background radiation (CMBR), central to the study of the Big Bang Theory. Because of my. Fellowship experience, I was ev
IMPACT STORIES
VAL MONTICUE SCHOOL:
Pinewood, Los Altos, CA
PROGRAM:
Summer Fellowship Program
COMPANY:
Stanford University, KIPAC
SUBJECT:
Physics
Ignited has had a profound impact on me, my teaching, and my students.
Background I grew up in rural Oklahoma, trained as a systems engineer in college with two thesis projects about Antarctic astronomy, then became a physics teacher. These fellowships let me return to my roots and spend more time in the world of engineering and Antarctica.
The Experience During my fellowships at Stanford University, I was working with researchers building and testing instruments for a telescope located at the South Pole that measures cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR), central to the study of the Big Bang Theory. Because of my Fellowship experience, I was eventually hired to go on an expedition to Antarctica with the team of experts to get the telescope functioning properly.
The Impact By working with the lab, I got an inside look at the process of science and the inter-relationship between science and engineering. I brought this back to my students through activities such as asking them to design and build their own tools and then use them to test a hypothesis. This helped the students understand that science is more than following a procedure for a lab, and especially that there is still plenty left to discover.
