Successful Midsummer Conference!

Thanks to all who participated in the Midsummer Conference at Oregon State University on July 10th. More than 30 presenters provided substantive and engaging experiences in 18 workshops and seminars covering a diverse range of topics. The weather was warm but reasonably cooperative -- not too much wind during the tower building competition! We will provide the opportunity for feedback with an on-line form soon.

The ASE Staff

Midsummer Conference Registration

We hope your ASE internships are getting off to a great start. The 2009 ASE Midsummer Conference is fast approaching! The event will be held all day on Friday, July 10, 2009 at Oregon State University.

You will need to register for the Midsummer Conference at this link by Sunday, July 5th at 5:00pm. Rank your top two choices for Interactive Workshop #1, Interactive Workshop #2, and the Seminar. We have many exciting workshops and seminars led by amazing scientists, so it may be hard to narrow them down! Note the MSC Workshop/Seminar Menu for more details.

In addition, please indicate on the form how you plan on getting to the Midsummer Conference in Corvallis (round trip or one-way bus ride, or your own transport) and if you have any serious dietary restrictions.

The Midsummer Conference schedule is as follows (note changes as of 7/2/2009!):

6:45am Bus departs from PSU for OSU (be there at least 20 minutes early!)

8:30 – 8:45 Arrive at OSU, registration
8:45 – 9:00 Welcome, introductions, orientation
9:00 – 11:00 Engineering team initiative, tower building challenge
11:00 – 11:30 Lunch
11:30 – 12:15pm Symposium Preparation presentation
12:15 – 12:30 Commute to first workshop
12:30 – 2:00 Interactive Workshop #1
2:00 – 2:15 Commute to second workshop
2:15 – 3:45 Interactive Workshop #2
3:45 – 4:00 Commute to individual tour (e.g. wave lab) or seminar
4:00 – 4:45 Seminars, Tours, Student (undergrad/grad) Panels
4:45 – 5:00 Commute to pizza dinner
5:00 – 5:45 Pizza dinner, celebrate, closing remarks

6:15pm Bus departs from OSU for Portland
8:00pm Arrive at PSU, go home

Be sure to wear comfortable clothing and shoes appropriate for the weather, bring along any supplies (medications, sunscreen, extra snacks, paper, pencils/pens) you’ll need for the full day. We also recommend to bring your own reusable water bottle to refill throughout the day, so you can remain hydrated but minimize waste for our event.

If you have any questions about the Midsummer Conference or any other ASE-related questions, please call (503 200-5861) or email (amy@saturdayacademy.org).

We look forward to meeting you all next week and expect to have a fun and fascinating day!

Get Ready for the Midsummer Conference!

July 10th will be here soon. Get ready to work a little, play a little and learn a lot! The Midsummer Conference at Oregon State University will be a great opportunity to meet other ASE interns and learn about their summer experiences. Stay tuned for the on-line MSC registration where you will learn about the workshops and seminars offered. The on-line registration form will be available the week before the Conference.

Portland area students will have the opportunity to ride a bus to the Midsummer Conference. The cost for bus transportation is $20.00, which includes a box breakfast. If interested, please reserve space on one of the buses when you register on-line. Students selecting the bus transportation option should plan on being at the designated location to load onto buses by 6 a.m. on July 10th. The location has not been determined yet.

Please contact Jeff, Andrea or Amy at the ASE office with questions.

Notification Period Extended

Due to delays in decisions by mentors and students, we are extending the application notification period to Monday, May 11th. We appreciate your patience.
The ASE Staff

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2009 Intel Northwest Science Expo, including the following former ASE Apprentices:

• Kevin Ellis, 2007 ASE Apprentice: Physical Science Best in Fair Award! Kevin also received the IEEE Special Award sponsored by IEEE Oregon and the Intel Excellence in Computer Science Award sponsored by the Intel Corporation. For more information, see the April 8^th ASE blog.

• William Han, 2008 ASE Apprentice: 1^st Place for high school students in the category of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering! William received the IEEE Special Award sponsored by IEEE Oregon and a University of Oregon Scholarship. He was selected to be a Physical Science alternate for the upcoming Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Reno.

• Alex McCarthy, 2008 ASE Apprentice: 1^st Place High School Chemistry Award! Alex also received the Outstanding Chemistry Project Award sponsored by the American Chemical Society, Portland Section.

• Priyam Shah, 2007 ASE Apprentice: 1^st Place High School Earth Science Award! Priyam received the Excellence in Statistics Award sponsored by the American Statistical Association and the Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Priyam received an OSU College of Science Scholarship as well.

• Maryann Tung, 2008 ASE Apprentice: 2^nd Place High School Engineering Materials and Bioengineering Award! Maryann received the Outstanding Chemistry Related Project Award sponsored by Iota Sigma Pi and the Outstanding Applied or Practical Chemistry Project by a Junior or Senior Award sponsored by the Portland Industrial Chemists’ Association/American Chemical Society. Maryann is a Physical Science Intel ISEF Individual Finalist as well.

• Y Hoang, 2008 ASE Apprentice: 3^rd Place High School Chemistry Award!

• Akshay Subramanian, 2008 ASE Apprentice: 3^rd Place High School Environmental Analysis and Effects Award!

• Yushi Wang, 2008 ASE Apprentice: 3^rd Place High School Mathematical Sciences Award!

• Tony Wu, 2006 ASE Apprentice: 3^rd Place High School Engineering Materials and Bioengineering Award!

• Amy Tang, 2008 ASE Apprentice: Honorable Mention Award in the high school category of Engineering Materials and Bioengineering! Amy also received the Outstanding Project in Materials Science Award sponsored by the ASM International Foundation.

• Vivian Tsang, 2008 ASE Apprentice: Honorable Mention Award in the high school category of Environmental Management! Vivian also received the Outstanding Project in Nuclear Science/Engineering Award sponsored by AREVA.

Congratulations also go out to the current ASE applicants who received awards!

In the Home Stretch!

ASE Final Applicants and Parents,

We have been receiving many email and phone inquiries about the ASE selection process and interviews. Many of these questions can be answered by a March 31 blog entry, but we want to be sure that everyone is informed:

• Mentors have until Wednesday, April 22 to make their selections for ASE positions. ASE Staff will be making personal phone calls to every final applicant between Thursday, April 23 and Monday, May 4, informing you of your selection status. We will NOT be able to respond to your selection inquiries prior to this time period, so please wait until we call you first.
  
  
• Not all ASE mentors conduct interviews as part of their selection process. Please do not be concerned if you are not called for an interview - it may have no bearing on whether you get a position. We ASE staff do not play any role in selecting interns for positions and do not know which mentors conduct/do not conduct interviews.

We understand it's an anxiety-inducing period to wait for an answer and appreciate you patience as we prepare to receive internship selections.

If you have any urgent inquiries unrelated to the above topics, please call (503) 200-5861 or email ase@saturdayacademy.org.

Best wishes,

the ASE crew

2007 ASE Student Wins Big at Northwest Science Expo

Kevin Ellis, 2007 ASE Intern, Wins Big at Northwest Science Expo

Apr 8, 2009 — adapted from Catlin Gable School Online News Detail (http://www.catlin.edu/news/news_detail.php?id=54028)

Kevin Ellis of Catlin Gable presented his science research project at the statewide science fair, the Northwest Science Expo.

Kevin, a Junior, won Best of Fair in the physical sciences division, 1st place in computer science, the Intel Excellence in Computer Science award, and the IEEE Special Award in Computer Software Engineering.

Kevin had previously qualified to represent Oregon at the International Science and Engineering Fair.

As an ASE Intern in 2007, Kevin worked at IBM on Linux Kernel Development developing core operating system functionality in response to IBM product needs with mentor Douglas Rosser.

For more information on the ASE Program visit: www.saturdayacademy.org/ase

ASE Staff