SFI is offering several new education outreach programs in 2011 and making changes to its education programs designed to increase their value and sustainability, says Ginger Richardson, VP for Education and Institutional Outreach.
This summer SFI’s signature school for graduate students and postdocs, the 25th Complex Systems Summer School (June 8-July 1 in Santa Fe), will be coordinated and taught by the Institute’s resident faculty; past years have relied more heavily on guest instructors.
“We are drawing on the wealth of resources at SFI to make the curriculum more integral to the research the Institute is doing,” she says.
To maintain the popular program on a cost- neutral basis to SFI, participants will pay tuition for the first time in 2011. At least one- third of those accepted will be selected to receive scholarships, based on individual need and merit.
SFI also is expanding its summer programs for high school students by partnering with the Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts. The new Summer Complexity and Modeling Program (July 9-23 in Groton) will introduce high school students, from the Santa Fe area and from national and international applicant pools, to complexity science.
Another new program, GUTS y Girls, is being offered for New Mexico middle school girls (see article at right).
A new summer workshop for high school teachers, offered in partnership with George Mason University, will explore the latest theories on the origins of life. Located on the GMU campus
in Fairfax, Virginia, “Origins of Life: From Geochemistry to the Genetic Code” (June 21-July 3) will be taught by faculty from a consortium of educational institutions including SFI.
Professionals, academics, postdocs, and students are invited to attend “Exploring Complexity in Science and Technology from a Santa Fe Institute Perspective,” directed by SFI External Professor Melanie Mitchell. Her next two-and-a-half-day course May 23-25 at the University of New Mexico includes lectures and hands-on demonstrations and requires no background in mathematics or science.
“Constantly scaling our programs by way of new formats, new venues, and new audiences is all about building a sustainable educational pipeline for today’s and tomorrow’s complexity scholars,” adds Ginger.
Tuition fees vary; visit www.santafe.edu/ education for more information