First MPH STEM Fair October 13

October 3, 2011

MPH Ninth Graders are about to encounter some very cool, innovative applications of knowledge in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — known collectively as STEM.  They will be participants in the first Manlius Pebble Hill STEM Fair, planned for Thursday, Oct. 13.

The fair will give Ninth Grade students an opportunity to engage in discussions with professionals who utilize STEM daily in their occupations. The idea behind the event, conceived and planned by Science Department Chair Sue Foster, is to introduce students to the amazingly novel ways in which STEM is being employed right here in Central New York  to solve problems and to inspire students to think about fields of work they perhaps have not yet considered.

The pilot MPH STEM Fair comes at a time of growing national concern that the United States is lagging behind in STEM education. Darrell West, director of the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation, said just last month, “Science, technology, engineering and math are crucial for America’s future. Much of our past prosperity has rested on innovation and creativity in the STEM fields. It’s hard to imagine our economy or our national security without science and technology. Yet despite the importance of this area, we have a crisis.”

He pointed to the need for more Americans to pursue advanced degrees in STEM subjects and urged that teachers find ways to better “convey the excitement of scientific discovery to young people.”

The National Service-Learning Clearinghouse says, “In the new global economy an education with a STEM focus is a critical step towards providing citizens with the needed skills and technological familiarity that will enable them to take part in the exciting economies of the future.”

At the MPH Stem Fair, which will take place during the tutorial period, five local STEM professionals will talk with students about their work and answer students’ questions. (Students will rank the three presentations they are most interested in attending and then will be selected to participate in one of them.)

Michael Romandetti, senior physical therapist at Upstate Medical University, will talk about how robots are being used in physical therapy and rehabilitation, for example in re-teaching  brain injured people to walk. Lee McNight, professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at Syracuse University and his daughter Christina McNight, of Eagle Hill Middle School, will discuss wireless grids edgeware and using it to be your own radio DJ.

Tom Parks, co-inventor of the MagneLink Magnetic Communication System (and an MPH parent), will discuss its use in communicating via text and voice messages with coal miners 1,000 feet underground.

Shannon Magari, vice president, health sciences, at Colden Corp. (also an MPH parent), will talk about epidemiology, the scientific study of diseases in populations, and her specific area of interest — how things in the environment and at work can make people sick.

Vincent D’Angelo and Michael Pecoraro, of Syracuse Research Corporation, who note that virtually everything is engineered, will discuss the wide-ranging work of engineers and the applications of engineering in areas ranging from environmental protection to national defense.