The Center for Advanced Research Computing (CARC), UNM’s supercomputing center, hosts a tour for incoming first-year students at The University of New Mexico to inspire interest in careers in science and technology. The tour, which will also include the resident Social Media Workgroup (SMW) and the adjacent ARTS Lab, is part of the Discover your Science exploration festival on Wednesday, Aug. 17.
CARC and its supercomputers are housed in the former Galles Motor Company dealership on historic Route 66. Students will get an opportunity to learn more about Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) fields of study, research projects, and cutting-edge technology at UNM.
“The Discover Your Science exploration festival is primarily for incoming freshmen in STEM fields. Exposing students to resources and research at UNM will offer them a more dynamic way to engage with the campus as a whole and offer students the opportunity to get the most out of their higher education experience,” said SMW AmeriCorps/VISTA STEAM specialist Jazmyn Crosby.
“Some students leave the sciences and engineering behind because classes don’t necessarily capture the excitement of being a scientist and the joy of scientific discovery. It’s challenging for someone to think that far ahead. This tour will allow students to see what these fields are really like. It’s a great opportunity to see these interesting places of research and also what it means to do that research,” said Andrea Polli, professor of Art & Ecology and Director of the SMW.
Polli, Crosby, CARC Director Susan Atlas, and Applications Scientist Ryan Johnson will be on hand to conduct the student tours and discuss the Center’s diverse science, engineering, and arts applications.
CARC is the university supercomputer center. CARC’s mission is to enable excellence in research and scholarship in science, engineering, biomedicine, humanities and the arts, through support for parallel supercomputing, advanced visualization, research data storage and analysis, novel architectures, and by providing leadership to enhance interdisciplinary computing‐based research and education at UNM.
ARTS Lab seeks to support innovation and growth in areas such as film, new media, simulation, telehealth, game technology, image processing, scientific visualization, national security applications, and new markets for content.
The SMW, a resident research group at CARC, investigates the social and ecological impacts of media technology through practice-based research. The group designs and creates projects related to media technology, environment and social change.
Registration is open for students and guests via the STEM Collaborative Center Discover Your Science website.