Purdue University Superheroes of Science
Superheroes of Science
Superheroes of Science is a Purdue University College of Science program that highlights STEM content, provides professional development opportunities for science teachers, and delivers learning experiences for students
YouTube Channel: Purdue University Superheroes of Science
Mondays at 4 pm-4:30 pm (EST), (starting February 15): K-12 Science Virtual Teachers’ Lounge
We know how important it is to connect with others in a virtual world! That’s why Purdue University Superheroes of Science is starting a virtual space where science teachers can socialize, unwind, and informally share ideas. Mark your calendar and plan to join us at this virtual science teachers’ lounge on Mondays from 4 pm-4:30 pm EST (starting Feb. 15). The virtual science teachers’ lounge will be a weekly, virtual Zoom event with special guests to get the conversation started each week. Can’t make it Mondays at 4 pm? The half-hour weekly sessions will be recorded (for release later in the week) as our new Teaching Science podcast - a podcast just for science teachers!
What: Virtual Science Teachers’ Lounge recording for Teaching Science podcast
When: Mondays (starting 02/15/2021) at 4pm-4:30pm EST
How to join the fun: Get the Zoom link from https://www.purdue.edu/science/K12/calendar.html
Did you hear that Superheroes of Science is hosting the
K-12 STEM Open Conference: Teaching Coding and Doing Research Projects in the Classroom
Mondays: STEM content (25-35 minutes)
Link to Season 2 playlist: https://bit.ly/SOS_season2
Tune in every Monday when we release new interviews with scientists and STEM professionals. These episodes are directed towards middle and high school students and teachers. Each episode includes STEM-related content and serves to inform students about potential STEM careers. Do you have an idea or a question that you (or your students) would like to ask a STEM professional? Let us know via Facebook or Twitter (we are @PurdueSOS) and we’ll do our best to find someone to provide an answer on a future episode.
Interviews
| Who was interviewed | Date released | Topics discussed | Link to YouTube video | Link to the audio podcast | Link to worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Flachs | 12/07/2020 | ||||
| Dimitrios Giannios | 11/30/2020 |
How astrophysicists use wavebands of the electromagnetic spectrum to study neutron stars, pulsars, black holes, and other things in the universe. |
Video | Audio | |
| Matt Ward | 11/23/2020 |
The role of machine learning in the quest for drug-free therapy to treat pain and inflammation |
Video | Audio | |
| Tiffany Lyle | 11/16/2020 |
The blood-brain barrier, metastatic tumors, and drug therapy |
Video | Audio | |
| Erica Carlson | 11/09/2020 |
How electrons can demonstrate states of matter |
Video | Audio | |
| Catherine Searle | 11/02/2020 |
Native and invasive species, and disease ecology |
Video | Audio | |
| Chris Uyeda | 10/26/2020 |
Catalysts, catalytic reactions, and transition metals |
Video | Audio | |
| Seema Mattoo | 10/19/2020 |
Discovering proteins and searching for a treatment to Parkinson’s |
Video | Audio |
|
| Tony Rice | 10/05/2020 |
Blue Moon, Blood Moon, Harvest Moon, New Moon, and Why to Learn Coding |
Video | Audio | |
| Colin Gray | 09/28/2020 |
User Experience, Dark Patterns |
Video | Audio |
|
| Ali Bramson | 09/14/2020 |
Ice on Mars, what defines a planet, what types of planets are there, and the Earth’s tilt. |
Video | Audio | |
| Libby Richards | 09/08/2020 |
vaccine development, misconceptions, and the flu shot |
Video | Audio | |
| Clinton Williams | 08/24/2020 |
How treatment plants work, nitrates, parts per billion, measuring zero, purple pipes, groundwater recharge, and water testing. |
Video | Audio | |
| Matt Kasson and Brian Lovett | 08/17/2020 | Fungus, symbiosis, zombie cicadas | Video | Audio | |
| Emily Hall | 08/10/2020 | How oceans absorb carbon dioxide, the oceans’ carbonate system, Red Tide, and Blue Holes | Video | Audio | |
| Don Robison | 08/03/2020 | seeds from China, Noxious weeds, invasive species, diseases, becoming a certified seed analyst, and the difference in hemp and marijuana | Video | Audio | |
| Mohit Verma | 07/27/2020 | tested for COVID-19, DNA and RNA, and the processes of transcription and translation | Video | Audio | |
| Dan Dawson | 07/13/2020 | data of severe storms, Storm chase, | Video | Audio | |
| Dan Cziczo | 07/06/2020 | Saharan dust storms, aerosol particles, air quality | Video | ||
|
Buster Dunsmore |
06/29/2020 | Computer Science, software engineering career | Video | Audio | |
| Herman Sintim | 06/22/2020 | creating leukemia drug compound, process of getting FDA approval | Video | Audio | |
| Gouri Prabhakar | 06/15/2020 | air pollutants, physical and chemical properties of clouds | Video | Audio | |
| Patrick Taylor | 06/08/2020 | Earth’s systems, energy balance, Clouds, Climate | Video | Audio | |
| Briony Horgan | 06/01/2020 | planetary protection, Life on Mars, Perseverance rover, Mars Samples | Video | Audio | |
| Barbara Cohen | 05/18/2020 | geochronology, Lunar Flashlight, how mass spectrometry works | Video | Audio | |
| David Thompson | 05/11/2020 | drug inhibitors, viruses, experimental design | Video | Audio | |
| David Sanders | 05/04/2020 | nucleic acids, genetic diseases, modified viruses for gene therapy | Video | Audio | |
| Angeline Lyon | 04/27/2020 | how enzymes maintain Ca levels in our cells, Biochemistry | Video | Audio | |
| Caroline Kostak | 04/20/2020 | Spacesuit Systems Engineer, designing a Moonsuit, moondust and space station Lunar Gateway. | Video | Audio | |
| Jeffrey Lucas | 04/13/2020 | animal communication, Chickadee | Video | Audio | |
| Christopher Roemmele | 04/06/2020 | Christopher Roemmele: think of a lesson as a story that bridges from the known to the unknown | Video | Audio |
|
| Mike Reppert | 03/30/2020 | photosynthesis, understanding green plants, algae and cyanobacteria, biophysics, spectroscopy, | Video | Audio | |
| Jani Sparks | 03/23/2020 | stable isotopes, CHONS, Spectrometer, | Video | Audio | |
| Birgit Kaufmann | 03/16/2020 | quantum computing, synthesizing a material found on the wings of butterflies, mathematician | Video | Audio | |
| Andy Freed | 03/09/2020 | moon craters, computer modeling, heat in the moon, tectonics on the moon, origin of all elements | Video | Audio | |
| Michelle Thompson | 03/02/2020 | organic materials on asteroids and comets, meteorites | Video | Audio | |
| Grey Nearing | 02/24/2020 | machine learning, hydrology models, | Video | Audio | |
| Andrew Najafiarab | 02/17/2020 | geology of the Kentland meteor impact site, road building | Video | Audio | |
| Michael Baldwin | 02/10/2020 | meteorology, weather models, El Nino, La Nina | Video | Audio | |
| Betsy Parkinson | 02/03/2020 | Streptomyces bacteria. soils, antibiotics | Video | Audio | |
| Robert Nowack | 01/27/2020 | Earthquakes, waves, | Video | Audio | |
| Lynn Bryan | 01/09/2020 | The CATALYST program and science education research | Video | Audio |
|
| Gustavo Rodriguez-Rivera | 01/06/2020 | Computer Science, neural networks and artificial intelligence | Video | Audio | |
| Stephen Hoffmann | 12/23/2019 | Overseeing Graduate Admissions in Chemistry | Video | Audio | |
| Robin Tanamachi | 12/16/2019 | radar technology, the movie Twister, | Video | Audio | |
| Chris Andronicos | 12/09/2019 | geology, new minerals, field geologist | Video | Audio | |
| Lisa Welp | 12/02/2019 | carbon and water cycles, and how plants respond to extra CO2 in the atmosphere | Video | Audio | |
| Brooke Max | 11/27/2019 | The importance of making math relevant to future elementary school teachers and the career path | Video | Audio |
|
| Dan Cziczo | 11/25/2019 | aerosols, the hole in the ozone layer, and CFCs | Video | Audio | |
| Bill Bayley | 11/20/2019 | How K-12 teachers can get help from universities and university faculty can get help with broader impacts | Video | Audio |
|
| Pedro Falcon | 11/18/2019 | Peter Falcon is a NASA Earth Science Education and Communication Specialist at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. | Video | Audio | |
| Anne Lewis | 11/13/2019 | Anne Lewis is the special projects director at the South Dakota Discovery Center in Pierre, a National Geographic Educator, and GLOBE partner. | Video | Audio | |
| Tony Murphy | 11/11/209 | Dr. Anthony (Tony) Murphy is the director of The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program Implementation Office (GIO) and is internationally known for his work in STEM education. | Video | Audio | |
| Michael Jabot | 11/06/2019 | Mike Jabot discusses the career path that led him to work with future science educators. | Video | Audio | |
| Jessica Taylor | 11/04/2019 | Jessica Taylor discusses her role at NASA Langley and what students should know about pursuing a career in science | Video | Audio | |
| Saad Haq | 10/28/2019 | Saad Haq speaks about his work of developing models for the field of geoscience. | Video | Audio | |
| Jon Rienstra-Kiracofe | 10/21/2019 | Dr. RK talks about using newer technologies to teach labs and help students learn and show understanding | Video | Audio | |
| Marissa Tremblay | 10/14/20198 | Marissa Tremblay discusses her interest in the physical and chemical processes shaping planetary surfaces. | Video | Audio | |
| John Cushman | 10/07/2019 | John Cushman speaks about his current research involving a new type of electric vehicle power using “refillable” technology. | Video | Audio | |
| Sri Iyer-Biswas | 09/30/2019 | Sri Iyer-Biswas grew up in a storytelling culture and today runs a question-driven physics lab researching the question: What is Life? | Video | Audio | |
| David Eichinger | 09/23/2019 | David Eichinger speaks about his work with pre-service elementary teachers | Video | Audio | |
| Dan Chavas | 09/16/2019 | weather and climate, hurricanes, severe weather, and tornadoes | Video | Audio | |
| Christina Li | 09/09/2019 | Christina Li discusses her path to studying electrochemistry | Video | Audio |
|
| Phil Sands | 09/02/2019 | Phil Sands discusses Indiana Computer Science education | Video | Audio | |
| Lucy Flesch | 08/28/2019 | Lucy Flesch discusses her path to research in the geosciences | Video | Audio | |
| Darryl Granger | 08/26/2019 | cosmogenic nuclides, caving, radioactive dating, and the scientific method | Video | Audio | |
| Corey Thompson | 08/22/19 | Professor of Chemistry, Corey Thompson, discusses how he got into the field of solid-state chemistry. | Video | Audio |
Thursdays: Teacher Professional Development (20-30 minutes)
Link to Season 2 playlist: https://bit.ly/SOS_TeacherS2
Thursdays are for teachers! We like to think of these episodes as attending a virtual session at a conference. Our goal is to provide resources “by teachers, for teachers” on what is being done (and working well!) in the classroom right now.
| Who was interviewed | Date released | Topics discussed | YouTube video |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah and Steven | 09/25/20 | Tips on writing grants | Video |
| Sarah and Steven | 09/10/20 | Why and how to make a Bitmoji Classroom | Video |
| Bill, Sarah, Steven | 09/03/20 | How to turn your in-person labs into virtual labs for students | Video |
| Sarah | 09/01/20 | How to copy a Google Form, set up a Google Sheet for that Form, and organize the files in Drive | Video |
| Sarah, Steven, and Bill | 08/27/20 | Science fair rubrics and timelines | Video |
| Sarah, Steven, and Bill | 08/20/20 |
Constructing Explanations from Evidence and Communicating Conclusions |
Video |
| Sarah, Steven, and Bill | 08/13/20 | Independent and Dependent Variables | Video |
| Sarah and Steven | 08/06/20 | Teaching students to ask researchable questions | Video |
| Sarah and Steven | 07/30/20 | How to teach Nature of Science and ‘the’ scientific method | Video |
| Sarah Nern | 07/23/20 |
over 200 free virtual labs from Vernier |
Video |
| Dana Calfee | 07/09/2020 | computer science, Microsoft MakeCode, Circuit Playground Express, and Google Sheets Add-on Autocrat | Video |
| Dorian Janney | 07/02/2020 | Project-Based Learning and data literacy from NASA GPM | Video |
| Brandy Hicks | 06/25/2020 | computer science, IDOE resources, Codehs.com, and Kodable.com | Video |
| Kerry Sensenbrenner | 06/18/2020 | Tech Fatigue, Google Slides, | Video |
| Ryan Bean | 06/11/2020 | computer science, Scratch and Tinkercad | Video |
| Kierston McKinley | 06/04/20 | Google Voice, Flipgrid, Google Forms, social-emotional wellness | Video |
| Kyle Kline | 05/29/20 | Flipgrid, QR codes with AR, and Screencastify | Video |
| Tami Hicks | 05/22/2020 | Padlet, Flipgrid, resources for ELL students | Video |
| Tracy Ostrom | 05/20/2020 | NASA JPL STEM, NASA Digital Badging, GLOBE, and MyNASAData | Video |
| Melissa Newcomb | 05/15/20 | students creating models at home, Screencastify, Ed Puzzle, Canvas, and YouTube. | Video |
| Kristen Poindexter | 05/13/2020 | SeeSaw to communicate, assign, give feedback, | Video |
| Sarah Chattin | 05/08/2020 | Zoom, Thinkpad, Phet, and recordings of her doing labs | Video |
| Sarah McAnulty | 05/06/2020 | Skype a Scientist program | Video |
| Greg Smith | 05/01/2020 | Nearpod and Gimkit | Video |
| Troy Simpson | 04/29/2020 | Twitter, daily attendance, making/posting a video, and Zoom | Video |
| Steve Auslander | 04/24/2020 | Kahoot and Ed Puzzle | Video |
| Amy Smith | 04/22/2020 | guided reading e-books, Screencast-o-matic, Zoom ideas | Video |
| Christopher Roemmele | 04/06/2020 | designing your lesson plan, using demos | Video |
| Lynn Bryan | 01/13/2020 | science education research | Video |
Resources from Inspiring Ideas episodes:
Questions and variables:
Science fair and Science Symposium:
Student Programs
Fridays: Virtual lab experiences for students
Superheroes of Science is excited to begin offering virtual lab experiences for students at all levels (Elementary, Middle, and High School)! Beginning Fall 2020 we will be kicking off the following initiatives:
Purdue Science Kids Degree (Elementary) Coming January 2021
We are creating grade level playlists of videos (3-5 minutes). Each video will be appropriate for students and include standards-based content with ideas for activities that students can complete at home. Students will have the option to complete a quiz (Google Form) at the end of each video where they will earn a code. Collect 10 codes and be eligible to earn a ‘degree’ from Purdue Science Kids. This program can be completed individually by students, or together as a class depending on teacher preference.
Science Friday at Purdue (Middle and High School)
Beginning Fall 2020 we are expanding our AP Friday program (established over the last three years) to include more labs for more grade levels. Additionally, we are moving these labs online. Each lab will include links to a lecture video where students will hear from a Purdue faculty or staff member, lab video of the procedure (students will be our virtual lab partner) including data that is collected, link to student lab handout, and instructions for teachers to access answer keys for each lab in addition to lesson plans.
Submit your science questions to this Google Form or Tweet us your questions @PurdueSOS.
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