We had great
prizes which included eight $50 U.S. Savings Bonds from Rabobank.
All students left with something nice to reward them for their
important contributions.
This
event was more encompassing than a "science fair"
and we feel it significantly expanded the STEM pipeline in
San Luis Obispo County. Robotics and astronomy turned out
to be the major focus. Many of the displays were quite simply
amazing. The mayor of San Luis Obispo, Dave Romero, addressed
the audience as well as the new President of Cuesta College,
Dr. Dave Pelham. We also were fortunate to have a visit from
the Grizzly Academy.
Our
Special Guest Speaker was Dr. Patrick Lin, Cal Poly State
University, who spoke about "Nanotechnology: Its Promises
and Challenges." Dr. Lin's talk was fabulous and he opened
up many new problems and challenges for the young people in
attendance to think about as we move into the new millennium.
Patrick Lin is the director of The Nanoethics Group (www.nanoethics.org),
a
non-partisan organization focused on the social and ethical
impact of
emerging technologies, especially nanotechnology. He is a
visiting
assistant professor in the philosophy department at California
Polytechnic
State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo, and also holds
academic
appointments at Dartmouth College as well as Western Michigan
University.
Dr. Lin is a co-editor on the new anthology "Nanoethics:
The Ethical and
Social Implications of Nanotechnology" (Wiley, 2007)
and also part of a
significant National Science Foundation (NSF) award to study
the ethics of
human enhancement and technology. He earned his B.A. from
University of
California at Berkeley and M.A. and Ph.D. from University
of California at
Santa Barbara.
SPONSORS:
Rabobank (primary sponsor)
Central Coast Surfboards
Coalition
San Luis Chiropractic
Discovery Science
Dancing Horse Ranch and Retreat
San Luis Obispo Surf
Downtown Centre Cinemas
Starbucks
Gold's Gym
Sunglass Hut
Jamba Juice
The Sock Drawer
Kennedy Club Fitness
We extend a thank you to the P-16 Science and Mathematics
Task Force for assistance and support in planning this event.
We especially thank Cathie Babb, Jim Babb, Brad Schultz, and
Lisa Ramser for all their help in making this event possible.
And we finally thank Cuesta College for support with publicity
and providing facility use.
