This series provides an opportunity to get up close and personal with the people who power The New York Academy of Sciences.
Published January 5, 2023
By Nick Fetty
Tell us what you do for the Academy?
In my role, I manage K-12 School & Community Programs in New York City aimed at sharing the joys, relevance and importance of STEM with students.
What has — so far — been your proudest accomplishment working for the Academy?
This past May we had our first in-person Science Student Showcase since the start of the pandemic. We invited students from 25 schools to share what they learned throughout the year and show off their science communication skills. I was so impressed with all the students, and their excitement was contagious. It felt great to be able to be in-person again and seeing the product of a year of work.
You’re a scientist. How did you first become interested in science, and what has been the STEM journey that has brought you to where you are today?
In 5th grade I did a project on Thomas Edison where I built a model of a telegraph machine. It was so cool to learn about his life and all his inventions. I loved the idea of problem solving to make life easier, and it got me interested in how science and technology can do just that.
One of Adrienne’s recent crochet creations
Why do you think science is so important to society?
Science is about asking questions and discovering knowledge, and I think that’s necessary for society to keep moving in a positive direction.
Which scientist (or scientists) would you most like to have dinner with and why?
Marie Curie, because I’m sure she could tell amazing stories about the work the led her to TWO Nobel Prizes, and also stories about what it was like to live life in the 19th century.
What hobbies or interest do you have outside of work?
I like crocheting, watching true-crime TV, and planning my next vacation!
Team Members: Jiho L. (Team Lead) (Republic of Korea), Ansh T. (India), Riya K. (India), Arshroop S. (India), Aman A. (India), Rawnaq A. (Oman)
Mentor: Olusola Ladokun (Nigeria)
Among the 85 teams that embarked on the Green Redesign Challenge in Fall 2022, one team stood out.
By improving irrigation and reducing the waste of resources, Team Greetopia aims to bring innovation to agriculture. They were named the winning project in the challenge.
Based on research and stories shared by numerous farmers, the team identified key issues, illustrated by stark figures: 2 quadrillion gallons of agricultural water are wasted annually[1], and agriculture uses 2.2 quadrillion KJ of energy every year[2], about 5% of world energy demand. They also found that 1.2 billion tons of food[3]– enough to feed the entire US population for 3.64 years– is wasted, never leaving the farm.
Working online, across time zones, created initial difficulties– but the team members found ways of collaborating productively.
“I’m grateful to have experienced the diverse cultures coming together for the betterment of this human society,” says Aman. “Time zones were a hurdle in the smooth performance of the team, but we managed it by distributing the work evenly to be performed by individuals at their time of comfort, alongside holding alternate team meetings at common times.”
Challenges in Agriculture
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has identified lack of innovation as one of the biggest challenges in agriculture. In a world facing multiple challenges such as depleted natural resources, climate change, and pollution, developing more efficient agricultural systems is crucial for our survival.
Through online brainstorming, the team concluded that emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can address some of these issues and can help farmers who often lack the skill set to optimize agricultural methods. Overuse of fertilizer, for example, can pollute waterways, burn crops, deplete the soil of minerals and increase air pollution.
“It was an amazing experience to have connected with like-minded individuals and research world-changing approaches!” says Riya.
Greetopia team members decided to develop a web application that would tackle the excessive use of non-renewable resources.
“I got to research and learn more about the important crises around the world, such as concrete pollution, irrigation, etc.,” says Arshroop. “The constant communication within the team allowed us to keep up with the information and learn a lot of valuable lessons through the program.”
Utilizing the Internet of Things
In particular, the students opted to use the Internet of Things (IoT) to increase efficiency in irrigation and modernize farming practices that have remained unchanged for centuries.
“As team lead, I worked on planning our work, informing each member of what they have to do until certain target dates, creating documents to make the process efficient, and of course, conducting research about our research topic and filling in the milestones,” explains Team Lead Jiho.
The team devised “Kanad”, a farming application that delivers four main functions. First, it senses soil moisture levels by using a machine-learning component called Long Short-Term Memory Network (LSTM), which gets more accurate with use. Second, farmers can enter information on the Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) content in the soil, (also analyzed by sensors) to identify the most optimally adapting crops for these soil characteristics and locations.
Utilizing Machine-Learning
Machine-learning can also recommend the optimal amount of fertilizer based on the same NPK levels in the field. Finally, farmers can enter images of their crop into the web-based application, which will use the Convolutional Neural Network deep learning system to identify potential crop diseases with an accuracy of 95.25%.
Arriving at this successful solution did not prove easy: the team decided to change direction halfway through the Challenge.
“I’m glad that the team members understood the sudden change in our projected target in the middle of the program, which led to a successful ending,” says Ansh. In the end, perseverance paid off and the outcome amply justified the effort involved.
“Despite the obstacles we encountered, we made it till the end,” says Rawnaq. “We did not just complete the challenge but the result was awesome.”
[1] Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organisation [2] Source: US Department of Agriculture [3] Source: World Wildlife Fund (WWF-UK)
Prolonged droughts, caused by climate change, have amplified the risks of forest fires around the globe– making blazes bigger, more frequent, and more intense.
These fires devastate vast swathes of forests and often spread into residential areas, threatening lives and housing. Research by the University of Maryland suggests that fires cause forests to lose 3 million more hectares annually than in 2001. Furthermore, the UN Environment Program estimates that by 2100, the number of forest fires will increase by 50%.
The team Intelligent Forest — Chinmay R. (India, Team Lead), Rohan S. (India), and Soumik P. (India) — worked under the guidance of their mentor Malarvizhi Arulraj (United States) to tackle this critical issue as part of the “Forestry for a Sustainable Future” Fall 2022 Junior Academy Challenge, sponsored by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA). Intelligent Forest bested the field among 175 competitors. Their innovative method to predict the risk of fire helped them to win.
“It was great taking on real world problems and using our intellect to solve them. I learned various things throughout the course of the challenge such as AI, weather patterns, machine learning applications and much more,” says Rohan. “We worked hard as a team and came up with a solution in the end together.”
Understanding Forest Fires
Forest fires can be triggered by natural factors, such as lightning, or by human factors, such as the careless dropping of a cigarette or the lighting of an unnecessary fire in severe drought conditions. Crown fires burn the entire length of the trees while surface fires only scorch dried leaves and grass.
In some cases, fire can rage under the ground. As the team discovered over the course of their research, climatic conditions play a critical role– the hotter and drier the weather, the more destructive the fire is likely to be.
Finding ways to mitigate the impact of these now-frequent infernos required hard work, but the team members worked collaboratively to achieve results.
“There were times when I was uncertain as to whether we would even reach the end, but here we are,” says Soumik. “It was a fun experience working with my team members, and I had the opportunity to add and develop my skills. My main contribution was helping with the research side of things and suggesting ideas and edits.”
Utilizing Artificial Intelligence
With support from their mentor, the students decided to focus on harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyze forest and temperature data, in the hope that it would be possible to predict the risk of fires.
“I was impressed by the plans and ideas the team put together and was absolutely delighted to mentor the team,” says their mentor, Malarvizhi. “They chose a problem and approach that was hard and challenging. Especially, finding the best dataset and creating working machine-learning algorithms needs a lot of effort.”
Using data on fire alerts and meteorological information (minimal and maximal temperatures, rainfall, solar radiation and daily evaporation) collected in the Brisbane area in Australia between 2012 and 2022, the team tested two different AI approaches: Decision Tree and Random Forest.
The Results
The goal was to create four categories: no risk, low risk, medium risk or high risk of fire. The results provided the proof-of-concept the team expected. With the Decision Tree approach, they were able to predict fire risk with 70% accuracy, while the accuracy was 79% using the Random Forest approach.
These findings demonstrated that with the help of AI, it is possible to predict the risk of forest fires with 70–80% accuracy, which, in turn, allows for increased preparedness and limited impact.
“The project was a great learning experience for me,” says Team Lead Chinmay. “I had taken Artificial Intelligence as a subject in high school and this project taught me how I could apply what I had learned in a real-life situation.”
Winners of the Junior Academy Innovation Challenge Spring 2022: “Flexible Use of Electricity”
Published July 1, 2022
By Roger Torda
Team Members: Abhi G. (Team Lead) (India), Marianne I. (Philippines), Shreya J. (Canada), Angel I. (Philippines), Elijah U. (Nigeria)
Mentor: Muhammad Mahad Malik (Pakistan)
For this Junior Academy challenge on Flexible Use of Electricity, the five Power On team members chose to address a thorny issue: the energy deficit in the Philippines, where electricity demand is growing rapidly, and supply falls short of demand– leaving close to 30% of the population without electricity or facing significant fluctuations in electricity supply known as brownouts. Constraints on access to power are especially acute in rural areas and on the country’s numerous islands.
“The flexible electricity challenge is one of the most complex research projects I’ve ever worked on as it took quite a while for me to decipher the exact problems that needed to be tackled,” explains Elijah. “However, this pushed me to engage more in extensive readings, and actively be a part of reaching out to and interviewing numerous experts.”
After conducting a survey in nine countries, consulting their mentor and experts, and brainstorming through the Academy’s Launchpad platform, the team members narrowed down potential solutions to focus on three approaches.
“Asking questions and making sure that we understood the concepts fueled me to keep on collecting more knowledge,” says Marianne. “Interviewing different experts from different fields gave us new perspectives when we dealt with this challenge. Because a problem has deep roots, it is important to look at it from different angles.”
Raising Public Awareness
First, based on the results of their survey, the students determined it was important to raise public awareness of electricity issues such as peaks/non-peaks, flexible use of electricity, and supply, storage and distribution. They’ve addressed this need for awareness with an entertaining game designed to educate consumers.
“I had to meet experts from around the globe to hear their perspectives on flexible electricity,” explains Angel. “It made me realize that people may have different geographies and have various living standards, but what we have in common is that we face similar problems, such as balancing the demand and supply of electricity.”
The second pillar of the students’ project is Demaflex, an app to forecast demand and improve the response. The app would analyze data to predict times of high demand and encourage consumers to reduce the pressure on the power grid by scheduling their use of various appliances (such as dishwashers or washing machines) during off-peak periods. By sending recommendations to power users, the app would promote flexible use of electricity.
Finally, the team focused on developing Electrade, an app-based, decentralized, user-friendly energy trading platform that would allow people to buy energy and sell excess electricity back to the grid. The enterprising students will be working with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), which have created a partnership program to grant startup funding towards commercializing their solutions.
An Eye-Opening Experience
Seeing their project take shape has given the team members a great sense of achievement.
“Electricity, in particular, always seemed like an intimidating challenge to tackle, but now, I’ve learned so much,” says Shreya. “I’m proud of the solution that we created and the work we’ve done to create, test, innovate, and communicate our project to the world.”
Participating in the Junior Academy challenge has been an intense learning experience and the students are delighted that their hard work has paid off– winning the challenge is merely the icing on the cake.
“The Flexible Electricity Challenge, for me personally, was quite an eye-opener. From all the research done by everyone on the team, I’ve learned quite a few things about the grid, electricity supply, and the demand response system,” says Team Lead Abhi. “The late nights and the sheer amount of work each and every one put in on our project is something I’ll always remember and be grateful for.”
Meet Sea Saviors, the winning team of the Fall 2021 Junior Academy Challenge “Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems.”
Published December 15, 2021
By Roger Torda
In the fall of 2021, six budding scientists entered the Junior Academy Challenge and teamed up online to address eutrophication in the Black Sea area and the Dnieper River that runs across Ukraine. Team members were Anzhelika-Mariia H. (Team Lead) (Ukraine), Kusum S. (Nepal), Aman Kumar F. (India), Manan P. (India), Ksheerja S. (India), and Viktoriia L. (Ukraine); the team worked under the mentorship ofPratibha Gupta (India).
Eutrophication is a naturally-occurring process that affects the chemical composition of water bodies. When this process is accelerated by human factors like industrial waste, sewage and fertilizers from farms, it causes excessive growth of algae and phytoplankton, oxygen deficiency, and dead zones – thus threatening ecosystems, biodiversity, and public health.
As a first step, the Challenge participants conducted research to better understand the root causes of the problem in the Dnieper River basin.
“I got tons of insights on eutrophication and how it is destroying our planet’s life,” explains Aman Kumar.
Encouraged by their mentor Pratibha (a.k.a. “Power Girl”), the students also looked at existing solutions before brainstorming new approaches that could improve the aquatic environment.
“Our mentor’s enlightening advice and expertise showed me just how vital the role of mentor is,” says Manan. “Hopefully, some day, I can become a Junior Academy mentor!”
Focusing Ecological Ditches
The team eventually opted to focus on ecological ditches, a traditional drainage system that developed in Ukraine in the 1960s, when the country was still part of the Soviet Union. Located at the edge of fields, eco-ditches allow excess rainwater to be carried away. In their conventional form, the drainage channels are inefficient at filtering unwanted fertilizer or nutrients and the team sought ways to improve them with better engineering.
“The diversity of our group, not only geographical, but also the unique personality that each of us carried added immense value to our work,” says Kusum.
The students identified a potential solution of adding plants with strong filtration capacity to eco-ditches, and looked at hydraulic flow rate control.
“I met hardworking individuals who helped me improve my own skills and taught me many valuable lessons in teamwork and analytical thinking,” says Ksheerja.
Eco-ditches require regular maintenance to remove sediments. While polluting industries can be easily identified, farms are harder to locate – yet farms release nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers that affect the delicate chemical balance of water bodies. The students saw a potential path to a sustainable solution: by mapping agricultural farms and existing canals, they could be linked into common drainage systems that could be monitored.
Raising Awareness Through Gaming
Raising awareness of the threats posed by eutrophication is also crucial. The Sea Saviors designed a web-based computer game aimed at children aged 8-13 to sensitize them to environmental issues.
“My role was to be a game designer and developer. Because of the Junior Academy, I found out about different ways of creating the video game and practiced one more game developing engine,” says Viktoriia.
In the two-level game, a friendly sea monster tries to make the aquatic environment more habitable for his fish buddies. In the process, Bob the Monster introduces young players to ecological ditches and the cultivation of oyster shells as ways of regulating the aquatic ecosystem.
“My team was tenacious and industrious from the beginning,” says Pratibha, thrilled with her mentees’ achievements. “Each member had faith in the other one to work diligently.”
For the winning team members, the project has been a stimulating learning experience that allowed them to form strong bonds.
“Working on this project boosted my motivation to continue my studies in the hope of becoming a scientist one day,” said Anzhelika-Mariia.
Servena Narine, who teaches at a New York City public school in Brooklyn, uses science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills to help her elementary school students master their social studies curriculum.
Published November 2, 2020
By Roger Torda
This summer, Narine used time made available because of the COVID-19 shutdown to take The New York Academy of Sciences’ online course STEM Education in the 21st Century. During the eight-week course, she designed a curriculum for fourth-grade students. One of the units called for students to use data analytics in creating an infographic to “tell a story about the effects of immigration on New York City’s industrial growth in the 1900s.”
The Seven Essential STEM Skills
Servena Narine outside her classroom at PS 307 in Brooklyn
“It was a course where we incorporated seven essential STEM skills into our teaching,” Narine said in a recent phone interview. “I think sometimes as teachers we do that naturally, but through the course I was able to more deeply integrate the STEM skills into my lesson plans.”
Narine was referring to seven skills Identified by the Academy’s STEM Education Framework. critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, communication, collaboration, data literacy, and digital literacy and computer science. These skills form the foundation of the course.
“The Academy developed its Framework back in 2016 as a research-based tool that can be used to ensure students receive high-quality STEM learning,” said Chris Link, the Academy’s Director of Education. “Our online course coaches teachers on strategies they can use to help their students build critical 21st-century skills.”
“Eight years ago, my school became a magnet school for STEM studies,” Narine explained, referring to PS 307, which serves pre-K through fifth grade in the Vinegar Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. “I’m always looking to learn more about what it means to be a STEM school, and what it means to integrate the principles of STEM into the classroom. When I saw that this course was available, and that it was free, and that I had time on my hands because everyone was self-isolating because of COVID-19, I jumped right into it.”
Continuing Teacher and Leader Education
Narine was one of 100 New York City teachers enrolled in the course through the sponsorship of Medidata, which has supported several Academy STEM programs. Narine and other teachers who completed the course received 30 Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) credits required by New York State to maintain certification.
“I loved that the course was asynchronous, so I could set a schedule for myself,” Narine said. “The participants, the other teachers, all reviewed each others’ work, and offered feedback. That was a great benefit. And I loved that for each of the seven skills there was an expert in the field who was able to share information.
Narine’s course not only incorporated STEM skills, but aligned closely with the state’s Passport to Social Studies curriculum. To develop critical thinking skills, one of her units calls on students to analyze documents from the Colonial and Revolutionary War periods. A unit on problem solving asks students to develop solutions to clashes between Native Americans and colonists.
Cross-Interdisciplinary Skills for Students
A unit on the geography of New York calls for creativity in designing maps to promote tourist destinations. Yet another unit is designed to promote collaboration skills as teams make a game to test knowledge of material covered in earlier units. These cross-disciplinary skills serve students in their social studies classes, their STEM classes, and beyond.
“The curriculum asks students to look at Native Americans as the first inhabitants of New York State,” Narine said, explaining how she started thinking about a unit that would focus on communication skills, another area of focus in the Academy’s online course.
“I remember thinking that we’d be learning about Native Americans in the region around the time we’d be celebrating Thanksgiving,” she continued. “And I thought it would be nice to have the children create a public service announcement to give thanks to Native Americans for the contributions they have made to New York State and to our society, rather than the other way around, where we pretty much look at the European influence and teach that it is because of the Europeans that we have Thanksgiving. I said, ‘Let’s turn it around and say thank you to the first inhabitants of New York for their contributions.’”
Educational leaders, policymakers, teachers, and parents have deliberated over the return to school amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But few conversations include the voices of those at the center of it all—the students. As many schools have transitioned to virtual classrooms, students have adapted to their continuously changing learning environments. On August 25, 2020, the New York Academy of Sciences hosted a panel of high school and college students from GSA programs to discuss the transition to online learning, obstacles with adjusting to new technology, and suggestions for improving the virtual classroom experience.
Highlights
To adjust to online learning and avoid low motivation, students should establish a new routine by creating schedules.
Virtual learning in small groups, such as breakout rooms or during professor office hours, can encourage more participation and discussion among students.
Plans for successful distance learning must address the digital divide that prevents some students from accessing online classes and assignments and ensure that teachers have the resources they need to create engaging new lesson plans.
Speakers
Sthuthi Satish Bangalore International School
Tina Sindwani Arizona State University
Athena Yao Duke University
Student Perspectives on Back to School
Transition to Online Learning
TinaSindwani, a first-year student at Arizona State University (ASU), had a relatively easy transition to online learning when the university switched to virtual classes in the spring. ASU used Canvas, an online learning platform, for courses before the pandemic, and students were already using iPads in class. She praised the university for being organized—all course links are in one place—and hosting programs to help people shift to online courses. However, full-time virtual courses still required Sindwani to stay motivated and organize her virtual commitments on a calendar. While at home, she shared her class schedule with her family and set reminders to take breaks, exercise, and eat meals.
Sthuthi Satish, a high school senior at the Bangalore International School in India, also had a fluid transition to online learning because the school already used Google Classroom. After a few months of online learning, she now feels well-equipped to manage her classes. It took a bit of trial and error to figure out what worked for her, but a calendar and a to-do list have helped.
AthenaYao, a high school senior at the start of school shut-downs, could not participate in end-of-the-year activities like prom or graduation. Instead, like so many of her peers, she ended her senior year using Google Classroom and taking quizzes online. However, when she matriculated at Duke University this fall, Yao found the start of the online learning process—with multiple platforms, logins, and websites—a bit difficult. “I have had some confusion. The university expected me to know how to use the online programs,” said Yao. “So eventually, I started to get it, but I had to explore the website on my own and look for the resources.” Clear, streamlined instructions can lessen the learning curve with new platforms needed to access materials for virtual classes. Yao is one of the limited number of first and second-year students in campus housing this semester, as all juniors and seniors are off campus. To ensure safety, the university tested all students returning to campus and is performing randomized COVID-19 testing each week.
The panelists compared how much time they previously spent in school to how many hours they were expected to allocate per day for distance learning. For Sindwani, this meant attending online lectures and assemblies, averaging out to about 4-5 hours per day. Satish estimated that she spends 5-6 hours a day in online classes, but with homework assignments and studying, school takes up 8-9 hours of her day. Yao averaged a similar number of hours per day, although she felt preparation for lectures and labs added additional time to her school day. However, now, she doesn’t have to rush out of bed to get to school and has more flexibility throughout her day.
Challenges with Distance Learning
The panelists adamantly stated that they have all experienced “Zoom burnout.” Students have had to adjust to a full day in front of the computer screen, where Zoom meetings blend together one after the other. A virtual school day involves attending live sessions, completing homework, and studying for exams. The long hours are tiring and repetitive, which can wear on personal motivation.
One subject area that has been particularly difficult to teach virtually is science labs. Most students are completing simulations online. In some cases, labs are opening back up with half the class at a time. In other schools, teachers are handing out kits so students can do the labs at home.
Motivation from Teachers
The panelists shed light on what teachers have done to engage students and help them avoid “Zoom burnout.” Some classes can be up to three hours, so designating breaks is essential to maintaining student focus. Additionally, using breakout rooms to talk in smaller groups has been extremely helpful. In fact, Sindwani said she has gotten more out of the small breakout room discussions than being in class in-person. Students are more likely to turn on their video feed and converse with other students in these smaller settings. “The discussions in a smaller group are more conducive to learning than being in a room with 100 people and not being able to talk to everyone.”
Satish’s average class size is only five people, so she thrives on a lot of interactions. The teachers are also very open to feedback and learning about new ways to teach. Yao utilizes office hours to ask questions, because it is easier for her to talk one-on-one with a professor or teaching assistant. Having access to online meetings with an advisor or guidance counselor can also be helpful. Large recorded lecture videos are also useful, since the viewer can easily speed up, replay, or pause videos if needed.
Fostering collaboration between students has also been a component of successful online learning. For example, Kami has been a highlight of remote learning for Yao. With this online tool, students can all write on the board at the same time. Some of Yao’s memorable moments from her senior year of high school included teachers showing their pets on their videos and personally dropping off goodie bags for students before AP exams. Satish’s teachers have been very understanding about how monotonous this process can be for students. Kahoot has been a great game-based platform for multiple-choice quizzes. In her Spanish class, Satish and her classmates recorded themselves on Google Docs and made presentations together. They also talked about their favorite songs and played them during class. Incorporating games, breaks, and creative ways to facilitate participation and collaboration into the virtual classroom can be very effective. Incentives, such as bonus points, are highly motivating as well.
Updated Technology Platforms
Although all three panelists are fortunate to have personal laptops for distance learning, they mentioned that many colleges offer laptops, Wi-Fi hotspots, and internet for students who don’t have their own. Access, or lack thereof, has been a common issue for many families, especially those with multiple children at home, where there are not enough devices for everyone to work at the same time.
Sindwani mentioned a novel idea recently implemented in Mexico where students were able to use the television instead of laptops for their online learning. Many people have TVs in their homes, but may not have access to Wi-Fi or laptops. So using the television may help ensure that more children have access to education while at home. Students can tune in for live broadcasts on their televisions, however families with multiple children will still have the problem of not having enough screens.
When asked about the government’s involvement in education during the pandemic, the panelists all agreed that the government could be more involved. They believe the government should work to bridge the disparities between different socioeconomic groups so that everyone has access to the same online platforms and teachers have the necessary supplies for teaching. The students were aware of charitable organizations and nonprofits working to provide meals to students who usually get them from school.
Virtual Social Connections
While the COVID-19 pandemic may mean spending more time at home, some students have come up with creative ways to interact with their peers. Sindwani has widened her social circle using Slack, a communication platform. Yao has been doing workout videos with her friends and meeting her incoming Duke classmates over social media platforms. She also emphasized the importance of virtual connections around the globe. Now that most internships and non-profit work is online, students can connect with people all around the world, a unique opportunity that didn’t exist before the pandemic.
Safely Reopening Schools
The panelists shared optimistic visions for when students return to in-person classes after the pandemic. “The information hasn’t necessarily been different, but the way I learn it and my satisfaction with how I’ve learned it is definitely very different,” said Sindwani. “I would prefer to have in-person classes because that allows for more interaction with the professor and my peers.”
Yao also prefers in-person learning. She sees the pandemic as an opportunity to learn more about our society and take note that some of our current teaching methods might be outdated.
Satish agreed that one takeaway from the pandemic is that many meetings that would have been held in-person before the pandemic can be done virtually. Online education is an opportunity for her to look at different learning techniques and find what works best. However, she too prefers being in a physical environmental with her peers. “School is a lot more holistic than just the education itself,” said Satish. “The experience of living in a dorm room and [enjoying] take-away food from dining halls. Those are experiences I want to be able to have.”
Another important aspect of reinstituting in-person classes involves students feeling comfortable with returning to school. At the college level, many schools are requiring all students to get tested upon arrival on campus. After that, randomized testing will occur. While on campus, students are required to wear masks inside the buildings and to maintain social distancing at all times. Universities have put many additional provisions in place, including hand sanitizer stations throughout campus, a daily symptom self-check on an app, and take-out dining options. However, all these measures will only work if the students agree to and follow the guidelines. Schools are also are performing a great deal of contact tracing. Any student who tests positive or has come into contact with someone who tested positive, may be asked to self-quarantine. . The panelists agree that students have a responsibility to follow the rules that schools put in place to ensure a safe and comfortable learning environment. If at any point you don’t feel comfortable in an in-person situation with other students, the panelists suggest politely reminding people of the social distancing rules, and being open about why you’re concerned. Sometimes it’s necessary to share a bit of your personal situation for others to understand your concerns.
Teams, made up of 28 students from 11 countries, win international challenges in Space Exploration, Smart Technology for Home and Health, Cybersecurity, Sustainable Transportation, and the battle against COVID-19.
Published August 12, 2020
By Roger Torda
Five international teams made up of 28 students from 11 countries have demonstrated they can solve challenges that vex the most experienced scientists and engineers. The students are among more than a thousand that competed in 2020 Challenges run by teams, made up of 28 students from 11 countries, won international challenges in various fields of science as part of The New York Academy of Sciences’ Global STEM Alliance. The teams collaborated across borders to develop solutions related to the coronavirus pandemic, routine healthcare monitoring, cybersecurity, lunar exploration, and sustainable transportation.
The Combating COVID-19 Challenge
“I didn’t want to stand by and passively wait for the pandemic to be over,” said Young Chen, explaining why he assembled a team to enter the Combating COVID-19 Challenge. “It was a combination of curiosity, risk-taking, and desire to help my community.” Chen, from Ashburn, Virginia, four other students from the United States, and another from New Delhi, India, won first place among 200 entries in the global competition. Their winning project, called GOvid-19, was a chatbot to provide users with information about government responses, emergency resources, and statistics on COVID-19, and ways they can help fight the pandemic.
The Academy’s goal with the competitions is to help students develop capabilities necessary for effective work and leadership in STEM fields. “Providing opportunities for students to build 21st-century skills like problem solving, collaboration and communication are core goals of our challenge programs,” said Hank Nourse, Senior Vice President & Chief Learning Officer for the Academy, in announcing the winners of the Challenges. This year, several of the Challenges were especially valuable as non-classroom projects for students whose schools had closed because of COVID-19. “Several of these teams completed their work during shutdowns due to the pandemic,” Nourse explained. “We are happy to know that our digital tools allowed students to continue working and learning without interruption.”
The Intelligent Homes & Health Challenge
Zoe Piccirillo, leader for the team that won the Intelligent Homes & Health Challenge, described some of what she learned: “I have become a more open-minded, collaborative and creative individual from working with the motivated and bright members of our team… My team members also helped make our final solution more inclusive. The diversity of the group provided new perspectives regarding what values and concerns are prevalent across the world.” Zoe’s Health Sync team designed a secure, in-home health monitoring system connecting patients, doctors, and pharmacists. Zoe, from New York City, worked with another student from the United States, two from Sweden, and one each from the Philippines and Australia.
I have become a more open-minded, collaborative and creative individual from working with the motivated and bright members of our team.
Zoe Piccirillo
After assembling their teams, the students use the Academy’s Launchpad platform to connect with a volunteer mentor and then to reach out to other experts as they conduct research. “Mentors are often early career scientists, from academia and industry, who volunteer their time to help guide the students with their projects,” explained Kaari Casey, GSA program manager.
“I’m incredibly proud of my teams,” said Jessica Black, the mentor for Health Sync and a veteran of nine previous Challenges. “Often, the topics that are presented for these challenges are varied and out of the scope of what most students are studying in school,” Black continued. “They have to integrate their knowledge base with newly acquired information that must be obtained through research. It’s a new process for many of them. To see the resolutions and presentations they formulate by the end of the challenge is incredible.”
Black is a fellow in pediatric oncology at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. “As a female in STEM I feel it’s really important to act as a role model not just for my female students, but for all of my students,” she added. The Intelligent Homes and Health Challenge was sponsored by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, AstraZeneca, and Chalmers University of Technology.
The Cybersecurity in the Age of IoT Challenge
A team calling itself Cybercastle won the Cybersecurity in the Age of IoT Challenge, with a system that uses blockchain technology to encrypt medical records. Team lead Rasmus Häggkvist, from Norrbotten, Sweden, described his criteria for forming a team using Launchpad, saying he “was looking for kind, organized, diligent, and prudent perfectionists.” He found them in all corners of the world, including India, Morocco, Canada and the Philippines. The Cybersecurity Challenge was sponsored by the S&P Global Foundation, with 25 employees from S&P Global serving as mentors to student teams.
The Space Challenge
The LunarX team won the Space Challenge for its plan to colonize the Moon, including designs for shelters, sustainable food and water systems, and artificial intelligence tools for energy and mobile transport. Sachee Kachchakaduge, the team’s leader from Vancouver, Canada, pointed to the importance of using digital communications in a global project: “We used asynchronous collaboration to work on our own time. Distance and time zones did not prove to be issues, and we were able to work as if we were school friends or classmates.”
Sachee also pointed to opportunities to expand skills in sometimes unexpected ways: “At the surface, challenges seem like they only teach you about the topic at hand. However, in reality, you learn many other things. The team provides a safe space for everyone to try new software, and to learn from others and to test out your ideas.” Sachee’s teammates were from the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Moldova, India, and the United States.
LunarX team mentor Garret Schneider, a retired aeronautical and astronautical engineer who worked in the Air Force and in industry, said the team worked hard to avoid becoming overwhelmed: “I think their biggest obstacles were digesting all the information and possibilities, and also deciding where to focus their energies…. [This] contributed to their success, as well as their dedication to tie all the elements of their solution together in a thorough, coherent manner.” Garret, who has volunteered with the Academy for close to 20 years, said he benefits as well as the students: “I have a renewed respect for the intelligence and capability and spirit of our youth – I feel pride to have been associated with them.”
The Chain of Transportation Challenge
A team calling itself LiFe won the Sustainable Chain of Transportation Challenge. The team designed a battery, a vehicle and an app to match specific transportation needs with the most efficient transportation solutions. Team member Abby Liang, from Troy, Michigan, said: “My new knowledge about the scientific research and design process, as well as both technical and creative skills from coding to policy frameworks to project management, will stay with me as I continue in my studies… I am so proud of our final comprehensive design.”
Members of the team were from Mexico, New Zealand, Egypt and the United States. The Sustainable Chain of Transportation Challenge was sponsored by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and the Volvo Group.
Winning teams will receive a trip to New York City for next year’s annual GSA Summit, as this year’s Summit was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. In lieu of the in-person event this year, a virtual summit was held last month. Nicholas B. Dirks, the Academy’s President and CEO, addressed almost a thousand students and mentors, with a message about the importance of cross-discipline curiosity.
Laura Helmuth, Editor-In-Chief of Scientific American, delivered a keynote address, describing career pathways to science journalism and explaining the importance of good communication in the practice of science.
One of S&P Global’s 25 Challenge mentors echoed the belief that the exchange of ideas is a two-way process. “I wanted the chance… [to] get some exposure to what the next generation thinks about the problems the world is facing,” said Ryan Duve, a senior data scientist. Ryan worked with several teams and mentored a team called Symblot, which competed in the Cybersecurity Challenge. “I think the most important part of mentoring is just being a positive example of what you can be when you grow up,” he continued. “Too many young people only hear about different professions in articles and never really get a chance to do Q&A with a practitioner, which is a role I thought I could help fill.”
Winning Teams for the 2020 Global STEM Alliance Challenges
Combatting COVID-19
Abhay Sheshadri, Monroe Township, NJ, US; Anshul Mahajan, New Delhi, India; Regan Razon, Morrisville, NC, US; Tanush Swaminathan, Monroe Township, NJ, US; Young Chen, Asburn, VA, US.
Sachee Kachchakaduge, Vancouver, Canada; Sreenidhi Vijayaraghavan, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Andreea Bujor, Ungheni, Republic of Moldova; Abhinav Agarwal, Jaipur, India; Arnav Hazra, San Francisco, CA, US; Naveen HV, Mysore, India.
Intelligent Homes & Health
Sara Rydell, Stockholm, Sweden; Jana Montanez, Parañaque City, Philippines; Ansh Gadodia, Princeton Junction, NJ, US; Sophia Li, Melbourne, Australia; Alice Forslund, Göteborg, Sweden; Zoe Piccirillo, New York, NY, US.
Sustainable Chain of Transportation
Cynthia Ramirez Meneses, Texcoco, Mexico; Izabela Zmirska, St. Augustine, FL, US; Evie Rose Grace, Dunedin, New Zealand; Ishita Bhimavarapu, Princeton, NJ, US; Abby Liang, Troy, MI, US.
The Academy’s Scientists in Residence initiative aims to jumpstart student interest in STEM.
Published May 1, 2020
By Adrienne Umali, M.S.B.S., M.S.Ed.
Kathrin Schilling, Ph.D. Associate Research Scientist Geochemistry, Columbia University
Regardless of the field you’re in, it is likely that if you looked back at your career path, you could identify at least one person who has helped guide you to where you are today. Whether this person was a teacher, family member, coach, or supervisor, mentorship has always been an incredibly important part of not only exposing individuals to new ideas and opportunities, but in encouraging them to their full potential.
When the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores in math and science showed the United States ranked 13th, behind several Asian and European nations, it was once again demonstrated that the U.S. needs to raise its investment in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to remain globally competitive. These fields are core to almost every industry, but a 2017 poll found that only 38 percent of middle and high school teachers see their students as being “naturally interested” in STEM.
Cultivating a Love of STEM
Most students rarely have the opportunity to meet a working scientist, so developing programs that expose students to science professionals is proving to be a critical way to cultivate a love of STEM in the next generation. It’s what brought Emily Bohonos, a middle school science teacher in Brooklyn, N.Y., to join The New York Academy of Science’s Scientist-in-Residence (SiR) program.
SiR brings together scientists and NYC middle and high school teachers for a year-long collaboration that aims to jumpstart student interest in STEM through real-world projects and the opportunity to “humanize” a scientist.
Bohonos along with her partner Kathrin Schilling, Ph.D., an associate research scientist of Geochemistry from Columbia University, have spent the last few months creating a project focused on something that most students already have an interest in: food. Building off of Schillings’ expertise — she has degrees in geology, soil science and microbiology — the two are challenging students to research diet variations around the world and create experiments that explore the effects of different conditions on plant growth. Their project pushes students to practice thinking critically, creatively, and globally.
Thinking Outside the Box
Schilling loves sharing her passion for science with students and is thrilled when she sees them thinking outside of the box. The benefits of programs like this, however, are not limited to added content expertise — they also provide tangible examples of people who have found success in STEM.
In fact, Schilling notes that many of the questions she gets are far removed from her area of expertise. With the title of “Dr.“, the students see her as an expert in all science-related fields, a factor she recognizes may be one of the reasons that science can seem inaccessible to some students. “It feels like you have to be a genius in every field [to be a scientist] and we are definitely not.” Schilling admits that she herself wasn’t a great student until she was able to start specializing in her post-secondary education.
To this end, Bohonos creates time during each lesson to allow students to interact one-on-one with their Resident Scientist and get to know her on a personal level. In this way, students can hopefully begin to see STEM as a career path not just limited to those who have already been labeled as “smart”. Fostering this type of environment is particularly critical at schools like Bohonos’, where students of color make up almost 90 percent of the student body, a group which still remains significantly underrepresented in the number of individuals receiving undergraduate STEM degrees.
Mentoring takes time and it comes with its own challenges, but despite this, Schilling remains optimistic about her role in fostering a positive outlook regarding STEM. “Even if I can change the mind of just a few [students] it’s more than before the program.
Researchers explore the physiological mechanisms of aging with the ultimate goal of improving healthspan.
Published March 11, 2020
By Hallie Kapner
When mechanical engineer Carlotta Mummolo, neurobiologist Eleni Gourgou, and neuroscientist Teppei Matsui were teamed up in the Interstellar Initiative — an international mentorship program for early-career investigators — their first task was finding common ground.
Eleni Gourgou, PhD University of Michigan
“We have such diverse backgrounds that I initially joked we were speaking different languages,” Mummolo said. “Overcoming that challenge was fun and exciting, and with the help of our mentors, we found a research direction that unites our expertise.”
Organized around the theme of Healthy Longevity, the workshops challenged researchers to develop a plan for exploring the physiological mechanisms of aging, with the ultimate goal of using their findings to improve healthspan, or the time during which a person is healthy.
We spoke with the winning team about their forthcoming grant proposal, the importance of international collaboration, and their advice for young scientists.
Describe the area of research your team is pursuing.
Carlotta Mummolo, PhD New Jersey Institute of Technology
Teppei Matsui, PhD, University of Tokyo: We chose to focus on age-dependent changes in the relationship between motor behavior and cognitive behavior.
Eleni Gourgou, PhD, University of Michigan: Carlotta is an engineer and roboticist whose work mostly focuses on humans, Teppei is an expert in brain imaging in rodents, and I study neurobiology using roundworms as a model system. These organisms are very different when it comes to the complexity of the nervous system, behavior, and how they experience aging. We looked at the questions we’re addressing in our own research, then tried to find a common thread that allows us to use three different organisms as three different approaches to address the same target. That thread turned out to be locomotion and cognition.
TM: By bringing this problem to the abstract level— motor behavior versus cognitive behavior as a function of age—we can study different animals within the same framework.
Carlotta Mummolo, PhD, New Jersey Institute of Technology: This is the novelty of our project, because assessments of motor and cognitive performance are usually done separately. But we wanted to integrate them and look for a methodology that translates across species.
EG: The final research proposal is still taking shape. We will continue to work on it, then submit it to an international funding agency.
Mentorship by senior scientists is central to the Interstellar Initiative–how have your team’s mentors shaped this experience?
Teppei Matsui, PhD University of Tokyo
CM: For early-career scientists, mentorship is everything, and that’s true even more so in this case. Our mentors—Frank Kirchhoff of the University of Saarland and Haruhiko Bito of the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine—pushed us to broaden our mindsets and step out of our comfort zone to find a unified approach. We’d also like to thank mentors Lawrence Hunter, Sofiya Milman, Mahendra Rao, Ikue Mori, and Meng Wan for helping shape our research idea.
TM: Mentorship is very important, and Interstellar Initiative mentors are prominent researchers who have experience with both obtaining competitive grants and reviewing grants. In the first meeting, we received valuable advice about to make our project more appealing and convincing to grant reviewers.
CM: One of our mentors told us something that I’ve kept in mind throughout this project—she told us to focus on integration, innovation, and impact. That was very helpful.
How can international collaborations help further scientific careers and scientific discovery?
TM: Biology is becoming a “big science” these days, and it is necessary to form a big team of experts to do cutting-edge science. For small countries like Japan, it can be difficult to find experts within the country.
EG: International collaboration isn’t new to most of us, but the way we collaborate in the context of the Interstellar Initiative is very different. Many of us have different professional backgrounds and training, and the concept of collaboration doesn’t have the same meaning for everyone. There are cultures of collaboration that you have to integrate in order to work together, and this is something I may not have experienced if it wasn’t for the Interstellar Initiative. It was a great, eye-opening experience for me.
CM: When you exchange ideas with people from different backgrounds, you never know what could come from the conversation. Sometimes that’s how very interesting scientific ideas come about.
What advice can you offer to young scientists?
CM: Step out of your comfort zone! Don’t be afraid, and don’t hold back when you have opportunities to do things outside of your field or your usual mindset.
EG: There’s always something to learn from people—from peers and mentors, of course, but also from people in earlier stages of their careers. Their perspective might shed light on a different aspect of our own work.
TM: I’d encourage young scientists to apply for the Interstellar Initiative.
