Bringing Computational Science to K-12 Classrooms
PHOENIX, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ — Cisco Learning Institute, a non-profit organization committed to innovation in education, teamed with the North Carolina School of Science and Math (NCSSM) and Parabon(R) Computation, Inc to bring Computational Science to K-12 classrooms.
Computational Science uses the grad-level mathematics of quantum mechanics (physics + chemistry) and allows students to understand scientific phenomena that cannot be observed, such as chemical reactions or global warming, by using a computer to evaluate the underlying mathematics. With funding from Cisco Learning Institute and technology from Parabon(R), students now have the ability to begin learning Computational Science prior to college because of the vision of Robert Gotwals.
Gotwals raised funding to acquire a single computer server and user-friendly interface software and installed them for students at the North Carolina School of Science and Math (NCSSM), a public, residential school for high school juniors and seniors with a curriculum centered around science and math. Gotwals is a full-time faculty member. Once in place for NCSSM, Gotwals teamed with Dr. Steven Armentrout, CEO of Parabon(R) Computation, Inc., to increase the performance of the Computational Science server and share it with classrooms across the state of North Carolina. The two sought to elevate the existing performance capability of the NCSSM system from one server, which could perform poorly under heavy use, to a distributed solution that employs potentially thousands of computers across the Internet. Using Parabon’s technology, the idle capacity of networked computers is harnessed to deliver supercomputing power to the desktop of anyone who needs it. Parabon(R) engineers built a grid portal that allows students across the state to run simulations by distributing capacity to the computers of participating classrooms.
Students in North Carolina have been the first to use the new tool, but the plan is to extend the program nationally. This endeavor complements the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI), an enterprise announced in the 2006 State of the Union address by the President of the United States (http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2006/aci/). According to Gotwals, “there are teachers and students ready and waiting for this level of chemistry education and we have the curriculum and computational tools to help them engage. I look forward to hearing from them.”
To learn more about the Cisco Learning Institute, visit http://www.ciscolearning.org/.
To learn more about Parabon(R) Computation, Inc. visit http://www.parabon.com/.
To learn more about how the computational chemistry server could be used in your community or classroom, contact Bob Gotwals at (919) 416-2774 or gotwals@ncssm.edu.
Cisco Learning Institute
CONTACT: Bob Gotwals of the North Carolina School of Science and Math,+1-919-416-2774, gotwals@ncssm.edu
Web site: http://www.ciscolearning.org/