Upcoming Deadlines:

February 11 – Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) grant proposal due to NSF

February 21 – Promoting Research and Innovation in Methodologies for Evaluation (PRIME) grant proposal due

to NSF

March 5 – Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program grant proposal due to NSF

More information can be found at our website:

CeMaST.IllinoisState.edu

O ver the next five years, Illinois electricity produc-ers and distributors will be deploying Smart Grid technology across the state. On January 18, Illinois

State University was awarded a grant ($550,000) from

the Illinois Science and Energy Innovation Foundation

(ISEIF) to work with teachers and students to develop

better Smart Grid and Smart Meter knowledge.

The grid refers to the electric grid, a network of trans-

mission lines, substations, transformers, and more that

deliver electricity from the power plant to your home

or business. When you flip on a light switch or power

up a computer, you rely upon the electrical grid to

supply a consistent supply of electricity. The Smart

Grid uses digital technology for two-way communica-

tion between the utility and its customers and for sens-

ing along transmission lines. Like the Internet, the

Smart Grid will consist of controls, computers, automa-

tion, and new technologies and equipment working

together, but in this case, these technologies will work

with the electrical grid to respond digitally to our

quickly changing electric demands.

The Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology

(CeMaST) and the Center for Renewable Energy

(CRE) will begin working with teachers in the cities of

Maywood and Oak Park (and then cities across Illinois

in the next five years) to develop curriculum aligned

with the Next Generation Science Standards that will

help teachers and students (along with their families

and communities) to understand the potential uses and

relevance of the Smart Grid, including:

More efficient transmission of electricity;

Quicker restoration of electricity after power dis-turbances;

Reduced operations and management costs for utilities, and ultimately lower power costs for con-

sumers;

Reduced peak demand, which will also help lower electricity rates;

Increased integration of large-scale renewable energy systems;

Better integration of customer-owner power gen-

eration systems, including renewable energy sys-

tems; and

Improved security.

The principle investigators are Dr. William Hunter

(CeMaST) and Dr. David Loomis (CRE), who will lead

this project at Illinois State as well as coordinate with

the eight other ISEIF-funded projects.

For more information, please visit

http://www.smartgrid.gov/the_smart_grid

CeMaST Newsletter

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1

Illinois State to Support SmartGrid Education in Schools

Figure 1. Smart Grid deployment map of Illinois.

http://www.smartgrid.gov/the_smart_grid

CEMAST NEWSLETTER

Page 2

Noyce project members,

2. Utilize these new and/or

strengthened connections to

share expertise and knowledge across Midwest

Noyce projects,

3. Support the professional development of Noyce

Scholars, and

4. Build a community of practice among Noyce

scholars.

The two conferences—which will be held in Omaha,

Nebraska in October of 2014 and 2015—will bring

together 250 Noyce investigators, pre-service and

in-service Noyce Scholars, school district personnel,

and project evaluation and assessment experts from

the 62 active Noyce projects in Arkansas, Illinois,

Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota,

Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,

South Dakota, and Wisconsin so that they may benefit

from each other's experiences. Year-round network-

ing and learning activities (e.g., online community,

webinars, and workshops) will provide additional

opportunities for Noyce personnel and Noyce Scholars

to continuously learn from each other.

For more information,

please visit:

cemast.illinoisstate.edu/

students/college/

scholarships/noyce/

Midwest Regional Robert Noyce Connections

2014–2015: Building Communities of Practice

Illinois State University is joining with three other

Midwest institutions to take leadership in the next two

years of the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship

Program. The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship

Program, funded by the National Science Foundation

(NSF), is a scholarship program for mathematics,

science, engineering, and technology students who

will become teachers in high-need school districts. In

the past five years, the Noyce program at Illinois State,

under the leadership of Dr. William Hunter,

has provided scholarships and mentoring to 52 Noyce

scholars in mathematics and science who will become

teachers in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) upon

graduation.

Joined by Dr. Wendy Smith of the University of

Nebraska, Dr. Kim Nguyen of IUPUI, and Dr. Regina

Post of Wittenburg University, Dr. Hunter and his team

are building a coalition of Robert Noyce Teacher

Scholarship programs to strengthen peer support and

effectiveness throughout the 15 states of the Midwest

region.

Having been awarded $800,000 from the National

Science Foundation (Award #1405512), project,

principal investigators will facilitate an annual confer-

ence in 2014 and 2015 and a suite of year-round

networking opportuni-

ties for conference

participants that are

designed to accomplish

four objectives:

1. Increase the per-

sonal connections

among Midwest Dr. Wendy Smith, University of Nebraska; Dr. Kim Nguyen, IUPUI; Dr. Regina Post,

Wittenburg University; and Dr. William Hunter , Illinois State University

News and Announcements Dr. Chris Grieshaber has been named as the new CeMaST Associate

Director, representing the College of Applied Science and Technology

(CAST). Dr. Grieshaber is an Associate Professor in the Department of

Health Sciences and is the Director of the Safety Program. He will be a

welcome addition to the CeMaST team, bringing his experience in the

field of engineering to our STEM efforts.

http://cemast.illinoisstate.edu/students/college/scholarships/noyce/http://cemast.illinoisstate.edu/students/college/scholarships/noyce/http://cemast.illinoisstate.edu/students/college/scholarships/noyce/

Page 3

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

Events, Opportunities, and Programs for Teachers

Fermilab Activities for Teachers, Students,

and Families

Scholarships for Teacher Workshops, Field

Trip Transportation and Science Adventures

Fermilab Friends for Science Education offers

scholarships for teachers to attend summer

workshops, assist with field trip transportation

expenses and provide scholarships to families for

student classes held at Fermilab. ed.fnal.gov/ffse/

ed_ffse_scholarships.html

AAAS Family Science Days—February 15–16th This free community science showcase features

hands-on demos, shows, and other activities

appropriate for K-12 children and their families.

meetings.aaas.org/public/family-science-days/

STEM High School Career Expo—April 23rd

Come and join math, science, engineering, and

technology experts from a wide variety of

careers. ed.fnal.gov/programs/careerfair/

Fermilab Outdoor Family Fair—June 8th

Activities include walking the emerging tallgrass

prairie, netting for land and water critters, and

visiting the bison herd. ed.fnal.gov/events/outdoor

-fair/

Other Opportunities for Teachers

Hilton Worldwide Teacher Treks Program

The Hilton Teacher Treks "Travel Grant" track was

established offer teachers who build awareness of

cultural diversity within the classroom the

opportunity to go abroad for 2-3 weeks to travel,

explore and experience culture firsthand with an

itinerary of their own design. www.iie.org/

hiltonteachertreks

2015 NSTA National Conference on Science

Education, Chicago, IL—March 12–15th

Session Proposal Deadline: April 16, 2014 www.nsta.org/conferences/sessions.aspx

Who is Eligible

Anyone is eligible to enter our image challenge. This

challenge only accepts individual entries. Images

submitted as a group (i.e. classroom) must be submit-

ted under only one name. Limit of one entry per

person. Participants must also submit an entry form in

order to eligible for the challenge (participants under

18 are required to have a parent/guardian signature).

Challenge Deadline

Submissions for the 2014 Challenge will be accepted

from February 1st – March 28th, 2014.

What We're Looking For

What does science look like to you? Take a photo,

draw a picture, or create an image that represents

science. Images can include, but are not limited to:

Photography Microscopy Science-as-art Schematics Photography of your own 3D printing Handmade drawings Digital renditions

Images will be assembled into a slideshow depicting

"What does science look like to Central Illinois?" and

displayed on the jumbotron at Family Science Day.

The images may also be displayed on our Facebook

page and/or our website or as we otherwise see fit.

We reserve the right to decide not to show your image

for any reason.

For more information about the Image Challenge, visit:

cemast.illinoisstate.edu/public/family-science/

images.shtml

Family Science Day 2014: The Image Challenge

http://ed.fnal.gov/ffse/ed_ffse_scholarships.htmlhttp://ed.fnal.gov/ffse/ed_ffse_scholarships.htmlhttp://meetings.aaas.org/public/family-science-days/http://ed.fnal.gov/programs/careerfair/http://ed.fnal.gov/events/outdoor-fair/http://ed.fnal.gov/events/outdoor-fair/http://www.iie.org/hiltonteachertrekshttp://www.iie.org/hiltonteachertrekshttp://www.nsta.org/conferences/sessions.aspxhttp://cemast.illinoisstate.edu/public/family-science/images.shtmlhttp://cemast.illinoisstate.edu/public/family-science/images.shtmlcemast.illinoisstate.edu/public/family-science/images.shtml

Center for Mathematics, Science, and

Technology

210 W. Mulberry St.

Campus Box 5960

Normal, IL 61790-5960

Phone: 309-438-3089

Fax: 309-438-3592

E-mail: cemast@ilstu.edu

For m ore new s a nd i n form at i on ,

V i s i t our w ebs i t e :

C eMa ST . I l l i no i s S t a t e . e du

This year’s Family Science Day will take place on

Saturday, April 5th, 2014 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at

Redbird Arena in Normal, IL. Thanks to generous

support, this year’s event will be FREE!

Family Science Day is a public outreach event to edu-

cate and inspire K-8 students in the Science, Technolo-

gy, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM)

fields. The family-friendly event encourages scientific

discovery through hands-on activities, challenges, and

demonstrations. In addition, the event helps to raise

the awareness of the importance of STEAM in our soci-

ety.

This year’s event will again feature the Central Illinois

Robotics Club Bot Brawl 2014, one of the largest robot-

ics tournaments in our region. This year we are also

highlighting “The Maker.” Visit our website to learn

more about the Maker Movement.

Here are some additional event highlights to share

with your students:

Earn your Home Scientist of Detective Girl Scouts Badge

Get your hands messy with our hands-on exhibits Enter to win great prizes Use your FREE ticket to receive $1 off admission to

the Children’s Discovery Museum in Normal on

April 5th or 6th. During the event, a free shuttle will

run between the Arena and the Museum every 15

minutes.

Finally, we have two challenges this year. Both are

open to everyone (students and adults alike):

FSD Image Challenge: What does science look like to you? Take a photo, draw a picture, or create an

image that represents science to you. Must

submit entry by March 28th, 2014. Marshmallow Tower Challenge: Compete on teams

of 4 to build the tallest freestanding tower using

only 20 pieces of spaghetti, 1 yard of tape, 1 yard

of string, and a marshmallow. A lesson plan for this

activity is available on the website. Pick up a free

timed challenge entry ticket on the day of the

event.

We hope to see you there!

www.familyscienceday.com