HiPACC Education/Public Outreach Press Room. From: LANL

The Education/Public Outreach Press Room highlights opportunities made available to K-12 or university students or the general public, to learn more about astronomy and computational or data science in all fields, offered by the UC campuses and DOE laboratories comprising the UC-HiPACC consortium. The wording of the short summaries on this page is based on wording in the individual releases or on the summaries on the press release page of the original source. Images are also from the original sources except as stated. Press releases below appear in reverse chronological order (most recent first); they can also be displayed by UC campus or DOE lab by clicking on the desired venue at the bottom of the left-hand column.

September 23, 2014 — LANS Board of Governors approves $3 million for education, economic development, charitable giving in Northern New Mexico

LANL gives $3 million for northern New Mexico
Los Alamos National Laboratory sits on top of a once-remote mesa in northern New Mexico with the Jemez mountains as a backdrop.
LANL 9/23/2014—The Board of Governors for Los Alamos National Security, LLC—the operating contractor for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)—has approved $3 million in funding for the company’s plan to support education, economic development and charitable giving in Northern New Mexico. “This plan demonstrates our bond with the community and its people and businesses that support our national security mission,” said LANL Director Charlie McMillan. Funds approved by the LANS Board of Governors are administered through a Community Commitment Plan managed by LANL’s Community Programs Office. The LANS Community Commitment Plan has provided more than $28 million to the region since 2007. For 2015 the Plan will provide $1 million each for: education (including science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs); economic development (such as financial and technical assistance to start and grow regional businesses); and community giving initiatives and investments in the Northern New Mexico area.

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June 26, 2014 — Ten local businesses to receive Venture Acceleration Fund awards

Commercializing computational science
Elizabeth and Roger Inman of Purple Adobe Lavender Farm in Abiquiu, N.M.
LANL 6/26/2014—Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS) and its partners recently awarded more than $400,000 to 10 local businesses to help them grow and develop in Northern New Mexico. The grant awards are administered by the Regional Development Corporation’s Los Alamos Connect program in coordination with Los Alamos National Laboratory. This Venture Acceleration Fund was originally created to commercialize technologies developed at the Lab but now includes all types of businesses in every stage of development. Awards were given to five companies in Santa Fe, two each from Rio Arriba and Taos counties and one from Albuquerque. Related to computational science, one 2014 Venture Acceleration Fund recipient was Flow Science in Santa Fe for computational fluid dynamics modeling software packages.

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April 22, 2014 — La Cueva High School team takes top award in 24th New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge

High-schoolers win LANL Supercomputing Challenge
Albert Zuo, left, and Eli Echt-Wilson of Albuquerque La Cueva High School with their poster. They won the top award at the 24th New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
LANL 4/22/14 — Eli Echt-Wilson and Albert Zuo from La Cueva High in Albuquerque won the top award at the 24th New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Their project, called Modeling Tree Growth and Resource Use with Applications, proposed a unique model that simulates deciduous tree growth at the level of individual branches and leaves based on underlying biological processes. “The goal of the yearlong event is to teach student teams how to use powerful computers to analyze, model, and solve real-world problems,” said David Kratzer of Los Alamos’ High Performance Computer Systems group, and executive director of the Supercomputing Challenge. “Participating students improve their understanding of technology by developing skills in scientific inquiry, modeling, computing, communications, and teamwork.”

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April 16, 2014 — Students descend on Los Alamos National Laboratory April 21-22 for Supercomputing Challenge Expo and awards ceremony

K-12 students converge on LANL supercomputing expo
Los Alamos National Laboratory sits on top of a once-remote mesa in northern New Mexico with the Jemez mountains as a backdrop to research and innovation covering multi-disciplines from bioscience, sustainable energy sources, to plasma physics and new materials.
LANL 4/16/14—Some 70 teams totaling more than 250 New Mexico K–12 students and their teachers will be at Los Alamos National Laboratory April 21–22 for the 24th annual New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge expo and awards ceremony. “The goal of the year-long competition is to increase knowledge of science and computing, expose students and teachers to computers and applied mathematics, and instill enthusiasm for science in middle- and high-school students, their families and communities,” said David Kratzer of the Laboratory’s High Performance Computer Systems group and LANL’s coordinator of the Supercomputing Challenge.

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