science

MSU prof: Teachers aren't equipped to put new science standards into practice

Rina Miller — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 17:06:00 +0000

A Michigan State University professor says most teachers aren't ready to implement new science standards planned by the state.

The Michigan Department of Education says a plan called "Next Generation Science Standards" will provide more depth to students.

MSU education professor Suzanne Wilson disagrees.

Pres. Obama eyes Michigan high schoolers' safety project

The Associated Press — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:18:50 +0000

President Barack Obama has had a briefing from two Lansing-area teenagers about their new technology for warning swimmers about dangerous off-shore currents.

19-year-old Spencer Ottarson and 17-year-old Julie Xu represented Williamston High School on Monday as of 12 teams that presented their science projects at the White House's third science fair.

Obama examined their Offshore Rip Current Alert System, which was on display in the East Garden.

The White House says Ottarson and Xu developed the technology as part of the 2012 Lemelson-MIT program InvenTeam.

Let's take a roadtrip to Mars

Stateside Staff — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:57:44 +0000

What would it take to get humans to Mars?

For the last seven months, NASA's rover 'Curiosity' has crawled all over the planet's dusty red Gale Crater.

As it explores, the rover has sent back all sorts of information to Earth for further investigation.

Most recently, a report of a rock sample collected by Curiosity shows that, yes, ancient Mars could have supported living microbes.

But let's go one step further. What would it take for human beings to get to Mars?

Ben Longmier is an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan College of Engineering and researches electric propulsion, spacecraft design and basic plasma physics.

Michigan Radio's Cynthia Canty spoke with Longmier about the challenges and possibilities of getting humans on Mars.

Click the link above to hear the full interview.

Stateside: Not enough STEM graduates in the U.S.

Stateside Staff — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 22:07:19 +0000

The following is a summary of a previously recorded interview. To hear the complete segment, click the audio above.

Are there important jobs going begging in Michigan?

Study shows problems with Michigan's high school academic standards

Steve Carmody — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 22:54:27 +0000

A new study shows a disappointing result for Michigan’s new high school academic standards.

The Michigan Merit Curriculum was introduced in 2006. The intent was to strengthen academic performance.

Researchers say students who entered high school in 2007 with strong academic skills saw only a small improvement in their math, science and reading tests scores.

Commentary: Science and politics

Jack Lessenberry — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:07:36 +0000

Everybody knows the old saying that prophets are never appreciated in their own countries. We take the familiar for granted.

That’s certainly the case in Michigan. This is one of the more beautiful states in the union, something we sometimes forget. We also have some of the nation’s most fascinating people, some of whom aren’t always on the media radar screen.

Friday diversion: Two 14 year olds show us the scale of the universe

Mark Brush — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 16:01:59 +0000

Cary Huang (with a little help from his twin brother, Michael) built the interactive web page "The Scale of the Universe 2." It's their second pass at the concept, according to Discover Magazine.

With it, you can scroll down to see a representation of the microscopic (i.e. E. coli bacteria), and scroll back out to see the galactic.

ABCNews.com writes the ninth graders from Moraga, California were inspired by a teacher to create the page:

"My seventh grade science teacher showed us a size comparison video on cells, and I thought it was fascinating. I decided to make my own interactive version that included a much larger range of sizes," said Cary in an email forwarded by his mother. "It was not a school project -- just for fun. However, my science teacher loved it so much she showed [it] to the class! My brother, Michael, helped me put it on the internet."
Cary said he worked on the project, on and off, for a year and a half, getting information from Wikipedia and astronomy books. It is now spreading virally online.

H/T to the A2Chronicle