LOS ALAMOS, N.M., July 1, 2020—Twenty-five students completed the fourth annual Los Alamos National Laboratory Summer Physics Camp for Young Women, June 8–19. Held virtually for the first time, participants watched live video lectures on topics such as crystal structures, electricity and magnetism, optics, machine learning, chaos theory, biophysics, the Mars rover, and spectroscopy. Students also received materials for conducting associated hands-on experiments and coding activities at home.
“It is my honor to congratulate the dedicated young women who blazed the way for a virtual session of this two-week, intensive physics camp,” said Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Thom Mason. “I also want to thank the employees of Los Alamos National Laboratory who gave their time and expertise to help inspire the next generation of STEM experts.”
Participation in the camp is free, and students receive a certificate and stipend. The camp also covers resumes and interviews, college opportunities in New Mexico, the importance of professional societies, and internships and careers at the Laboratory.
The camp is the vision of Anna Llobet, a physicist in the neutron science and technology group at the Laboratory, who won the 2018 LANL Distinguished Performance Award for organizing the camp. The event involves volunteer presentations from roughly 80 Laboratory scientists, engineers, and other professionals, 77 percent of whom are female.
Guest presenters included Emily Calandrelli, TV host of Xploration Outerspace; Heather Bottom, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory systems engineer; Thomas Proffen and Catherine Schuman, data analytics experts from Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Dr. Pascale Creek Pinner, Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow and 2008 Hawaii Teacher of the Year; and Hawi Stecher, STARBASE Hawaii instructor.
The 2020 group represents the New Mexico communities of Acalde, Chimayó, Española, Los Alamos, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, and White Rock. For the first time this year, four students attended from Hilo, Hawaii through a partnership with the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory in Maunakea, HI and the Hawaii Science and Technology Museum in Hilo, HI. The camp is supported by the Laboratory, the New Mexico Consortium, the LANL Foundation, Athena Scholars, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and Los Alamos and Pojoaque Valley schools. Sixty percent of camp participants are minorities, who have been historically underrepresented in STEM fields.
The 2020 Summer Physics Camp for Young Women participants are:
Academy for Technology and the Classics, Santa Fe
Sofia Horn
Española Valley High School
Shayna Gomez
Anelia Holterman
Athena Martinez
Española/homeschool
Carla Pacheco
Hilo Intermediate School, Hilo HI
Haeli Baldwin
Christina Jung
Kea’au High School, Keau, HI
Crystal Simeon
Los Alamos High School
Rachel Butler
Kaisa Drew
Jalyn Gould
Nina Johnson
Rebeca Rocha
Los Alamos homeschool and attending University of New Mexico
Madison Morris
Los Alamos Middle School
Sofia Parra
Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe
Paige Humphrey
Liana Star
The MASTERS Program at Santa Fe Community College
Rui Wheaton
Monte del Sol Charter School, Santa Fe
Alegra Vierra
New Mexico School for the Arts, Santa Fe
Nico Turner
Pojoaque Valley High School
Taylor Quintana
Pojoaque Valley Middle School
Araya Vigil
Santa Fe High School
Pilar Hernandez
Santa Fe Prep
Maya Glass
Waiakea Intermediate School, Hilo HI
Andee Dela Cruz
About Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is managed by Triad, a public service oriented, national security science organization equally owned by its three founding members: Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), and the Regents of the University of California (UC) for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.