Thursday, April 27, 2006

Breakfast was bright an early: 7:00, but we essentially had until 9:00, at which point the JSHS committee had arranged for speakers to come and talk about the importance of scientific research and its applications to the U.S. Air Force. From the environment, it seemed like a recruitment endeavor in support of the U.S. Department of Defense, but after all, they were the ones who were providing the funds for the entire program.

At 10:30, the committee had arranged for two career roundtable sessions. Students pick from numerous specific technical or general interest discussion topics and informally meet with a professional in the field. The professional presents any information regarding the field of choice and students are encouraged to ask questions and become involved in an engaging discussion. The two sessions that I chose involved the significance nanotechnology and getting into medical school, both of which were quite intriguing and enjoyable.

At the time of pre-registration, student delegates chose from seven different R & D tours offered, including the AFRL/Directed Energy Directorate (Laser Division and High Power Microwave Division), 58th Special Operations Wing (Kirtland AFB), AFRL/Space Vehicles Directorate, the Bosque National Wildlife Refuge, AFRL STARFIRE Optical Range, Tent Rock, and Explora (Natural History Museum) and Old Town. I had chosen the first of these and got a preview of the current investigations in laser technology, as employed by the government. The downside (and rather amusing) portion of the tour was that many of the information was classified as a governmental operation, and certain sites were inaccessible by students for a similar reason.

A group of distinguished scholars in the banquet hall. (Photo by Nirmish Singla)

Later in the evening, as we entered the banquet hall for dinner, the committee was mysteriously handing out bandanas of three different colors: red, blue, and yellow (the last of which I received). After the keynote address and presiding speech, we were told that the bandanas were for a celebration of the Tri Cultures of New Mexico. Each bandana represented a different ethnic group in New Mexico, and students would learn a dance from one of these cultures, based on the bandana color. Students would then be required to perform the ethnic dance in the banquet hall as a group in competition with the other groups. As it turned out, yellow represented Native Americans, so we learned an appropriate dance with that respect. Although we did not end up winning the competition (the honor went to the red group), the night was still quite entertaining.