More than 140 of the state's top high school students will be doing DNA extraction, designing computer games, and conducting water quality tests at the 2008 Governor's School for Math, Science and Technology at Lynchburg College.
This is the 13th year Lynchburg College has hosted the program, which is directed by LC mathematics professor Danny Cline. The school provides intensive, hands-on learning experiences in classes offered by Lynchburg College faculty and a core of faculty recruited from high schools and colleges.
During their month-long stay from July 6 to Aug. 2, students live in College residence halls and enjoy the use of College facilities. They choose one of 10 classes of study. Classes include:
Computer Game Programming
Instructor - Dr. Will Briggs, LC associate professor of computer science
Want to make a 3-D game? Spend a month working with C++ and OpenGL as part of a team making a game of your design. Learn about lighting models, textures, 3D sounds, 3D models, game physics, graphics engines, and event-driven programming.
Water, Water Everywhere, Nor Any Drop to Drink
Instructor - Diana Duckworth, Rustburg High School
Voted by past students as one of the best Governor's School experiences and particularly relevant in light of recent droughts in Virginia, this course provides a comprehensive field-and laboratory-based study of water resources. Basic hydrology, including water movement, stream and lake dynamics, as well as sources of pollution, laboratory techniques for water quality analysis, and water treatment techniques form the core for this course. Course content also includes analysis of land use as it affects water supply, water quality, and watershed management decisions.
To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before: Doing Experimental Mathematics
Instructor - Dr. Kevin Peterson, LC associate professor of mathematics
This course will engage students in experimental mathematical study of the nature of conjecture and its role in mathematical research. Students will work in groups, using software tools such as Excel, MATLAB, Maple, and Geometer's Sketch Pad, as well as pencil and paper and physical models, to explore patterns and trends found in mathematics. Students will explore theorems taken from a diverse range of mathematics including, but not limited to: geometry, graph theory, chaos and dynamical systems, calculus, topology, cryptography and number theory.
Brave New World: Understanding Your Genetic Future
Instructor - Rebecca Ross, Radford University
Topics in genetics and biotechnology will be explored in this class and will include hands-on labs on karyotyping of chromosomes, DNA electrophoresis of Lambda DNA, transformation of E. coli, DNA extraction, and lab activities on plasmids and recombinant DNA, restriction fragment length polymorphisms(RFLPs), mitochondrial DNA, probes, PCR (polymerase chain reaction), mutations, DNA sequencing, and microarrays. Research reports and powerpoints on genetic disorders and on bioethical topics will be presented by student teams. Field trips are planned to the Virginia Tech Bioinformatics Center, the VT Virtual Reality Cave, Carilion Biomedical Institute for a lecture on prenatal testing, and the University of Virginia Medical School Genetics Department.
Settling the Solar System
Instructor - Dr. Neal Sumerlin, LC professor of chemistry
More than thirty-five years ago, humans left their last footprints in lunar soil. How can we go back? Can humans establish a permanent presence on Mars? How will we live there? Will humanity spread across the solar system to the moons of the outer planets and beyond? These are the questions to explore as we look at plans for extraterrestrial colonies and develop some of our own. Along the way we'll learn about means of propulsion, interplanetary trajectories, the problems of long-term space flight, what places in the solar system might be habitable, and what we might do once we get there.
Each year since 1973, Governor's Schools have offered opportunities for high school juniors and seniors from across the state to study together. Every public and private high school in Virginia is invited to submit nominations for students who have been identified as gifted in a particular area. Governor's schools are also offered at other locations in the humanities, visual and performing arts, and foreign languages.
For more information, check http://www.lynchburg.edu/governorsschool.xml or contact Dr. Danny Cline at 434/544-8372.