Outreach and Education
O.K. Baker
Endowed University Professor of Physics
Hampton University
NSF LHC Meeting, Feb 21, 2003
Education and Outreach
• The Challenge
– Intellectual pursuit at the
energy frontier in particle
physics.
– Engage the best and the
brightest minds
– Ensure the long term
vitality of the field
– Education and Outreach
Education and Outreach
U.S. Secretary of
Education Rod Paige
“We have been relying on the education other countries
provide to their citizens. There is something wrong when
American schools cannot produce enough good workers for
valuable American jobs.
“We need [improved science education] not just for our
economy, but also for our national security.”
"Where have the Americans gone?“
"Our Nation is failing to produce both a
scientifically literate citizenry and the kind
of workforce we will need in the 21st
Century."
Office of Science Director
Ray Orbach
Education and Outreach
• The Plan
– Education and outreach to high schools
– Education and outreach to groups traditionally
underrepresented in the field; HBCU example
– Education and outreach to Africa
Education and Outreach to . . .
high schools:
Quarknet
Education and Outreach
QuarkNet
Project Principal Investigators
O. Keith Baker, Hampton University
Project Staff
Thomas Jordan, Project Coordinator,
Fermilab (formerly at Illinois Mathematics and
Marjorie G. Bardeen, Fermilab
Project Spokesperson
Science Academy, Illinois)
Beth Beiersdorf, University of Notre Dame
(formerly at LaSalle High School, Indiana)
R. Michael Barnett, Lawrence
Berkeley National Lab
Kenneth Cecire, Hampton University
(Warwick High School)
Randal C. Ruchti, University of Notre
Dame
Andria Erzberger, Lawrence Berkeley
National Lab (Palo Alto High School)
Teacher
Ken Andert
(La Lumiere College Preparatory
School, LaPorte, Indiana)
Education and Outreach
QuarkNet has 50 centers nationwide (60 planned).
Each center has:
• 2-6 physicist
mentors
• 2-12 teachers*
* Depending on year of
the program and local
variations.
Education and Outreach
The focus of this program is and was to involve in our
experiments:
Teachers: do research with us and bring that
excitement and experience to their classrooms;
Students: analyze web-data in their classrooms.
Average teacher has 5 classes with 28 students. For 60
centers with 12 teachers each:
60  12  5  28 = 108,000 students each year
After ten years, over one million students!
Education and Outreach
Teacher in the "most racially diverse
school system in Indiana"
“This program has enriched my teaching.
I have many resources to tap into now. I
have a broader knowledge base as a
result of lectures and research.
“I have a warm web of friends across the
United States who have the same goals as
I do and who are eager to help with
encouragement and advice. I feel a part
of something larger and I don't feel like I
am alone in the classroom any more.
“I have had several students express an
interest in becoming a high school
science teacher like me because what we
do is so interesting.”
Education and Outreach
HEPAP Subpanel 2001
“The level of activity on education and outreach in the field
should be doubled, in order to ensure a viable, effective and
sustainable program.
“This extra effort will significantly increase our impact on
education and society without adversely affecting our
research program.”
Education and Outreach
HEPAP Subpanel 2001
“We urge that all experiments incorporate project-specific
education and outreach programs as part of their
mission.
[ QuarkNet enables 11 experiments at 7 DOE labs to do this. ]
“Such efforts, linked very closely to the research
programs, represent key investments in the future and
must be given sufficient priority.”
Education and Outreach to . . .
Historically Black Colleges
and Universities (HBCUs)
Education and Outreach
•~100 HBCU’s in US (~3% of total)
•mostly undergraduate
•traditionally underrepresented
in particle physics research
Education and Outreach
“The single most important factor that determines whether or
not an undergraduate student at an HBCU goes on to graduate
school is whether they participated in undergraduate
research”
F. Humphries, Director of NAFEOand
N. Francis, Xaviar University President
ATLAS students at Hampton University since ‘98
Historically Black Colleges and
Universities
HBCU’s are responsible for the undergraduate
and graduate careers of:
•40 percent of this country's Black college graduates
• 75 percent of all Black Ph.Ds
• 46 percent of all Black business executives
• 50 percent of Black engineers
• 80 percent of Black federal judges
• 85 percent of all Black doctors.
• 75 percent of Black military officers
• 75 percent of the nation's Black veterinarians
•compiled by NSBP
AIP Statistics
Table 8. Number and percent of physics degrees granted to Us
citizens by minority/ethnic group status, class of 2000.
Bachelor's
Number Percent
African-American
Hispanic-American
White
Asian-American
Other
Total US Citizens
170
103
3114
176
94
3657
5
3
85
5
2
100%
Exiting Master's
Number
26
18
327
9
2
382
PhD's
Percent Number Percent
7
5
86
2
0
100%
17
14
595
32
15
673
AIP Statistical Research Center: Enrollments and Degrees Report
3
2
88
5
2
100%
HBCU's granted 44 percent of all bachelor's degrees in
the sciences that were awarded to African-Americans
41 percent of the mathematics degrees
38 percent of the degrees in computer sciences and life sciences
25 percent of the engineering degrees
compiled by NSBP
HBCU students and postdocs: wire chamber construction
Education and Outreach to . . .
Africa
Education and Outreach
Columbia University
Ian Tolfree, left, and
physicist Jeremy Dodd
(Columbia University),
right, demonstrate
static electricity for a
South African student.
"Scientists at CERN are
eager to increase subSaharan Africa's
representation on its
international team," Dodd
says.
"This year's pilot program gave us a solid base of experience
to build on," Dodd says. "We saw that it was effective and
makes a real impact. Africa has a huge number of bright, excited
minds, and we'd like to encourage more of them to take part in physical science."
Education and Outreach
• Outreach to (to date):
–
–
–
–
Zimbabwe
South Africa
Zambia
others to come
Education and Outreach
• Travelling physics demonstrations in Africa
• Hosting of African teachers in US
• Extended visits by US scientists to Africa
Education and Outreach
Request sustained NSF
support for LHC Physics
outreach and education