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Upcoming Event
Upcoming Event
Masterclass on Particle Physics for High School Students, 2026
Masterclass on Particle Physics for High School Students, 2026
When: March or April, 2026
Where: University of South Dakota
Past Events
Past Events
When: July 24 - 25, 2025, 9 am to 4:30 pm
Where: Rm 313, Akeley-Lawrence Science Building, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD
Benefit: $120 daily stipend for each participant. Lunches and coffee breaks are on us too. One graduate credit can be obtained free of cost for those who participate in the whole workshop.
Professional Development Workshop for STEM Teachers, 2025
What: The 2-day program consists of two major sections:
Build Your Own Radiation Detectors: Unveiling Invisible Energy. Join Professor Jing Liu, coordinator of the QuarkNet USD Center, for an intensive 1.5-day workshop where you'll build functional radiation detectors capable of capturing natural radiation and cosmic ray particles. This hands-on, interdisciplinary project provides a unique opportunity to directly apply and demonstrate concepts from your high school STEM classrooms, including:
Chemistry: Atomic structure and radiation
Mathematics: Exponential functions, histograms, and statistics
Electronics: Inductors, capacitors, resistors, and operational amplifiers
Computer Science: Raspberry Pi computers and Python programming
Physics: Radiation and particle detection
Sharing your favorite teaching tricks among your fellow teachers in this half day workshop led by Nolan Ortbahn, lead teacher of the QuarkNet USD Center. (1~4:30 pm, July 25)
Agenda: 9 am - 10 am, July 24: Introduction to QuarkNet USD Center & Radiation Detection
10 am - 12 pm, July 24: build power supply; 12 - 1 pm, July 24: lunch
1 - 4 pm, July 24: build pre-amplifier, test detector
8:30 am - 12 pm, July 25: build comparator, connect to Raspberry Pi Pico; 12 - 1 pm: lunch
1 - 4:30 pm, July 25: participants share their favorite teaching activities
Anonymous survey feedback from participants of past workshops
Anonymous survey feedback from participants of past workshops
I really enjoyed getting worktime programming. I found a number of ways to incorporate programing into my curriculum. One suggestion is showing teachers some undergraduate research opportunities. This may provide us an opportunity to find out any topics or techniques current researchers wish they would have learned in high school.
I would recommend this to anyone.
This was a great workshop! I will be excited to see how they grow in years to come!
This was an interesting workshop. I appreciated the different activities and the financial aid.
I learned so much, and I'd really like to dive into the QuarkNet program much more. If there is another workshop that takes a deeper exploration of QuarkNet, I would definitely attend.
I appreciate the small group that attended this workshop. I was able to have more meaningful conversations with not only other teachers, but also USD faculty.
It is a chance for teachers of different topics to find something they can use in their classrooms. I know it takes effort to plan events like this and it is appropriated. There are not many opportunities for science and math teachers to do the type of professional development and learning like Quarknet provides.
I really liked the tour of the labs and the fact that USD is willing to partner with high schools to help them shrink the gap between high school and secondary.
I am considering arranging a visit to tour the crystal/science labs for the students in my college level physics course.
Please add a life science lecture and I can bring my science partner!
Masterclass on Particle Physics for High School Students, 2025
Masterclass on Particle Physics for High School Students, 2025
Friday, April 4, 2025, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm,
Arts & Sciences Building, Room 103,
University of South Dakota (USD),
Vermillion, SD
Free Breakfast, Snacks & Lunch on Campus!
Guided Tour to Research Labs at USD
Live Q&A with Scientists from Fermilab!
Expose to Large Data Analytics
Detect Invisible Particles Like a Pro!
$120 Stipend for Lead Teacher
Professional Development Workshop for STEM Teachers, 2024
Professional Development Workshop for STEM Teachers, 2024
June 24 - 25, 2024, 9 am to 5 pm
Rm 313, Akeley-Lawrence Science Building, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD
Introducing Python programming in STEM classrooms (Agenda)
The 2-day program will be led by seasoned QuarkNet National Staff and Fellows, who are current or former high school STEM teachers. They understand precisely how to help their fellow teachers to integrate modern technology into their classroom that meets the state standards. Professors from the Chemistry, Math, and Physics Departments at USD will build on top of that and introduce more advanced topics for ambitious teachers.
$120 daily stipend for each participant. Lunches and coffee breaks are on us too. One graduate credit can be obtained free of cost for those who participate in the whole workshop.
Friday, March 8, 2024, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, University of South Dakota
February 1-3, 2024
February 1-3, 2024
July 9-14, 2023 Fermilab
July 9-14, 2023 Fermilab
Totally free for high school science teachers
All flights, hotel, driving, parking expenses & meals paid!
+ 6 weeks of research experience at USD
+ $120 daily stipend for 7 weeks in total
July 17-18, 2023, USD
July 17-18, 2023, USD
Meet the need of every science teacher
Graduate credits issued by School of Education, USD
$120 daily stipend for every participants!
Lunches included!
The coordinator of the BHSU Center, Chad Ronish, and the coordinator of the USD Center, Jing Liu, delivered a QuarkNet presentation at the annual SD STEM Ed Conference at Huron, SD.
Prof. Jing Liu demonstrating a photon detector in the workshop at the Sanford Underground Research Facility
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