Siena College recently hosted Physics at the Frontier, a three day workshop for high school teachers. The program, run by Siena College Assistant Professor of Physics Matthew Bellis, Ph.D., aimed to engage a community of teachers and educate them on the latest discoveries in the field of Physics.
Participants sat in on lectures on the latest developments in particle physics and assembled their own turn-key cloud chambers in order to see radioactive particles.
"Attending things like this program give me more strength in the classroom when my kids ask me what they can do with what we're learning, or when they ask what a Physicist really does," said Tim Williamson of Island Senior High School.
The program also provided additional learning opportunities for Alyx Gleason '17, Jamie Bedard '18 and Kelly Nealon '15, who assisted with the program.
"I wanted a chance to get a more specific experience than the overview I've gotten so far in my introductory physics classes. I need get involved in hands-on learning before I go on to study engineering in three years," said Bedard.
By engaging their teachers, Bellis hopes that hosting programs like the Physics at the Frontier Workshop will increase high school students' interest in science, as well as attending Siena.
The Physics Frontier Workshop was supported by a National Science Foundation a grant, as well as a grant awarded to the College for outreach efforts from the U.S. CMS, the United States' contingent of universities and labs working on the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.
