i.
From: "Eric Albone" <albone@dial.pipex.com>
To: <LAWRENCEHX@aol.com>, "Joseph C Kolecki"
<Joseph.C.Kolecki@grc.nasa.gov>
Subject: Re: Thanks from us all
Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2001 02:30:18 +0100
Revisiting Lawrence's email (above) the one word I really do
question is "potential" in the context of viewing
themselves as potential scientists... they are scientists, nothing
potential about it. It is I think an extremely important point.
Could I also add here what a tremendous benefit it was to us
to have Lawrence in our team, and publicly thank and congratulate
him for all he did and achieved. We are immensely grateful to
him. It would have been a really good team anyway, but with
him as part of it, it went beyond all our expectations.
Eric
ii.
At 05:24 PM 07/29/2001 -0400, you (LAWRENCEHX@aol.com) wrote:
Dear Joe,
Tim, at Bath, has started work on the web site, this end. LOTS
more to come.
You may NOT recognise one of the team. (NO Lone Ranger Mask!....)
However, it's at:
http://www.clifton-scientific.org/j2001/spacecomment.htm
Please circulate as you will.
The students will be contributing their Report asap.
Do you, or others, wish to make a comment or two for the web
site by way of evaluation? We would be delighted to post it--though
you have sent us some inspiring stuff already, which might,
subject to your approval, be edited for the web?
If any of the planning notes, e-mails, etc. are useful for your
own site, please use them as you will: we have complete confidence
in your expertise and integrity.
Many thanks again for what has been the realisation of a personal
dream about using the web, e-mail and video-conferencing as
a suite of interactive ICT tools for learning. I am still "on
a high". The problem is creating still better projects
for the future. But I am working on this already.
Am packing for Bulgaria now, to talk about the Lone Ranger.....
(And DON'T think that I am joking!)
Our love and thanks, once again, to you all,
Lawrence
iii. (a.)
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 10:59:05 -0400
To: Carsten Riedel
From: Joseph C Kolecki <Joseph.C.Kolecki@grc.nasa.gov>
Subject: Re: THANK YOU !
Hi, Carsten,
We could not agree with you more! The week was wonderful, and
the students exceeded our expectations by leaps and bounds!
We saw some very talented and aggressive scientists emerge from
an initial group of fairly shy young people. And, yes, we came
very close to the edge of our current knowledge.
I'm curious: What were the expectations you referred to which
were not met? We could learn a great deal by better understanding
what your "theory predicted," and how reality diverged!
:-)
Finally, the Cattermole model: No, the impact theory is not
specifically part of the Cattermole model as far as I can ascertain.
(Please correct me if I am mistaken here--I have only a cursory
acquaintance with Cattermole's work at present!)
Cattermole speaks of closely linked geological events shaping
the northern planes of Mars. In the sense of closely linked
events, our thesis DOES parallel his thinking. I originally
picked up the impact idea from some folks at the Pathfinder
Mission Center in Pasadena, CA, while spending the first 18
days after the landing there, working around the clock and barely
even realizing how tired I (we) were. I forget who mentioned
it. I liked the idea because I enjoy connections. The impact
idea connects a lot of major features on Mars, and, whether
it is eventually borne out as true or not, it is VERY useful
for students to "cut their teeth" in terms of seeing
connections and deeper underlying realities rather than just
collections of disparate events. I think that every serious
student of science needs to learn this style of thinking. The
universe, after all, is a system of interconnected relationships
(especially if we truly believe in our quantum mechanics), and
the scientist must, ultimately, learn to think in terms of such
relationships...
YIKES!!! More pontification...SORRY!!!
Anyway, we are deeply honored to have been part of your week
with Japan 2001. And we expect that our personal highs will
last quite a while yet!!! I know that I speak for all of us
on this end!
Best regards,
Joe
iii. (b.)
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 10:59:05 -0400
To: Carsten Riedel
From: Ruth A Petersen Ruth.A.Petersen@grc.nasa.gov
Subject: Re: THANK YOU !
Carsten and Stu
What a truly remarkable experience! I watched the videotapes
at home again this weekend. As a non-scientist, I was awestruck.
Joe is still on "Cloud 9"!
I was so interested to learn that you were surprised with the
end results--that they were not what you expected. Kids can
amaze and astound when given a "real world" challenge
of this type with the support they need to "take it and
run with it"! It was obvious how much they respected you
and Stu and your knowledge of the subject because they kept
saying they would take what Joe threw at them and discuss things
with their Bristol friends.
And thank you for taking what we "threw" at you and
weaving it into an investigation on the cutting edge of science.
You are to be congratulated! Can't wait to see the final report!
Ruth
iv.
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 10:24:30 -0400
To: LAWRENCEHX@aol.com
From: Joseph C Kolecki <Joseph.C.Kolecki@grc.nasa.gov>
Subject: Re: Aftermath
Cc: Ruth A Petersen <Ruth.A.Petersen@grc.nasa.gov>
Dear Lawrence,
First of all, our congratulations on a magnificent piece of
work! You and your team have certainly made history. Our hopes
are extremely high for future successes as well. Next, Yes you
may edit and post any and/or all of the material in my correspondence
with you. And finally, we are extremely enthusiastic about joining
forces with you again in the future.
Best wishes, and Godspeed!
Joe
v.
At 02:33 PM 07/30/2001 -0400, you (Ruth A Petersen) wrote:
Joe,
Thought you'd like to see this postscript to a message I got
from Lawrence:
"PS The Space Science group all went off with the salutation
"Godspeed" burned into their psyche. There was even
talk of putting this on a group T-shirt....."
Ruth
vi.
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 15:25:22 -0400
To: Ruth A Petersen <Ruth.A.Petersen@grc.nasa.gov>
From: Joseph C Kolecki <Joseph.C.Kolecki@grc.nasa.gov>
Subject: Re: Godspeed
Heyyyyyyyyy!!! OK!!!!!!!!!!
Joe
vii.
At 05:03 PM 08/02/2001 +0100, you Adriano Silva wrote:
This is Adriano from the space science team and it's just to
tell you that my form is on its way. I also heard that you wanted
our contribution to your website? I would love to be involved
but how could we do it?
Do you have any other developments on those theories?
Is there any mission on its way to Mars right now? Thanks.
viii.
From: Joseph C Kolecki <Joseph.C.Kolecki@grc.nasa.gov>
To: Adriano Silva
Subject: Re: hi
Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 12:35:45 -0400
Hello, Adriano,
It is good to hear from you! Anything you wish to contribute
to our website will be most welcome! Please e-mail me or Ruth
(Ruth.A.Petersen@grc.nasa.gov).
We are putting together all of our notes and e-mails from before,
during, and immediately after our week with you. I have 31 pages
of e-mail correspondence with Lawrence, Carsten, Eric, and the
rest of you - and that is only on the science and philosophy
we shared!!! Ruth Petersen is going to compile a similar collection
on all of the Learning Technology that we used in making the
video and audio links. WOW!!! What a week!!!
You ask about the impact theory. Theories may take the better
part of a lifetime to advance and establish. The impact theory
is only one of several competing theories about Mars that will
be gone over and torn apart and reassembled over the years to
come. There is a lot of spacecraft data still required to write
a consistent "aerology" ["geology," only
"Geos" = Earth, "Areos" = Mars] of Mars.
But it will come. The most exciting part is that you and your
associates from Bristol may all become part of the experience.
There are plenty of opportunities for young scientists such
as you to "hop aboard" and invest your careers in
studying Mars, or any other parts of the solar system or the
cosmos for that matter. There is also a crying need for teachers
to guide other young people along the way to such careers.
What do YOU want to do with your experience and your future,
Adriano? I think that this is one of the most important questions
for you to be considering right now. There is another question
that is similar: Perhaps people have already asked you, "What
do you want to be when you grow up?" This question is most
unfair because it implies that you are less than you could be
right now. I prefer the question: "WHO ARE YOU?" Think
about this one for a while, Adriano. It is the most difficult
question that any of us has to answer. It is also the most important.
It is difficult because the answer grows and changes with you
as YOU grow and change. It is important because, like a diamond
in the rough, you are all that you are ever going to be RIGHT
NOW. The diamond can be polished...so can you. But, by the wrong
moves, the diamond can also be ruined...and so can you.
I always begin to think about this question by going outside,
alone, and saying to myself, "I'm here, right now. And
here are all these trees [or buildings, or people, or what have
you]. What am I feeling? What am I thinking? If I could have
whatever I wanted right now, what would it be?" And I go
on to realize that I have both the freedom and the God-given
power to be all that I can be--all that I can dream or imagine--provided
that I am willing to take the risk of stepping out and TRYING.
It takes work to accomplish dreams, Adriano; and it takes perseverance.
But work and perseverance are what separate true genius from
dull mediocrity. Each person you have ever met and ever will
meet has the potential to excel--the genius to excel--if he
or she wishes. I have even met mentally challenged people who
have developed a wonderful skill for social interaction. They
are some of the most endearing people I will ever hope to meet!
Theirs is the genius for overcoming an immense handicap and
reaching out to other people for all their worth.
We saw genius at your Bristol workshop, too. We were quite taken
by what your group was able to accomplish in four or five days!
Like diamonds in the rough, each of you requires time and polishing.
But that is true of any of us, at any age. The next step is
entirely yours. What will it be?
We have high hopes and expectations for all of you!!!
Now for Mars: At present, the Odyssey 2001 is en-route to Mars.
Here is a www-site where you can read about it:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/
Please keep writing. I would like very much to hear from you
again, soon!
In the meantime, best wishes,
Joe
Comments from Participants
Joe Kolecki
Science is the process of studying the world at large and forming
valid questions. Facts are the natural endpoints of this process,
and are always subject to modification as scientific questioning
(a.k.a., scientific inquiry) proceeds. Taken by themselves,
facts are relatively dull little objects, usually required to
be memorized at school and regurgitated on exams, then promptly,
and with more than a modicum of relief, forgotten. They ARE
important--let there be NO doubt whatever; but they are hardly
a proper end for science or philosophy or, perhaps, modern education...
A valid question is a question with sufficient definition that
the means to obtaining its answer are implicit in its own structure.
A valid question can lead to an experimental investigation,
or a brilliant new inroad in theoretical understanding. One
of the classic theoretical questions of the 20th century was
asked by Albert Einstein: "What happens if I run abreast
a light pulse?" Relativity and all of its ramifications
(still being worked out even to this day!) followed.
Facts enter into the process of scientific/philosophical inquiry
as data, which clear up certain ambiguous issues and raise others
that, likely, had not been apparent previously. As such, facts
are essential to inquiry, much as a pole is to a pole-vaulter;
and knowledge of basic facts in any given discipline is essential
to carrying on useful work in that discipline. But the formation
of valid questions is the real heart of investigative thinking--the
key word, here, being, "Thinking."
It is not easy to teach thinking in school, let alone to measure
the progress students are making in it via tests and examinations.
A knowledge of facts and associated problem solving skills is
much more amenable to present day education/educational metrics.
Perhaps for this reason, education is badly in need of reform
today. The information age has provided so many new facts, that
time barely allows for their proper assimilation, let alone
the luxury of sitting down and thinking about them. I believe
that this is the very point on which the Japan 2001 workshop
departed, and why it was such a great success.
Permit me, now, to reflect on our group--the Space Science Team.
We set our group the goal of developing questions that might
lead to future spacecraft/lander instrument suites for investigating
the great volcanoes on Mars. The students realized, from the
very outset, that answers to their questions were probably NOT
going to be readily in hand. THEY would have to draw up the
pertinent questions AND the means of identifying and obtaining
the necessary information to acquire the answers to those questions.
As such, the students were immediately placed into a real-life
situation in which original thinking was paramount, and in which
the necessary known facts, required to accomplish that thinking,
were readily available from the experts in the U.K. and the
U.S. (Scientists typically use a combination of library and
person-to-person communication to acquire the facts they need.
The telephone and the card catalog may be the most essential
research tools of all!)
The students had to sift through what was important in their
thinking and what was not. It is easy to over-specify a problem
if the thinking is not sufficiently carried through. The result
is usually a dead-end path in research... They also had to deal
with and communicate across the boundaries of language, culture,
and discipline (scientist vs. non-scientist; planetologist vs.
volcanologist, etc.), all of which are and will remain a real
part of science both now and in the future.
Thus, their overall scientific experience was wonderfully enriched
by a diverse "people contact," providing opportunities
for a lively exchange of ideas, the development of new social
skills, and the making of new friends and liaisons. From all
of this, they have learned, I hope, that science is NOT merely
a sterile enterprise carried out in a jar: it is a very human
activity, full of joy and sorrow, success and failure, open
roads and dead ends, and, most of all, PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE,
with all of the nuances that people bring.
Our students developed rapidly in their time at Bristol. We
were very taken with this development--I daresay, almost to
the point of tears at times--tears of happiness! Thomas Edison
once said that genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine
percent perspiration. Our young people were certainly inspired--thanks
to the wonderful experiences provided for them at Bristol! They
were also hard workers, as is evidenced by the quality of their
work. As a planetary physicist at NASA, I would be proud to
have any or all of them working at my side. They help to prove,
as much as anybody can prove, that genius is not so rare a commodity
as we might sometimes believe. Genius exists wherever people
exist, and wherever an environment is present in which they
are at liberty to think and to relate.
And so, in closing: Bravo to the students and to our colleagues
in the U.K. We are proud to have been part of the Japan 2001
Workshop!!!
Godspeed!!!
Ruth Petersen
During four videoconferencing connections between Joe Kolecki
and the Space Science team, we witnessed real world science
education at its finest. Progressing from an introduction to
volcanoes through three videoconferences and hours of studying
images and maps with their Bristol University team leaders,
the six young scientists developed a final presentation to Joe
on what they learned, their still unanswered questions, and
suggestions for further investigations. Special guests from
NASA and the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Toledo,
Ohio, all felt the excitement of the real life scientific investigation
and were amazed at the students' initiative and hard work. The
model demonstrates effective collaboration among diverse cultures,
as well as the effective use of technology (ISDN videoconferencing,
e-mail, data sharing, and the Internet) in the educational setting.
More importantly, it demonstrates that, given an exciting challenge
and necessary resources, young people will far exceed everyone's
expectations!
Eric Albone
The outcome from the Japan 2001 Workshop will reverberate very
widely. The event has just finished and everyone is absolutely
thrilled. It is a tremendous exercise in teamwork, which is
building so many new bridges. I am very closely aware of the
remarkable work that was achieved by the Space Science team,
but in addition to that virtually every one of the other nine
teams (save one) has achieved absolutely outstanding success
at all levels. It is a real vindication of faith.
See UK-Japan Young Scientists
Working Together (Appendix A)
Lawrence Williams
One of the aims of the Workshops, here at Bristol University,
was to give a combined group of sixty young people, from across
Japan and from the United Kingdom, a new view of themselves
as potential scientists, and an ambition to succeed at the highest
level. I am struggling to find words to express our gratitude
to you and your team for your help in this venture.
Our particular group, in Space Science, at the Department of
Earth Sciences, has had the most wonderful week, and I truly
believe that the students' lives have been transformed by it.
You have some evidence of this already in the e-mail that we
sent just after the final presentation session.
The support you have given, the personal words of encouragement,
and that rare combination of warmth and professional rigor which
we now see as the hallmark of you and your team, have given
these youngsters a new sense of confidence and pride, both in
themselves and in their achievements. You will have felt this
as the conferences unfolded. I am grateful to you for lending
us the legendary NASA name, proud of what we have achieved together,
and joyful at the success of the students. "Thank you"
does not even come close to it.
Today, Friday, our group has a public presentation to give,
to the other nine groups and to many visitors, using PowerPoint,
and will later word-process a full written Report, which of
course we will send you.
Eric and I have only recently joined forces, and would both
be delighted to work with you on future projects: we are hoping
that this is just the beginning of many exciting ways of using
the new technologies to advance the cause of science education,
and to inspire young people.
I believe that during this week we have together taken another
useful step.
Carsten Riedel
I think last week was a brilliant week, the Japanese and English
kids were really enthusiastic and I am surprised which results
we got in the end. It was a really dynamic process going on
there and so it was no wonder we did not obtain the results
we wanted (expected). It was unforeseeable like research should
be. Especially breaking the language barriers between German-English-Japanese
and scientist-not scientist was really worth an experience.
And it was funny. So I want to say:
Thanks, Eric, for organizing such a thing. I think it is brilliant
idea to do such summer schools...
Thanks, Ruth, for organizing the video-link and sending the
valuable e-mail information. Without them it would have been
much harder to start off...
Thanks, Joe, for the impact volcano model. Is that actually
the Cattermole model? I enjoyed the discussions via videonet.
In the end I had the impression, we were heading towards the
edge of science and there were questions to raise that have
not been addressed before. Once upon a time when there is a
slot in my timetable I will think about it again. The truth
is out there even though we will never find it...
And thanks Lawrence for the sparkling liquids, the video conferencing
and the support especially in conveying theatrical presentation
ideas and English language to the Japanese.
See My impressions of the
Japan 2001 Science, Creativity and the Young Mind Workshop Space
Science Team by Carsten Riedel (Appendix C)
Lee Parsons
i.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who
take their time out of important work, thank you very much.
I would especially like to thank Joe at NASA for his time in
working with us here, and I would like to thank Eric for running
this course and Lawrence for helping the course. May special
thanks go to Stu and Carsten here at Bristol University, for
they have helped me and inspired me a lot. Please forgive me
as I do not (know) or have forgotten people's surnames.
Thank you once again.
ii.
Hello Joe,
It is Lee here again. I would just like to say a big thanks
to all those at NASA who helped make this experience helpful.
I have truly enjoyed the study that we have done together, and
I hope that we can stay in contact.
I feel as though my eyes have been opened up to a whole new
world that is the world of Mars, and would like to study it
further...but I would need to ask of some help from you and
whoever else can provide help. I would like to be especially
kept up to date with the discoveries about Mars, if that would
be possible with you folks over there at NASA.
I feel as though I have fallen in love with the Planet; it has
so many wondrous features, and I know that we here have really
only touched the tip of the iceberg.
I would also like to thank you personally, Joe, for the things
that you said about a career in science. I felt that it was
very inspiring, and I will definitely pursue a career in the
field of science, even if it means that I have to take it up
as a hobby as a result of me being rejected from university.
Well, thank you for such a great time, may I take this opportunity
to wish you Godspeed with the project on Mars, and I hope to
hear from you soon.
Lee Parsons.
Rania Kashi
Hi Joe,
Rania here, I'd like to tell you how immensely grateful I am
to you and your team. You have been truly inspirational in your
motivation and encouragement. This workshop has given me an
idea of what higher education and a career in science would
be like, and I will go back to school full of anticipation of
such a path. I am now very excited about what the future holds
and what I, and my new friends in Bristol, can go on to achieve.
I hope to keep in touch with you and will most definitely research
further into this field.
Many thanks once again.
Adriano Silva
Dr. Joe,
I'm absolutely delighted to tell you that I'm glad to have taken
part in this project. I guess we have showed to the world that
it is possible and beneficial to share new information and work
together. An unforgettable experience, a successful mission
itself. Please send my acknowledgements to all our colleagues
that took part at NASA. Thanks again and hopefully we will continue
to keep in touch. GODSPEED.
Lawrence Williams'
Presentation
Click here
for Lawrence Williams' Power Point presentation to the British
Council.
(click
here to download power point file)
Epilogue
Dear Ruth,
Thank you for sending me the URL of the magnificent "Japan2001
Science, Creativity, and the Young Mind" web site. This
is the fulfilment of a personal vision about the creative use
of ICT for learning, and is clearly a landmark in education
on a number of different levels, not least as an inspiring learning
resource, in itself, for teachers across the world. Congratulations
on creating such an excellent, multinational, educational web
site.
I wish to record my sincerest thanks to you, Ruth, for having
faith in the project, and for gathering together such an effective
team.Your understanding both of my own work in the creative
use of ICT tools, and of the scientific potential of the project,
was equally, and vitally, important. Your willingness, too,
to support the planning and the implementation of the event,
was an essential ingredient in its success. Though your name
appears infrequently in the documentation on the site, your
active and enthusiastic support was crucial to the success of
the week. Thank you.
I wish, also, to record my thanks to Joe, for his careful and
detailed planning of the scientific content, together with the
Bristol team, and for his inspirational teaching throughout
the project. His warmth and enthusiasm come across through the
many email exchanges posted on the site, and I am convinced
that the lives of the Space Science Team were transformed by
the event. They took enormous steps in their learning, thanks
to his kind and generous teaching.
Finally, I send my thanks to Steven for developing an extremely
complex, but clearly navigable web site, which allows teachers
the opportunity to chart the development of the many ideas at
student and at tutor levels. The layout is clear, and given
the enormous volume of material involved, this is a masterly
outcome. No educational web site known to me records so much
detail about the day-to-day development of an international
information exchange.
It is more than the culmination of an event: it is important
marker for the future.
With warmest regards and thanks to you all,
Lawrence
Click here to go directly to the OUTCOMES
of the JAPAN 2001 SCIENCE, CREATIVITY AND THE YOUNG MIND WORKSHOP
Ruth's PowerPoint
presentation at Poskole Conference (Czech Republic)
(click
here to download power point file)
Click here for pictures and more information
about the Poskole Conference.
<< Back
to During the event | Student Presentations
>>
