Educators

What are science and math good for?

Submitted on 16 February 2007 - 1:50pm

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

Many people relieve that science and mathematics are just a pile of data and equations that have been discovered by investigators and that learning these subjects’ means that you have to memorize all of the above. Science and math are much more than that: they are a way of observing, analyzing and thinking about the world surrounding us. Scientific and mathematical thinking provides all of us (even those who won’t become scientists or mathematicians) with critical thinking skills that are useful in many aspects of life. The same way that running is good for our health even if we are not professional runners, learning how to think as a scientist or mathematician helps us make better decisions in life.

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Fighting against garbage

Submitted on 24 January 2007 - 9:37am

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

The celebration of Junte Ambiental 2007 starts a new phase for the public service campaign “A clean Island is a healthy Island”, that wants to motivate changes in the solid waste management in the Island. Junte Ambiental will be held on February 17, 2007 at the Julio Enrique Monagas Park in Bayamon, and will gather more than 500 youngsters of environmental clubs in an activity that will include workshops on waste management and disposal. The program will also offer workshops to 320 teachers. In 2004 Puerto Rico generated an average of 3.9 pounds of garbage per person a day, according to a study by the Solid Waste Authority. This number exceeds what is generated by most industrialized countries in the world, which is around 2.2 pounds per person a day for that same year. Between 90-95% of that waste goes to one of the 28 garbage dumps in the Islands and the remaining 5-10% is recycled or turned into compost.

Award for Science Teaching Excellence

Submitted on 12 January 2007 - 12:08pm

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

The nomination process for the 16th Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence is now open. This award was designed to recognize outstanding K-12 teachers that have positively influenced the academic achievement of their students through science and those who have improved the learning of their students in those communities where Amgen has operations. This year, Amgen will reward four teachers in Puerto Rico, who will receive cash prizes of $5,000. Also, Amgen will give their schools $5,000 to be used in the expansion or improvement of science program in the winners’ schools. If you are interested in nominating an outstanding teacher you should visit Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence Program for more information. You can also call Cristina Robles at (787) 656-6856. Nominations should be sent before January 31st, 2007. Winners will be announced by April 2007.

In search of the cure for cancer

Submitted on 5 January 2007 - 1:58am

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

Cuban-born and PR-raised MD Anderson doctor Gabriel López Berestein has worked 25 years in developing new cancer treatments, including several new drugs. He is now spearheading efforts aimed at opening a comprehensive research cancer center in Puerto Rico.

Government invests in knowledge

Submitted on 1 December 2006 - 7:34pm

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

Recently, Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá handed in 26 fellowships awarded by the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) to teachers from the Department of Education to start graduate studies in mathematics and science.

Alliance between NASA and UPR

Submitted on 9 November 2006 - 10:46am

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) are working together through Filius Institute, to motivate blind people to become researchers in science and mathematics. Filius was created 5 years ago, with the purpose of doing research about people with disabilities, and how to integrate them to social life. Currently the Institute together with NASA, works in an interactive program for blind students, presenting them with meteorological conditions of a hurricane and the analysis of these phenomena. Through this kind of initiatives NASA hopes to reduce the unemployment rate among the blind community in the United States that reaches 74%.

Need for bilingual workers attracts Puerto Ricans to the US

Submitted on 30 October 2006 - 2:02pm

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

Every week around a thousand Puerto Ricans migrate form the Island to the continental United States in search of better jobs, salaries and benefits. A wave of Spanish-speaking professionals and specialized workers migrates to the United States attracted by better paying jobs, but depriving the Island from the specialists it needs.

Urgent to move towards technology

Submitted on 14 September 2006 - 1:54pm

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

Ronald Blackburn-Moreno, president of ASPIRA, a non-profit organization dedicated to leadership development and education of Puerto Rican and Latino youth, stated that Puerto Rico has great potential to develop a technology and knowledge-based economy in the forum “Connecting Puerto Rico towards a digital Puerto Rico: Encounter between Chile and Puerto Rico”. In addition, Blackburn-Moreno enumerated the challenges that the Country faces, which includes the lack of consensus on which specific economic development model we must follow, the political divisions, the bureaucracy and governmental inefficiency, and the lack of a public policy that promotes the development of the technological industry.

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