BLAST off: W&M launches passion for STEM in Virginia high school students

Ninth and tenth grade students sampled a variety of hands-on STEM activities during their four-day stay.

Spectral detectives: By breaking the light of the discharge lamp to its individual spectral (color) components, students identify the chemical composition of gases, explained Professor of Physics Irina Novikova. "This is how astrophysicists figure out what celestial objects are made of," she said. Photo by Virginia Space Grant Consortium

A group of high school students leans forward in anticipation as William & Mary Professor of Physics Irina Novikova lowers a balloon into the horizontal path of a bright green laser beam. When the yellow balloon doesn't pop like its red predecessor, an animated discussion ensues.

That was just one of the moments of discovery that occurred during the Building Leaders for Advancing Science and Technology (BLAST) program that W&M hosted on campus June 23-26. Eighty ninth and 10th grade students from around Virginia participated in the program, which was organized and funded by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC). The project seeks to increase the number of high school graduates who pursue STEM careers by expanding students' access to hands-on STEM experiences. This is W&M's second year hosting.

"One of the privileges of being a faculty member is the opportunity to demonstrate to the next generation that they can accomplish amazing things if they set their mind to it. That's what BLAST is all about."

W&M is a long-term member institution of the VSGC. This affiliation provides scholarships and fellowships for students as well as connections to NASA and other organizations. The partnership also provides opportunities to take part in VSGC-organized and funded programs, including BLAST.

W&M Professor of Physics Josh Erlich served as principal investigator and university faculty director for this year's BLAST program.

"One of the privileges of being a faculty member is the opportunity to demonstrate to the next generation that they can accomplish amazing things if they set their mind to it," he said. "That's what BLAST is all about."

Eighth and ninth grade students who live in Virginia, are interested in STEM and have a C+ or better grade average can apply for the free program through the VSGC's website. Prior STEM experience is not required.

This year, seven W&M faculty members and seven undergraduates guided BLAST students through activities in synthetic biology, optics, microcontrollers and soldering.

In addition to working through each of the intensive three-hour activities, the BLAST students attended a panel where they learned about the variety of career paths available to majors in STEM disciplines. They also toured professors' labs and the Makerspace Center in Small Hall and viewed rare science books in Swem Library's special collections.

"It is crucially important to introduce students to the joys of discovery and teach them that science is fun and that it could have a huge impact on improving people's lives," said Margaret Saha, Chancellor Professor of Biology and longtime faculty advisor to W&M's award-winning iGEM team. "It is also important that we engage in the community to share what we do and explain its importance."

In Saha's lab, BLAST participants worked closely with undergraduate iGEM team members. They conducted an experiment to isolate novel satellite phages from soil samples, performed a "gram" stain to determine whether bacterial samples were gram positive or gram negative, used different types of candy to construct a model of a DNA circuit and were able to see and feel DNA that they extracted from various fruits.

"We absolutely love the excitement and engagement that these students show," said Saha. "It is so rewarding to see their faces the first time they see bacteria or DNA and their engagement and interest when they learn they are doing real science."

The instructors explained that undergraduate participation is a key part of the program as it allows the high school students to interact with students just a few years older and observe their passion for science and research.

The seven undergraduates who participated in the program this year are Sophia Stagarescu '27, Grace Gulbankian '25, Liam Staker '25, Sarah Sasinowska '25, Verona Miller '25, Kaylyn Nguyen '26 and Rebecca Zheleznyak '26.

"They can also serve as role models," said Novikova. "For example, the three undergraduates who helped in our lab were all females, so the BLAST students saw that women studying physics is not unusual."

Novikova worked with member of the VSGC advisory council and Associate Professor of Physics Seth Aubin to design the optics activities.

In that lab, students watched a demonstration about the wave nature of light and particle wave duality. They tried to predict how a laser beam would be affected by obstacles like slits or thin objects and used their newly acquired knowledge to measure the width of their own hair.

They also learned to identify elements by way of their spectral discharges.

"That's how we know what the stars are made of," said Novikova. "Or what any objects in the universe are made of, for that matter."

The BLAST students worked with discharge lamps in a simplified version of an undergraduate lab and built handheld, foldable spectrometers out of paper and pieces of CDs or DVDs to analyze different kinds of light.

Meanwhile, Erlich and Associate Professor of Physics Eugeniy Mikhailov oversaw the microcontroller activity in which students designed electronics and programmed firmware for digital devices.

BLAST students were also able to try their hand at soldering, a skill that incorporates precise hand-eye coordination, close attention to detail and precise following of directions.

Assistant Dean for Assessment, Accreditation and Accountability at the School of Education Jake Joseph and Teaching Professor of Physics Bjorg Larson designed an activity in which students soldered a variety of battery-powered electronics boards that they were then able to take home.

"Students worked with electronics kits to identify and assemble components on a printed circuit board specifically designed to teach novices how to solder," Joseph wrote in an email. "Those who successfully completed a beginner's kit were invited to challenge themselves with more advanced kits."

On the final evening of the program undergraduate physics majors Sasinowska, Miller and Nguyen hosted a science demo show and served liquid nitrogen ice cream.

BLAST student reviews of the program were decidedly positive.

"I loved how hands on everything was," wrote one student. "We didn't listen to someone talk the whole time; we were able to learn by doing."

Other students shared that they'd discovered careers that they want to pursue and learned to feel more open to doing things outside of their comfort zones. Several suggested extending the program.

"I think everyone who participated had a blast," said Erlich, "pun intended."

Laura Grove, Research Writer

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