Macy's Tree Lighting

In San Francisco at the Macy's Tree Lighting ceremony and SPCA Holiday window featuring lovable animals up for adoption
Enjoying live music performances by Shelby Miguel,SF Boys' chorus, renowned Glide Ensemble, Judith Hill and more.

Newark Rotary Foundation Crab Feed 2013

Newark Rotary Foundation Crab Feed 2013

Enjoy the video (1:47)

First Lego League Tournament at the Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus.

I had a great time being a judge at the First Lego League Tournament at the Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus.

Video: In Full Swing Band

Video: In Full Swing Band

Enjoy the video (12:02)

Professor Arellano honored by assemblymember

Rick Arellano, professor of computer applications and occupational technology at Ohlone College, was one of five people honored last month at the inaugural Latino Heritage Leadership Awards Ceremony.

The event, held Oct. 11 in the Council Chambers at Newark City Hall, was started as a mark of respect toward National Hispanic Heritage Month, which is observed Sept. 15 through Oct. 15.

“These individuals being recognized have demonstrated a long-standing commitment to making our community a better place for everyone,” Assemblymember Bob Wieckowski of Fremont said in a statement.

Wieckowski, along with Congressman Mike Honda, State Sen. Ellen Corbett and San Jose City Council member Kansen Hu, awarded Arellano with a Latino Heritage Leadership Certificate of Recognition.

“Education is very important to Rick Arellano,” Ohlone College Trustee Vivien Larsen said in her introduction speech. “He supports, promotes and advocates for the success of the Latino community, in particular the Latino students’ success and advancement in education, especially in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. He is also an advocate for older adults.”

Larsen praised Arellano for his past and present community leadership roles, including his service as board member of Life ElderCare; president of the AARP Newark Chapter; secretary of Toastmasters Newark Chapter; City of Newark Senior Citizen Advisory Committee member; coordinator of STEM College for a Day at Ohlone College; Newark Rotary Club member; Ohlone College Foundation board director; and Avanzando board member.

He was named Ohlone College Outstanding Educator of the Year in 2010 and has been recognized by the U.S. House of Representatives and the state Legislature, among others.

Arellano holds a master’s of science degree in computer systems. In his acceptance speech, he thanked his parents for granting him permission to leave his home in Lima, Peru, at the age of 17 in order to pursue his future, along with his family for supporting him throughout his journey of accomplishments.

“I lived in the Mission district of San Francisco, where I met so many individuals dedicated to the advancement of the underserved and underrepresented,” he said. “I followed their footsteps. Later on, in Oakland, Stockton and the East Bay, I met other individuals with similar goals. They were also my mentors and role models. I share with all of them this Certificate of Recognition.”

Read more here >>>

At the Saratoga Civic Center enjoying "Fiddler On the Roof"

At the Saratoga Civic Center enjoying "Fiddler On the Roof"
Drink, l'chaim, to life
To life, l'chaim
L'chaim, l'chaim, to life

Watch:What’s up Big Band?

What’s up Big Band?

Enjoy the video (11:05)

Watch: Traditional Aztec dance

Watch: Traditional Aztec dance

The Ollin Anahuac Traditional Aztec dance group

Enjoy the video (1:50)

How to attract underrepresented-minority students to careers in science and technology

Summit at Stanford addresses how to attract underrepresented-minority students to careers in science and technology

Officials from historically black colleges and universities around the country gathered on campus last week to share ideas about how to encourage students, especially underrepresented minorities, to pursue careers in STEM fields. Stanford President John Hennessy and Dean of Engineering Jim Plummer were among the speakers.

BY TOM ABATE

Inspire students to dream, then help them learn by doing and they will embrace science, technology, engineering and math, Stanford President John Hennessy told officials from 17 historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) who met on campus Thursday.

The visiting educators were taking part in the United Negro College Fund's HBCU Innovation Summit, aimed at finding ways to get more young people, particularly underrepresented minorities, to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. The first-of-its-kind gathering brought together leaders from institutions such as Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University and Howard University that have traditionally focused on educating African Americans.

The program, which ended with a Friday afternoon visit to Google, was organized in part by the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter) and the Stanford Center for Professional Development, both at Stanford University, with support from the National Science Foundation, among other funders.

Hennessy, who spoke at a breakfast session at the Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center, briefly recounted the career story of the building's namesake, who started his education at Oregon State University, took Stanford classes to burnish his engineering and business skills, and founded the chip company Nvidia – achieving personal fortune and eventually becoming a benefactor to Stanford Engineering.

"We try to create opportunities for students to think creatively, to think outside the box," Hennessy said, abandoning the podium to get closer to 80 educators facing him in a semicircle of tables and chairs. "We think that kind of skill can be built in any person who has the drive, who has the excitement, who wants to change the world."

Dean of Engineering Jim Plummer spoke after Hennessy, and focused on the nuts and bolts of attracting students to STEM fields. For starters, he urged his fellow educators to help change common practices that have unintentionally turned students off, such as asking high schools students to declare their interest in STEM careers.

"We actually lose a lot of young people who could be potential engineers and potential scientists and potential mathematicians because they are asked to make that choice as seniors in high school," Plummer said.

Stanford admits students to the university at large and lets them choose majors later, Plummer noted. Once students are on campus, outreach programs seek to attract them to STEM fields. Plummer offered several examples of such "pathway" initiatives, including Introductory Seminars, an array of 200 courses that allow freshman and sophomores to take small classes taught by Stanford faculty.

This fall, for example, computer science Professor Yoav Shoham is teaching a freshman seminar titled Can Machines Know? Can Machines Feel? Plummer said. "If I were a freshman, that would be an interesting seminar."

Other examples include summer courses that allow undergraduates to build a jet engine and a program that offers them entry-level positions in Stanford research labs. Plummer said such experiences whet students' intellectual appetites and give them extra incentive to take the difficult courses in math and science they would need to succeed in STEM.

Plummer and Hennessy both talked about Stanford Engineering's Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, or d.school, which gives students with backgrounds in engineering, business and social sciences a chance to collaborate on projects. Hennessy cited one d.school team that took a class titled Design for Extreme Affordability, in which students were challenged to find a way to help premature infants in poor countries where it was tough to find a $25,000 incubator to keep them warm. The students' solution, Hennessy said, was to create a baby sleeping bag with an easy-to-heat wax insert that could keep these at-risk infants warm for up to eight hours at a cost of just $25.

"That's the kind of social entrepreneurship we're talking about," Hennessy said.

Professor Tom Byers, co-director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program and director of Epicenter, introduced Hennessy and Plummer in his capacity as a co-host of the various summit activities.

"I'm ecstatic," said Rose Glee, director of the office of technology transfer at Florida A&M University. "The ideas and the best practices I'm hearing about, and the synergy of sharing all this with my colleagues, has made this such an energizing experience."

At a time of increasing awareness of the need to boost minority representation in STEM fields, the gathering was designed to show how historically black colleges and universities can help.

"Thirty-three percent of recent African American STEM PhDs received their undergraduate degrees from HBCUs, and eight of the 10 top colleges whose African American graduates went on to get PhDs in science were HBCUs," said Michael L. Lomax, president and chief executive officer of the United Negro College Fund.

Summit attendees exemplified what HBCUs are already doing to channel their students into STEM careers. Senior Associate Vice Chancellor Curtis Barnabas Charles of Fayetteville State University described the Center for Defense and Homeland Security at his institution, which is near the military complex at Fort Bragg, N.C.

The center focuses on the fact that tens of thousands of Defense Department scientists and engineers are nearing retirement. "We cannot outsource national security jobs," Charles said. "To us, that's a market for our students."

The summit also afforded HBCU educators a chance to make connections that will benefit their students.

Eric Sheppard, dean of the School of Engineering and Technology at Virginia's Hampton University, said he hopes to create ongoing relationships that will allow him to place his students in graduate study or industrial programs. With about 5,000 students, over 90 percent of them black, Sheppard is seeking outside assistance to incubate his 130-person undergraduate-only engineering program.

"I need to get my students into the pipeline," Sheppard said.

Tom Abate writes about the students, faculty and research of the School of Engineering.

More info here >>>