Students Bronx Institute ENLACE (Engaging Latino Communities for Education) Program eighth and eleventh graders recently traveled to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where they attended a workshop on acoustical physics with Professor David T. Bradley of Vassar and spoke with physics majors about their experiences at the selective liberal arts college. One of several collaborations organized and led by Bronx Institute staff and Lehman College Professor Angela Kelly (Physics & Astronomy) with scientists on and off campus, the workshop aims to encourage underrepresented students to envision themselves as future scientists.

An in-class demonstration provided students with an introduction to acoustics (the science of how sound is made, controlled, transmitted, and heard). Outfitted with rulers, hammers, stopwatches, and thermometers, students then explored the campus in teams and performed experiments to measure and compare the speed of sound through air and solids. The teams recorded their observations for each trial and calculated an average speed of sound. After the workshop, students toured the physics laboratories, attended a mentoring lunch with physics majors, and met with an admissions officer.

“This workshop is a valuable extension of our existing ENLACE physics program, and we are grateful for Dr. Bradley’s efforts to support diversity in the fields of physics and engineering,” said Professor Herminio Martinez (Middle and High School Education), Executive Director of The Bronx Institute. “We hope we can form a long-term partnership with Vassar College that may eventually provide students with additional summer research opportunities.”

Posted on: March 15, 2010
   Article published on: March 15, 2010 | by: The Bronx Institute