VOLUME 13, NO. 3     June 2001

Conference focuses on the future of math and science education

Three hundred teachers of the nation’s most promising mathematics and science students gathered at WPI in March for the 14th annual conference of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science & Engineering (NCSSSMST).

The University and the Massachusetts Academy of Mathematics and Science hosted the conference--the first of its kind in New England--with support from a $50,000 grant from Hopkinton Mass.-based EMC Corp.

"Morphing Education by Infusing Technology" was the theme of the three-day conference, whose 52 sessions focused on many issues relevant to the participants, including data visualization, distance learning, minority recruitment and retention, classroom drama and technology, and ethics.

Dean Kamen ’73, who received the first WPI Presidential Medal (see above), gave the keynote address. Featured speakers were Aliza Sherman, founder of Cybergirl, which seeks to empower women through technology, and Sheila Tobias, who teaches and writes about mathematics and science.

Established in 1988, the NCSSMST is a nonprofit network of 68 secondary schools, with more than 35,000 students and 85 college affiliations in 24 states.