Our Changing World

Now and then youtube hits the target. The first of these two internet addresses is a  fascinating collection. It's especially good for those of us who haven't roamed the globe recently. Question: Will it be possible for these people of so many different cultures to adapt to a very technological future?

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=2HiUMlOz4UQ&vq=large

The next video is a very rapid, but excellent, illustration of contrasts of today and tomorrow.

http://www.innovationamerica.us/index.php/innovation-daily/2024-what-sony-pl

When these two sites are watched one after the other the result is especially interesting.

Enjoy!

Dixon

America Is Still Exceptional . . . . . . . But Declining Fast

After World War II our ability to engineer and manufacture things was going strong. The needs of the War reguired every sort of technological disipline and American know-how in S.T.E.M. subjects was the most advanced in the world. The acronym S.T.E.M. stands for SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, and MATHEMATICS. For a while our superiority was extended by the Cold War with Russian Communism. Our military-industrial complex was a powerful motivator to the study of S.T.E.M. in our educational systems.

When the Cold War ended America began to slide from manufacturing to financing and distributing. Manufacturing declined in the USA and our schools gradually moved from teaching the hard subjects (S.T.E.M.),  to teaching softer, more socially oriented classes. Instead of engineering degrees, our colleges and universities put more emphasis on liberal arts and business oriented subjects. We taught our young scholars to be lawyers, bankers, and poets as we discovered that there was more opportunity available for distributors and brokers of goods manufactured in other countries where labor was a smaller component of cost.

By the 1990s we were selling pizzas and fast foods to one another, and selling products made off-shore. We lost our manufacturing superiority in almost every industrial product area. Now, for practical purposes, America has no iron and steel makers, we are down to three car manufacturers (and they are hanging on only because they are supported by federal tax dollars), and there is no watch industry, no television industry, no cell phone industry, and we are down to a very few airplane companies. Even pharmaceutical products, the shoe industry, and a substantial amount of our agricultural needs are supplied by other countries. The list goes on and on.

Apple, the computer manufacturer, recently came out with an advanced cell phone with internet capabilities. They hired engineers from India to develop it and then ordered the manufactured product from China. This manufacturing scheme is typical and wide spread. . . . .and in the long run is the principal cause of America's rapid decline. Yes, America is slowly losing it's exceptional superiority in the world community.

more to come . . .

.  

A.I.S.S. Outstanding Scholars

ACHEIVEMENT INSTITUTE

OF SCIENTIFIC STUDIES
Outstanding Scholars

Edgar I. Sanchez - Currently Attending MIT

Edgar Sanchez, AISS Alumni

My involvement with the Achievement Institute of Scientific Studies began in the summer of 2001. At the time, I was a shy young man whose interest remained in science and mathematics. However, my understanding of the applications of what a person can do with such interests can do was very limited. Through the program, I had begun my dream of being on the forefront of science and math.

Upon my acceptance at UC Davis, I was offered the UC Regents Scholarship, the most prestigious scholarship that any UC can bestow onto its students. My undergraduate experience was enriched by my involvement in AISS. At completion of my B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, I had a 3.90 GPA, been at top percentile of my graduating class consistently, and attended three undergraduate research conferences to present my research. I was a Regent Scholar, a member of the engineering honor society – Tau Beta Pi, received a Presidential Undergraduate fellowship from the Vice-Provost to conduct my own research, have appeared frequently on the Dean’s List (11 times) and served as a biomedical engineering academic peer advisor. More importantly, I received the biomedical engineering departmental citation for best undergraduate researcher and the Baskin and Lydia Undergraduate Researcher Award for the University of California, Davis.

I now attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the Biological Engineering Ph.D. program. I have come closer to my professional goals of one day conducting my own research lab. UC Davis along with AISS has provided me with this pathway – simply because I understood the application of math and science at such a young age. I feel that I have been lucky in my preparation with AISS to take full advantage of my higher education. My desire continues to be the catalyst that drives the passion to pursue my dreams and aspirations in the sciences.

Gloria Alday - Yale Graduate, Currently on AISS Staff

Gloria Alday, AISS Alumni

I was a part of the first class of the Achievement Institute of Scientific Studies. I was one of the top students at Santa Ana High School. I knew that college was in my future, but as a 16 year old without an income I was not sure how I was going to get my foot in the door. The cost of college applications was too high for my parents to be able to pay for all ten colleges I was applying to. When I joined AISS, I saw it as a unique opportunity because I was going to be receiving a stipend that I could use for my college applications; and that is exactly what I did. Using the money that I earned from AISS I was applied to some of the top schools in this country and was accepted to among them New York University, University of Michigan, University of California, Berkeley and Yale University.

I received a scholarship from Yale covering 90% of the tuition cost. While at Yale I was able to receive and take advantage of opportunities that I never imagined. I received one of the top educations this country has to offer from some of the leading academics in the world.

Link to youtube A.I.S.S. student testimonials

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFqjsil88tc

Help exceptional students advance their education.Donations are tax deductible under federal government non-profit code: 501 (c) (3). Our Tax ID is available upon request. Our donation list started in 2001. We gladly accept grant applications, company donations, or individual contributions.

In addition to a yearly stipend, we also give each student a Science Programed Graphic Calculator and logo jacket during their junior year, and a laptop computer and reference books during their senior year.

or

Interested in starting your own community program to assist economically disadvantaged High School Students obtain a University education in math, science, and technology? We can help you create an AISS program in your community, at NO COST.


Contact one of the AISS officers below to get started:




If you are interested in making any kind of donation, please contact one of our officers below:

Santa Ana Focus of A.I.S.S.

A.I.S.S. provides academically gifted (3.5 gpa or better) but economically deprived High School students an opportunity and incentives to further their studies in a S.T.E.M. related education.


S.T.E.M. = (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math).




Did you know:


@ There are over 60,000 students in the SAUSD


@ 94% are Latino

@ 80% of those are E S L students.


@ 80% of Latino students are poor. 
   (they qualify for free or reduced rate lunch programs).


@ There are many academic scholars (3.5+)   
    who have almost no opportunity to advance
    to a college or university education.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 A.I.S.S. is not a substitute for public or private schools. It is an additional opportunity that  provides specific assistance leading exceptional students to a college or university education in S.T.E.M. subjects.

Why Is Assistance Needed.

Colleges and universities can be very expensive  

Many qualified students lack parental support for an education beyond high school. 

College and university application processes are not always designed into the public or private school curriculum.

High School teachers and councellors have only limited time to advise students of all the requirements needed to advance. 

Long Range Facts

     @ Approximately 70% of Americans believe the USA is no
             longer a world leader in S.T.E.M. professions.
    
     @ Over 75% of Americans agree that S.T.E.M. subjects
       are not getting enough attention in our schools.


     @ Most Americans are not aware of the importance of
       S.T.E.M. in the world of business and technology.


     @ H.S. students are taught THEORY.


     @ They are taught much less about APPLICATIONS.