Want to meet students who are a lot smarter than you and I? Then meet these semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search.



Four students from Hume-Fogg Magnet High and three from Martin Luther King, Jr. Magnet High won the distinction for their work done through the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt.

Zach Anderson (Hume-Fogg) completed his project with Jason Valentine, Ph. D. in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. His project was "Reflection and Transmission Measurements at Variable Incidence Angles of a Zero Index Metamaterial." Zach was also recognized as a Siemens Semifinalist for this research. Abhinav Goyal (Hume-Fogg) completed his project with Qi Zhang, Ph. D. in the Department of Pharmacology. His project was “Culturing of Neurons on Graphene Transistors for High Resolution Scanning of Processes.” Abhi was also recently recognized as a Siemens Semifinalist for this research. Aditya Gudibanda (Hume-Fogg) completed his project with Jens Meiler in the Department of Chemistry. His project was “The implementation of paired descriptor functions to improve quantitative structure activity relationship models from drug discovery.” Busra Gungor (Martin Luther King Jr.) completed her project with Hal Moses, M.D. in the Department of Cancer Biology. Her project was “Uncovering the Role of TGFβ and BMP in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Stem Cells.” Busra was also recently recognized as a Siemens Semifinalist for this research. Melissa Guo (Martin Luther King Jr.) completed her project with Nilanjan Sarkar, Ph. D. in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Her project was “Interfacing of Kinect Motion sensor and NAO Humanoid Robot.” Meera Patel (Hume-Fogg) completed her project with Richard Peek, M. D. in the Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology. Her project was “Helicobacter pylori alters the tight junction-regulating adhesion protein BVES and promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition in a nontumorigenic murine gastric epithelial cell line (MGEC).” Jenny Zheng (Martin Luther King Jr.) completed her project with David Wasserman, Ph. D. in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. Her project was “Interaction of integrin and insulin actions in the insulin resistant liver."

Each student won a $1,000 prize with a matching prize given to their schools.

Read more about the award.



Apply for the School for Science & Math at Vanderbilt

Did you know... by 2018 there will be more than a million available jobs in STEM careers, but only a fraction that many qualified college graduates to fill them?



Did you know... for the last 10 years, the number of STEM jobs has grown three times as fast as non-STEM jobs?



Did you know... Metro Schools and its partners put students on a direct path to STEM colleges and careers?

Stratford STEM Magnet High School Engineering Day

Thursday, September 20, 2012

8:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. at Stratford

They're a piece of every child's imagination, and several of our Metro students learned to build and control them this summer at Robocamp 2012. But no need to fear: these robots are built for peace.



Bailey STEM Magnet Middle School held RoboCamp July 9-13. Teachers from Bailey, Litton Middle School and Stratford STEM High School led rising 5th-7th graders through the process of building a robotic arm to use in a competition at the end of the week. The students also learned to solder on a circuit board for an electronic siren. A trip to the Nissan factory in Smyrna provided students the opportunity to see robots in action. The students stopped at Home Depot on the way back to school for an “Inventor’s Tour” of the Home Depot in East Nashville where they explored alternative uses for different materials in the store. The competition on Friday put the students’ robotic arms to the test as they competed as teams and individuals.



Thanks to all the educators who made this free summer camp possible and to all the campers who had an amazing time building robots!

Bottle rockets may be child’s play to some, but to NASA and students at Bailey Middle Magnet, Cora Howe Middle and Wright Middle schools, they are serious business. The space agency has awarded its 2012 Educational Engagement Award to a combined team of Vanderbilt University engineering and education students for their work with about 500 students in the three Metro schools.



Nine mechanical engineering students in the Aerospace Club worked with six students in Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development to develop lesson plans for the middle schoolers. The Peabody students teach in Metro Schools as part of their teacher licensure requirements.



Together, the Vanderbilt students taught teams of Metro students scientific and engineering concepts and then worked to design, construct and launch the rockets. Metro students calculated their rockets’ altitudes based on the rockets’ time aloft and the group from each school with the highest-flying rocket earned a visit to Vanderbilt, including a tour of engineering laboratories, workshops, project demonstrations and lunch.



Bailey STEM Magnet Middle School is part of a K-12 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) continuum that includes Hattie Cotton STEM Magnet Elementary, Isaac Litton Middle, and Stratford STEM Magnet High School.



This post is based on an online article “Engineering, Peabody effort lands NASA STEM outreach award” www.news.vanderbilt.edu. Posted with appreciation to Brenda Ellis and Vanderbilt University.

Stratford STEM Magnet High School has had quite a few "firsts" this year, and its adding yet another! This spring, the new STEM Magnet high school is hosting the inaugural STEM competition for high schools throughout the district. Check out the details below.

Metro high school girls with a keen interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are invited to the inaugural GRITS,  Girls Raised in Tennessee Science Conference and Mixer. The Mixer will be held Friday, Nov. 4, from 6 - 8 p.m., in the James Union Building at Middle Tennessee State University. The conference follows Nov. 5, beginning at 8 a.m. More details are below. Please note, high school students can register for FREE to the inaugural event.

Tuesday, March 29, the State Department of Education held a special round-table discussion to commemorate the one-year anniversary of winning more than $500 million in federal Race to the Top funds. The event was held at Stratford STEM Magnet High School, which just this year began offering students hands-on learning opportunities through The Academies of Nashville.

Tuesday, March 8, all students and families interested in applying for one of the three new STEM Magnet schools - Hattie Cotton for elementary grades, Bailey for middle grades, and Stratford for high school grades - are invited to attend a STEM Magnet Showcase Night. The evening will consist of an overview of MNPS's six new thematic magnet schools, unique features of the STEM Magnets including a partnership with Vanderbilt University, hands-on demonstrations, and special displays be each of the three schools. Guests will be able to speak with students, staff and Vanderbilt representatives about the unique programs and partnerships. The presentation begins at 5:30 p.m., at Stratford High School.

If you missed last Thursday's big meeting on the future of East Nashville neighborhood schools, you can read a full recap, including the Q&A session with Dr. Register and Board Chair Gracie Porter.It was a packed house at Dan Mills Elementary, with Stand for Children hosting the event and giving parents the opportunity to ask questions directly to the people in charge about how their schools are changing. With three schools converting to STEM magnets, the opening of a new charter school and East Literature's continued conversion into a Paideia school, there was a lot of ground to cover. Special thanks to the folks at Stand for Children, particularly Francie Hunt, who put these notes together. Click here to read the complete notes from the East Nashville neighborhood schools meeting.