Happy November!
Please join us in making this the Month of Gratitude. In this autumn season we reflect on the rewarding programs we have been able to offer this year thanks to the generous support of our donors and volunteers. In addition to reflecting on the successes of the past year, we look forward to what we hope to accomplish in the future. We’d like to take the opportunity of this newsletter to highlight a few of the recent accomplishments that were enabled through the support you provided.
Recognition of the 2018 Summer High School Interns
This past summer we partnered with LLNL and the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District to offer six high school students the opportunity to conduct research at the Lab. It was clear how proud the students felt during their poster presentation and concluding celebration in August. It was an exciting day with school board members and the superintendent attending each poster presentation and eagerly asking each team questions about their summer project, its implications for future research and their career path.
LLF and 4 of the 6 students later attended the Oct. 16 Livermore School Board meeting and were recognized in front of an audience of School Board representatives, teachers, parents, and neighbors who were clearly impressed by the caliber of the projects. In addition to exploring STEM fields, these students are honing their public speaking and presentation skills. One student, representing the rest, spoke at the board meeting. All team posters will be hosted on the Livermore Science and Society Center (LSSC) web page.
We thank the Lab’s researchers who served as mentors to these outstanding young students, the school district staff who supported this partnership and LSSC for displaying the science these students accomplished.
LLF’s Support of the 15th Congressional District App Challenge
Students from some 12 Livermore/Tri-Valley area high schools and a middle school participated in the 15th Congressional App Challenge hosted at LLNL’s High Performance Computing Center Sept. 29 and supported this year by LLF. This annual nationwide event encourages students to learn how to code software applications. Tasked with inventing a smartphone app to address a real-life problem, Challenge participants worked diligently in small teams made up of students from different schools to brainstorm, build and present their original apps to a panel of judges (including LLNL researchers. The apps addressing everything from SF Bay Area traffic congestion to student stress. The winner flies to Washington DC to present their app to Congress!
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LLF’s First “Stronger Together” Booth at TVNPA’s Nonprofit Festival
For the first time, LLF was among 50 East Bay nonprofit organizations to host a table at the Tri Valley Non-Profit Alliance’s “Stronger Together” festival in downtown Livermore on Sept. 16. The theme of the event was “Unmask Your Passion” – encouraging attendees to explore the variety of nonprofits represented and discover their passion/cause. The LLF booth had many new-to-LLF visitors who expressed an interest in who we are, what efforts we have supported thus far, when/where our next events are, why we exist, our connection to the Lab, and how they can join our effort to advance science.
LLF’s Volunteer Meet & Greet
LLF hosted a casual meet and greet event Oct. 10 attended by new supporters/volunteers and friends. They met and mingled with the LLF President, staff, and board; listened to brief remarks from the LLF President and learned more about volunteer opportunities with the Foundation, from planning special events and fundraising to photography. Nice to meet you, new volunteers!
If you missed the Volunteer Meet & Greet but you’re still interested in learning more about upcoming LLF volunteer opportunities, contact our Community Outreach & Development Coordinator, Elizabeth.
We welcome your support!
Post Doctoral Researcher from Florida A&M University lauds LLF support
In PhD intern Daniel Gebremedhin’s words, “I am a computational physicist doing my postdoc at Florida A&M University (FAMU). I had a great summer at LLNL from July 1 to August 31 during my internship in the HED [High Energy Density] group where I was doing calculations of cluster wave functions. These calculations are done on molecules by partitioning the space into small spheres around each atom.
This sort of ‘divide-and-conquer’ method has a potential of handling big molecules by making maximum use of high-performance computers. I was lucky to receive a generous donation from the Livermore Lab Foundation that helped to offset some of the high living costs in California, especially housing. It really allowed me to focus more on my research rather than on my budget. I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Foundation for their generosity and I hope they keep extending this great help for future internships.”
LLF would like to thank the following partners:
We would like to thank the LLNL researchers and staff who generously mentored the LLNL high school summer interns and FAMU scholars, and who judged the summer poster symposium for college and graduate students and the 15th Congressional District’s App Challenge. We would also like recognize leadership at Cal State East Bay who are working with the Lab and LLF to establish an undergraduate fellowship in the coming months; our hardworking LLF volunteers and our Donor Appreciation Event supporters (Alden Lane Nursery, Entropy Cellars, Party City, Occasio Winery / Sidewinder Lounge, and Posada). None of this year’s activities would have been possible without the support of the University of California and our generous donors – including our LLNL HOME Campaign contributors, Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC for its matching HOME campaign contributions, and Lynn & Joan Seppala, Polly & Gordon Cleaver, and Tom Ramos.
We are thankful that in 2018 we have been able to work with all of our supporters and partners to make a difference.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families! As we reflect on what the Foundation has been able to accomplish thus far, we thank you for the donations that are so important to continuing these efforts. In addition to our existing STEM projects, continued new donations will help bring interested students to LLNL for hands-on programming techniques specific to supercomputers, and will support projects in game changing scientific advances for health, energy, new materials, clean water, and food safety. Help LLF open the Door to the Future!
With gratitude,
Dona
LLF President