UNews - judge

Science fair judges and volunteers needed

trevor.kenney — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:50:48 +0000

In preparing for 52nd annual Canada-Wide Science Fair, to be hosted by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge May 14-18, Chief Judge Dr. Roy Golsteyn is faced with a unique challenge.

Evaluating 500 of Canada's best young scientists requires judges with specific expertise to ensure that participants receive the highest-quality feedback on their exceptional projects.

Hosted at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge through the local host organization, the Southern Alberta Technology Council (SATC), this national event is a program of Youth Science Canada and strongly supported by corporate, community, federal, provincial and city organizations.

While Golsteyn, who leads the Cancer Cell Laboratory at the U of L, is a talented researcher and committed volunteer, he can't do this alone. Three hundred judges are being sought to make sure the participants get the highest-quality feedback.

There are three qualification levels for judges, including those with master's degrees or greater in sciences, those with professional diplomas such as engineering or veterinary medicine, and those with professional diplomas and experience in a science and technology-related field.

Judges are required for only one day (14 May) of the week-long event.

Judges with French language skills are also especially welcomed.

To date, the U of L community has stepped up to commit more than 60 judges, and the overall tally of committed judging volunteers has passed 150, but Golsteyn says there is still a need for judges from a variety of backgrounds including health sciences, math, and digital arts.

"Our ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has a leadership role for science in Southern Alberta. The values of the Canada-Wide Science Fair are perfectly aligned with our values of education, mentorship and research," Golsteyn said. "Being a Judge is an excellent way to share these values."

"Finding 300 judges for the CWSF is no small feat. We are halfway there and we would like to build on this momentum. Plans are in place to solicit volunteers and judges from a variety of organizations in Lethbridge and area, and from across the province. The Science Fair competition date (14 May) will be a truly memorable experience. We will have 300 expert judges meeting 500 expert students, which certainly electrifies the atmosphere in the exhibition hall. I am looking forward to engaging the U of L and broader community as judges and volunteers to share this experience and to support science in our country. "

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a judge for the upcoming Canada-Wide Science Fair, please e-mail Dr. Roy Golsteyn for more information at roy.golsteyn@youthscience.ca.

In addition to judges, volunteers are required to assist with a variety of hosting duties, and there will be a specific need for those with bilingual capabilities. For more information on how you can volunteer, please email admin@satclethbridge.ca or visit this website.

Judging its own reward

trevor.kenney — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 22:46:13 +0000

Having seen the spark ignited in a young scientist's eyes, Dr. Roy Golsteyn is eager to stoke the fires of ingenuity once again. As the chief judge for the Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF), to be held at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge May 11-18, 2013, he'll get that opportunity, and it's one he'd like to share.

"I'm a huge believer in science fairs," says Golsteyn (BSc '84), an associate professor of biology and the director of the Cancer Cell Laboratory at the U of L.

He participated in science fairs as a kid, but never competed beyond the local level. Now, as a judge whose own children have competed nationally, he sees the true value of encouraging scientific discovery in our youth.

"You see it, there's a real sense of excitement in these kids," says Golsteyn. "Some are just starting to dabble in science, some have already acquired a lot of knowledge; they like it, they like the freedom of it and they revel in the challenge.

"Having judged science fairs for the last four years, I always walk away happily impressed, because there are some smart kids out there and we get an opportunity to not only meet them but to also encourage them to continue to pursue science."

Dr. Roy Golsteyn is the chief judge for the Canada-Wide Science Fair, which the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of lethbridge will be hosting May 11-18, 2013. A total of 400 judges are required for the massive event.

The CWSF is a massive undertaking, featuring 400 of the top science projects in the country and involving more than 1,100 students (Grades 7 to 12), chaperones, judges, sponsors and delegates. There are more than 400 judges alone who are needed to officiate the proceedings and as Chief Judge, one of Golsteyn's main duties is to recruit the best group of judges he can find.

"We are attracting the best science students from across the country, so we want to match those students with the best judges we have in southern Alberta," says Golsteyn. "Fortunately for us, southern Alberta is pretty scientist dense."

Golsteyn cites the valuable resources available at the U of L, Lethbridge College, the Canada Research Centre, the Regional Hospital and major industry such as Pratt & Whitney, which has a very strong engineering component to its operation.

"We know there are many qualified judges in southern Alberta, it's more an issue of people being able to find time to take part," he says.

To that end, judging is limited to just one day, and even half-day participation can be considered. A pre-competition orientation evening is also involved and judges are encouraged to stay through the evening of competition to ensure all major prizes are awarded accordingly.

The value of having a captive audience of Canada's brightest young scientific minds on the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ campus for a full week cannot be understated.

"The finalists truly do come from all over Canada, and there's this ripple affect associated with that," says Golsteyn. "It's not just that there are two or three students from every region, what you'll see is that individual schools all across the country will follow their students for the week. So for that week, an entire school will be talking about the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, whether that's in Nunavut or Victoria."

There are three qualification levels for judges, including those with master's degrees or greater in sciences, those with professional diplomas such as engineering or veterinary medicine, and those with professional diplomas and experience in a science and technology-related field. Scientists with French language skills are also especially welcomed.

The U of L is uniquely suited to host a Canada-Wide Science Fair because of its already inherent science outreach programs.

"That's one of the reasons for my commitment to doing this," says Golsteyn. "It is so aligned with what we already do at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and what so many scientists are trying to do across the country. Here's an opportunity to share our expertise and to influence the next generation of young scientists."

He's seen, first-hand, how beneficial it is to students. His children (Quentin, 15, and Charlène, 12) have participated in science fairs and attended CWSF in Charlottetown, PEI last year. His daughter Audrey, 10, also has a distinct interest in microbiology and is likely on the same path.

"Sometimes science isolates students at that age. There are things that are cool and things that are less cool and sometimes science falls into that less cool category," says Golsteyn. "One of the goals of the science fair is to give these kids a week dedicated to science, and the opportunity to share it with people their own age who are just like them, just as thrilled about science as they are."

Those interested in joining Golsteyn on the judging committee can contact him at roy.golsteyn@youthscience.ca. He promises it will be a rewarding experience.

"I'm really excited about the possibilities this week provides for the U of L," he says. "It's a lot of work to do this right but in the end, it's so valuable to everyone involved, it's definitely worth it."

GET THE FACTS

· Student finalists for the Canada-Wide Science Fair are winners of their regional or provincial science fairs

· Approximately 400 projects from 500 youth finalists from across 100 national regions will be attending the Canada-Wide Science Fair

· Up to $1,000,000 in scholarships and prizes are available to participants

· U of L Arts & Science faculty have confirmation from Dean Dr. Chris Nicol that serving as judges for CWSF qualifies as part of their community service component

· Golsteyn, as chief judge, has relief for one of the two courses he was scheduled to teach this semester. His research activities continue however, "It just gets pushed a little later into the night," he says

Math teams conquer problems

trevor.kenney — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:29:59 +0000

At some point in elementary, high school or university, everyone has faced text-based mathematics problems that seem deceptively simple, but actually require a lot of thought to work through.

You're given facts and numbers in a story format, and you have to arrive at an accurate conclusion based on the information as presented. While some people breeze through the problems, others are completely, utterly stumped.

If you've ever stared at a page of these problems and wondered – "Who thinks these things up?" – you only have to look to Dr. Howard Cheng (mathematics and computer science) for the answer.

Cheng has been creating, and helping students solve, these simple but deviously complex problems for the past eight years as a volunteer, coach and lead faculty member of the U of L teams that compete in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC).

Members of the U of L's ACM/ICPC teams (Back row L to R) Colton English, Rio Lowry. Sitting (L to R) Christopher Thomas, Keilan Scholten, Christopher Martin, Darcy Best, Fei Wang, Dr. Howard Cheng. Missing from the photo are Hugh Ramp, Ian Stewart, Mark Hunter, Kim Wikkerink, Cody McArthur, James Ward.

His work, combined with the students' dedication and interest, is paying off.

Four, three-person teams of students recently competed in the ACM/ICPC regional programming contest, which involved universities and colleges across North America. The teams are made up of primarily undergraduate and masters-level students who cross disciplines in mathematics, computer science and physics.

The U of L group placed third overall in the competition, and two U of L teams finished in the top half of the 51-team roster. While an excellent result, it regrettably left them out of the running for the international competition, which takes place in May 2012 in Warsaw, Poland.

"I learn a lot from this experience as well," says Cheng. "The students did a great job this year and I am proud of them."

Cheng and the team train for the competition for months beforehand. Beginning next term, a specifically designed course (CPSC3200) will begin – created to make the most of the ACM/ICPC format as a hands-on educational experience for the students.

Cheng knows well the stress that the contest places on the students. He competed in 1997 and 1998 while a student at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta, and made it to the world finals. He has created problems for regional and international competitions, and continues to be involved in the ACM/ICPC organization as a judge and mentor to other teams.

So, what does it take to be able to solve a typical ACM/ICPC contest question? Cheng has selected some problems from the recent competition for the Legend's readers. Try these yourself and see how you do. As with the student challenge, you have about an hour.

1. EMPTY THE PILL BOTTLE: Each day, you wish to take half a pill from a bottle. If you happen to take a whole pill, you take half of the pill and put the remaining half back in the bottle. How many ways can you empty a bottle with 30 whole pills initially?

2. APPLY FOR CITIZENSHIP: You are given the dates of your immigration application, start of residence, landing date, as well as the date of all your trips outside of Canada. When can you apply for Canadian citizenship (using official rules)?

Cheng has posted the complete problem statements on his website (www.cs.uleth.ca/~cheng/contest/probs.html)

You are welcome to send your answers to Cheng at howard.cheng@uleth.ca to see how you've done. A winner, if there is one, will be announced in a future edition of UWeekly.

This story first appeared in the December 2011 issue of the Legend. If you'd like to see the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Creating a positive start

trevor.kenney — Fri, 07 May 2010 19:59:14 +0000

How we speak to our children and how we help shape their young athletic lives may not only influence their current participation in sports, but it may also affect their lifelong attitudes toward physical fitness.

Dr. Sharleen Hoar, kinesiology professor and sports psychologist, studies issues related to emotional control in developmental athletes. She contends that positive early experiences in sport are crucial in keeping kids involved in physical fitness beyond minor hockey and little league.

"Generally speaking, when we can facilitate a sport environment that accentuates personal improvement, personal competency, we enhance motivation and we keep them in the system longer," she says.

She intends to show that with these positive attitudes, not only will kids engage in sport well into their teenage years but that when organized sport is not readily accessible later in life, they will still seek out physical fitness opportunities.

"The whole purpose around understanding emotional control is that if kids have a more positive and satisfying experience and recognize growth in that experience, they are therefore motivated to continue in their sport," she says.

So how do we go about shaping these positive attitudes early on in an athletes' development? One way is to help kids see success in all areas of sport, not just the win and loss column.

"Where do we find success? We can find it in how much better we're getting in our sport, or what we call competencies, but we can also judge how successful we are by how we are doing compared to our peers," she says.

At this point, there exists a delicate balance between encouraging competitiveness but not getting lost in results.

"There's a time and a place for competition and there's definitely a real motivation from wanting to be the best compared to other people but that doesn't happen to everyone," says Hoar. "Everybody can only aspire to be their personal best, you can only actualize your own potential and everybody has different potentials."

She says kids begin to understand this at around age 14, when they are able to better assess their peers and see where they fit in the pecking order. This is a very important time because if kids have been groomed to only see being the best as a positive result of participation, they're more likely to walk away from their sport. After that, chances they gravitate back to sport, or any physical fitness as adults, decreases.

Hoar is passionate about her work and sees real results from her research findings. She sees physical fitness not only as an outlet and a means by which people can live healthier lives but as a way to enhance all aspects of life.

"I see sport principles in the business and academic worlds all the time, they are achievement domains," she says. "Anytime you are trying to develop competencies, the principles remain the same, it's just a different domain. There are many sport psychologists who work in the business field because there are so many things in common. Aspects such as teamwork, motivation, emotional control, personality — there are so many things that go hand in hand."

Very few children will go on to have careers in sport but that doesn't mean all the early morning practises and weekend road trips are a waste if they don't result in a professional career. By establishing a positive attitude towards athletics for children, they are likely to be physically active, and much healthier, adults.

"From what we know from other areas of research, if we enhance motivation in sport, we can probably enhance physical activity as a lifestyle."

Spelling things out

trevor.kenney — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:39:58 +0000

'Protocol' was the winning word for Adrienne Gomes, a grade eight student at Gilbert Paterson school and the winner of the 2010 Canwest Canspell Spelling Bee, which took place at the U of L on Saturday, Feb. 13.

Here, Gomes (front row, left) and runner-up Willow Hordos-Goyer, of St. Michael's School in Medicine Hat, are pictured (l to r) with judge Dr. Craig Monk, (Associate Dean, Arts and Science) pronouncer Dr. Ian MacLachlan, (geography) judge Dr. Lynn Kennedy (history) and judge Elizabeth Hegerat (Lethbridge Public Library).

UNews - judge

Science fair judges and volunteers needed

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Judging its own reward

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Math teams conquer problems

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Creating a positive start

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Spelling things out

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