Speaker
Description
During my US Pathways Summer 2016 Internship with the Office of Science (High Energy Physics) of US Dept. of Energy (Germantown MD), I evaluated the US workforce readiness for future US particle physics projects for further research of the Standard Model of Physics and Beyond. One of the findings showed literacy disparities in physics of American secondary students in comparison to those of other Western countries. Particle physics makes an appearance in the curriculum for the International Baccalaureate, a program recognized as a qualification for entry into higher education by many universities around the world. Although my internship focused more identification of sub-atomic particles based on experimental particle collision studies with detectors—ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, graduate studies and AIAA affiliations introduced me to space studies and naturally occurrence of the same particles. With a 15-year career of teaching high school science, I made post-internship commitment to advocate for space weather curriculum for K-12 students.
Just as student learning focuses on knowledge sharing by the teacher, role-modeling active learning for knowledge-ownership is within the domain of dynamic, engaging research. So, reclassification of my teaching role in current parlance culturally captures my job more as a social influencer. I aim to influence students to passionately to keep abreast of current particle physics applications, then delve into the processes how the applications occur. Unrelated to classroom instructional curricula, I actively research current space-based events and share findings in technical conference presentations and papers.
