CNSE Outreach is organized to INTRODUCE a wide cross-section of people to CNSE research, INVOLVE them in the work we are doing, and EXCITE them about the prospects of a future in science and engineering. The CNSE has a wide range of programs designed to reach out to students of all ages and to members of the community. Special emphasis is placed on encouraging individuals from diverse backgrounds to participate in our programs and activities.

Each word in white, below, links to a description of the related CNSE Outreach program.

Diversity
CNSE is working to involve a broad range of people in our programs and activities. We recognize the importance of creating a diverse and vibrant community of learners and encouraging individuals from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds to participate in our programs. Members of all races and ethnicities are considered for these programs.

Upcoming CNSE Outreach Activities:

Grad Preview at Caltech aims to increase the representation of underrepresented students in science and engineering graduate programs.

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships Program
Undergraduate students, primarily from Caltech, participate in research projects over the summer.

MURF Program
Talented undergraduate students who are underrepresented in science and engineering come from universities across the country to participate in research projects at Caltech over the summer.

Recent CNSE Outreach Activities:

Grad Preview at Caltech aims to increase the representation of underrepresented students in science and engineering graduate programs. Grad Preview was held on November 1 - 3, 2006.

2nd Annual Caltech/JPL Robotics Conference for Middle School Students and Educators - Saturday, December 3, 2005
This unique event is intended to introduce students to the world of robotics and provide educators with robotics-related teaching resources. This year's conference focused on the exciting field of underwater research and exploration and how robots are dramatically changing the way this is accomplished. Students working in teams of two or four developed their own concept of an underwater robot and design and present a poster illustrating their concept during a poster session at the conference. Caltech graduate students acted as mentors, offering advice and resources to the middle school students in the field of robotics.
The conference was held on the campus of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California on Saturday, December 3, 2005, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Opportunities for You in Science and Engineering– October 22, 2005
This day-long open house exposes students in grades 9-12 to science and engineering research at Caltech. Lab visits, faculty lectures, and hands-on activities are included in this program. We encourage high school students, teachers and parents to attend, especially women and people under-represented in the sciences. This event was sponsored by the Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering and the Center for the Science and Engineering of Materials.

MURF Program – Summer 2003
Talented undergraduate students who are underrepresented in science and engineering come from universities across the country to participate in research projects at Caltech over the summer. Three CNSE-supported MURF participants conducted research in CNSE labs this summer.

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships Program (SURF) – Summer 2003
Undergraduate students, primarily from Caltech, participate in research projects over the summer. Fourteen students are conducting research in CNSE labs this summer.

Jisan Research Institute – ongoing
The Jisan Research Institute is an extracurricular science and engineering enrichment program for high achieving high school students. Founded by CNSE alumnus Sanza Kazadi, JRI mentors students who do independent research and write papers which are published in peer-reviewed journals. Research projects at JRI include swarm robotics, evolutionary systems, and fuzzy logic. The CNSE is providing scholarships for five students to attend JRI this year.

CNSE Video - ongoing
The CNSE created a 20-minute video highlighting the research being conducted at Caltech’s Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering. Clips from the CNSE video will soon be available on this website. Several schools have used this video to introduce engineering concepts to their students.

Kidspace Children’s Museum Robotics Exhibit – ongoing
The CNSE is in early stages of discussion with the Kidspace Children’s Museum in Pasadena to assist with the development of a robotics exhibit, currently scheduled to open in fall 2004. Several CNSE faculty have experience with robotics, and may participate in a future collaboration with Kidspace. The new exhibit has a potential to reach hundreds of thousands of children in the coming years.

Founded by Eddie Branchaud, co-president of the CNSE graduate students’ society, NESS, Caltech Classroom Connection is a grass-roots volunteer project involving six Caltech graduate students and postdocs. It involves weekly classroom visits to K-12 public schools in Pasadena, CA, to assist science teachers with their teaching activities and to provide science and engineering mentors and role models for the students. This program began in 2002, and continued in the 2003-2004 school year.

Local Educators’ Network – ongoing
The CNSE Local Educators’ Network (LEN) is a focus group of a dozen high school science and technology teachers who advise the CNSE as to the mission, goals, and aspects of the implementation plan for the CNSE’s outreach program. The LEN mission statement is: "The CNSE creates interactive partnerships with educators to inspire, excite and motivate a broad spectrum of learners through inquiry, exploration and experience in science and engineering research." The six goals of outreach determined by the LEN are to provide hands-on science opportunities, promote inquiry-based learning, develop partnerships, guide student learning, foster a community of educators, and increase diversity. An emphasis is placed on providing opportunities for every student, not just for high-achieving students. Started in Spring 2002, the teachers provide input as to what the CNSE can do to help improve science education in the Pasadena and Los Angeles area. LEN input is incorporated into each of the CNSE’s outreach projects, and LEN teachers and their students are invited to all CNSE outreach activities.

Neuromorphic Engineering Students’ Society (NESS) – ongoing
The objective of NESS is to promote interaction among CNSE graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to foster ideas for interdisciplinary collaborative research. 15-25 CNSE students attend weekly NESS meetings, present current research, and participate in a Seminar Series and an annual CNSE Retreat.

Past CNSE Outreach Activities:

1st Annual Caltech/JPL/LEGO Robotics Conference for Middle School Students and Educators – May 8, 2004

Research Experiences for Teachers Program – Summer 2003
High school science and technology teachers spent five weeks in CNSE and CNSE-affiliated labs participating in cutting-edge research projects as part of the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Teachers program. The teachers will bring what they learn this summer back to their classrooms in the form of hands-on experiments and demonstrations about their research.

High School Internships in CNSE Labs – Summer 2003
Two gifted high school students had apprenticeships in Joel Burdick’s lab in summer 2003 as part of the Institute for Educational Advancement’s Apprenticeship program. The chief goal of the Apprenticeship program is to prepare students for college by providing them with hands-on apprenticeship opportunities throughout their high school years.

High School Internships – Summer 2003
High school students can make arrangements with CNSE faculty to participate in summer research at Caltech. In 2003, a high school student who attended CNSE/CSEM’s Opportunities Day met a graduate student at Caltech, and arranged to work with her over the summer as a volunteer. Through her mentorship, she gained valuable research experience and learned about her educational and career opportunities in science and engineering.

Young Engineering and Science Scholars (YESS) program - July 2003
The YESS program is for exceptional high school students (rising juniors and seniors). The program aims to provide a summer learning opportunity for all eligible students and to encourage participation by groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the sciences. YESS provides a unique and in-depth educational experience designed to expose students to the excitement and rigor of scientific investigation, emphasizing analytical and experimental skills. In the past several years many of the top students from the YESS program have applied to (and now attend) Caltech. Research-oriented courses are offered in a variety of fields including physics, engineering, chemistry, biology and entrepreneurial skills. While each of the courses offered has a primary focus (e.g. chemistry, biology, physics), the team of instructors for each course has the latitude to create cross-disciplinary and experiment-based curricula. Student assessment is primarily based on projects and group work. Two of the 25 students in the program received scholarships from the CNSE to participate in the YESS program in 2003.

Telluride Workshop on Neuromorphic Engineering – July 2003
The Tellulride workshop is an annual summer program for graduate students and faculty from around the world who are studying and researching neuromorphic engineering. Many of the Telluride participants are CNSE students, and the CNSE is a sponsor of the Telluride Workshop.

NEURO Art Exhibit – April 15 – June 29, 2003
Six artists collaborated with Caltech CNSE scientists and engineers to create the NEURO art exhibition at the Williamson Gallery at the Art Center College of Design and at the Athenaeum at Caltech. This was a non-traditional approach to conveying science through an art exhibition, combining formal and informal science education. Two public lectures were held in conjunction with the exhibit, enabling the public to ask questions to the participating artists and scientists.

Opportunities for You in Science and Engineering Open House – May 10, 2003
The goal of the Opportunities program is increase diversity in the sciences by raising awareness of science and engineering research careers among underrepresented high school students and their classmates, parents, and teachers. Students from the Los Angeles area were selected by their teachers or parents to participate in this day-long exposure to life as a research scientist. Over 50 students from varied racial and ethnic backgrounds participated. Parents and teachers from each participating school accompanied the students. Lectures by CNSE and CSEM faculty and staff, lab tours of chemical engineering, holography, and machine vision labs, and hands-on demonstrations and experiments were conducted. Students also heard presentations about applying to university and financial aid opportunities. Parents and teachers attended a presentation on effective Internet searching techniques. This event will be repeated in Fall 2004.

Sally Ride Science Festival – March 2003
The CNSE had an exhibit about biologically inspired robotics at the Sally Ride Science Festival in March 2003. Middle school girls and boys saw some of the robots used in CNSE research, and asked questions to Kjerstin Easton, one of Prof. Joel Burdick’s graduate students. The purpose of the Science Festival was to increase awareness of science careers for middle school girls, and to provide a welcoming, festive atmosphere and female scientists as role models, to help increase the pipeline of women in science. Over 500 girls, boys, and their parents attended this event held at Caltech, and astronaut Sally Ride signed autographs and gave a keynote address.

FIRST Robotics Team – Winter 2002-2003
CNSE graduate students assisted an all-female FIRST Robotics team at Ramona Convent Secondary School. The high school students built their first robot with assistance from their Caltech mentors.