Hundreds Line up at University of Utah's Science Day

November 23, 2009

"It's a record-breaking crowd. We've never had this many students," claimed Brian Saam, associate dean of the College of Science.  Saam was referring to the more than 900 high school students, from 150 schools out West, who woke up early on November 7, 2009, to attend Science Day at the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City.

This year's event saw a 15% increase in attendance over past years as more and more students are beginning to understand that the pathways to sustainable, high-paying jobs are those that require training and education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, also known as the STEM areas.

 The young science and mathematics enthusiasts travelled from as far away as Idaho and Wyoming to attend the half day event which included workshops and a chance to discuss majors and science-related careers with professors.  Students could partake in any of more than 60 workshops covering almost three dozen topics, discussions, and fields, including "The Mathematics of Google," "Biology of Bacteria," "Whales that Don't Want to be Seen." 

 In the "How to Become Invisible without a Cloak" workshop, Fernando Guevara Vasquez presented the mathematics behind his and colleagues' research into invisibility. To Ryan Porter, a West Jordan High School junior, one thing was clear. "The equations are hard, but the concept is a little easier to get," he said after the math-based workshop.

 Source: The Salt Lake Tribune, November 7, 2009.