Every Thursday at 7PM, you can join our STEM@Home Speaker Series!
We host conversations to learn about exciting STEM careers! So far we’ve featured a medical physicist, airline pilot, virtual reality, chess strategy, and an engineer…. if you missed them, you can head over to www.facebook.com/NCACSTEM where the talks are archived!
The next two presenters are a physicist and a veterinarian. Read more about them, see how these conversations tie into your awards, leap into STEM career exploration, and secure your spot here: https://scoutingevent.com/082-STEMSpeakers Be sure to register early to join the ZOOM conversation with the speakers!
June 18: Science Night: A Conversation with Dr. Nick Maliszewskyj
“What are neutrons and how are they useful? Neutrons are a particle with no electrical charge and which stabilize atomic nuclei. They are liberated as a byproduct of fission in nuclear reactors and radioactive decay and can be used as a probe to determine the composition and structure of materials. Because they have a magnetic moment they can also tell us about the magnetic structure of different kinds of materials. In a neutron scattering facility, scientists use neutrons to determine the structure and dynamic properties of all kinds of materials, from superconductors to superglue.”
Dr. Nick Maliszewskyj earned a Ph. D. in Condensed Matter Physics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994. He currently works as the team leader for data acquisition at the NIST Center for Neutron Research, an international facility for materials research. He has served as an instrument scientist and lead controls engineer for more than fifteen neutron scattering instrumentation projects over his twenty five years at the facility.
June 25: Science Night: A Conversation with Dr. Carmela Stamper
Pets, livestock (like dairy cows and honeybees), and zoo animals need doctors, just like people do. But, did you know that veterinarians do more than give shots and do surgery? Veterinarians have many important roles in our everyday lives that you may not be aware of. Why on earth would you want to be a veterinarian? How do you become a veterinarian? What are some of the invisible roles veterinarians play in your life? What’s life like as a veterinarian in practice? What’s it like working as a veterinarian in the government? Do veterinarians get to play with puppies and kittens all day long? Who is James Herriot and why is he so important to many veterinarians? Are pheasants native to the U.S.? How fast does a ferret’s heart beat? Does heartworm disease only affects dogs? Which carries more of a horse’s body weight—its front legs or its back legs? Is xylitol is safe for dogs? (And what is it?) Get the answers to these and other burning questions during Dr. Stamper’s talk.
Dr. Carmela Stamper earned her D.V.M. degree from The Ohio State University in 1995. She worked in a companion animal (pet) hospital before starting a career with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. Her first role at FDA was as an animal drug reviewer, where she evaluated data for new animal drugs. She now works on the Center’s Education and Outreach Team, where she writes articles for the Center’s website, responds to phone calls and emails from the public, and helps teach the public about FDA’s role in their lives. Dr. Stamper is an assistant scoutmaster with Troop 1397 in Damascus, MD. Her two-legged family includes her son, who is an Eagle Scout, and her husband, who is also an assistant scoutmaster in Troop 1397. Dr. Stamper’s four-legged family includes Daisy, her tennis-ball-crazy Flat-coated Retriever, and Bowie, her pudgy guinea pig.
Kyle Hogan, the senior patrol leader of Troop 1547 in the Sully District, recently wrote an
Duvall also offered Kyle, who is interested in a career in cybersecurity and computer science, some career advice.
Five Wolf Cub Scouts in Pack 1967 and one Webelos Scout worked all year to earn the Dr. Luis W. Alvarez Cub Scout Supernova Award and the Dr. Charles H. Townes Webelos Supernova Award.
In August, they learned about the scientific method by testing which soda and configuration of Mentos would result in the tallest soda geyser using 2-liter bottles. The Wolves conducted a little research before the meeting and learned that diet sodas produced the tallest geysers. The Wolves designed their experiment to control as many variables as possible and tested 12 different diet sodas using six Mentos for each trial. The Wolves’ measuring stick was 10 feet tall, but for many of the geysers, that was not nearly enough. Both Diet Ginger Ale and Diet Tonic water had geysers estimated at 20 to 25 feet tall!
Throughout the year, these six Scouts worked on their normal rank adventures and somehow also found time to research the award namesakes although with other scientists and inventors who impacted our lives by studying dinosaurs, inventing the printing press, studying chimpanzees, inventing the alternating current motor, inventing a robot, and inventing Coca-Cola.
Finn H., a Bear with Pack 278, spent the year working towards earning the Dr. Luis W. Alvarez Supernova Award. The Dr. Luis W. Alvarez Supernova Award is an achievement for Wolf and Bear Scouts in the Cub Scouts, BSA. Over the course of a year, Finn worked with his Supernova Mentor, Clare Davis, to complete nine different requirements in the area of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Pack 278 is located in Braddock Heights, Maryland and has been chartered with the Braddock Heights Volunteer Fire Department for over 60 years. Finn H. is the first Scout in the history of the Pack to earn this award.
