Six weeks have flown by since my last update, and now I have just 2 months left of my fellowship and time in DC. It has continued to be an awesome and enlightening learning experience, but I am ready to come home. Much as I have come to love it here, the returning humidity reminds me why I would have great difficulty being here permanently. I am a cool weather person at heart!

The spring has been absolutely gorgeous though! Flowers of all kinds in bloom everywhere, (unfortunately, so are my allergies!) The White House Garden Tour got us up close and personal with the tulips and the West Wing!

 I did a presentation on what it is like in the classroom with my Einstein colleagues at the U.S. Dept. of Education, attended several STEM panels and technology events, and served on another panel at NSF for the IGERT program.

I continue to meet folks from Oregon here in DC that I would never meet in Oregon! Hopefully these contacts will result in some cool partnerships for LCSD when I return.

This past week, Betsy Wilcox and Tom RInearson came into town for the Einstein Fellowship Poster session and reception. Betsy came a few days early, and she and I  went to the Capitol Memorial Day Concert, where we saw Gladys Knight, Gary Senise, Sara Brightman and Idina Menzel.

On Friday, we had our last Einstein Professional Development day. We went to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD and were given a tour and a 3 hour ship ride, 4 miles out into the Chesapeake Bay, where we conducted some water quality testing. We toured the chemistry and physics labs at the academy. The oceanography professor who took us out on the boat runs The Maury Project, where middle and high school science teachers come to Annapolis for oceanography professional development in the summer, so he gaves us a taste of what the summer program teachers do, and now we all want to do the project!

So, now Don is on his way back home, and I am really feeling blue...ready to come home and be  with him all the time, and  see all my family and friends as well.  I still have work to finish up at NSF, but am already starting  to plan and teleconference with folks back in the district. I will be the Project Director for our Oregon Mentor Grant now, along with other duties of my new position as a TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment.)

I am also off to Albuquerque next Sunday, June 8th, for 3 weeks to go back to the DOE ACTS program (Department of Energy Academies Creating Teacher Scientists.) If you go back in this BLOG, you can read about my experiences there last summer focusing on water science topics. This summer, we focus on Alternative Energy, and I will be likely working in a research lab on hydrogen fuel cell membrane research.

So, I will do my next BLOG in a few weeks from Albuquerque!  Then, when I return to DC, July 1st, I go back to NSF for a week before going to Mexico to  attend the International Mathematics Congress in Monterrey. I will spend my final 3 weeks back in DC with Patty Hunter and Evelyn Smith coming to visit, and Don will come the last few weeks to hang out and help me get moved home on the 31st.

It has been a great experience, and as it winds down to the end, I am a little sad to be leaving this wonderful city and the people I work with at NSF. I hope you all have had a great year. I really encourage my colleagues in science and math to apply for the Einstein Fellowship next year, as well as any of the outstanding professional development programs out there for teachers. I will share much more of my year when I get home- in person.

See you all soon!

Ruth

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It is hard to believe that 10 weeks have passed since I last updated the DC BLOG! Time is going by rapidly, and though I am continuing to have a wonderful experience, I am looking forward to coming home in 3 1/2 months. Life here in the Capitol is busy and, at the same time, routine. I have really gotten used to walking and metro-ing everywhere, and know it will be a big adjustment for me to go back to driving long distances everywhere in Oregon. I am surprised at how much I am enjoying city living,

So, what have I been up to these last few months? Well, in February, I went down to Jefferson National Accelerator Lab for a tour of the facility and also to help out the the Virginia Regional Science Bowl.

Senator Wyden @ Power of Small Premier

I also spent much of February and March traveling, so if I have not spoken much to many of you, it's because I have been on the road...or in the air! I went to Portland for a home visit, to Boston for the AAAS Annual conference, DC for the Triangle Coalition Conference, Seattle to a technology conference where I met up with LCSD folks, another tech conference here in DC, and finally back to Boston for the NSTA conference, where I presented 3 sessions. Whew! Very busy few months.

Just to give you an idea of a few: a House Physics Education Summit, several forums at the Carnegie Institute on education reform, No Child Left Behind, Teacher Quality and Professional Development, and several Nano technology events during Nano Days, including a premier of a new PBS series on Nanoscience called "The Power of Small" which you can all see on your local PBS stations in May.

All of the Einstein Fellows were also invited to lunch by Congressman Mike Honda of California, who is a great person. He is a former high school science teacher so he really "gets it!"

Honda and the Einsteins

Around the middle of March, the current fellows hosted 27 applicants here to interview for next years fellowships in DC. We organized some DC tours and gatherings at current fellows homes, and tried to give them a bit of an idea of what to expect if they are chosen. It was rather bittersweet to think that just over a year ago I was here for interviews myself, and that my own experience would now be winding down. There is bit of "Potomac Fever" that I think most people get after being here, and I would certainly think about returning some day!

I've been able to see Don pretty regularly the past few months, in Seattle and Portland, and for 10 days during his Spring break He came to DC on his birthday and got to come spend a day with me at NSF and see where I work, He was also present for a presentation some of the Fellows did at NSF, and then spent a few days touring on his own and meeting me after I got off work. We were very lucky when he was hers that my next door neighbor gave us preview tickets to the new NEWSEUM, a fabulous new museum about the news on Pennsylvania Ave. on the National Mall.

The weather has definitely turned to spring and this week is the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The trees were just starting to blossom when Don was here; now they are in full and beautiful.

I hope everyone- friends, family, colleagues and students- is well and happy. Please drop me an email or call me to chat! I will try to do another update in May. See you all soon!

Ruth

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Hi Everyone,

So sorry I haven't updated the BLOG for so long! 6 weeks have come and gone since I last updated you on my DC adventures, and of course, during that time I spent almost 2 weeks at home. I was able to visit with many friends and relatives, and it was great to be home and see everyone, but that now seems like a long time ago.

Coming up in March, my directorate, OISE, is presenting a 2 hour briefing on what OISE is/does to the Director of NSF, Dr. Bement. Everyone is quite nervous and working to make this an impressive event. I have turned out to be the "point man" on helping everyone in with their Powerpoints! Hopefully, I won't be remembered just as the PPT animator girl....but at least I am contributing!

Megan was here with me for a little over 2 weeks, from Jan. 4th-22nd, and we had a great time. She got to see all the usual sites, and then Don came and joined us over MLK weekend and we went to Mt. Vernon. George's home is quite interesting and I plan tp go back in the spring when it is warmer. Megan was also lucky enough to be here when we Einstein's were given a White House, Supreme Court and Capitol tour. All very cool, and we even got to ride the underground subway that connects the House and Senate offices to the Capitol itself.

I have some great photos I will upload tomorrow, but need to get to sleep right now. I am taking a Spanish refresher course 2 nights a week and have a midterm presentation to do next week...

Until I post photos and next BLOG, I hope all is well with all l of you! Drop me an email and come for a visit! Happy 2008!

Ruth

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The time between Thanksgiving and the holidays is speeding by. Julie and Don were here for Thanksgiving, and we had a wonderful time. Julie spent her days prior to Thanksgiving seeing all the sites in DC, and we also had a chance to go out to the Shenendoah Valley and Appalachians to see the fall colors and go to some outrageous caverns.

The following week, I served on the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math & Science Teaching review panels. It was quite an experience and I now have much more of a true understanding of how much work is involved in the review process at NSF and other agencies. We worked from 7:30 am to 8 or 9 pm each night and ate as we worked. It was pretty exhausting, but a great learning experience.

Last week was a busy one in OISE at NSF. The reviews are just about all in for the IRES proposals and also for some Doctoral Dissertation proposals, so I spent most of the week in panel reviews and writing review analyses, summaries and abstracts. When I first interviewed for the position, I was asked to submit an “on the spot” writing sample, and now I know why! Lots of reading and writing involved in this position, particularly at certain times of the grant cycles.

I did also attend a House Science & Technology briefing on Technology and 21st century Skills, including some research on successful technology integration to improve student learning and on Virtual online schools. I also took part in an ISTE web seminar at NSF about Emerging Technologies.

The holidays have definitely arrived in the Capitol. We had our Einstein Fellowship Holiday Party on Tuesday. It snowed about 4 inches and was very cold all week, and the white stuff added to the Holiday feel of the Capitol Tree Lighting on Wednesday night and the White House Tree Lighting on Thursday night. The Capitol tree is from Vermont, and since one of the Fellows, Jennifer, works in Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT) office, she was able to invite us to the reception after the lighting in the U.S. Botanical Gardens. It was beautiful and they served the best food we’ve had at a reception so far! Friday it began to warm up to the 40’s and rain, and now the snow is melted and it is just gray. (The photo on the left is the White House Tree, next is our patio, next is the snow on our street (my house is the one by the streetlight), and the last 2 are the Capitol Tree.)

Megan has a month off between contracts, and will be coming out to stay with me on Jan. 4th for 2 weeks! I can’t wait to see her. It was very strange not to have her with us for Thanksgiving, and I am sure it will be even more so at Christmas. But, she is having a great time and we will see her shortly after the 1st of the year. She will have to adjust to cold DC weather after being in Hawaii! One thing I am excited about is that she will get to join the Einstein Fellow tour of the Capitol and White House while she is here. How cool is that?

I hope you are all well and that I will get to see many of you while I am home. I will also be home in February for a long weekend (16th-20th) so if I don’t get to see you this time, hopefully I will see you then.

Have a wonderful Holiday! I will not be updating the BLOG until mid-January.

Cheers!
Ruth

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It is hard to believe that the holidays are upon us! Time is beginning to speed up, and I am busy attending conferences and trainings, as well as increasing my work here in OISE at NSF. (How do you like those acronyms?) As I mentioned, I attended the 2007 National Leadership Development Symposium, "Changing the Course of Science Education," sponsored by the National Science Resources Center of the National Academies of Science and the Smithsonian Institution. The symposium focused on ways of leveraging the involvement of a wide range of organizations in the science education of our nation's youth. Topics included: Research-based, effective K-16 science teaching and learning, characteristics of effective programs in school districts and states and forming effective partnerships for sustaining systemic reform. I learned about some fantastic science and math programs in other states and districts, as well as meeting several business leaders from Bristol-Meyers-Squibb and the Michelin group who are involved in trying to improve science education for K-12 students.

On Thursday night of the conference, they invited us to a beautiful, sit-down dinner in the Smithsonian Castle. it is apparently fairly rare to get to do this, and the surroundings were unreal! Take a look:

On the Friday night the symposium ended, most of the Einstein Fellows and I went to the Air and Space Museum for Smithsonian Teacher's night, where we got to see the new IMAX "Sea Monsters 3D" movie (highly recommend for all students and teachers alike!)

The teachers in the DC area have so many wonderful resources and opportunities available to them for their own professional development and for their students' learning. And, they treat educators well here! Always free, lovely food and drinks!

I also squeezed in a panel discussion at the Carnegie Institute sponsored by Common Good, called "Class Disrupted." I found it very relevant, and cause for thinking about all we are doing in education. The Program director of Educators for Social Responsibility, the RCCP folks, was there, along with several other social and education researchers. Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary, was the closing speaker, as he is involved in RCCP through his "Operation Respect" program. (Photos are of me, with fellow NASA Einstein Fellow Ann Coren, and me and Peter- he is ery friendly!)

The main point of the panel was to try to highlight to the NCLB folks that, you can have the highest standards, best trained teachers, best curriculum, etc., etc. however, if we don't address the social and emotional issues of kids (poverty, violence and such) they won't be ready to learn. LCSD had a big push some years ago for RCCP, and we seem to have just let it go by the wayside in our focus on academic achievement. I think we all need to be reminded that we are working with children with many needs and that, just because we have to answer to the feds, we need to take care of kids' basic needs before they can benefit from the Highly Qualified teachers and great instruction we offer!

On Monday, the 5th of November, we went to another panel, Wireless and Well-Prepared: The E-mergence of Technology in the Classroom with David Thornburg,founder and Director of Global Operations for the Thornburg Center, Mary Cullinane, Director, U.S. Partners in Learning, Microsoft Corporation and consultant to the new Philadelphia High School of the Future, Walter Bender, President of Software and Content, One Laptop per Child Foundation, and Amy Klobuchar, United States Senator, Minnesota and a member of the Senate Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Innovation. Since all of us were true technology in education believers, it was a bit like preaching to the choir, but it was interesting to hear about the High School of the Future, and see the new One Laptops. It will be interesting to see if these take hold in the U.S. and throughout the world, as there is some controversy surrounding giving children in developing, poor countries technology, rather than food, shelter and medicine.

I continued working in the office on the IRES proposals, getting more reviewers for them and the IRFP's, and I wrote an abstract for a funded proposal that will appear on the NSF website (eventually...) I have also been going to panel reviews for biology and geosciences proposals with an international component. This has been very interesting, and should be helpful in the future to our grantwriting efforts. It is informative to see how the experts critique the proposals, and I see that writers must be brief, but explicit, and not leave anything to the reviewers assumptions. I also went in and out of several sessions at the NSDL (National Science Digital Library) Conference that wwas held here at NSF (well, at the Westin across the street, anyway!) That is an outstanding resource for science and math teachers, especially middle school, and I hope to do some professional development around that when I get back. In the meantime, if you are interested, here is the website, http://nsdl.org/

On Thursday, the 8th, I had a wonderful opportunity to go to the Louden Academy of Sciences, a magnet high school math and science program, to see about a dozen U.S. and a dozen Singapore students present research projects they have been collaborating on over the web. First, I was astounded by the sophistated level of equipment in their science labs. I was also stunned by the advanced level of the research that the students were undertaking and that they were using their social networking and email and web-based video conferencing to collaborate internationally. I feel so lucky to be able to go and visit exemplary programs this year, and hope that LCSD colleagues might be able to see some of these firsthand as well.

Last weekend, Veteran's Day, I traveled to St. Louis for the National Quality in Education Conference, and met up with my LCSD friends and colleagues. It was so great to see everyone and spend some "Quality" time with them.

We had many interesting and thought provoking conversations, and though I am having a unique and memorable experience here in DC, I miss everyone from home- both personally and professionally- and look forward to coming back and working to implement some of the great ideas people in LCSD have and meshing them with all I am learning this year.

Finally, when I returned to DC from St. Louis, I had the chance to go to a few more discussions and events. I went to the Woodrow Wilson Center for a panel discussion on Science and Math Education in Asia and the differences between Asia and the U.S.

Wilson Center Asia Panel

Of course, the U.S. is well behind Asian countries in science and math student achievement, and some of the differences that contribute to this are elements that are being studied by education researchers, such as teacher preparation & professional development, standardized national curriculum, parental support and cultural respect for teachers and education. One interesting piece of information was that the bottom 20% of Asian students were still performing at significantly higher levels than the bottom 20% of U.S. students.

From this panel I went to the Kennedy Center for a reception for American Education Week that introduced a new professional development effort, supported by the Verizon Foundation, to train teachers to use Thinkfinity.org, a website that offers 55,000 lesson plans and resources for all subject areas. Reg Weaver, the NEA President, was the guest speaker, and spent some time conversing with me and Another of my Einstein Fellow friends, Jennifer Berry-Rickert, from Tennessee. Oregon is not currently one of the 17 states this effort is focusing on....wonder how we can change that?

Finally, some of us are going to be working on an interagency project with NOAA, USGS and the National Park Service to revise a Climate Change curriculum for middle schools. While we were at the meeting yesterday, we had a sneak peak at the Second Life Virtual Worlds learning tool that NOAA is developing. It was awesome, and I now have a small idea of why our kids' brains are different from ours! You have to see it to believe...

Whew! I now embark on a period of relative calm, between now and when I come home for Christmas on the 20th of December. Fewer professional development activities that take me out of NSF, and more OISE work, as the IRES proposal reviews start to come in. I am ready to focus more on my NSF work as I am actually on professional Development overload! And, Julie (my sister from Seattle) comes tonight for a week, and Don arrives Wed. night to spend Thanksgiving here in DC.

I hope all of you reading this will have a restful holiday and enjoy being with your loved ones. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Ruth

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It has finally turned to Fall here. After a much needed few days of downpour, the sun is out, the leaves are falling and the air is cool and crisp. All the locals are already wearing their wool coats and boots and scarves, but I feel right at home! I can walk the mile to the metro without sweat!

Let me fill you in on the last few weeks. Don came out for a weekend a few weeks ago, and we had a great time. We went to the Hopper exhibit at the National Gallery, visited the WWII Memorial, (which Don had never seen) and had some delicious meals. There is an abundance of great food here...unfortunately for me and weightwatchers! Fortunately, I walk anywhere from 3-6 miles a day. We also went to the National Archives to see the Declaration, Constitution and Bill of Rights, the Botanic Gardens, a woodwind concert at the Library of Congress, and to Georgetown. Don probably needed a vacation from his vacation!

One of our Fellow's Landlord works for the Woodrow Wilson Center here in DC, and he invited all of us to a conference that was put on by a charitablle organization out of LA called "Children Uniting Nations." The evening prior to the conference, we were invited to a film premier of "The Invisible Ones" directed by various international directors, including Spike Lee. Next day, we heard several speakers talking about educating children in poverty and about a program this group has going in LA for mentoring Foster Children. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez of CA spoke about her experiences growing up in Anaheim (near my hometown.)  Goldie Hawn introduced several other high ranking and famous individuals. But the highlight for me was the luncheon speaker, Jane Goodall. She was so gracious and is a wonderful person. I spoke with her for a few minutes and have these photos to remember the moment. (1st one is Rep. Sanchez)

Later that evening, most of the Einstein Fellows attended a reception in the Gold Room of the Rayburn House Office  Bldg. to celebrate National Chemistry Week and sponsored by the American Chemical Society.  We met and had a great time talking with Congressman Vernon Ehlers, of Michigan, who is a great supporter of science education, (he was a physics and nuclear physics professor at UC Berkeley!) Later, Ed and Lynn, 2 of our Capitol Hill Einstein Fellows, took us on a tour of their offices and the underground tunnels under the Capitol..(there is s train from the House and Senate Offices to the main Capitol building, but we needed special permission to go..another time!)

Had a quiet weekend and cleaned up a bit around the house, took my new "old lady" cart to Safeway and got some groceries to help me stay away from those fantastic restaurants for a bit, and went to an Einstein Fellows gathering at one of the Fellow's places in Virginia. Kent, from Minnesota, has his 8 & 12 year old boys with him, and we had a bit of a Halloween party with them. The rest of us get our "kid fix" from Kent boys, and they are now honorary "junior" Einsteins.

Today, my office held their annual Advisory Committee, so I learned even more about NSF and OISE. I also met a biology Professor from the U of O who is on the committee (Janis Weeks.) We discovered she has a house about 10 miles down the road from us in Oregon. Small world. I have actually met many interesting scientists, and several from Oregon and Washington, so my "network" is expanding, and hopefully that will bring some opportunities for future partnerships with LCSD and some of these academicians.

The news tonight is warning everyone to bring in their plants as the 1st freeze is predicted. It is chilly, and I may go splurge on an electric blanket! Everyone is warning me that it will get very cold in the winter. I will work at NSF tomorrow, but Wed-Friday I will be attending a Science Leadership Symposium at the National Academies of Science, including a reception/dinner Thursday in the Smithsonian Castle. It's hard to believe it will be November already! The time is flying and I am being inundated with knowledge and learning that I need to process before long. Mid November things seem to slow down and I should have time to reflect on everything I've been doing.

I am meeting up with LCSD folks in St. Louis for the National Quality Education Conference over Veteran's Day, and Julie and Don are coming here for Thanksgiving, Then, I will come home for Christmas, so if you don't make it out here to DC before then, I hope to see you all then.

Have a happy Halloween and a great Fall! Drop me a note with all the local news!

Ruth

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I can’t believe how fast time is passing. I have already been here 7 weeks and my plan to BLOG weekly is already reduced to bi-weekly.  I have to look back at my calendar to recall what I have been doing.

Two weekends ago, on Saturday, Sept. 29th, I went to the National Book Festival, held on the Capitol Mall. It was so fantastic. Tents were set up for various genres, such as mystery, history, popular fiction, children’s lit, thrillers, etc. Every hour a different bestselling author gave a talk and answered audience questions to a packed crowd. This event is in it’s 7th year, and it’s worth a visit to DC next fall just to come to the Book Festival. Among the authors present were Jodi Picoult, Daniel Silva, Stephen Hunter, Ken Burns, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Jack Prelutsky, Patricia McLanahan, David Baldacci, and many more. PBS had a tent with all the characters from PBS shows and books, like Arthur and The Magic School Bus. Way cool!

Sergei Kruschev

Tuesday, we were invited to the U.S. Department of Education to meet the entire Shuttle Endeavour’s crew, and we had the chance to talk personally with them and ask them many questions. Barbara Morgan and Tracy Caldwell, both of the female astronauts, are wonderful role models for girls. There were also about 50 students from a local school there and the crew was great with them…very inspiring.

National Building Museum

So, you have an idea of all of the events we get to go to as Fellows, and I must admit I did not feel like I was “working: at NSF, since I was hardly there. After a train ride and great weekend visit to Philadelphia to visit Arline Toates, her son, Greg and his wife, Stephanie and son, Noah, this week is shaping up to be much more of a “work” week.

Greg, Arline, Stephani & Noah

Office Cubicle

Finally, Don arrives tomorrow (Thursday) nite, late. I will take the Metro to meet him at Reagan National Airport and we’ll get back here by midnite. I am taking the day off Friday to spend with him (I do really miss him!) We are going to take in a few DC museums and a concert Friday night at the Library of Congress. The weather is supposed to finally cool down to fall-ish levels by tomorrow as well. Sunday, Don and I will meet my college roommate, Peggy (from Chicago) and her husband Louis for Brunch as they are in town visiting their daughter, a senior at G-dub (George Washington U.)

The next week I travel to Detroit for the Regional NSTA conference, so my next update will likely not be till I return from there on the 21st. Megan calls me tomorrow from San Diego on her return from Mexico and way to Hawaii….rough life! I miss her, but know she is having a wonderful time working on the ship, and she will come stay a few weeks in January. I hope all of you are doing well. Though I am having an unbelievable experience here in DC, I miss everyone and Oregon. See you in December…unless you come here 1st!

Ruth

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Wow! What a week! I never imagined I would be so busy. Every day some new event or opportunity presents itself, and I always try to take advantage of all there is to do since I know I am only here for 11 months...and one month is already gone!

Last week, I met with a Fellow from the Japanese Education Ministry. He was finishing up a year here and then will go back to his job in Japan. I found it very interesting that his main question was "How do you get students to LIKE math and science?" I asked why he would even be worried about this for Japanese students, since they have among the highest math and science scores of any industrialized nation. He related that while most Japanese students do very well K-12, once they get to college they feel like they don't have to work hard anymore, and fewer students are choosing math and science studies.

On Friday, I attended a Briefing in the House by the STEM Education Caucus, where they described the proposed changes for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) in the NCLB reauthorization. Afterwards, we went to the Triangle coalition for the Education Policy Briefing, where we learned how Federal education Policy is made. What amazed me was how much influence the Federal Policy has on states and districts when the actual percentage of most budgets from federal dollars is an average of 8%!

Over the weekend, several of us enjoyed a free and fabulous performance on a gorgeous, fall afternoon of "La Boheme" right on the lawn in front of the Washington Monument. As are the majority of the events here in the Capitol, it was free. Hard to pass up that price!

On Thursday we are all being given a tour and special workshop at the National Academies of Science. This fellowship is giving me so many educational and cultural opportunities, and I hope this BLOG enables me to share them with all of you in a small way. Tomorrow is the National Book Festival on the Mall and many famous adult and children's authors will be there. I especially want to meet Patricia MacLanahan, and Jack Prelutsky. A friend of mine from Sandia Lab in ABQ is coming to town on Sunday night.

Don is coming to visit in 2 weeks, and next weekend I am going to Philadelphia to visit Greg Toates, wife and baby while Arline is there. I will put up photos of Philly, where I have never been.

Hope you are all well and enjoying some good fall weather. Today it finally cooled of and the humidity left town.

Ruth

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Hi Everyone,

I have been so busy that I didn't realize I haven't updated the blog. Last week I was at "Boot Camp," also known as NSF Program Management Seminar, for 4 days. It was located at a rustic resort in the Appalachian Mountains (not Smokies as I said earlier!) We drove through the Shenendoah Valley and over the river and through Harper's Ferry on our way. I now have a much clearer picture of what the National Science Foundations is and does, as well as what I will be doing this year. If you want to know more about NSF, here is a good link with a photo of the building I am in, description and a 3 minute video: http://www.nsf.gov/about/glance.jsp

This week I have been working on a briefing for the Public Affairs Office to give background information on NSF funded projects in Ecuador (mostly in the Galapagos) for a Congressional Delegation visit to Ecuador. I am becoming very familiar with using a database and abstracts. I also attended a AAAS conference for Women's International Science Collaborations and got to meet some amazing women PhD's doing International research. They presented their work and we enjoyed lovely hors d'eurves and wine!

Last weekend I went to Kennedy Center again and walked around the Potomac in Georgetown. We had a BBQ with all the Einstein Fellows at our place on Sunday, and everyone shared how their fellowhips were going. The Capitol Hill Fellows just got started, and one of them in working on the Health, Education and Labor Committee that is "marking up" the revisions to the NCLB reauthorization. Tomorrow we are all going to the House Office building for a briefing from the House STEM Education Caucus on proposed STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) changes to No Child Left Behind. Then, in the afternoon, we have an "Education Policy" briefing where will learn how Federal education policy is made.

Every day I get multiple emails with opportunities to attend hearings and briefings on Capitol Hill, Science conferences, workshops and symposia, embassy events and receptions....it is all pretty amazing. I plan to take advantage of these whenever possible. The cool thing is that as a Fellow, I am expected to learn, grow and develop this year, so I am not always "working" in the technical sense. It's extremely different from teaching, and not nearly the hard work that preparing for and working with students is! I wish all my colleagues could have the opportunties I am enjoying this year, and to that end, I encourage any of you reading this Blog to start thinking about applying now for next year. Applications open October 1st, and the deadline is usually in January. I'd be happy to help anyone interested with their essay questions!

My roomate's daughter is coming in from Chicago Friday night, and her name is Megan, too. Chris has invited me to go with them to her cousin's engagement party in Bethesda, MD. On Sunday, a group of Fellows is going to the Capitol Mall in the afternoon to view a live Simulcast of La Boheme (free) around the Washington Monument. Next week I go to a 3 day Education and Workforce Summit by the US Chamber of Commerce, and on Friday I attend an American Youth Polivy Forum on High Achieving, Low Income students.

I will add some photos to this post this weekend, so check back on Monday to see them. I hope you are all doing well. If any of you are planning to come visit, December and January, April and May are wide open. Other months I am traveling, so check on dates with me. I'd love to have visitors and you've got a free place to stay.

Keep in touch and let me know how things are going with you.

Ruth

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This week was all about getting oriented, and though I have a better idea of what I will be doing, it will take some time to really feel comfortable and learn all I need to do a good job. Tuesday all 17 fellows went to the Triangle Coalition Office at the NSTA building for a day-long orientation. We heard from the DOE head guy in charge of the Einstein program and from a few former fellows, who offered up words of advice. At the end of the day, we hopped the metro and got off at Foggy Bottom, where GWU (George Washington University) is and walked down past the State Dept. to the National Academies of Science, where we had a photo "shoot" at the Einstein Statue.

07/08 Einstein Fellows

Afterwards, the Triangle folks took us out to a fantastic dinner at a famous, family style Italian place in Dupont Circle called Buca di Beppo. It was great, and there is one in downtown Seattle, so if you are there, try it. Howard Dean was also eating dinner and was a little annoyed with us for being so loud when he wanted a quiet dinner...

The rest of the week I went to my NSF office and learned how to use the data base...holy cow! I really know how my students feel when I have just explained something, they say they "get it," and 5 minutes later they don't and I have to show them again. That's me now! Fortunately, everyone I am working with is kind and patient. I am assigned to the Americas group, as I may have mentioned earlier, so I am getting some data together on Brazil for a briefing for one of the guys  going there next week. Thursday I was invited to tag along to a meeting at the State Department to discuss issues that NSF funded U.S. researchers have with permits and sample collections in foreign countries. Very interesting. Friday I was invited to go to a reception at the Brazilian Embassy with my supervisor and the colleague going to Brazil, but at 3pm I broke a tooth! I managed to get in to a dentist right away and he filled it temporarily. However, when I got back to work, it was clear I couldn't go as the entire right side of my face was numbed and I couldn't even talk from 4 shots of novacaine! I had to bow out this time, but was assured other opportunities will come along.

Yesterday, (Saturday) my roomate, Chris and another NSF fellow, Nicole and I went to the FREE Kennedy Center  Open House,

Tumblers Video: Click on it to watch

Kennedy Center Concert Hall

I have only 1 day in the office this week, as Tuesday through Friday I go to NSF Program Officer "boot camp," where I am to learn all I need to know about NSF and how to do my job this year. It is at The Woods Resort in Hedgesville, WVA  on the edge of the Smoky Mountains, and is supposed to be very nice. Two of the other NSF fellows are also going with me, and the other 5 go in October.

Today is supposed to be the last of the 90+ humid summer days, with 80 degrees and rain coming soon. I can't wait. If anyone doubts I am coming back next year, rest assured the weather alone here will send me back to lovely, COOL and NOT HUMID Oregon! I can't wait to turn off the air conditioning and wear a sweater!

Hope you are all well and school, work, retirement are going well.

Ruth

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