2019 GA Participants in GASSSS Program
These participants have submitted a final GASSSS application.
If your name is not on this list and you have participated in the GASSSS program, please contact Larry Woolf at Lawrence.Woolf@ga-asi.com
| GA GASSSS Participant | Company | School | Materials Purchased | Activity |
| Anna Kaplan | GA-ASI | SDSU Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics | None | "I spoke to the graduate and PhD students about how to market oneself for a software development/engineering position while being a Mathematics student. All of the students who I spoke to were getting their degrees in either applied math, pure math, or a combination of math and computer science. After the presentation, the students published a blog about what I talked about: link to student blog" |
| Breanna Bergado | GA-ASI | Harborside Elementary School, Chula Vista CA | 6 – Mindware Dig It Up! Triceratops Kits; 6 - Mindware Dig It Up! Tyrannosaurus Rex Kits | Demonstrated the use of tools and how to use the Mindware Dig It Up Kits as well as assisted students who needed help. Spoke about the purpose of me coming out and the GASSSS Program. Also spoke about my career and the education path I took. Answered Questions about different science / engineering majors and how they are already learning about some of those. |
| Jeff Warren | GA-ASI | San Pasqual High School, Escondido, CA | Purchase of miscellaneous robotics parts for San Pasqual High School competing in FIRST Robotics competitions. (Team #3255: www.frcteam3255.com) | I serve as assistant coach for the SPHS FIRST Robotics team. I mentor the students on the team in all aspects of the competition. I will be ordering parts to use for the robots both for education and competition. |
| Nick Kemme | GA-ASI | Saint Augustine High School, San Diego CA | A large variety of tools were purchased to aid the robotics and engineering classes in their respective builds. This included: Drill with additional battery packs and drill/driving accessories, general tool kit, wire strippers, saw, soldering irons, and electronics repair kits. | I visited Saint Augustine High School twice, presenting about GA and engineering principles the first time along with helping the students build their respective projects the first time. The second time, I helped them build new structures for the engineering class as well as more project help for both classes. |
| Melissa Wallace | GA-ASI | Dingeman Elementary School, San Diego, CA | "2 Piper electronics kits Waffle Blocks 100 piece set " | Teaching students how to tinker using waffle block building, electronic wiring, and software coding. I went over a lesson on how circuits work, using Hot Wheels cars to describe the flow of electrons. I described how voltage, current, and conductance work, and why a circuit needs to be a closed loop (all using the Hot Wheels cars). We let the students each explore the software on their own, and took notes about where they were stumbling and needed guidance so that we could teach future lessons. |
| Tim Kinsey | GA-ASI | Future City Competition, San Diego CA | None | I acted as a Special Award Judge for the Southern California Regional Competition of Future City. I got a chance to talk to many creative students about their innovative solutions to the challenges of future communities, asking questions and evaluating team designs and presentations. At the end of the day I presented the award for “Best Use of Renewable Energy” to the winning team. It was a fun and enlightening experience that I would love to take part in again. |
| Antje Presnell | GA-ASI | Rancho Bernardo High School, San Diego CA | The following items were purchased for the RBHS Robotics Club: Drill Bit Set, Digital Caliper, Cordless Hammer Drill, Battery, and 4-Port Charger | My project management role leader was 2 part. First, we had to establish our wish list (requirements). I had all the kids and parent volunteers provide input on what they felt needed to be purchased for the team to be successful for competition this season and in future. The input was provided in the same format. One of the kids entered the data into a spreadsheet. We put them in logical groupings . We had the team rack and stack the equipment using a priority system 1-4 (1 being the highest and most urgent). We then looked at the budget ($500). We only pulled from the “1” rankings and matched up with a highly needed tool replenishment. Secondly, I showed the team how to do a vendor evaluation. We came up with 3 criteria and assigned weighting percentages. When looking at the companies that could provide our bill of material we analyzed their price, schedule, and reputation/reviews. I wanted to teach them that lowest price isn’t always the right choice and we needed to go with BEST VALUE. |
| Greg Shue | GA-ASI | FRC Team NOMAD Inc., Escondido CA | Purchase of miscellaneous robotics parts for FRC Team NOMAD Inc. competing in FIRST Robotics competitions. Motor controllers, wheels, gears, pulleys, drive shaft stock material. | Ongoing mentoring of the software team on exploring solution options, applications of control systems, system design options, system requirement decomposition in to mechanical, electrical, software. Assisting in design, acquisition, and assembly of a portable workshop (“robot pit”), both structurally and electrically. |
| Derek Wilson | GA-EMS | Bernardo Elementary School, Escondido CA | None | Show and discuss GA approved videos related to EMALS, Capacitors, 8Mw, and other energy products. Chaperone the class field trip to the USS Midway; share my knowledge and experience from time serving aboard aircraft carriers to talk about the GA-EMS ALRE system including capabilities and comparison to steam system. |
| Darrell Nakawaki | GA-ASI | Heritage K-6 Charter School, Excondido CA | NGSS STEM resources | I assisted the teacher in the first activity called “the great desert island” where small groups of students needed to solve a challenge of being stranded on the island. I worked with the groups help resolve challenges for survival such as design and construction of water filtering, huts, floating rafts, rock movers, coconut catapults and water proof containers. They had a discussion / presentation of their designs including why materials were chosen and why their design would be effective. STEM challenges used common materials. They incorporated concepts of linear measurement, area, force and motion, energy, simple machines, data, and scientific process. |
| Kyle Wheatcroft | GA-ASI | Ellen Browning Scripps Elementary School, San Diego CA | Field trip admission to San Diego Natural History Museum | Speaking about Engineering education and careers in classroom prior to field trip and participating in STEM activity during field trip. |
| William Johnstone | GA-EMS | Escondido Charter High School, Escondido CA | Robot parts: navX (navigation sensor), wheels and hubs, LED light strips | Weekly participation with the team on Saturdays helping with the integration of the navX sensor onto the robot, initial setup of the new Visual Studio IDE along with the installation of libraries and APIs, software coding critique, FRC kickoff activities and robot design discussions. |
| Kyle Wirth | GA-ASI | REIDY CREEK ELEMENTARY, ESCONDIDO, CA | 100-Bead Rekenrek Demonstration Counting Frame STEM in Action® Shadow Box Theatre Exploration |
I helped the teacher plan out her lesson for demonstrating both items. The lesson included a demonstration by me, we then chose random numbers and created them on the Rekenrek and had the students count, we then gave them to the students to match a number we chose. We used a pre-made lesson for the shadow box. We then showed the others grade level teachers the items and explained how to use. |
| Donna Mirabella | GA-ASI | Ellen Browning Scripps Elementary School, San Diego CA | Field trip admission to San Diego Natural History Museum | Speaking about Engineering education and careers in classroom prior to field trip and participating in STEM activity during field trip. |
| Kevin G. West | GA-ASI | Magnolia Science Academy, San Diego CA | None | I will be part of a 3 session speaker panel and will discuss my aspects of my education and career path to 6th-8th graders. |
| Michael Allwein | GA-ASI | Pacheco Elementary, San Luis Obispo CA | Class is studying climate. Funding will be used to purchase 9 Thames & Kosmos Climate and Weather kits. | I demonstrated a cloud experiment in which we poured cold air over warm water to make the water vapor visible. I also supported an experiment to show the effects of glacier melting on coastal tide level. |
| Joshua Ferguson | GA-ASI | Northern Utah Academy of Math, Engineering, and Science, Layton UT | Materials for the construction of the competition robot | "Was a support to the coding team as they created software for the robot. Answered questions and provided guidance." |
| Jennifer Labs | GA-ASI | Del Lago Academy, Escondido CA | None | “Brown Bag Presentation” talking about my career and educational path |
| Dallas Perkins | GA-EMS | Rolling Hills Elementary, San Diego, CA | None | Participated as judge at Rolling Hills Elementary science and engineering fair |
| Patty Vongsaras | GA-EMS | Escondido Charter High School, Escondido CA | Robot parts: Motors and Gears. | Mentored the lead programmer about the types of coding standards to follow and discussions on best ways to test software and mechanical functions of the robot. |
| John Kelly | GA-EMS | Escondido Charter High School, Escondido CA | Robot parts (mechanical / motors/gearing) | Mentored lead programmer on alternative sensor modalities and methods of combined abstraction to derive location, distance, and presence |
| Deborah Harvey | GA-ASI | PRIDE Academy, Santee CA | Materials needed for Robotics Competition (PVC piping and other miscellaneous buildings). | "Assisted Mr. Kemery in building the Bot-ball training course. Will be attending a trial run as soon as the robots are complete and coded to assist Mr. Kemery, and will be assisting at the competition, currently scheduled for 20 April." |
| Candace Gray | GA | Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair, San Diego CA | None | I volunteered as a SWE judge for the science fair. This involved talking to the students about their projects and voting on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. |
| Aaron Sathrum | GA-EMS | Rolling Hills Elementary, San Diego CA | None | Judging for the Rolling Hills Elementary School Science and Engineering Fair |
| Travis Evans | GA-EMS | Rolling Hills Elementary School, San Diego CA | None | Worked as a volunteer science fair judge at Rolling Hills Elementary school. Provided feedback on their projects and encouraged the children to learn more about Science and Engineering. |
| Chau Nguyen | GA-ASI | Harriet Tubman Village Charter, San Diego CA | "(1) Ozobot 2.0 Bit Smart Robots (2) Magna-Tiles Set (4) Caterpillars (3-5 pieces per kit) (2) Marble Run kits (2) Magna-Tiles Cars Set (1) Snap Dinos (1) Create and Design Drill" | He described career opportunities that GA offers and possible education paths on how the students can get there. The first hour was spent setting up their science notebooks. Chau spent time explaining about the life cycle of caterpillars and their importance to the environment.There were different stations set up in the classroom (Ozobot, Magna Tiles, Marble Runs, Imaginative design). Chau helped set up each station and provided challenges for the students. Chau worked with each station to explain the science behind each challenge. |
| Lois Yu | GA-ASI | The Classical Academy, Super STEM Saturday, San Marcos CA | None | Hands on learning in preparation and Super STEM Saturday GA Booth Support |
| Terry Muy | GA-EMS | San Diego Regional Science Olympiad, San Diego, CA | Funding will be used to purchase testing materials and safety items for the annual Science Olympiad competition. | Assisted in judging and setting up Mission Possible event for Science Olympiad. Feedback was given to high school students after judging was completed. |
| Kathreen Thome | GA | Expand Your Horizons Conference, San Diego CA | Supplies are needed to carry materials to conference (3 small and 3 large bins, label maker, batteries) for construction of spectroscopes by the girls (ziplock bags, tacky glue, 3 left-handed scissors, scotch tape) for various plasma experiments the girls do (balloons, glow in the dark paint, cooler, two power strips, red flashlights) and for the giveaway bags (new bags). | Cami Collins, Auna Moser, Kathreen Thome presented a workshop at the 2019 Expanding Your Horizons Conference entitled “Exotic Plasmas in your Universe” to 6-8th grade girls. The students learned about plasmas and fusion, built their own spectroscopes, and participated in several hands-on experiments. |
| Jeff Warren | GA-ASI | San Pasqual High School, Escondido, CA | "Three separate purchases were made: Shelving units to be used for the pit work area used at the robotics competitions; Encoders used on the robot for measuring distance; Arduino microcontrollers programmed to be used as custom joystick interfaces" | I served as the assistant coach for the San Pasqual High School FIRST Robotics team through the preseason and 2018-2019 competition season. I volunteered 20-40 hours per week outside of work mentoring, teaching, and coaching the team through four competition events. |
| Gilberto Palacios-Perez | GA-ASI | Hawthorne Middle School, Hawthorne, CA | None | Talk to three different group of middle schools students about how many years of schooling after high school to obtain an engineering degree; I shared career experience and general information about my previous and current job, as well as pay grade as engineer after school; I encouraged student to pursue a college degree and seek for all the financial benefit available to go college. |
| Rowena Paet | GA-ASI | Poway Unified School District, San Diego CA | None | Team briefing and task assignments with other GA volunteers for engineering activity. Present engineering activity to high school girls visiting. Provide assistance throughout the activity. Clean up and tear down after the event. |
| Barton McDowell | GA-ASI | FRC Team NOMAD Inc., Escondido CA | Event registration fees for FIRST robotics national competition | I serve as a SW Mentor for the FRC 6995 NOMAD team. I mentor the students in the team in all aspects of the competition. I will be ordering parts to use for the robotics for both education and competition. Attending event and coaching team as they compete with other national teams. |
| Heidi DeClue | GA | Magnolia Science Academy, San Diego CA | Funding will be used to purchase (4) VEQ IQ kit and competition table. | Assisted the students with teamwork and problem solving. Assisted them in resolving disagreements on how to proceed and to work together on building their robots. Talked with them about career opportunities that support STEM fields. |
| Denielle Ardilla | GA | Magnolia Science Academy, San Diego CA | Funding will be used to purchase (4) VEQ IQ kit and competition table. | Assisted the students with teamwork and problem solving. Assisted them in resolving disagreements on how to proceed and to work together on building their robots. Talked with them about career opportunities that support STEM fields. |
| Eugene Clark | GA | Magnolia Science Academy, San Diego CA | Funding will be used to purchase (4) VEQ IQ kit and competition table. | Assisted the students with teamwork and problem solving. Assisted them in resolving disagreements on how to proceed and to work together on building their robots. Talked with them about career opportunities that support STEM fields. |
| Michael Casebier | GA-ASI | Vintage Math/Science/Technology Magnet Elementary School North Hills CA | VEX Robotics Super Kit (Qty. 1); VEX Robotics Smart Motor (Qty. 3); VEX Robotics Robot Battery NiMH 2000mAh (Qty. 4); VEX Robotics Smart Motor Mount Add-On Pack (Qty. 2) | Visited the robotics club at Vintage Math/Science/Technology Magnet Elementary School to work with robotics club students in conjunction with the robotics club teacher in both an individual and group setting. I was able to help instruct the students on coding and use of the newly GA purchased VEX robotics items. |
| Landon Carlson | GA-EMS | San Diego Regional Science Olympiad, San Diego, CA | Funding will be used to purchase testing materials and safety items for the annual Science Olympiad competition. | I was the event captain for the Boomilever event for the middle school Science Olympiad competition with about 100 teams. I coordinated the testing wall construction, event setup for the competition day, and all testing logistics. I directed 10 volunteers and was responsible for them to provide a consistent test scenario for each team of students to test the maximum weight their boomilever could hold. |
| Nikki Casebier | GA-ASI | Vintage Math/Science/Technology Magnet Elementary School, North Hills CA | Green Screen Wizard software, owner will provide 35 Pro Studio version licenses for $500 | Six third grade classes were scheduled to attend the computer lab the day I volunteered. I spent day assisting the computer lab teacher in her lesson for all six classes. For each class we took pictures of the students against a green background and then downloaded a photo of a national monument from the internet. We saved both images to the child’s digital folder then uploaded them to their Green Screen Wizzard account. Then we navigated through the Green Screen Wizzard software with the result being the student looking like they were at the location of the monument. |
| Matthew Virgen | GA-EMS | San Diego Regional Science Olympiad, San Diego, CA | GASSSS funds were used to purchase tools and supplies to run multiple events at the annual San Diego Regional Science Olympiad. | I was event captain for the Boomilever event for Division C, which is the high school division. I coordinated logistics, setup, and testing for the day of the event. I managed 8 volunteers that ran 4 separate testing stations in parallel. |
| Kassandra Marshall Ritter | GA-ASI | San Diego Regional Science Olympiad, San Diego, CA | Tools for running test events. | Event supervisor assistant for an event called Roller Coaster, in which the participants build a track for a marble and try to hit a specific target time for the marble to move through the track. Helped organize volunteers, ran test runs, measured devices and timed test runs. |
| Ryan Contois | GA-EMS | San Diego Regional Science Olympiad, San Diego, CA | Funding will be used to purchase testing materials and safety items for the annual Science Olympiad competition. | I was the event supervisor for the Mousetrap Vehicle event for the high school Science Olympiad competition with about 50 teams. I coordinated the event setup for the competition day, inspection of student submissions to ensure construction rules were followed, and timing of the actual vehicle runs. I directed 12 volunteers and to facilitate fair and proper timing and to record results of each vehicle run. |
| Terry Muy | GA-EMS | San Diego Regional Science Olympiad, San Diego, CA | Funding will be used to purchase testing materials and safety items for the annual Science Olympiad competition. | Assisted in judging and setting up Mission Possible event for Science Olympiad. Feedback was given to high school students after judging was completed. |
| Emily Mathison | GA | San Diego Regional Science Olympiad, San Diego, CA | The GASSSS funds were used to purchase tools and supplies to run multiple events at the annual regional competition. | I was the event captain for the Rollercoaster event for the middle school Science Olympiad competition with about 100 teams. I coordinated the event setup for the competition day and all testing logistics. I directed 13 volunteers and was responsible for them to provide a consistent test scenario for each team of students to test their roller coasters for run completion and time accuracy |
| Dave Fisher | GA | Poway High School, Poway CA | We use the funds to purchase parts for our robot. | Mentoring Robotics team designing and constructing Robots for competition |
| Jake Crawford | GA-ASI | Poway High School. Poway CA | Materials for building the mock-up arena. | Directly participated in building mock-up arena. |
| Patrick Rye | GA-Asi | Poway High School, Poway CA | Materials and consumables for Robotics Construction; Receipts will be provided for specific items | Mentored during build and competition season, average 15 hours a week; Assisted with C++ teaching; Assisted students with Drive controls; Assisted students with Debugging Robot Code; Assisted students with OpenCV; Assisted in Machine Shop; Assisted students with Software Configuration Management; Assisted with interfacing between programming, mechanical and electrical; Assisted with line sensor improvements and conditioning; Assisted in San Diego and Arizona regionals |
| Mima Trayanova | GA-ASI | Grant Elementary School, Santa Monica CA | Event Insurance, Consumable Supplies for “Science is Cool” Demonstration, Telescope Accessories as needed, Posters & Misc. Supplies | Demonstration of “Deep Freeze – Cryogenics” Ice Cream production and testing by ~300 Grant School Attendees. Distribution of GASSSS Science Posters ~150+. Discussions of “What It’s Like to be a Scientist”. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS on Science in Our World during Demonstration and Attendance by GASSSS Volunteers. |
| Tihomir Trayanov | GA-ASI | Grant Elementary School, Santa Monica CA | Event Insurance, Consumable Supplies for “Science is Cool” Demonstration, Telescope Accessories as needed, Posters & Misc. Supplies | Demonstration of “Deep Freeze – Cryogenics” Ice Cream production and testing by ~300 Grant School Attendees. Distribution of GASSSS Science Posters ~150+. Discussions of “What It’s Like to be a Scientist”. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS on Science in Our World during Demonstration and Attendance by GASSSS Volunteers. |
| Yongbai Joshua Gong | GA | Grant Elementary School, Santa Monica CA | None | Demonstration of “Deep Freeze – Cryogenics” Ice Cream production and testing by ~300 Grant School Attendees. Distribution of GASSSS Science Posters ~150+. Discussions of “What It’s Like to be a Scientist”. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS on Science in Our World during Demonstration and Attendance by GASSSS Volunteers. |
| Kathy Kucharski | GA-ASI | Einstein Academy, San Diego CA | The funding was used for demonstration materials for the truss hands on activity, and for Magformers sets for each class (6 classes). | We gave an introduction to engineering and we focused on truss structures. We gave a presentation on “push” and “pull” forces (compression and tension), and we had a hands on activity with spaghetti and marshmallows to build the tallest truss. |
| Robin Jacobson | GA-ASI | Poway Unified School District, San Diego CA | None | I assisted with the hands-on engineering activity. At the activity, the students were challenged to build a container to house two graham cracker cookies. They were given a budget and a parts list that they are allowed to choose materials from that are all priced out accordingly. The container they built was then subjected to 3 environmental tests to see if the cookies survived. I lead the water submersion environmental test. |
| Becky Royal | GA-ASI | Patrick Henry High School; Patribots Robotics Club ; San Diego CA | Purchased miscellaneous parts from VEX Robotics | Providing guidance to support program management of the Patribots participation in the competition including Work breakdown structure development and scheduling. |
| Jason Pachura | GA-EMS | Meadowbrook Middle School Mustang Robotics, Poway CA | "Donation towards club equipment/supplies, meetings, software, and tournament fees. Team project material and electronic parts. Meadowbrook Mustang Robotics donation." | Assisted a diverse group of middle school boys with my own Computer Engineering expertise. Talked about and gave real world experience from my career at General Atomics. Mentoring, tutoring, helping them to learn programming for the robot challenges. In addition there was a huge focus on building comradery and guiding the boys to work independently (from parents) and as a team. Volunteered as one of the judges for the team’s first tournament. |
| David Wakayama | GA-EMS | Poway High School, Poway CA | Support materials/hardware for the Poway High School robotics program. | Assisting high school students with engineering approaches, coding/building robots, competition preparations/execution. Discussed the use/benefits of using a gyroscope on the robot to obtain accurate position information. Brainstormed project team structures, interactions and hand-offs to help with the collaboration between software, hardware and mechanical teams. Provided transportation to/from events. |
| Brad Johnson | GA-ASI | Bernardo Heights Middle School, San Diego, CA | Discovering STEM Newton’s Laws Kits by ENGINO. | "A team of 5 engineers visited the STEM class and presented a 10 minute power point to the students that included Infrared light, Lenz’s Law, Newton’s Law, and an overview of General Atomics Aeronautical. The team then setup 4 hands-on workstations where the student groups rotated every 20 minutes. The workstations included Newton’s Law (using the purchased kits), how to solder, a line following robot, and a test equipment station including IR camera, Oscilloscope, multimeter, and power supply. We had a lot of fun interacting with the students and received positive feedback from the teacher and an invitation to return. " |
| Brian Cluggish | GA-EMS | The Language Academy, San Diego CA | Iron rods, wire, and batteries for electromagnets; iron filings and compasses for visualizing and detecting magnetic fields; different types of permanent magnets; and various “toys” for demonstrating Lenz’s law and magnetic repulsion. | I ran a booth at the annual “STEM night” science fair at the Language Academy K-8 school on March 14, 2019. The booth was hands on, with kids playing with magnetic levitation, using magnets to manipulate iron filings, and making electromagnets with batteries, wire, and iron rods. I also gave demonstrations of the difference in magnetic permeability of different materials and how eddy currents slow the rate of fall of a magnet in a copper tube. |
| Samuel H Kim | GA-ASI | Balboa Gifted/Highly Gifted Magnet Elementary School, Northridge CA | VEX IQ Challenge Full Field Perimeter & Tiles; VIQC Next Level - Full Field & Game Element Kit; Cube Kit; Cube-Base Kit | "On the final day of the class, I assisted students in final assembly of their robots for the student’s showcase for their parents. I assisted in encouraging students to use their team’s robot on the VEX full perimeter field even though the robots were not 100% functional as the student’s intended. I also assisted in set-up and cleanup of the event." |
| Lara Ray | GA-EMS | Skills Learning Center, Poway CA | "Chromebook Computer and Qidi Tech-z one2 3 D printer" | Started out the day by orientating the children with a computer program called Sketchup. I taught them about programming, drawing and manipulating images in this program. I then introduced the printer and talked about all the different uses for 3-D printing such as medical, houses and even clothing. Each child picked out which image the children wanted to print. For this exercise, I had pre-downloaded several cookie cutter designs for the children to choose from. The children then printed out the object they had chosen. I allowed them to press the button on the laptop, download the file and load it into the 3D printer. Once we had printed out several cookie cutters, I had the children use the cookie cutters on pre-mixed cookie dough. I then showed the children how to make an acetone bath to “smooth” out the edges of the 3D printed part. We chose one cookie cutter that was rough around the edges, and placed it into the acetone bath for one hour. |
| Debra S. Roy | GA-ASI | Annual Workshop National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) STEAM Workshop; Bethune Elementary School; San Diego, CA | The funds were used to purchase materials for 4 interactive workshop sessions: Tablecloths, Marshmallows, Dots Candy, Candy Bar Assortment (in-class prize), toothpicks. Also purchased 10 SIMREX X300C Mini Drones with Camera for the general give-away session for over 100 girls. | "Workshop – presented 4 times during the event; Is Engineering for YOU; Shared the dynamics of Flight and structured model airplanes (paper models) Students worked as teams at 4 to 6 tables each to answer questions related to STEAM fields and jobs they wanted to do. A spokesperson from each table presented a summary of their teams responses to the rest of the class. The students worked in mini-teams (per table) to create the tallest structure using marshmallows, Dots candy and toothpicks." |
| Matt Schalnat | GA-EMS | San Pasqual High School. Escondido CA | Materials for student displays (poster board) and models to demonstrate physics phenomena. | I met with AP1 Physics students at San Pasqual High School. I started the meeting with a discussion about engineering, project designs, the importance of meeting schedule and cost in a project, and then met with each group individually to discuss their projects. In this case, the project was geared toward teaching physics concepts that they had learned this year to 8th grade students. They were required to use a poster and an 8.5”x11” sheet of paper to discuss the concept, ask guiding questions to help with understanding, and design and build a “game” to demonstrate the concept. Concepts included electronics, angular and circular motion, mechanics of waves, balance, torque, and electrostatics. I sent an email to the teacher to distribute to the respective groups including feedback on projects as a whole and individual projects. I returned to the classroom and again met with each group individually to discuss progress and provide any additional feedback. I attended the “fair” to see the final projects and to serve as a judge. Steven Bagdy, also from the GA-EMS Capacitors RD&E group, attended and served as a volunteer judge. The teacher had a rubric that we filled out to assist in her assigning grades for the projects. |
| Kevin Downey | GA-EMS | Black Mountain Middle School, San Diego, CA | None | As part of a Career Day focus, K. Downey provided a presentation on Engineering, discussing what engineers do, why should they be engineers, what it takes to be an engineer, and what the benefits are of becoming an engineer. A description of EMS’ and GA’s capabilities was also provided with several videos. |
| Don Czechowicz | GA | Grant Elementary School, Santa Monica CA | Consumable supplies for Cryogenic/Deep Freeze Ice Cream Demonstration. Liability Insurance for Science Expo Demonstration. | Answering of Questions on “What It’s Like to be a Scientist & Engineer”. Question and Answer Session on Demonstration Performed at the Science Expo. Demonstration of Cryogenic Handling and Cryogenic processing in a small controlled engineering set-up. Distribution and discussion of Scientific Posters provided to Science Expo attendees. |
| Steve Celle | GA | Holmes Elementary, San Diego CA | Purchased new 3D printer and filament. | "Went to the school to work with the students to teach them the process of innovation, design, collaboration, compromise and the show them the results of their efforts. From their designs I created the 3D CADD models and showed them to the students. who then presented their ideas to the rest of the class. After final design review with the students, I printed out their ideas" |
| Shahin Pajoom | GA | Grant Elementary School, Santa Monica CA | None | Demonstration of “Deep Freeze – Cryogenics” Ice Cream production and testing by ~300 Grant School Attendees. Distribution of GASSSS Science Posters ~150+. Discussions of “What It’s Like to be a Scientist”. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS on Science in Our World during Demonstration and Attendance by GASSSS Volunteers. |
| Brian Starnes | GA-ASI | Midland Elementary School, Poway CA | Purchase the following STEM science kits for each second grade class: 4 x Create-A-Chain Reaction STEM Kit;4 x Introduction to Structures: Bridges Set; 4 x STEM Explorations Roller Coaster Building Set | I helped my daughter’s 2nd grade teacher create, plan and execute a lesson on basic science and physics principles such as speed, time, distance, and interpreting data all demonstrated using the STEM exploration Roller Coaster Building Set. |
| Paul Ferrell | GA-EMS | San Diego High School | Robot Parts: Motor Speed controllers, Robot Bumper Covers | Lead mentor FRC Team 4583 |
| Jonathan Wine | GA-ASI | Heritage Christian School, San Diego, CA | Parking fee for season kickoff event USS Midway; misc project supplies & pictures; Qualifying Tournament Reg fee; Legoland tickets; Season End Party | Co-coached First Lego League Team 37525 from pre-season to Qualifying Tournament to Legoland Championship Tournament. Began with teaching practical use of Lego EV3 sensors and programming, such as Driving while maintaining a specific gyro heading, with continuous course-correction; Line following using the color sensor to read reflected light intensity; Precisely approach targets using ultrasonic range sensor. Guided the students to find their own solutions to the robot challenge and the research project …while teaching engineering principles and the Lego Core Values of team-work, discovery, professionalism, cooperation, etc. |
| Askar Konkachbaev | GA-ASI | JERABEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, San Diego CA | Purchase 5 sets of Learning Resources Robot Mouse STEM Activity Sets. | Students have learned basic programming skills with the help of a “code-and-go” robot mouse. Split kindergarten class in 4 groups. Teach each group consequently: Demonstrated how to code programmable mouse to complete maze. Helped kids to code using cards. 2 kids per mouse set. Each team member had a chance to program mouse himself/herself. |
| Courtney Carrasca | GA-ASI | UCSD COSMOS | None | Providing a tour of GA-ASI manufacturing facilities and career panel after said tour. |
| Tiffany Phillips | GA-ASI | UCSD COSMOS | None | Providing a tour of GA-ASI manufacturing facilities and career panel after said tour. |
| Maria F. Morales | GA-ASI | Elementary Institute of Science (EIS), San Diego CA | None | Talking about my career in GA and in the Navy to the 10 and 11th grade girls in the Girls Take Flight program. |
| Jeff Sheeron | GA | Pacific Beach Middle School, San Diego CA | Power resistors for EMF, Inductor and electromagnet demonstration. | "I will be discussing the engineering design life cycle in the classroom. I will also give an in-class demonstration of electro-magnets and solenoids. Secondly, I will have a group of students on site at GA to give them a tour of the ITER Central Solenoid project I am working on. The engineering process we used to build the solenoid, and the theory of how the solenoid works fits in well with the planned in-class session." |
| Mark Kaniut | GA-ASI | High School First Robotics Competition, Dana Point CA | The Funding purchased a Limelight Sensor, that was integrated after winning the Los Angeles Regional Match, and allowed for a more competitive robot at Ventura, which the team won, as well as in Houston, where the team did very well. | Procurement of the system, assistance with the students in integrating the system in the robot. |
| Mark Davis | GA-ASI | Empower Charter School, San Diego CA | Oysters with pearls inside, shells, and pearl pendants. | I wanted to teach the children how pearls are formed, have them open oysters in class to find pearls, and then give them a charm to hold the pearl to show what pearls are used for after they are harvested. I would also buy a collection of seashells to pass around the class. |
| Rick Lunsford | GA-ASI | Layton High School, Layton UT | "2 Vex Robotics V5 Competition Starter Kit and 1 Vision Sensor " | Put together a robotics camp and assisted in the event by providing presentations to the High School students and then mentoring them in building and programming their robots. |
| Paul Auger | GA-ASI | Layton High School, Layton UT | "2 Vex Robotics V5 Competition Starter Kit and 1 Vision Sensor " | Put together a robotics camp and assisted in the event by providing presentations to the High School students and then mentoring them in building and programming their robots. |
| John Adams | GA-ASI | Layton High School, Layton UT | "2 Vex Robotics V5 Competition Starter Kit and 1 Vision Sensor " | Put together a robotics camp and assisted in the event by providing presentations to the High School students and then mentoring them in building and programming their robots. |
| Owen Lovell | GA-ASI | Layton High School, Layton UT | "2 Vex Robotics V5 Competition Starter Kit and 1 Vision Sensor " | Put together a robotics camp and assisted in the event by providing presentations to the High School students and then mentoring them in building and programming their robots. |
| John Malaney | GA-ASI | St. Michael's School, Poway CA | Monoprice 133820 Voxel 3D Printer (150mm x 150mm); Straw Builders Construction Pack; Printer Filament | "I assisted the teachers with the items once they were delivered to make sure they worked and were set up correctly—specifically the 3D printer." |
| Thomas Dittmann | GA-ASI | San Diego Unified Mesa College Pre-K Class, San Diego CA | Microscopes, microscope slides, compost bin, science books | "Prior to class starting, I meet with the teacher who runs the class garden. I was able to setup the outdoor compost bin and give her a compost teaching kit (a miniature clear compost bin that the class can watch small items decompose over time and take temperature readings). I was also able to present the teachers with the teaching materials I had purchased. When class started, I passed out a bunch of laminated crocodiles attached to popsicle sticks. The kids were able to use these little crocodile puppets to help act out the "Counting Crocodiles" book that I read. After the story, I setup a science table where I showed the kids how to use the microscopes and look at parts of bugs and small marine animals. " |
| Yangyang Yu | GA-ASI | Stone Ranch Elementary School, San Diego, CA | The fund will be used to purchase the materials for the Mystery Science project. 5 fourth grade classes will use the materials. | I will assist the teacher for the Mystery Science project for the fourth grade students. |
| Nicholas Eidietis | GA | Albert Einstein Academies Charter Middle School, San Diego CA | Electro-Technic 583518 Hand-Held Tesla Coil used for plasma demonstrations. | Seven total "State of Matter" demonstrations for 6 8th grade science classes and one 7th grade Science Olympiad class at Albert Einstein Middle School over two days. It is augmenting their present unit on the states of matter. |
| Mima Trayanova | GA-ASI | Girl Tech Conference and Expo (MiraCosta College), Oceanside, CA | Consumable Supplies for Science Demonstrations/Workshops | Science Can Be Cool Demonstrations; Questions and Answer Sessions between General Atomics Science & Engineering Volunteers and Middle School Girls attending 2019 Girl Tech Conference |
| Nicole Rebong | GA-ASI | Girl Tech Conference and Expo (MiraCosta College), Oceanside, CA | Consumable Supplies for Science Demonstrations/Workshops | Science Can Be Cool Demonstrations; Questions and Answer Sessions between General Atomics Science & Engineering Volunteers and Middle School Girls attending 2019 Girl Tech Conference |
| Don Czechowicz | GA | Girl Tech Conference and Expo (MiraCosta College), Oceanside, CA | Consumable Supplies for Science Demonstrations/Workshops | Science Can Be Cool Demonstrations; Questions and Answer Sessions between General Atomics Science & Engineering Volunteers and Middle School Girls attending 2019 Girl Tech Conference |
| Matthew Quinn | GA | Girl Tech Conference and Expo (MiraCosta College), Oceanside, CA | Consumable Supplies for cryo ice-cream and gas for van | Science Can Be Cool Demonstrations; Questions and Answer Sessions between General Atomics Science & Engineering Volunteers and Middle School Girls attending 2019 Girl Tech Conference |
| Mark Ratledge | GA | Girl Tech Conference and Expo (MiraCosta College), Oceanside, CA | None | Gathered and prepped supplies for volunteer team: Posters, filled LN2 dewars, gathered ice cream making supplies, etc. |
| Marcella Sosa | GA-ASI | Girl Tech Conference and Expo (MiraCosta College), Oceanside, CA | Consumable Supplies for Science Demonstrations/Workshops. | Science Can Be Cool Demonstrations; Questions and Answer Sessions between General Atomics Science & Engineering Volunteers and Middle School Girls attending 2019 Girl Tech Conference |
| Luis Gonzalez | GA | Girl Tech Conference and Expo (MiraCosta College), Oceanside, CA | None | Science Can Be Cool Demonstrations; Questions and Answer Sessions between General Atomics Science & Engineering Volunteers and Middle School Girls attending 2019 Girl Tech Conference |
| Kevin Williams | GA-ASI | Miramar Ranch Elementary, San Diego CA | Robotics materials e.g. wires, motors, wiring boards, software; Education EV3 Core Set | Served as assistant coach to a team of 5 4th grade students. Taught programming basics, team building and geometry lessons, in order to help them design and program a robot to complete the program ‘missions’. |
| Zachary Gillan | GA-ASI | Gomper’s Preparatory Academy, San Diego CA | (x3) Makeblock Programmable mBot Ranger Robot Kit, STEM Educational Engineering Design & Build 3 in 1 Programmable Robotic System; (x3) Makeblock Electronic Add-on Pack for mBot/Starter/mBot Ranger/Ultimate/Other Robot Project | Startup of an after school robotics club on-site at Gomper’s Prep. Goal is to introduce students to engineering design and development, through a series of challenges presented to them. I will be acting as a mentor to the students. |
| Gideon Prior | GA-EMS | Flora Vista Elementary School, Encinitas CA | Multiples of Modeling Clay, Play Dough, 9 Volt Battery, 9 Volt battery clip with alligator leads, Resistors, Multiple LEDs, Penguin Race | I started with an introduction to what electrical engineering is and talked about the things I do at work before moving to circuits. I demonstrated how gravity and voltage have similar properties, talked about current flow and resistance and what we mean by the ground in a circuit. I then used my multimeter to show them their modeling clay and playdough have different resistances. Each student and the teacher was given a kit where they had to guide the path of electricity to flow through an array of LEDs. Many students were struggling at first with short circuits and failing to understand the use of an insulator. I went from table to table helping the students for two hours and by the end they all had working circuits and a much better understanding of current flow. |
| Christopher A. Sevy | GA | Mission Crest Elementary, Hesperia, CA | Vex Robotics materials and supplies. School participates in statewide Vex robotics competition and hosts regional competition. 26” Toolbox, Magnetic mount power Strip, Multiport USB Charger, Drawer Organizers, 2” grommet, Outlet splitter, Needle nose pliers, measuring tapes, screwdrivers | Modified ToolBox drawer to facilitate a charging station. Robotics club is an afterschool activity which had much time wasted troubleshooting uncharged batteries and remotes. Adding a powered drawer to this tool box ensures that all parts are inventoried, organized, and charged when they are needed. Lockable cabinet ensures that other volunteer efforts at school do not “borrow” equipment and not return it. Assisted in assembly of Robots. Guided club members through troubleshooting techniques. Worked with students on coding robot actions. Described the importance of Psuedo-code to generate actual code, worked with students on importance of comments to hopefully build good habits. Students used RobotMesh to code in a scratch like language to program VexIQ robots. |
| Darrell Nakawaki | GA-ASI | Heritage K-6 Charter School, Escondido CA | Dry erase boards and Swift 40X-2500X magnification lab microscope | I will be assisting the teacher in reviewing the microscope parts, functions and usage. The students will be looking a number of specimens like leaves, plant stems, onion cells, bug parts, etc. and use the white boards to sketch what they see as well as provide descriptions using recently learned scientific vocabulary and phrases. The students will then present and document their findings. |
| David Muzzio Fontno | GA-ASI | De Anza Middle School, Ontario CA | None | I met with student ambassadors then I took part in a school wide assembly where myself and other volunteers told our journey and the importance of furthering their education. I then went to three separate classes to have a more detailed conversation about my background, career path and how education was necessary to helped me achieve my goals. |
| Courtney Wainwright | GA-ASI | Jordan High School, Sandy UT | FRC components: (1) roboRIO, Qty 1 (2) Blue bumper material, Qty 2 |
Mentored FRC students: provided engineering knowledge and manufacturing best practices to support their robot build. |
| Gregg Priddie | GA-EMS | e3 Civic High, San Diego CA | None | I spent 2 hours preparing the presentation on 12/11. On 12/12 I traveled to e3 Civic High located in San Diego Central Library (downtown) and presented to a class of sophomore, junior and seniors. Following the presentation, I got a tour of e3 Civic High School facilities. |
| Michael Allwein | GA-ASI | Pacheco Elementary, San Luis Obispo CA | The funding was used to purchase STEM supplies for a future event including gear, bridge and plank kits. | I will be supporting an Extreme Weather Experiment. The students will build a small house by folding and gluing paper. They will then try to find the best way to attach roof to the house and the house to the desktop to resist “high winds”. The high winds will be generated by a manual fan |
| James Rudden | GA-ASI | Dingeman Elementary School, San Diego, CA | WeDo 2.0 Core Set by LEGO® Education ; WeDo 2.0 Replacement Pack by LEGO® Education; WeDo 2.0 Medium Motor by LEGO® Education | I received the Lego WeDo 2.0 kits, coordinated 2nd grade students to work in pairs along with 4th grade students that had experience using the WeDo kits (it’s the “buddy system” that we often use in these situations). The lesson is computer-based and I guided the students through the lesson which involved building a windmill, pairing the windmill to the computer via Bluetooth, then writing a simple program to control the windmill motor. Once the students reached success with getting their windmills to function, they were allowed to customize their windmills and the program that commands them. This was a beginner level lesson that is designed for grades 1 thru 3. |
| Alexander Murray | GA-ASI | Ramona Elementary, Ramona CA | Arduino Starter Kits, Copper Wire, Magnets, grocery items, buckets, Graduated Cylinder sets, Beaker sets, Batteries, Light bulbs, tools, electric motors for paper airplanes | We held a STEM day for the 5th grade at Ramona Elementary. We started with a Q&A for the 6th grade and some of the faculty. We then went back to the 5th grade and began our activities. Each employee had their own station and we rotated groups of 7-10 students to each station about every hour and a half. We had the following stations: Chemical Reactions, Arduino Programming, Chemical Reactions 2.0, Electricity, and Aerodynamics. |
| Arthur Baylian | GA-ASI | Ramona Elementary, Ramona CA | Arduino Starter Kits, Copper Wire, Magnets, grocery items, buckets, Graduated Cylinder sets, Beaker sets, Batteries, Light bulbs, tools, electric motors for paper airplanes | We held a STEM day for the 5th grade at Ramona Elementary. We started with a Q&A for the 6th grade and some of the faculty. We then went back to the 5th grade and began our activities. Each employee had their own station and we rotated groups of 7-10 students to each station about every hour and a half. We had the following stations: Chemical Reactions, Arduino Programming, Chemical Reactions 2.0, Electricity, and Aerodynamics. |
| Brian Searle | GA-ASI | Ramona Elementary, Ramona CA | Arduino Starter Kits, Copper Wire, Magnets, grocery items, buckets, Graduated Cylinder sets, Beaker sets, Batteries, Light bulbs, tools, electric motors for paper airplanes | We held a STEM day for the 5th grade at Ramona Elementary. We started with a Q&A for the 6th grade and some of the faculty. We then went back to the 5th grade and began our activities. Each employee had their own station and we rotated groups of 7-10 students to each station about every hour and a half. We had the following stations: Chemical Reactions, Arduino Programming, Chemical Reactions 2.0, Electricity, and Aerodynamics. |
| Anselm Lee | GA-ASI | Ramona Elementary, Ramona CA | Arduino Starter Kits, Copper Wire, Magnets, grocery items, buckets, Graduated Cylinder sets, Beaker sets, Batteries, Light bulbs, tools, electric motors for paper airplanes | We held a STEM day for the 5th grade at Ramona Elementary. We started with a Q&A for the 6th grade and some of the faculty. We then went back to the 5th grade and began our activities. Each employee had their own station and we rotated groups of 7-10 students to each station about every hour and a half. We had the following stations: Chemical Reactions, Arduino Programming, Chemical Reactions 2.0, Electricity, and Aerodynamics. |
| Bee Thao | GA-ASI | Ramona Elementary, Ramona CA | Arduino Starter Kits, Copper Wire, Magnets, grocery items, buckets, Graduated Cylinder sets, Beaker sets, Batteries, Light bulbs, tools, electric motors for paper airplanes | We held a STEM day for the 5th grade at Ramona Elementary. We started with a Q&A for the 6th grade and some of the faculty. We then went back to the 5th grade and began our activities. Each employee had their own station and we rotated groups of 7-10 students to each station about every hour and a half. We had the following stations: Chemical Reactions, Arduino Programming, Chemical Reactions 2.0, Electricity, and Aerodynamics. |
| Laurie Munoz | GA-ASI | iLEAD Lancaster (public charter K-8), Lancaster CA | Code & Go Robot Mouse Classroom Set, Robot Mouse Math Pack, Mouse Mania Board Game; Botley the Coding Robot Activity Sets; Learn to Code File Folder Games | I taught the teacher how to program the robots, brainstormed ideas of how to integrate the robots into the curriculum, and helped set up a coding center where students can work independently both with the robots and also with the coding file folders. I gave a brief introduction to the students about coding, why it’s an important technology, its practical applications, and how it’s relevant to the students. |
| Ray Smith | GA-ASI | Thompson Middle School, Murietta CA | Materials for students to build robotics and materials for use in robotics competitions. The product name is “VEX IQ Competition Add-On Kit” (qty 3) which is a kit that includes electric motors, wheels, chains, sprockets and tank treads used for the VEX robotics kits. | Volunteered as a scorer at the iddle school robotics competition with duties including keeping time, adding up scores and providing design feedback to students to improve their robots. |
| Hannah Houze | GA-ASI | Walker Elementary, Santa Ana CA | None | I will be tutoring the student in reading. |
| Judith Lui | GA-ASI | Dingeman Elementary School, San Diego, CA | WeDo 2.0 Core Set by LEGO® Education ; WeDo 2.0 Replacement Pack by LEGO® Education; WeDo 2.0 Medium Motor by LEGO® Education | Received the Lego WeDo 2.0 kits, coordinated 2nd grade students to work in pairs along with 4th grade students that had experience using the WeDo kits (it’s the “buddy system” that we often use in these situations). The lesson is computer-based and I guided the students through the lesson which involved building a windmill, pairing the windmill to the computer via Bluetooth, then writing a simple program to control the windmill motor. |
| Breanna Bergado | GA-ASI | Harborside Elementary School, Chula Vista CA | Playz Electrical Circuit Board Engineering Kit for Kids with 25+ STEM Projects Teaching Electricity, Voltage, Currents, Resistance, & Magnetic Science | Introduced myself to the class and talk about my career and the path I took in school. Talked about what the company does and how there are many different career options in STEM related fields. Assisted in lesson plan about electricity, explaining electricity and circuit boards and how they are in everyday items. Presented students with the circuit board kits and helped set up of kit. Explained the kits and what the purpose of activity was. Helped with experiments. |
| Edward Ortiz | GA | Community Montessori School, Poway CA | For the in-class Brush-Bot project: 3V motors, AA batteries, AA battery holders, felt/cloth material, glue and brushes. To replenish their Makers-Cart and science area: several types of scales, engineering activities book, paint/sketch board, magnetic building tiles, and a Moon lamp. | I went to their class and briefly explained how motors operate (e.g., discussed how electrical current creates a magnetic field, which interacts with a magnet). The students then assembled their Brush-Bots and decorated them. They then tested their Brush-Bots and had races to see which one performed the best. |
| ThuyTien Phung | GA-EMS | Rolling Hills Elementary, San Diego CA | STEM kits (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Crystal Growing Kit | Explain to the kids what crystals are and how they form. Assist the kids with the help of the teacher to use the kits and grow their crystals. |
| Lane Carlson | GA | Benito Juarez Elementary School, San Diego CA | Funding would be used to purchase materials to make an outdoor learning center for the garden learning and planting activities. Proposal is to build a central learning and preparation area consisting of a chalk board ~4x8 ft on one side and a counter top with bins and tool space underneath on the other side. | Building of the garden center, volunteering at the monthly garden club events, involvement in the organization and teaching of the garden learning events (planting seeds, learning about how seeds grow, harvesting and eating the vegetables, etc) |
| Julie Titze | GA-ASI | Snow Springs, Lehi UT | A class set of calipers, measuring tapes, squares, binder clips, scales, balloons, helium, hardware, micrometer, and storage bins | Develop and lead experiments with the class that relate well to tolerances and accuracy of measurements. |
| Jonathan Wine | GA-ASI | Foothills Christian Middle School, El Cajon, CA | Lego Mindstorm Ev3 Core Set and battery charger | Taught First Lego League Team 9050 the basics of Lego EV3 sensors and programming, such as line-following with color sensor, heading measurement with gyroscope, and distance measurement with ultrasonic sensor. |