Category Archives: Cny Science

Ying Tri Region Science And Engineering Fair & Central New York Science And Engineering Fair Judging Opportunities

Posted on March 12, 2013 1:11 am - - Leave a Comment

Greetings fellow astrophiles,

Two requests for judges have come across my inbox from TACNY for the Ying Tri Region Science and Engineering Fair (TRSEF) this Sunday (March 17th) and the Central New York Science And Engineering Fair (PDF Link) next Sunday (March 24th). I am volunteering for both events and encourage others with any science inclination to see just how smart some of our CNY teenagers are.

1. Ying Tri Region Science and Engineering Fair – Sunday, March 17th

The Ying TRSEF has doubled in size this year, so we need over 120 judges. As a result, I’m personally inviting CNY Observers and Observing members, hoping each would like to inspire middle and high school students on March 17th up at OCC.

Judges train from 9:30-11:15, then interview the students and deliberate with their judge team until 3:00 latest. We provide both breakfast and lunch, and our students are absolutely marvelous!

Please encourage your members to judge; they register online, so it’s easy.

2013march11_judging

2. Central New York Science And Engineering Fair – Sunday, March 24th

The Central New York Science and Engineering Fair (CNYSEF), formerly known as the Greater Syracuse Scholastic Science Fair, is in need of judges to evaluate students’ competition projects on Sunday, March 24, 2013, at the SRC Arena, which is located on the Onondaga Community College campus. Judges should arrive at the SRC at 8:00 a.m. The judging begins at 9:00 a.m. and the awards ceremony commences at 2:00 p.m. Breakfast, lunch and training for Judges will be provided on competition day. The CNYSEF is organized through the MOST, sponsored by Lockheed Martin, and is further supported by contributions from TACNY, NASA New York Space Grant, Time Warner Cable, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and several other local companies.

A bit about the CNYSEF:

Students from Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties will compete for designations as Honors, High Honors, and Highest Honors in two divisions: the Junior Fair for 4th-8th grade students, and the Senior Fair for 9th-12th grade students. Competitors are also awarded several unique Special Awards in addition to the categorial awards mentioned immediately prior. Judges do not need to be experts in science or engineering to listen as the students demonstrate how much they have learned and accomplished.

Those interested in serving as judges, please register online here. For more information, contact the CNYSEF Director, Peter W. Plumley, PhD, at CNYSEF@most.org.

The encouragement and interest shown by volunteer judges is an essential part of the students’ science fair experience. Help inspire our future generation of engineers and scientists.

Many, many thanks,
Diane & the CNYSEF Organizational Committee

Posted in: CNY Science, Education, TACNY - Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Chasing Ice – A James Balog Documentary At The Palace Theatre On Earth Day, April 22

Posted on March 10, 2013 3:59 pm - - Leave a Comment

The following announcement for a special documentary screening came over the TACNY listserve recently. Regardless of your views of the origins of climate change, the ongoing change to the atmosphere means increasing unpredictability for amateur astronomers practicing their craft. Along with the movie screening, a climate panel is being held featuring Dave Eichorn, one of the most reliable meteorologists ever to interpret weather patterns in CNY.

Chasing Ice

“One of the Most Beautiful Films of the Year.” Huffington Post

On Monday, April 22, Earth Day, 7:00 p.m., GreeningUSA will bring Chasing Ice (www.chasingice.com), a 75 minute documentary by James Balog, National Geographic photographer, to The Palace Theatre, 2384 James St (google map below).


View Larger Map

Immediately following the film a Climate Impacts and Actions in CNY panel presentation will explore the documentary’s environmental implications from a local perspective. The panel will consist of Dave Eichorn, syracuse.com meteorologist; Chris Carrick, Energy Program Manager for the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board; and Yvonne Rothenberg, Founder of the CNY chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby. Moderating the panel will be Chris Bolt, WAER news and public affairs director.

The film follows nature photographer James Balog as he documents melting glaciers in Alaska, Iceland, Greenland and Montana. Using time-lapse cameras, his videos compress years into seconds and capture ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate. Called the Extreme Ice Survey, Balog sets up still cameras that have been programmed to take a picture, once every hour, for three years, of the same glacier, from a fixed spot.

The scale of the glaciers, and the almost hallucinogenic clarity of the images, make the resulting footage, based on three years’ shooting, most impressive. One piece of ice we see breaking off is said to be the size of lower Manhattan.

The visuals are riveting, and they drive home the point that the film makes in voice over narration by Balog, interviews with glaciologists and climate scientists and occasional charts and graphs: Ice is melting at an alarmingly unglacial pace.

Chasing Ice has won 23 awards at film festivals around the world, including: The Environmental Media Association’s 22nd Annual BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARD.

“This is the climate change film we’ve been waiting for.” Caroline Libresco, Sundance Senior Programmer


“Stunning… Timely…. A solitary quest with global implications.” – Neil Genzlinger, NYT

Panel Presenters:

Dave Eichorn: Changes in Climate, Changes in Variability
Dave will address climate change from a meteorological perspective. How changes in the Arctic affect our climate, in particular the increased variability in our weather and the impact on CNY.

Currently Meteorologist for Syracuse.com, Dave was chief meterologist for WSYR for 20 years and has a M.S. degree in Environmental Science from SUNY ESF. While working on his master’s degree, he developed climate science courses for SUNY ESF under a NASA grant.

Chris Carrick – Climate Solutions in CNY
Chris will speak on regional efforts within Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, and Oswego Counties geared at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fostering the adoption of clean energy technologies.

Chris manages the Energy Program at the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board, a public agency. Chris is the founder and director of the Central New York Climate Change Innovation Program. C2IP provides financial and technical assistance to local municipalities to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Yvonne T. Rothenberg – Creating the Political Will for a Stable Climate
Why would a person leave a relaxed, comfortable retirement life style to take on the hard work of organizing and coordinating climate lobby groups first in Syracuse and than other cities in upstate N.Y. Yvonne will share why she felt compelled to organize for the Citizens Climate Lobby.

The Citizens Climate Lobby, www.citizensclimatelobby.org is a national non-partisan organization whose goal is to create the political will for a sustainable climate and to teach individuals how to exercise their political power.

Ticket prices: (suggested donations) At the door: Adults – $10, Seniors & Students – $5, Children 12 and under – Free. Advance sale tickets Adults only $7. For advance sale tickets go to www.greeningusa.org/chasing-ice/

Free parking in rear of Palace Theatre.

Green and energy related organizations will be staffing display tables in the lobby prior to and after the event.

For information on how to help sponsor this event contact Sam Gordon, 422.8276 ext.204, sgordon@cnyrpdb.org or Peter Wirth, 476-3396, pwirth2@verizon.net

Posted in: CNY Science, Education - Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,