Kenan Fellow Sam Fuerst is one of fourteen teachers from around the world to participate in an effort to map the ocean floor using sonar. They are part of the ARMADA project, which is designed to give teachers experience in cutting edge scientific research.

Fuerst is aboard the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy after departing Barrow, Alaska on August 17th. The icebreaker can plow through ice eight feet thick, but the ice so far is thinner than normal. Occasionally, however, the Healy has to stop, back up and ram the ice to break through. Fuerst has already seen polar bears and is so far north the sun never sets. He works an eight hour shift each day monitoring computer equipment that records the data received from sonar. He also keeps a record of life on board the ship to share on a web site.

Fuerst, a science teacher from Durham’s Northern High School, has a background in marine geology. Although he is away from the confines of a classroom, he has not left his students behind. He maintains a web log and students observe the gathering of data as it is posted. After nearly a month at sea, Fuerst will return on September 15th. Learn more about his trip aboard the Healy.

As a member of the Kenan Fellows Program, an initiative of the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology & Science at NC State University, Fuerst completed a two year fellowship that included writing curriculum and creating a web site. His project, “North Carolina Geology Online,” is a resource used by Earth Science teachers from North Carolina and around the country.

Request for Kenan Fellows Applications

The Kenan Fellows Program is searching for qualified applicants. This prestigious Fellowship, which includes a $10,000 stipend, is awarded to exceptional North Carolina teachers from all disciplines. As part of the Fellowship, each teacher will produce a STEM-based product that can be interdisciplinary in nature. The next two-year Fellowship cycle will begin in the summer of 2008.

Applications will be available online at www.kenanfellows.org from mid-November 2007 through mid-January 2008. Teachers may be nominated by administrators, community members, elected officials, and current or former Kenan Fellows.

For more information, see the Kenan Fellows website (above), and be sure to stop by our booth at the NCSTA conference in Greensboro November 14-16. Current and past Fellows will present their final products at the conference and will be in the booth to answer your questions.