2004-2005 Mississippi Supercomputing Research Expedition for high school students.

It is well documented that, in order for the United States to continue as a world leader in research and innovation, we must help our young people to develop an interest and excitement in science and mathematics. It is equally welldocumented that our current science and mathematics educational programs are not adequate to meet the needs of the future technological workforce, and that significant improvements and supplements to the traditional educational system must be identified and energized. The State of Mississippi hosts significant resources in the computational sciences, and our new program, the Mississippi Supercomputing Research Expedition, provides a means to leverage these resources to the benefit of our educational system.

Within the State of Mississippi, we have extensive supercomputing resources; we hope to use these powerful computers to challenge interested and motivated students. Our outreach program is intended to establish a relationship between our three Mississippi high performance computing centers and the local high schools, to teach and foster an understanding of high performance computers, to encourage curiosity about current topics in science, and to introduce an exciting computer technology area to our next generation of scientists. Many of the program's volunteer staff will be drawn from the State's population of scientists, engineers, and researchers--providing students with immediate interaction with role models and practitioners in a variety of science disciplines.

During the 2004-05 academic year, we plan to conduct a pilot program with two high schools. Our pilot program will run during the traditional academic school year. During this time, teams of students, along with a sponsoring teacher, will identify and pursue a single computational project, using high performance computers. Throughout the school year, mentoring and help will be provided to the student teams by the organizers, sponsors, and volunteer mentors.

Ultimately, all interested students in grades 9 through 12 will be eligible to participate. Students may be enrolled in any high school curriculum in Mississippi, and we we do not anticipate any requirements for specific grade point averages or previous computer experience.

The Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research will provide computer accounts for student teams to access remotely. As part of the kick-off of the program in the fall of 2004, the sponsoring computer centers will conduct training workshops such as using high-end computers, writing programs, analyzing data, developing technical reports, and making oral presentations.

The program will conclude in the spring of 2005 with formal judging and awards day activities. Teams are eligible for prizes in areas such as Creativity and Innovation, Best Written Report, Best Oral Presentation, and the Judges' Choice Award.

The program will be sponsored by Mississippi's three Supercomputing centers: our two DoD Major Shared Resource Centers at Stennis and at Vicksburg, and the Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research at Oxford, using the highly successful New Mexico "Adventures in Supercomputing" program as a model. A partnership of Federal and State agencies, universities, and private industries is currently being formed, to allow us to administer the program at minimal cost to participants. Sponsors' donations will be used for kickoff, awards ceremonies and prizes for winning teams.

For further information, please go to the MSRE website, www.mcsr.olemiss.edu/expedition