3501 Ridge Road Durham Academy Upper School Room 405

Durham, NC 27705

http://academics.da.org/hlineberger/MarsIndependentResearch.html

(919)-489-6569 ext 6322

Agency’s Mission Statement

The Mars Outreach to North Carolina (MONS) project is a three-year initiative funded through the 2007 Student Science Enrichment Program (SSEP) and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF). MONS is a collaboration between Durham Academy (DA), Durham Public Schools (DPS), and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UT-K). The project is led by representatives from each institution, but housed at DA for the bulk of the activities. While the MONS project is designed around a set of project specific goals, these specific goals are in alignment with the three major goals for the SSEP funding stream, which are listed below:

• SSEP Goal 1: To increase students’ competence in science
• SSEP Goal 2: To increase students’ enthusiasm for science
• SSEP Goal 3: To increase students’ interests in science careers

In working to accomplish these three major goals, the MONS project has incorporated a number of activities starting in Spring 2007. These activities have included an instructional phase that involved students meeting twice a month at Durham Academy. To date, students have been instructed in the physical and chemical nature of particles that constitute Mars, and in their infrared spectral signatures. After the instructional phase in the spring, students spent the summers constructing models of these features that vary in the nature of the constituent grains (such as rounded vs. angular fragments and chemical composition) and performed infrared analysis of their models via an infrared camera. Summer activities also included trips to NASA to interact with scientists working in the field of Planetary/Space exploration.

The project is completing Year 2 and has worked with two distinct sets of students. The initial cohort of students that started in Spring 2007 has remained involved this year. The group served as mentors to the newer students to the program, but also continued their research from the prior year.

Agency’s Goals and Programs offered to Clients/People Served

• SSEP Goal 1: To increase students’ competence in science
• SSEP Goal 2: To increase students’ enthusiasm for science
• SSEP Goal 3: To increase students’ interests in science careers

As aforementioned, the MONS program is for high-school students interested in careers in science. MONS is a two-year program; the first year is largely an instructional period, while the second year is mainly dedicated to research. Throughout their time in the MONS program, students have access to well-known space/planetary scientists and are encouraged to submit all of their work for publication and to subsequently present at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, TX.

Agency’s Impact on the Community

Although the main goal of the MONS program is to increase the abilities and interests of the students involved in the program, MONS also seeks to increase the scientific understanding of the community as a whole. Throughout their time in the MONS program, students are also asked to present their work to members of the local community, such as the Chapel Hill Astronomical and Observational Society (CHAOS), a group of space-science enthusiests based in the Carol Woods Community Center (a retirement home).

Volunteer Duties

• Assist students in labs and activities