May 2022 Newsletter

Category: Newsletter

We are so proud of the 15 middle school girls who persevered for months to learn robotics, coding and teamwork that led up to the 2022 San Diego Regional Botball Tournament  organized by the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics.

The PolkaBots spent five hours every week after-school and on Saturdays practicing and working on their robots in preparation for the tournament. The team worked on collaboratively building the robots to be programmed to perform certain actions to gain points during the tournament. The girls took on the roles of programmers and engineers to execute code, test, modify code, test again and repeat! All the while having fun and forming close bonds with each other, the coaches and the volunteers. Overall, the team had a great Botball season and would love to come back for the next year’s Botball season!

 

Join EIS for 10-jam packed weeks of science, technology, engineering, art, and math! Choose one of the two weeks offered per theme. Each week includes a fun field trip! See the Camp Flyer for dates, themes, and descriptions.

Dates: June 21 – August 26 2022
Eligibility: Grades 2 – 8 (Ages 7 – 13)
Hours: 9:00AM – 4:00PM

Registration Information

San Diego Unified School District Students:

Free for SDUSD students through Level Up. Level Up registration information coming soon. Registration and enrollment confirmation is required.

Non-SDUSD & Charter School Students:

Email info@eisca.org for the registration link. Weekly price: $300 per student (**4-day week price: $240 per student). Siblings and other discounts available. Maximum 3 siblings. Registration and enrollment confirmation is required.

Scholarship Information

A limited number of scholarships are available for non-SDSUD & Charter School students who qualify. Scholarship Application is on the registration form. The deadline to apply for a Summer Scholarship is June 10. A $25 scholarship application fee is required. Applying for a scholarship does not guarantee a spot in camp. Registration and enrollment confirmation is required.

Asian American & Pacific Islanders in STEM

It is May again and time to share inspiring Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in STEM. We hope these amazing STEM professionals inspire you and your children to follow your passions and dreams.

Tessa Lau is an engineer and computer scientist. She is also the founder/CEO of Dusty Robotics, a company that engineers robotic automation for the construction industry. Before engineering the first product – a robot that maps building plans – Tessa asked a lot of questions and visited construction sites to learn what companies needed and wanted to improve.

Dr. Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist studying string theory and continues the work of Albert Einstein’s research into a single grand unified theory of everything. He is also a professor at the City University of New York. One of the classes he teaches is Physics of Science Fiction, which applies physics to explain some of the most sensational themes found in science fiction.

Dr. Priyamvada Natarajan is a theoretical astrophysicist and professor at Yale University. She studies dark matter – a large portion of the universe that scientists have not yet discovered – and black holes. As a child, she had a strong interest in science and math, but she also loved history, writing, poetry, and art. A few of her favorite abstract artists are Rothko, Matisse, Louise Bourgeois.

Dr. Jennifer O. Manilay, Ph.D. is an immunologist and the Chair of the Molecular and Cell Biology Department in the School of Natural Sciences at UC Merced. As a professor, she guides graduate and undergraduate students and staff in exploring the mechanisms of immune system development.

Learn more about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage at https://asianpacificheritage.gov/ or check out books from the library!

Catching Up with EIS Alum Eddie Irvine 

Reconnecting with EIS alumni is a highlight of our work. Recently we checked in with Eddie Irvine, who attended EIS regularly from elementary through middle school and volunteered as a summer camp lab assistant in high school. Eddie recently completed his PhD at Harvard studying Infectious Disease Immunology, and will begin his postdoctoral research work in computational immunology at ETH Zurich in June. He views the immune system as, “beautifully complex, and if properly understood and harnessed, a powerful means to prevent and treat disease”. Eddie plans to continue studying immunology as an academic researcher, “in order to perpetually contribute to translational research that improves our understanding of how to treat or prevent significant human health issues like coronaviruses, tuberculosis, malaria, HIV, and beyond”.

His favorite EIS memories are learning about chemistry by making ice cream and learning about biology through dissection. An early introduction to the scientific process and hands-on experiments helped him see a career in science as achievable. “For me, studying science has always been about leveraging scientific knowledge and research to make a tangible difference in human health outcomes. Through coursework I took in college, I realized that a detailed understanding of immunology — the way our body responds to infection and disease — is fundamental to combat disease through key biomedical interventions such as diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.” 

Like many students, Eddie was inspired by EIS instructors, in particular Adali Martinez (currently the Chief Resident for University of California San Francisco), “She was a brilliant instructor at EIS when I was a Junior Assistant who I always admired.” 

Inspiring a love of science and creating opportunity for diverse children and youth is our mission and we are grateful for the opportunity to support all students’ education. Thank you for sharing your story Eddie!

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If you are an alumni  – we would love to hear about your experience at EIS and what you are doing now – whether you are still in school, working, or retired. Please reach out to our Development Associate Leah Oviedo at loviedo@eisca.org. You can also join our alumni group on Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/AlumniConnectEIS/ )

Funder Spotlight: The Teichert Foundation 

EIS was recently awarded a grant by the Teichert Foundation to support our Steps-2-STEM program for Lincoln Cluster elementary schools.

Building a healthy and prosperous region is the goal of the Teichert Foundation. Last year, Teichert Foundation awarded 88 grants across California. Grants were awarded to organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club of Burbank & Greater East Valley, Nehemiah Community Foundation (NELP), Northern CA Construction & Training. Grants are awarded to “organizations that create beauty, foster culture, nurture children, provide access to food and housing for those in need, preserve nature, increase awareness of our environment, build an educated citizenry and a well-prepared workforce, and strive to provide better health for all.”

Teichert started as a small construction business by Adolph Teichert who immigrated from Germany in 1866. Adolph was a renowned craftsman whose work can be seen in Golden Gate Park and near the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco. Eventually his son Adolph Jr. joined him and the business grew. Now, more than 100 years later the company has grown into a diverse mix of businesses including Teichert Construction and Teichert Materials.

In 1990, A. Teichert & Son created a corporate foundation to ensure that community giving would continue whether the construction and materials company had a good year or not. Fred became the founding director of Teichert Foundation, whose assets have since grown to more than $14,000,000 while at the same time contributing more than $400,000 annually to the communities where Teichert does business.

We are grateful for the generous grant from Teichert Foundation and appreciate the work they do in our communities. Follow Teichert on https://www.facebook.com/TeichertInc or visit https://www.teichert.com/ to learn more.

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Elementary Institute of Science
608 51st Street
San Diego, CA 92114
619.263.2302