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 CALIFORNIA
SCIENCE EDUCATION CONFERENCE
OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 2, 2008
SAN JOSE CONVENTION CENTER
FOCUS SPEAKERS
Focus Speakers are highly regarded scientists and education
experts who present one-hour, in-depth sessions on subjects
relevant to science teaching. The Focus Speaker series
allows you to expand your understanding in a wide range
of critical topics. Focus Speaker sessions are included
with your conference registration.
New this year!
When available, click on the "Learn More"
button to learn more about the presenter by visiting
their web site. |
Last Updated:
3/27/2008 |
 Bioprocessing:
Historical Successes and Future Challenges
Matthew Croughan, George B. and Joy Rathmann Professor,
and Director, Amgen Bioprocessing Center, Keck Graduate Institute
The historical success of bioprocessing will be reviewed
from ancient beer making to recombinant protein production.
The future challenges regarding biofuels, biodefense, and
stem cell therapies will be discussed.
Thursday, October 30, 4:00 pm
- 5:00 pm
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 Ocean
pH: Bringing Chemistry to the Public
George Matsumoto, Senior Education and Research Specialist,
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Ocean acidification and the threat to our world's oceans
by increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide is not as well publicized
or understood by the public. This presentation will focus
on current research efforts on this topic as well as efforts
by researchers around the world to reframe their research
efforts in an attempt to relate better with the public and
educators.
Friday, October 31, 8:00 am -
9:00 am
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 Tapping
the Talent Pool: Diversity Among Scientists
Gibor Basri, Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion,
UC Berkeley
The United States faces an increasing challenge in finding
domestic students who will continue our nation's leadership
in the sciences. The U.S. population is becoming increasingly
diverse compared with the last generation of scientists. Along
with the continuing under representation of women (slowly
improving), the under representation of people of color is
worsening as their demographic representation increases. We
cannot afford to lose out on the talent inherent in large
swaths of our population. Come and learn about some of the
steps that universities are taking in reaction to this ongoing
problem.
Friday, October 31, 12:00 pm
- 1:00 pm
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 Increasing
Content Learning in Science: A Self-Sustained Approach
Richard D. McCallum, Literacy Specialist, Graduate School
of Education, UC Berkeley
Recent efforts at "reform" in science instruction
have focused on having science teachers integrate English/language
arts as an integral part of their science instruction. The
purpose of this presentation is to show how one science department
in a moderately sized district was able to reform their approach
to content learning while being cognizant of the high-stakes
language arts/reading requirements. Lessons and activities
from their work will be shared as a way to provide science
teachers with a framework for effective reform.
Friday, October 31, 1:30 pm -
2:30 pm
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 Using
Data to Improve Student Learning in Science: Do We Teach in
Light of the Data or in Spite of the Data?
Dennis Fox, Education Consultant, Los Angeles County
Office of Education
The purpose of assessing student learning is to provide the
science teacher with information he/she can use to determine
the degree to which students have mastered the targeted content
and to evaluate and adjust instruction to ensure the most
effective learning experiences for students. We will discuss
user-friendly strategies for using classroom assessment data
in science to continuously improve the effectiveness of science
instruction.
Friday, October 31, 3:00 pm
- 4:00 pm
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 Communicating
and Illustrating the Complexities of Climate Change
Carol M. Tang, Director, Visitor Interpretive Programs
and Research Associate, California Academy of Sciences
In designing educational materials about the science and
impacts of climate change, the California Academy of Sciences
discovered a lot about learner expectations, how to effectively
communicate key points, and how to engage diverse audiences.
Our data reinforces the idea that we must reach students and
young people in order to make a difference in solving climate
change issues in the near future. Gain insights about addressing
the critical but complex topic of climate changes in this
session.
Saturday, November 1, 8:00 am
- 9:00 am
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 Great
Experiments with Bugs and Stinky Stuff
Robert Kimsey, Associate Adjunct Professor, Department
of Entomology, UC Davis
The biology of forensics currently holds a special fascination
for young people, as judged by the number of TV programs on
this subject. This presents teachers with a special opportunity
to link this fascination with the teaching of biology. A simple
carrion decomposition experiment can be used by teachers as
an entree to diverse topics in biology and the natural sciences.
Saturday, November 1, 9:30 am
- 10:30 am
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 Surprises
in the Behavior of Magnetic Nanostructures on Surfaces
Barbara A. Jones, Head, Theoretical and Computational
Physics, IBM Almaden Research Center and CPN, Stanford University
When magnetic atoms such as Mn, Fe, or Co are placed on specially
constructed surfaces, surprising behavior can occur due to
the chemistry of these nanostructures. I will describe these
systems, constructed by a scanning tunneling microscope (STM),
and our calculations of their various properties which show
this interesting chemistry.
Saturday, November 1, 11:00 am
- 12:00 pm
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 Predicting
Ecosystem Response to Global Climate Change
Peter D. Roopnarine, Curator of Geology and Paleontology,
California Academy of Sciences
Biological communities and ecosystems are complex systems
of interacting species. While we understand to some extent
the various impacts of climate change on some species, there
is very little knowledge of how ecosystems will respond. Work
based upon statistical models and simulations of high diversity,
complex communities, as they are disturbed by various physical
impacts of climate change, will be presented.
Saturday, November 1, 1:00 pm
- 2:00 pm
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 Learn
Physics by Doing Physics
Paul Doherty, Senior Staff Scientist, Exploratorium Teacher
Institute
The best way to learn about modern physics is to create and
explore hands-on exhibits which display the phenomena of physics.
We'll look at some modern inexpensive tools such as laser
pointers and light emitting diodes and show how they and other
readily available tools can be used to allow interested learners
to explore physics. From electricity and magnetism to quantum
mechanics, everyone can explore modern physics.
Saturday, November 1, 2:30 pm
- 3:30 pm
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