OVERVIEW
We have 165 students from 136 high schools and 30 California counties enrolled in our 8 clusters, different subject areas in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These students are amazing! We are enjoying getting to know each and every one. In fact, students seem to have known each other all their lives! The cluster friendly “competition” is energizing and shows just how much the students have bonded. Students are encouraged to meet not only those in their own cluster and dorm suite, but in the broader COSMOS community. They are a sharing and caring group, and seem to have adapted to dorm life very quickly! Students are preparing for our QUIZMOS with COSMOS-UC San Diego. Mr. Sean Fletcher, Teacher Fellow for Astronomy, organized and officiated the prep session, which featured a cluster challenge. Mr. Fletcher is an academic bowl "pro," having led freshman and sophomore teams from his high school to first place in the Orange County Academic Decathlon. In the elimination rounds, Global Change Chemistry and Biology emerged as the winning team. The trio included Chris Probert, Adarsha Shivakumar, and Aditi Gupta. The Astronomy team took second place. ... Games of another sort were played in the afternoon at the COSMOS Olympics, part of our 4th of July festivities. In tug-of-war, the girls of Harrowdale beat the boys of Whispering Wood. It was a great day for water balloons! For a look at the academic side of our program, please scroll for cluster highlights, a weekly feature of this newsletter.
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There is NO checkout on Saturdays! We are taking students off campus for the recreational field trips, and no checkout will be available.

Returning to campus: Students must return to COSMOS dorms by 7:00 p.m. Sunday night. Again, the Conference office closes at 8:00 p.m., and after this time, students will not be able to retrieve their dorm key! No Monday morning arrivals! Your cooperation is appreciated. All COSMOS students are minors, and we have 165 students in the program, so we need to have everyone abide by the check-out/check-in policy. Thank You!
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“COSMOS is not just an academic enrichment program, it is a life-changing experience that allows students to grow far beyond what they can imagine. Students get to explore, learn and interact in environments that are new and exciting. I am confident that COSMOS students will leave feeling inspired and motivated to continue on their journey to success.”
--Tatiyana Webb, Program Coordinator (COSMOS Alumna, 2002)
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• DR. KENNETH MEASE, DR. DEREK DUNN-RANKIN, DR. JAMES BOBROW and DR. FARYAR JABBARI, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (Cluster 1: Robots to Rockets: Energy and Power For Machines)
• DR. TAMMY SMECKER-HANE, DR. ELIZABETH BARTON and DR. JAMES BULLOCK, Physics and Astronomy (Cluster 2: Astronomy and Astrophysics)
• DR. JOHN LOWENGRUB, Chair, Department of Mathematics, and THEODORE HAZLETT, Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics (Cluster 3: Tissue and Tumor Biology and Mathematical/Computer Modeling)
• DR. STANLEY TYLER and DR. DAVID LEBAUER, Department of Earth System Science (Cluster 4: Global Change Chemistry and Biology)
• DR. JAMES ARVO, Computer Science - Computing, and DR. SARAH FREY, Department of Mathematics (Cluster 5: Computer Solutions for Mathematical Puzzles and Games)
• MR. JIM SIMMONS, MFA, Jazz Studies, Instructor, Music Department, Cerritos College, MR. JOHN CROOKS, MFA, bassist, composer and band leader, and DR. MICHAEL DESSEN, Advisor (Cluster 6: Mathematics of Music: Rhythm, Tones, and Self-Expression)
• MS. MISTY PAIG-TRAN, Marine Biologist/Shark Physiologist, and MS. STEPHANIE CROFTS, Biologist/Paleontologist, UCI doctoral candidates (Cluster 7: Special Topics in Marine Biology)
• DR. ERIC POTMA, DR. ARA APKARIAN, DR. SHAUL MUKAMEL, DR. WILSON HO, DR. PHIL COLLINS, DR. DOUGLAS MILLS and DR. NIEN-HUI GE, Department of Chemistry, Chemical Bonding Center (Cluster 8: The World of Molecules: Chemistry at the Nano-Scale)

COSMOS: Our passion is science, engineering, math, technology -- STEM! Our vision is to bring these broad fields into focus and show their interrelationships.
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TEACHER FELLOWS
The Teacher Fellow component provides exciting professional development for science and math high school students working closely with UCI faculty and scientists. Former Fellows say that COSMOS “energizes and refreshes” them, providing innovative and creative teaching techniques and strategies for the high school classroom. The Fellows teach Technical Writing/Science Communication and guide the development of a poster and technical abstract. They inform the faculty regarding high school standards, and address various levels of student subject mastery as well as illuminate conceptual understanding related to topics in the cluster to which they are assigned.

• JOE BOOKATAUB, AP Physics, Honors and College Prep Physics, Conceptual Physics, and Biology/Physiology, Century HS, Santa Ana, CA. B.S. Biological Sciences, California State University, Chico; M.A., Education, National University; Clear Credential in Biology and Physics, with CLAD emphasis (Cluster 1: Robots to Rockets: Energy and Power For Machines)
• SEAN FLETCHER, Earth Science, Laguna Hills HS, Laguna Hills, CA. B.A. California State University, Long Beach; Clear Credential Social Science with additional authorization in Science (Geosciences) (Cluster 2: Astronomy and Astrophysics)
• PHUONG VO, Honors and AP Chemistry, Early College HS, Newport-Mesa School District, Costa Mesa, CA. B.A. Chemistry, California State University, Fullerton; Clear Credential Chemistry, CLAD Certification (Cluster 3: Tissue and Tumor Biology and Mathematical/Computer Modeling)
• ERIN ARREDONDO, Integrated Science I, Integrated Science II, and Anatomy and Physiology, Northwood HS, Irvine, CA. B.S. Neuroscience, University of California, Los Angeles; M.A. Education, Pepperdine; Single Subject Credential Biological Sciences, CLAD emphasis (Cluster 4: Global Change Chemistry and Biology)
• CHI TRAN, Mathematics, Saddleback HS, Santa Ana, CA. B.S. Mathematics, University of California, Irvine; M.A. Teaching in Elementary and Secondary Education, University of California, Irvine; B.A. English, University of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Single Subject Credential, Mathematics (Cluster 5: Computer Solutions for Mathematical Puzzles and Games)
• ANIA BRISCOE, Resource Specialist (Mathematics), Saddleback HS, Santa Ana, CA. B.S. Computer Information Systems, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; M.A. Music, Academy of Music, Krakow, Poland; Masters in Special Education Mild/Moderate and Credential, Azusa Pacific University; Clear Credential Single Subject, Music; CLAD Certification (Cluster 6: Mathematics of Music: Rhythm, Tones, and Self-Expression)
• LISA FOX, Science/Science Department Chairperson, Northwood HS, Irvine, CA. B.S. Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine; M.A. Education, University of California, Irvine; Clear Credential, Life Sciences, Supplemental Authorization in Chemistry (Cluster 7: Special Topics in Marine Biology)
• LISA MICHLIN, Chemistry, Earth Science, Laguna Hills HS, Laguna Hills, CA. B.S. Chemistry, Chapman University; Clear Credential Single Subject, Physical Science, Chapman University; CLAD Credential (Cluster 8: The World of Molecules: Chemistry at the Nano-Scale)

Be Famous. Always Wear Your Name Tag!
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COMMUNITY LIFE
Welcome to COSMOS! Each week has a theme with related activities -- for Week 1 it’s welcome week, of course. Students arrived Sunday, June 28, and moved into the dorms. Men’s dorms are Whispering Wood and Woodhall; Girls dorms are Balin and Harowdale. All are part of Middle Earth Housing, named for mythical & memorable places in The Hobbitt & Lord of the Rings trilogy. Students are quickly making friends and finding their comfort level.
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RESIDENT ASSISTANTS
Many parents had the opportunity to meet our Resident Assistant (RA) staff on Sunday, during check-in. COSMOS is very fortunate to have such an accomplished and motivated group. They contribute to the overall goals and experience in many ways. The RAs offer no shortage of opportunities for social interaction. They’ve enjoyed the icebreakers, including Ninja! and “Wrist-a-sha-sha,” and team sports such as volleyball and basketball. They live in the dorm suites and support students in a variety of ways. Click here to read a short bio on each of our outstanding Residential Assistants.
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Cluster 1-- ROBOTS TO ROCKETS: ENERGY AND POWER FOR MACHINES
For understanding robots, students are learning how to model input forces, motor torques, transmissions, and how they relate to energy demands. Students are learning about the scaling of power and energy, and have discovered the place of human power in the world. On the specific issue of combustion, the students will learn about the production of power and the characteristics of various types of flames. On the aerospace side, they received an overview of aerospace engineering -- disciplines involved, UCI curriculum, jobs, and current foci such as NextGen air traffic control, UAVs, blended-wing aircraft, flying cars, NASA's Constellation Program, and commercial space transportation. In the labs, they have already begun designing and constructing a small-scale, working remote-controlled airplane, which they will fly near the end of the program. The science and engineering of airplanes are described in lectures, including balancing the lift, drag, gravity and thrust forces and moments and the concepts of equilibrium and stability. To begin developing their understanding of the relationship between propulsion and flight, students designed, built, and flew water rockets.

Cluster 2-- ASTRONOMY/ASTROPHYSICS
Students started their week by attending lectures on Newton’s laws, force, motion, gravity, electromagnetic spectrum and Doppler Effect. They also gave their preferences for one of eight research projects, which were assigned on Tuesday.  You can find out what assignment your child has been given by going to <http://www.physics.uci.edu/~observat>. Students have already begun their nightly visits to the UCI Observatory. On Monday night, students had their orientation at the Observatory. The UCI Observatory is located in the upper fields on the outskirts of campus. It has a large computer-controlled telescope and numerous other smaller, portable, telescopes. The observatory's main computer-controlled telescope has a 24-inch primary mirror and 8.5-inch secondary mirror. The telescope can be is operated in person or remotely via the Ethernet with a LINUX-based control program. They received instruction on the basics of downloading “live data” from space and taking in the conceptual framework, vocabulary, and the perspective of astronomers. Finally, everyone in the cluster has really started bonding in teamwork and friendship. They have participated in various icebreaker activities, including “two truths and a lie”, where students tell two truths and one lie about themselves. What was discovered is that they all have interesting stories to tell, and that for the most part they are terrible liars.

Cluster 3-- TISSUE AND TUMOR BIOLOGY AND MATHEMATICAL/COMPUTER MODELING
During the first week of COSMOS, the students in the cluster were introduced to the basics of biology, the cell-unit and its needs. They learned that cancer is not just one disease but is a collection of many diseases that are primarily characterized by the uncontrolled growth of cells in certain regions of the body and the ability of these cells to migrate from the original site and spread to distant sites (metastases). The students grew murine pro-B- lymphoid cells under different conditions and learned how to use a counting chamber to count the number of cells to produce a growth curve that describes the population as a function of time in culture. The students learned how to develop and test mathematical models for the population growth of the cells. The students utilized the MATLAB computational framework to distinguish among different growth laws. The students started to learn how to fit cell population data to a particular mathematical growth law. The students also studied optical microscopy and in particular the issues of resolution, magnification and problems with color aberrations. The students also learned about the use of fluorescence in microscopy and the invention of confocal microscopy. The students used a laser scanning confocal microscope to identify organelles and other structures using fluorescence images to get a sense of cell complexity and activity. The students examined the phases of cell mitosis and observed the movement of vesicles through the cell.

Cluster 4-- GLOBAL CHANGE CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGY
Cluster 4 had an incredible first week! We not only had the opportunity to learn from the great minds of Dr. Tyler and Dr. LeBauer, but we have also participated in some exciting lab activities and field trips. This week we visited the San Joaquin Marsh where we examined the relationship between plant diversity and biomass. We were also fortunate to have Dr. Peter Bowler tell us about the marsh’s natural history while giving us a tour of the area. Earlier in the week we examined two ecosystems in the University hills, a lawn and arid grassland. At these two distinct sites, we measured the biodiversity of plants and insects and found that the amount of diversity varied between both ecosystems. On the UCI campus we did some cool hands on activities like comparing the relative concentration of CO2 in background air, human air, and car exhaust. We also modeled the vibration of molecules that are in our atmosphere, measured the solar constant, illustrated the greenhouse effect with simple simulated models of the Earth, and examined gas laws and the relationships between pressure, temperature, and volume. Lastly, through computer simulations, we had the opportunity to explore the effects of ozone concentration and pollution on the atmosphere and weather.
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