March 29, 2006
SIUC to host junior science, humanities symposium
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- More than 100 high school science students, teachers and parents from throughout the state will converge on Southern Illinois University Carbondale next week as the University hosts the annual Illinois Junior Science & Humanities Symposium.
The event, sponsored by the SIUC College of Science and funded by the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force, is set for Sunday-Tuesday at the SIUC Student Center. It is free and open to the public.
Linda Martin, assistant dean of the College of Science, said the military funds the program to encourage scientific research at the high school level, and to identify talented young scientists who are the future of scientific research. Campus Army and Air Force ROTC programs also help support the annual event.
The SIUC event is one of 48 such regional symposiums nationwide. This year, 88 students, 23 teachers and 10 parents and guests will attend the three-day event. The group includes students from five schools in northern Illinois, eight from the central part of the state and 11 from Southern Illinois. The schools, representing 21 counties statewide, range in enrollments from less than 500 students to a few with more than 1,000, Martin said.
The heart of the event is student presentations. Some present papers outlining their work in much the same way professional researchers formally present material. Others do traditional poster displays, Martin said.
The event also includes lectures, visits to SIUC laboratories and an award ceremony. Officials will select five outstanding students to participate in the national symposium, set for April 26-30 in Albuquerque, N.M. The teacher of the top student also will receive a $500 cash award.
A schedule of events follows:
Sunday, April 2
7 to 8:30 p.m. – Opening Session, Student Center Auditorium
Open Public Lecture and Keynote Address, Michael Collard, associate professor, Department of Physiology, “Genetic Engineering of Mice to Study Infertility, Neurological Disorders and Cancer.”
Monday, April 3
8 a.m. to noon: Paper presentations, Student Center Auditorium
• Improving Search and Rescue Efficiency Through Computer Simulation
• Design of Novel Controlled Release Systems for Delivery of Ocular Medications from Biocompatible Gel Materials
• Nanotube Array Based Lithography
• Design and Synthesis of Novel Macromolecular Peraza-Cryptand and the Search for Dihydrogen Bonding in H6Peraza[2.2.2]cryptand•NaBH4
• Synthesizing Multifunctional Nanoemulsions for Image Guided Cancer Therapy
• The Influence of Topography on Martian Polar Clouds
• nm2608A, A New Naturally Arising Mouse Model for Human Autosomal Recessive Achromotopsia2
• Sensory Preferences of Artificial Sweeteners by Adolescents
• Locating the Lost Strahan Cemetery Using Non-invasive Geological and Geophysical Remote Sensing Techniques
• The Electrical Conductivity of Amorphous Metal Ribbons at Cryogenic Temperatures
• Chronotropic Incompetence in Single Ventricle Patients
• Identity Configuration of the Sandpile Group
• GLY Conjecture on Upper Estimate of Integral Points in Real Tetrahedra
2 to 2:50 p.m., laboratory visits
3 to 4:30 p.m., poster session, Student Center ballrooms
6 to 8:30 p.m., banquet, Giant City Lodge
7 to 8 p.m., presentation, Clayton Nielsen, Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, “Cougars in the Midwest”
8 to 8:30 p.m., presentation of medals
Tuesday, April 4
9 to 10:50 a.m., laboratory visits
11 to 11:30 a.m., awards ceremony, Student Center Auditorium
Offering education and training activities for a variety of pre-adult age groups is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint the University is following as it approaches its 150th anniversary in 2019.