online at http://www.ee.duke.edu/~willett.
Project Title: How Ultrasound Works: A Hands-On Experiment to Create a Picture of What You Can’t See
Ultrasound imaging is used to create detailed pictures of the inside of our bodies without performing dangerous surgeries. These images are created by sending sound waves into a person’s body and measuring how they bounce off internal organs and other structures. In this activity, we will explore the concepts and mathematics behind these images by sending probes into a box, measuring how the probes interact with the contents of the box, and finally drawing a picture of the contents without ever getting to see them directly.
“What’s Up With Those Crazy Termites?”
Robin Smith is trained as a biologist. She works mostly with plants, but (as you’ll soon find out) she likes animals too. Dr. Smith’s faculty webpage is available at http://fds.duke.edu/db/aas/UWP/faculty/ras10.
Project Title: The scientific method at work: What’s up with those crazy termites?
What do you think of when you think of the scientific method? While it might sound fancy, the scientific method is not unlike the kind of problem-solving you do in your everyday life. In this workshop, we will use the steps of the scientific method as it is typically presented (observation, question, hypothesis, prediction, and experiment) to investigate termite behavior. Come prepared to have fun, to learn a thing or two about insects, and to be surprised by the crazy things they do.
Dr. Margaret Hodel
“Math Challenge”
Dr. Hodel researches combinatorial analysis and also teaches intermediate calculus. Her faculty webpage can be viewed at http://fds.duke.edu/db/aas/math/faculty/mhodel.
Project Title: Fun with Numbers
Students will find prime numbers using the Sieve of Eratosthenes. Using some divisibility tests, they will factor composite numbers into products of primes. Participants will learn how to sum consecutive integers and to construct magic squares. Games (with prizes!) will include mathematical bingo and 24.
“Voice Activated Reaction”
Misti Anderson is the Manager of Introductory Labs in the Chemistry Department. She initially trained as a microbiologist, and focused on chemical education in her graduate work.
Project Title: Voice Activated Reaction
Can you really just ask a solution change color and expect it to happen? Yes, come see how! Participants will explore experimental design, the value of positive and negative experimental results, and applications of the scientific method using a buffered indicator solution.
Project Title: Voice Activated Reaction
Can you really just ask a solution change color and expect it to happen? Yes, come see how! Participants will explore experimental design, the value of positive and negative experimental results, and applications of the scientific method using a buffered indicator solution.
Misti Anderson
“Brain in a dish: The study of cellular neurobiololgy”
Dr. Anne West is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurobiology, where her lab studies both the mechanisms and consequences of regulated gene expression in the nervous system. The idea behind this research is simpler than it might sound. Every day we encounter things in our world that we remember. Those things (a stop sign, a song on the radio, the smell of chocolate chip cookies) emit signals (light, sound, smell) that impinge on and activate our senses (your eyes, ears, and nose). Your brain “knows” what these senses are experiencing because cells called neurons act like telephone wires to transmit the wonderful sights, sounds and smells of the world into your brain in the form of electrical impulses. But the brain is not a passive receiver of this information - in fact it physically and functionally reorganizes itself on the basis of this information to best receive that which is most useful. This is the process of remembering, and part of the mechanical basis of this process is the synthesis of new parts in the brain (new expression of genes read off the DNA blueprint within cells) that makes this reorganization possible.
In her talk Dr. West will demonstrate how much can be learned about the way neurons work just by looking at these beautiful, complex cells. In addition, she will talk about one aspect of her research which involves trying to understand the molecular basis of a devastating autism-like neurodevelopmental disease called Rett Syndrome that strikes young girls. You can learn more about Dr. West’s research lab on her web site at: http://www.westlab.org.
FACULTY ADVISOR
Gary A. Ybarra, Ph.D. is a Professor of the Practice
and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering at Duke. He is the principal investigator of several
K-12 engineering outreach programs as part of his Engineering K-PhD
program at Duke. He received a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering
from North Carolina State University in 1992 and has been on the faculty in the
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University since
1993. In addition to his K-12 outreach work, his research interests
include microwave imaging and electrical impedance tomography.
“Understanding Behavior: What animals can tell us about the nature of cooperation and competition”
Dr. Digby is a FEMMES Keynote Speaker. Her faculty web page is available at http://fds.duke.edu/db/aas/BAA/researchfaculty/ldigby.