Individual Award for Excellence in Physics Mentoring

理查德·卡德纳斯博士是圣玛丽大学物理与地球科学系的主任。2004年毕业于美国大学。2002年，他推动了物理学生协会的成立，目前担任该团体的首席顾问。此外，卡德纳斯博士在2003年发起了物理学嘉年华计划，自该计划开始以来，该计划已经为居住在德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥市圣玛丽大学周围地区的15,000多个家庭提供了科学教育。这个项目影响了低收入、少数民族家庭，否则他们可能不会考虑从事科学事业，也不会理解自然世界在日常生活中所扮演的角色。作为一项主要的指导活动，圣玛丽的学生帮助开发程序并进行实验，他们将这些实验带到周边地区的各个学校。在过去的六年里，卡德纳斯博士亲自指导了60多名物理专业的学生，以及500多名圣玛丽？美国的学生，主要来自理科生，也有来自非理科生，参加了“物理嘉年华”项目。为了准备和教授《Fiesta of Physics》中的科学实验，学生必须对基础物理和其他科学原理有很好的理解，并实现超越通常作为知识的肤浅记忆的深度学习。爱因斯坦曾经说过：“如果你能？我向一个六岁的孩子解释相对论，你根本不懂。”物理学嘉年华的学生们在准备向许多6到10岁的孩子和他们的家人解释各种科学原理时，把爱因斯坦的观察牢记在心，其中许多人表示他们将来想成为科学家。此外，圣玛丽学院的学生对科学产生了更大的好奇心和兴趣，超过80%的物理专业学生继续攻读研究生院的博士学位。许多人继续在地区高中教书。这个嘉年华物理项目惠及了成千上万的孩子和他们的家庭，他们以前对科学不感兴趣，他们的老师往往缺乏科学领域的教育和培训。通常情况下，科学教师认识到他们的局限性，并积极聘请卡德纳斯博士将物理节带到他们的学校。由于资源限制，“物理嘉年华”将其项目限制在埃奇伍德独立学区，这是德克萨斯州最贫穷的学区之一。目前，埃奇伍德地区以外的许多学校都在等待将“物理节”带给他们的学生。为了容纳更多的学校，每年两次的物理嘉年华为所有希望参加的学校提供校园盛会。科学演示帮助学生们通过了国家规定的学业成绩测试。2009年春季项目有300多名参与者，其中大多数是四年级或五年级学生。越来越多想要参与社区教育拓展的非科学专业学生被吸引到这个项目中来。

Dr. Richard Cardenas has served as the chair of the Physics and Earth Science department at St. Mary?s University since 2004. He facilitated the formation of the Society of Physics Students in 2002 and presently serves as the principal adviser to this group. In addition, Dr. Cardenas initiated the Fiesta of Physics Program in 2003, and since its inception the program has provided science education outreach to more than 15,000 families who live in the area surrounding St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas. This program impacts low income, minority families who otherwise may not consider a science career or understand the role the natural world plays in their day-to-day lives. As a primary mentoring activity, St. Mary's students help develop the programming and conduct the experiments that they take to the various schools in the surrounding area. Over the past six years, Dr. Cardenas has personally mentored over 60 physics majors, and over 500 St. Mary?s students, primarily from the sciences but also from non-science majors, have participated in the Fiesta of Physics program. In order to prepare and teach the science experiments in Fiesta of Physics, students must have a good understanding of basic physics and other science principles and achieve deep learning that transcends the superficial memorization that often serves as knowledge. Einstein once stated that "if you can?t explain relativity to a six-year old, you don't understand it". Fiesta of Physics students have taken Einstein's observation to heart as they prepare to explain a variety of science principles to many six through ten-year olds and their families, many of whom indicated that they would like to become scientists in the future. In addition, the St. Mary's students develop greater curiosity and interest in science themselves, and over 80% of physics majors go on to attend graduate school to seek Ph.Ds. Many others go on to teach in area high schools. This Fiesta Physics Program reaches thousands of children and their families who have earlier not been interested in science and who are often taught by teachers who lack education and training in science fields. Frequently, science teachers recognize their limitations and actively recruit Dr. Cardenas to bring the Fiesta of Physics to their schools. Due to resource limitations, Fiesta of Physics has limited its programming to the Edgewood Independent School District, one of the poorest school districts in Texas. Currently, there is a waiting list of schools outside the Edgewood District that want to bring Fiesta of Physics to their students. To try and accommodate more schools, twice a year Fiesta of Physics provides programming through an on-campus extravaganza for all schools that wish to participate. Science demonstrations have helped the school children on the state-mandated achievement test. The Spring 2009 program had over 300 attendees most of whom were fourth or fifth graders. Increasingly, non-science majors who want to participate in community education outreach are being drawn to the program.