Letter to the Community
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Letter to the Community
19 November 2015
Hello Everyone,
It is already mid-November, the beginning of winter here in the northern hemisphere, and a busy time at the GLOBE Implementation Office (GIO). So much is happening in the community that it must be difficult to keep up, so let me fill you in on some of our latest news and events.
Last week Croatia celebrated its 20th Anniversary in the GLOBE Program. Organized by Country Coordinator Diana Garasic, this was a large gathering of the supporters of GLOBE in Croatia followed by a Teacher Training to extend the reach of GLOBE in Croatia. I'm pleased to learn about these kinds of ongoing events to celebrate GLOBE's 20th Anniversary, which began on Earth Day this year, so do let me know how you plan to continue your anniversary year celebrations into 2016.
This week, GIO announced the dates and location of the 2016 GLOBE Annual Meeting and Student Reseach Experience. I am delighted to invite you all to participate in GLOBE's largest meeting of the year, in Estes Park, Colorado, USA, located at the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, in our beautiful state of Colorado. This will be an important five-day event to inform you of current and upcoming Program developments, and to provide you with a wonderful opportunity to connect to others in the international GLOBE network. If you are a regular at our annual meetings then you won't want to miss this one. If you have never attended an Annual Meeting, this will be a great time to join in and get a sense of our remarkable community. Personalized invitation letters, for use in obtaining travel documents, can be obtained by sending an email request to Katy Lackey at lackey@ucar.edu.
In advance of the GLOBE community meeting, the Working Groups will meet; and during the week of the main meeting, participating students will enjoy the Student Research Experience, which will take them on a two-day scientific exploration within the Rocky Mountain National Park. If your students missed the 2015 Student Research Experience at Catalina Island during the 19th GLOBE Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, then they won't want to miss this chance to spend two full days with other GLOBE students from all around the world. Planning has begun to create an enjoyable educational event for all of you -- students, teachers, scientists, partners, and friends of GLOBE -- and I hope you will join us from 17 to 22 July 2016.
GLOBE will host its annual Surface Temperature Field Campaign from 1 to 31 December 2015. The campaign is a great opportunity for schools around the world to work together as a community on a common research project. "The surface temperature field campaign may be even more interesting this year with the strong El Nino occurring currently in the Pacific Ocean," stated GLOBE Partner Kevin Czajkowski, who developed the surface temperature protocol and leads the campaign. Read more here.
Teachers and students, I hope you are forming your teams to enter the 2016 GLOBE International Virtual Science Fair. The Science Fair will take place online, and students from all GLOBE countries may participate. This is your opportunity to use the GLOBE data that you've entered into the database and to collaborate with scientists of the GLOBE International Scientists' Network (GISN). Reports are due by 11 March 2016, with judging to follow. Every project that is submitted will be hosted on an online Student Research Reports page and qualified entries will be entered for a chance to receive a stipend to help offset the cost of attending the 2016 GLOBE Annual Meeting. Projects selected for the drawing, scores and badges will be announced 22 April 2016. Read all about the GLOBE International Virtual Science Fair here.
Through a grant from the National Science Foundation, middle school and high school students from across the United States have the opportunity to participate in one of six onsite US Regional Science Fairs to share the results of field investigations using GLOBE Program protocols. Students who enter their projects in one of these US Regional Science Fairs are encouraged to enter their project in the International Virtual Science Fair, as well. However, please note, US students may enter the International Virtual Science Fair without having participated in a regional science fair. Leading up to the science fairs, GLOBE teachers can attend live webinars (or view the archive) providing professional development on field investigations and enhancing scientific practices of the natural scientists in classrooms. All information, including the list of webinars, can be found online. Read all about the US Regional Science Fairs here.
As you all know, data are important for your research and I would like to thank everyone who entered the second Data Entry Challenge for 2015 last month, and to give special recognition to the top-reporting schools in each region. See the results here
And some very exciting news, the NASA Science Mission Directorate recently announced funding for projects to develop innovative ways to inspire and motivate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Congratulations to the following US GLOBE Partners and PI's who were among the national awardees:
Elena Sparrow, University of Alaska, Fairbanks - Fairbanks, Alaska; David Bydlowski,Wayne County Intermediate School District - Wayne, Michigan; and Kevin Czajkowski, University of Toledo - Toledo, Ohio.
GLOBE continues to move forward on many fronts, and this strengthens our community. We will soon be heading into a new year and with it comes new developments and opportunities for our community. I look forward to sharing these with you as they unfold.
Sincerely,
Dr. Tony Murphy
Director, GLOBE Implementation Office
tmurphy@ucar.edu
