2014-15 STEM Board Events

Dr. Claire White is an assistant professor of the Civil and Environmental Engineering department and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University. She received her BS and PhD degrees at the University of Melbourne, and has also worked in Los Alamos National Lab. Her research group focuses on understanding and optimizing engineering and environmental materials, including low-CO2 cements and CO2 sequestration. This research spans multiple length and time scales, utilizing advanced synchrotron and neutron-based experimental techniques, and simulation methodologies. Dr. White's visit to MHS was well received. She enlightened us on the premises of engineering in general, and told her story of how she decided to do this sort of research. She delved into various examples of how engineering fits into our daily lives, and then made a quick segue into concrete and why steel reinforced concrete is an amazing idea, combining the tensile strength of steel with the compressive strength of concrete. She moved on to talk about the ordinary Portland cement (OPC) production process, and explained the sources of carbon emissions in cement. Important people and administrators came to the talk, and people had the chance to come up and ask questions. She explained everything in a very friendly way and she was very easy to understand.

January 31st: Cougar Science Olympiad Invitational

January 15th: Academic League vs. Hillsborough, at Gill-St. Bernards

Science Olympiad Regionals Competition at Camden County College

January 10th: Science Olympiad Conestoga Invitational

January 8th: Academic League vs. Bridgewater, at Watchung

January 3rd: FIRST Robotics Kickoff Event

December 18th: Academic League vs. Bound Brook, at Hillsborough

November 19th: Dr. Ronald Gilman Guest Speaker Presentation

Ronald Gilman is an experimental subatomic physics professor based at Rutgers University. He was educated at MIT and UPenn. He has worked at numerous laboratories, including Los Alamos, SLAC, Fermilab, Jefferson Lab, MAMI, and PSI. His research focus is the structure of the proton, with most of his recent efforts on the proton radius puzzle, a high profile topic that has recently appeared in Nature, Science, Scientific American, and other journals.

During his visit to MHS, Professor Gilman spoke about on quantum physics and his research into measuring the size of the proton, by representing particles made up of smaller particles with a box of chocolates, and by writing a few mathematical proofs on a whiteboard. He also shared his background in pursuing a career in subatomic physics, and offered advice to future scientists. He stressed the importance of students getting involved with undergraduate research, and that the specific undergraduate university is far less important than the opportunities they take advantage of to do research. After his talk, both students and teachers were able to ask questions about the details of his research and his career.

Here are a few pictures from the event.