Renowned scientists introduced topics including dark energy and cancer treatments to attendees at the inaugural E. E. Just Symposium, which took place between Thursday and Saturday. The symposium activities brought 25 minority high school students and scientific experts together to discuss interdisciplinary scientific concepts, according to physics and astronomy professor and E. E. Just Program chair Stephon Alexander.
The symposium was set apart from other scientific gatherings by its breadth of scope, according to University of Maryland physics professor Sylvester James Gates, who directs the Center for String and Particle Theory. Gates, one of 13 scientists invited to the event, delivered Thursday's keynote address on supersymmetry and new forms of matter and energy, titled "SUSY and the Lords of the Ring."
The symposium reinforced the idea that "science, like athletics, is a place where your ability can win the day," Gates said.
Rather than appealing to experts, speakers addressed a general audience and focused on ideas rather than mechanics. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign physics professor Philip Phillips, who lectured on theoretical physics, said he aimed to expose students to new, radical concepts rather than to make students understand his complex ideas completely.
While Kristina Bennett, a 17-year-old high school senior from Northfield, Vt., said presentations on dark matter and dark energy did not seem applicable to real-life situations, she felt the lectures helped expose her to a range of potential careers.
"Who knows we could be presenting at this conference one day," she said.
Amanda Simon, a high school senior from the Bronx in New York, attended a presentation titled "Making Something out of Nothing: The Journey in Establishing a New Operation for Children with a Rare Cancer" given by Andrea Hayes Jordan, director of pediatric surgical oncology at the Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
The event helped Simon better understand the types of problems that doctors face, which she said appealed to her interest in neuroscience.
The symposium also enabled prospective students to become familiar with the College, Simon said. Although she had considered applying to Dartmouth prior to the event, the symposium demonstrated the College's emphasis on undergraduate studies and research and solidified her desire to apply.
Several professors spoke about undergraduates assisting with their research, which Simon said stood out to her and other attendees.
"No matter how young you are, you can still do great things," she said.
Students were informed about the event via email and their high school counselors and were considered individually upon submitting responses to an essay prompt, according to attendees. Applicants were required to submit secondary school transcripts, lists of senior year courses and standardized test scores in addition to the program application.
Alexander collaborated with the Undergraduate Deans Offices to plan the symposium, and the events took place primarily in Haldeman, Wilder and Kemeny Halls, with the goal of revealing the benefits and attractions of scientific disciplines.
"We have to excite people about the sciences," Director of Undergraduate Advising and Research Kathy Weaver said. "We have to engage them and show them how much fun it can be."
The Deans Office also opened the symposium to undergraduate students, according to Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Students Paul Buckley, who said he told students about visiting scientists in their respective fields.
"I blitzed out to specific majors and said, Here are six amazing scientists,'" he said. "Here is a rare opportunity don't miss it.'"
Other symposium events included an address on "Vesicle Transport in Nerve Cells" by Syracuse University cell biology and neuroscience professor George Langford, a lecture by University of Utah anthropology professor Kristen Hawkes titled "Development, Evolution and Why We Do Science" and a joint address on the future of technology by computer scientist Jaron Lanier and Google Patent Team member Duane Valz.
Alexander, who proposed the idea for the symposium to the College, joined the faculty in summer 2012 as the E. E. Just 1907 Professor, a position that honors Ernest Everett Just, one of Dartmouth's first African-American graduates. The College's E.E. Just Program works to increase the number of minority students majoring in the sciences.
