Academy for Tech & Classics (1002)

The Academy For Tech & Classics team (#1002) is from Santa Fe. This year they've submitted a project titled Pollution and Its Effects on the Santa Fe River.

Team Members

 * Alicia Sandoval
 * Sabrina A. Cook

Sponsoring Teachers

 * Irene Lee
 * Susan Gibbs
 * Polly White

Interim Report
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_interim1112.php?team_id=1002

Problem Definition
American Rivers, a Washington D.C based advocacy group, named the Santa Fe River in Santa Fe, New Mexico as “America’s Most Endangered River” in April 2007. While in June of the same year it was named as one of the state’s twelve most endangered places by New Mexico Heritage Preservation Alliance. Seeing this makes us wonder if we’ll have the river at all by 2025. Our group wished to see what would happen after a period of time if things kept going on the way it is now. Our Group is designing a model to show the change of the Santa Fe River after 20 years of pollution at the rate it’s going at effects on the river also.

Problem Solution
One solution to the problem is awareness of the problem because to many the river is just there. Not many people see the river as a living environment for many different animals and plants. Another solution is to get the community involved and for programs like New Mexico Teen Court, to offer up chances to clean up and maintain the Santa Fe River as part of their community service.

Progress to Date
After doing research on the Santa Fe River and gathering some data we have begun our model. Right now we have started modeling our project in Star Logo TNG and we may convert that to NetLogo at a later time. We are also using Python to collect data and create a more accurate description of our project.

Expected Results
We expect our model to accurately represent the river and the damage we as humans are inflicting upon it

Introduction
Hey, My name is Jeff. More information about me may be found here: About Me.

I am glad to see that your team chose a topic that affects your local community and for which you all are very passionate. As a member of the challenge team, I would like to give you a few pointers that you might find useful in aiding you with the successful completion of your project.

Background Information
Having lived in Albuquerque for most of my life I am not familiar with the environmental threats faced by the Santa Fe River. You clearly establish that the river is endangered in your problem definition, but as a reader I am left wondering the specifics of the threat. Is it that all the water is being diverted for use? Is the wildlife being threatened because of certain chemicals that are leaching into the water? Or is there something more to the problem? Be sure to clearly elaborate on this in your final report and when you give your final presentation.

This is the place to include information from your references. Your team put together a healthy list of references for your interim report. However, I noticed you all listed Wikipedia. This reference is still frowned upon by many so I would encourage that you drop it from your reference list and make sure that all your information is traceable to other sources. Wikipedia tends to list references for its articles so, if you are struggling to find another reference for a particular bit of information, check there.

Model
I am excited to see that you have begun working on a star logo model. What variables have you identified to be portrayed in your model and how are these variables related? From my understanding, starlogo is often used with agent based modeling is this what you are using it for? If so, what have you identified as agents within the model and how do they interact with other agents? Remember, these agents and their interaction that you define in the model need to be based on your research. For your final report and future presentations make sure you relate your research to the model.

The interim report was very brief concerning the details of your model. While I realize that you most likely are not finished the model, it is good to think ahead and plan out what you would like to see. For example, what are the results you expect to get from your model in terms of variables within your model? You may not have an exact idea, but what do you see as the possible outcomes? Additionally, how will the results in the model indicate a possible future for the Santa Fe River?

Mentor
I noticed that you did not mention a mentor in your interm. Has your team been able to find one? Also, as always, please let me or anyone else with the challenge know if you need any extra assistance.

Moving Forward
Here are a few items to keep in mind:

Your next milestone is Friday, February 10: evaluations

Rubrics:

Expo Judges Rubric

Finalist Judges Rubric