CARL O. BOSTROM
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES AT THE
APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY
After nearly a quarter century of substantial direct
participation in the educational programs of The Johns
Hopkins University, the formal mission statement of the
Applied Physics Laboratory was amended in April 1988
by the Board of Trustees to reflect APL's role in education. The mission statement now reads as follows; italics denote the 1988 additions to the statement adopted
by the Board in 1968.
The general purpose of The Johns Hopkins University
can be stated as public service through education, research
and the application of knowledge to human affairs. As part
of the University, the Applied Physics Laboratory shares
this purpose through the application of advanced science
and technology to the enhancement of the security of the
United States of America, and through basic research and
participation in the educational programs of the academic
divisions of the University to which its staff and facilities
can make an especially favorable contribution.
The largest educational activity of the Applied Physics Laboratory is the part-time graduate program in engineering. Begun about 25 years ago as part of the
School of Continuing Studies, the master's degree program in engineering has continued to grow in both size
and quality since its incorporation into the G. W. C.
Whiting School of Engineering in 1983. The "student
body" attending courses at APL now totals over 2000,
and significant numbers of students are enrolled at
Homewood, Shady Grove (Montgomery County), and
several other sites.
Many members of our staff participate in the APL
Part-Time Study Program; in the fall of 1988, 224 were
enrolled at Johns Hopkins and 11 other area educational
institutions, and over 130 were students at the APL Education Center.
This issue of the Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest is (quite properly) devoted largely to our most visible efforts, namely, the APL contributions to Hopkins
graduate programs and our internal education and training activities. But the educational contributions of the
Laboratory as an institution, and of its individual staff
members, encompass a broad array of activities. Our
interests and programs include students at every level,
from elementary school to senior postdoctoral; they are
aimed at assisting the handicapped, the disadvantaged,
the learning disabled, and the very gifted. The activities
encompass research and development on the application
of technology to teaching, exchange and cooperative programs, the development of curricula and short courses,
and financial assistance.
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Educational activities pervade the work and the environment of the Laboratory, making a complete description of everything in progress virtually impossible. An
excellent summary of the roles played by APL in extramural science education was assembled by Robert W.
Hart for the September 1988 Report to The Johns Hopkins University Trustees Committee on the Applied Physics Laboratory.
At the secondary school level, APL has initiated or
actively participated in a number of significant programs,
including (1) the MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, and
Science Achievement) Program, aimed at attracting middle and secondary school minority and female students
to careers in those fields; (2) Project Journey, a videotape guidance program ( eries), also aimed at encouraging secondary school students to pursue engineering
careers; (3) REAP (Research and Engineering Apprentice Program), sponsored by the Army, which enables
talented, disadvantaged high school seniors and graduates to work and study in a laboratory under the guidance of a mentor; (4) a special education program
conducted in collaboration with the School of Continuing Studies to develop computer-aided instruction techniques for teaching the learning disabled, up to the high
school level; (5) the Howard County Adopt-a-School
Program, in which participating students at Atholton
High School can work on a short scientific or engineering project with a Laboratory professional, and high
school teachers may work at APL during summer
months; and (6) the Howard County Mentor Program,
designed to further the development of gifted high school
students by enabling them to work with practicing
professionals.
APL activities in support of undergraduate education
include (1) the Summer Employment Program, in which
40 to 50 science and engineering students from 20 or
more colleges and universities around the country are
given summer employment and the opportunity to learn
about APL's technology and programs through a weekly
seminar series; (2) the APL Cooperative Education Program, conducted under agreements with Drexel University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Purdue University,
the University of Maryland, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania; (3) an
Air Force program, in which APL staff are transferring
elements of radar technology to King Fahd Uni ersity
of Petroleum and Minerals (Saudi Arabia) through lectures and a videotape course; and (4) the a al AcadeJohns Hopkins APL Technica1 Digesc, Volume 10,
umber 2 (/9 9)
my Program. For the latter program, the Laboratory
developed and taught the academy's first curriculum in
space technology and has continued to collaborate with
academy faculty. Midshipmen and graduates (ensigns)
also may spend a few weeks to a few months at the Laboratory on "elective training" or temporary duty assignments.
A description of APL's role in graduate-level education occupies much of this issue, but several important
programs deserve special mention. First among these is
the GEM Program (National Consortium for Graduate
Degrees for Minorities in Engineering), initiated by Theodore J. Habarth of APL. The purpose of the program
is to assist minority students in obtaining master's degrees
in engineering through paid summer internships and financial aid. Today the consortium involves 61 industry/laboratory affiliates and 55 universities, and the
program accounts for about 130/0 of the U.S. output of
minority master of science degrees in engineering.
APL has enjoyed a 12-year relationship with the Naval Postgraduate School, for which we assist in curriculum development (electronic warfare), provide lecturers
from time to time, and host annual visits to APL for
all students in the electronic warfare curriculum. For students in antisubmarine warfare, operations analysis, and
electronic warfare, APL also participates in the "Experience Tour" programs in which the degree candidates
spend six-week working periods at Navy research and
development centers. For a number of years, the Laboratory has worked with the Naval War College in the
development and improvement of war games and the
Johns Hopkin s APL Technical Digest, Volume 10, Number 2 (1989)
models that support them. An APL staff member also
has been in residence for the past two years at the Naval War College and has developed and taught a new
course on technology and naval warfare.
To promote interaction between APL and other divisions of Johns Hopkins, the APL Fellowship Program
was established in 1962 to provide a stipend plus full tuition for JHU graduate students who carry out their thesis research at the Laboratory. The research is conducted
under the joint supervision of an APL staff member and
a faculty member of the University department. Since
inception of the program, 15 candidates have successfully completed thesis research at APL, qualifying for
degrees in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematical
Sciences, Materials Science and Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering. Three APL fellows are currently
engaged in some stage of their thesis research at the Laboratory.
At the graduate and postdoctoral level, the Laboratory has several programs. The Advisory Board Fellowships and Professorships are available to members of the
APL senior staff, enabling them to spend an academic
year in one of the other divisions of Johns Hopkins. This
program began in 1955 with the William S. Parsons Fellowship (later amended to permit a professorship) and
was subsequently expanded to include the J. H. Fitzgerald Dunning Professorship and the Merle A. Tuve
and Lawrence Hafstad Fellowships. In 1973, the Frank
T. McClure Fellowship in Cardiovascular Research was
established. It is awarded to promising candidates in car-
87
Bostrom
diovascular research, allowing a two-year tenure at the
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.
In support of its research efforts, the Laboratory provides for appointing up to four postdoctoral fellows to
its staff for terms of one to two years, and a larger number of postdoctoral research associates, who are usually
recruited to fill specific, directly funded research positions for a limited term.
The Laboratory sponsors many scientific and technical conferences and symposia in the Kossiakoff Conference and Education Center, and has been recognized for
its contributions to specialized technical training in several areas. For the DoD Very High Speed Integrated Circuit Program, the Laboratory organized or sponsored
15 major workshops, developed a designer's handbook,
and provided training for over 2000 engineers from industry and government. An APL-developed short course,
"The Fundamental Principles of Electronic Warfare,"
sponsored by the Association of Old Crows (the Electronic Defense Association), has been presented at 13
sites around the country. Over 1500 people (about 60%
of them government employees) have attended this threeday classified technical course.
The Laboratory's support of education also extends
to devoting part of its fee to a merit-based Tuition
Scholarship Program for children of qualified employees. The program has awarded scholarships, which
pay half the undergraduate tuition and fees (up to a maximum of half the JHU tuition), to 482 students since its
inception in 1978. And the Richard B. Kershner Fund
provides scholarship support for deserving high school
students identified by the Hopkins Center for Talented
Youth to attend six-week summer courses in advanced
topics in mathematics and science offered at several colleges in the mid-Atlantic region.
It should be obvious by now that to describe the Applied Physics Laboratory in terms of its research accomplishments, its major programs, its facilities, or its role
in national defense without reference to the scope of its
involvement in education is to ignore the one element
that permeates and undergirds the APL environment.
Whenever I present an overview of the Laboratory to
visitors, I make a special point of describing the parttime graduate education programs. These programs represent an unparalleled service to the State of Maryland
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and to the technical work force of the BaltimoreWashington area. Since the majority of this work force
is employed to serve the needs and programs of the federal government, the part-time graduate programs have
enabled APL to extend its public service contributions
well beyond the confines of its own research and development efforts.
We are part of a great university, and the opportunities to participate in the educational process as both students and faculty have had a significant influence on the
kinds of people attracted to APL. Every element of this
broad array of activities in education has resulted from
the interest and initiative of individuals or groups of staff
members, who have willingly committed time and energy toward the success of these' 'extracurricular" activities. Although the effects are difficult to measure, the
Laboratory's prominent role in education reinforces an
environment already rich in intellectual stimulation and
directly benefits all of our endeavors.
THE AUTHOR
CARL O. BOSTROM , trained in
nuclear physics, has spent his scientific career in space physics. Since
1980 he has been Director of The
Johns Hopkins University Applied
Phy ics Laboratory.
An experimental physicist, Dr.
Bo trom has designed a variety of
scientific instruments for the study
of energetic particles in the space environment. These instruments have
been included on 27 Navy and
ASA spacecraft. Dr. Bostrom
erved as Project Scientist for four
avy research satellites associated
with the development of the Transit navigation system. He has been
Principal Investigator for several ASA-sponsored experiments.
Born in Port Jefferson, N.Y ., he obtained a B.S. in physics from
Franklin and Marshall College in 1956, and M.S. (1958) and Ph.D.
(1962) degrees in physics from Yale University. He joined APL in 1960
and led the space physics program from 1964 to 1974. Dr. Bostrom
was appointed Chief Scientist of the Space Department in 1974 and
Associate Department Head in 1978, and in 1979 held concurrent positions as Head of the Space Department and Deputy Director of the
Laboratory .
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