Some Information

The FedEx packages that the lovely people at SciServ sent us arrived yesterday, and I picked it up today (I wasn't at home yesterday to get it). Quite a bit of information these contain! Lots of forms to fill out and send back (one even has to be notarized, how intimidating), as well as lots of information on the week of the Science Talent Institute (STI), better known as the Intel finals. Now, as I alluded to in the previous post, very little is known about exactly what happens at STI, and I remained none the wiser after reading through all the information they sent us. All I know is that most of the week is filled up with gigantic blocks of time which are reserved for ominous-sounding "Judging Interviews".

There was some rather cool stuff in the packet that we did find out. We remain in the dark as to exactly what kind of laptop we get (although I'm personally happy just getting one, instead of having to shell out all that money!), but there was some information as to the precise manner of its arrival (shipped to us in the spring, yay!). The awards banquet is black tie, just like the closing dinner at Siemens, but SciServ is being kind enough to provide all men with complimentary tux rentals. Which is very good, because I don't have a tux and therefore had to go to the Siemens dinner in a mere suit. I must say, I am very intrigued (and slightly disturbed) at the thought of wearing a bowtie. Very Tucker Carlson. We also got some more information about posters--we need to make two, one for the judging and main public session and one for some other public sessions (which I will get more into in a second), but I get the distinct impression, corroborated by things I have heard from past finalists (and by what STS itself says), that the research means relatively little at STI.

Included in the packet was a listing of the judges. The astute observer will notice that while no one is officially affiliated with an astronomy department, there is one astronomer on the list (her department is the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, which is where the astronomers at her institution, the Carnegie Institute of Washington, work, as there's no Department of Astronomy there), and a rather famous astronomer at that. I was actually very surprised to see the name Vera Rubin on the list. Astronomy geeks will know who she is. For the other 99.5% of the population, Dr. Rubin is best known as the astronomer who discovered some of the very first compelling direct evidence of the existence of dark matter. She gave a talk, both about that research and about her experiences as one of the first women at the fore of astronomer, at the meeting of the Society of Physics Students at the recent conference of the American Astronomical Society in D.C., and even though I'm not an undergrad (and therefore can't join SPS quite yet), as the lone high schooler at the conference, I was able to attend nonetheless. Fascinating talk and a very nice woman. I am very much looking forward to seeing her again in D.C.

However, by far the most exciting thing in the package is, we're going to be presenting our research to Congress! On Tuesday the 14th, we'll be setting up posters (the kind we won't be judged on, the public consumption type) on Capitol Hill for the viewing pleasure of science-friendly (well, guess that precludes the Intelligent Design types) members of the House and Senate and their staffers. I mean, I knew we were meeting the President at some point (although, interestingly enough, this is mentioned nowhere in the package--I hope they're still doing it!) but Congress in general, how cool is that?

The package also included lists of this year and last year's finalists, along with addresses, e-mails, etc., so already a round of e-mails has begun. Looks like we'll all know each other before we get to D.C.!