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from the office
Education and Outreach Update
S. Beaulieu
One of the four main functions of InterRidge (http://www.
interridge.org/4mainfunctions) is, through education and outreach,
to communicate the importance and excitement of ridge
research to the general public and decision makers worldwide.
Education and outreach (E&O) activities are also prominent
in the InterRidge Next Decade Plan for 2004 - 2013 (http://
www.interridge.org/science/nextdecade). In February 2008,
our previous E&O Coordinator, Kristen Kusek, accepted a
new position as director of public relations for the Earthwatch
Institute. We thank Kristen for her outstanding service to InterRidge
- both for her industrious contributions and her infectious
good humor when working with the IR Office in Germany
and Woods Hole. InterRidge’s E&O activities in 2008
were conducted by the IR Coordinator, Stace Beaulieu.
Qingdao Ocean Sciences Summer School
InterRidge reached out to students of our newest Principal
Member Nation at the Qingdao Ocean Sciences Summer
School in Qingdao, China, in July 2008 (see article, p. 50).
This Summer School was one of the largest gatherings ever held
for graduate students in biogeosciences and oceanography in
China. Approximately 200 students and 40 speakers participated
in the event, entitled “International Advances in Deep-
Sea Geo-Bioscience Research.”
MATE International Student ROV Competition
The Marine Advanced Technology Education Center International
Student ROV competition (http://www.marinetech.org/
rov_competition/2008/index.php) was held at Scripps Institution
of Oceanography in San Diego, California (USA) in June
2008. This year, the theme was "Discovering the Mysteries
of Mid-Ocean Ridges," sponsored in part by the USA Ridge
2000 (R2K) Program. Student teams built ROVs for missions
that simulated work at hydrothermal vents, such as measuring
temperature at a black smoker, collecting sulfide and basalt
samples, collecting vent crabs, and recovering an ocean bottom
seismometer. In addition to building the ROVs, the students
prepared technical reports and poster displays to describe their
work. A total of 51 teams from 5 countries (Canada, China,
Russia, UK, and USA) competed in the event. The competition
was organized in two groups: "Ranger" teams, which consisted
mainly of high school students, and "Explorer" teams
which included college and university students. IR provided
monetary awards of $250 each to two teams, plus an honorable
mention. These teams' reports are posted on the IR website
at: http://www.interridge.org/node/4902. Stace Beaulieu (IR
Coordinator) and Donna Blackman (R2K Chair and IR Steering
Committee member) served as judges at the competition.
For the Explorers, the InterRidge Award for Hottest Hydrothermal
Vent Team went to Flower Mound High School,
Flower Mound, Texas (USA). The Flower Mound High School
team compared their ROV, "Petsuchos," to the French ROV
Victor 6000 working at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In particular,
they pointed to the use of ROV Victor 6000 in multi-disciplinary
studies of the Rainbow hydrothermal site. To quote their
report, "... we can see how the use of the unmanned ROV can
help with the scientific exploration in extreme environmental
conditions."
For the Rangers, the InterRidge Award for Hottest Hydrothermal
Vent Team went to a group of students sponsored by the
New York City Home Educators Alliance (USA). They compared
their ROV, "gROVer," to the Canadian ROV ROPOS
working at the Juan de Fuca Ridge. They met with
MATE ROV Explorer Team Award: Flower
Mound High School team members include Collin Cragin,
Luke Cragin, Nathan Georges, and Sung Ho Park.
InterRidge News 4 Vol. 17, 2008