Search for: All records

In the summer of 2020, NSTA received the exciting news that it had received a grant from the National Science Foundation to engage in a project to help advance the field of connected STEM learning. The goal of this project was to publish resources in Connected Science Learning (CSL) that would support STEM educators in applying the latest research to the design and delivery of connected STEM learning experiences. This ebook is a culmination of this work. 

The combined effect of short (picosecond) optical and (nanosecond) electrical pulses on dielectric breakdown is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. It was demonstrated that nanosecond electrical pulses (nsEPs), being applied simultaneously with picosecond optical pulses, reduce the threshold for optical breakdown. Experimental results are discussed with respect to an extended model for opto-electrical-induced breakdown. The newly unveiled effect is expected to play a significant role in spatially confined electroporation and further advances in laser-ablation-based processes while also allowing for measurements of ambipolar diffusion constants.

 

Scientists are increasingly motivated to engage the public, particularly those who do not or cannot access traditional science education opportunities. Communication researchers have identified shortcomings of the deficit model approach, which assumes that skepticism toward science is based on a lack of information or scientific literacy, and encourage scientists to facilitate open-minded exchange with the public. We describe an ambassador approach, to develop a scientist’s impact identity, which integrates his or her research, personal interests and experiences to achieve societal impacts. The scientist identifies a community or focal group to engage, on the basis of his or her impact identity, learns about that group, and promotes inclusion of all group members by engaging in venues in which that group naturally gathers, rather than in traditional education settings. Focal group members stated that scientists communicated effectively and were responsive to participant questions and ideas. Scientists reported professional and personal benefits from this approach. 

Abstract We present the results from the first two years of the Planet Hunters TESS citizen science project, which identifies planet candidates in the TESS data by engaging members of the general public. Over 22,000 citizen scientists from around the world visually inspected the first 26 Sectors of TESS data in order to help identify transit-like signals. We use a clustering algorithm to combine these classifications into a ranked list of events for each sector, the top 500 of which are then visually vetted by the science team. We assess the detection efficiency of this methodology by comparing our results to the list of TESS Objects of Interest (TOIs) and show that we recover 85 % of the TOIs with radii greater than 4 ⊕ and 51 % of those with radii between 3 and 4 R⊕. Additionally, we present our 90 most promising planet candidates that had not previously been identified by other teams, 73 of which exhibit only a single transit event in the TESS light curve, and outline our efforts to follow these candidates up using ground-based observatories. Finally, we present noteworthy stellar systems that were identified through the Planet Hunters TESS project.