Community Outreach

The Texas Advanced Computing Center is committed to being a good neighbor and contributing positively to our community. We support programs that provide opportunities for people and communities to access, use, and understand technology. TACC also has a strong commitment to, and a huge stake in, K-12 education. Most of the future engineers, scientists, architects, medical doctors, and computing experts are somewhere in grades K-12 -- in your classroom -- right now.

Austin Black Family Technology Day

The objectives of the Austin Black Family Technology Day are to provide technology awareness to Austin’s black families, to provide hands-on technology demonstrations and displays, and to encourage and assist black families connect to the Internet. TACC volunteer’s introduces participants of all ages to the importance and value of advanced computing technolog

Austin Partners in Educations/Dell TechKnow program

Dell Computer Corporation and Austin ISD have partnered to make AISD’s program the flagship implementation of Dell TechKnow. This program is a nationwide initiative to build desktop computer proficiency in middle school students. During this 40-hour course, TACC staff help area middle school students take apart and rebuild a computer, install and use software, upgrade components and diagnose and fix basic hardware problems.

The program's primary emphasis is on bridging the digital divide by focusing on students without access to technology at home and by encouraging girls to participate at the same level as boys.

Explore UT

Explore UT is a special occasion at The University of Texas at Austin, and TACC is proud to participate and welcomes everyone to this day of adventure. By sharing our treasures with visitors of all ages, we open our doors to a world of learning. Explore UT is a day filled with fun, discovery, and friendship that we hope will last a lifetime.  TACC is delighted to participate in this annual “open house” whereby we are able to interact with the community and share how it is TACC resources and individuals aid in scientific discovery.

Girlstart

Girlstart is a non-profit organization created to empower girls to excel in math, science, and technology. Girlstart offers a variety of educational formats designed for middle school girls through after-school programs, Saturday camps, and summer camps. All Girlstart programs share a common theme of hands-on exploration of science, math, and technology in a fun and girl-friendly environment.

Community Service

TACC is dedicated to helping our local community, and strongly believes in giving back. We do so by getting involved in activities that positively impact our community and environment. TACC community service activities include:

• The Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas (http://www.bloodandtissue.org/) – TACC hosts quarterly blood drives on the Pickle Campus
• FILA Relays, benefiting Austin Police Benevolent Society;
• HEB’s ‘Feast of Sharing’ holiday dinner;
• Komen Race for the Cure, benefiting the Susan G. Komen Foundation (www.komen.org);
• Longhorn Halloween, benefiting the University of Texas at Austin community;
• Schlotzsky’s Bun Run, benefiting Austin Sunshine Camps (www.sunshinecamps.org);
• Silicon Laboratories Marathon Relay Team, benefiting Junior Achievement (http://www.jacentex.org/);
• Statesman Capitol 10,000 (http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/cap10k), benefiting People’s Community Clinic (http://www.pcclinic.org/) and The Literacy Coalition of Central Texas (http://www.willread.org/);
• WalkAmerica, benefiting the March of Dimes Austin Chapter;
• United Way’s Day of Caring, benefiting Caritas of Austin & Austin’s Empty Bowl Project; and
• TACC's own recycling program.

Programs for Students

TACC Tour: Schedule a tour of our facilities. We can help you reinforce or elaborate on critical Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills in mathematics, science, computer science, and technology applications.

Core messages for students

• TEKS Correlation
• Instructional goals
• Instructional activities

To understand the core messages of the tour for students, please read:

• What is Computational Science (CSERD and Shodor Foundation)
• Cyberinfrastructure Vision for 21st Century Discovery (National Science Foundation, Cyberinfrastructure Council) www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp
• Industrial Partnerships through the NSF’s Supercomputing Resources www.compete.org/hpc/ip_nsf.asp

TeraGrid Conference, Student Problem-Solving Contest: At the June 2007 TeraGrid Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, high school students can enter three different kinds of competitions. www.union.wisc.edu/teragrid07/contests.html

Resources for Teachers

1. What is advanced computing or high performance computing? The Madagascar penguins present a short video, High Performance Computing Enhances Everyday Life www.compete.org/store/products.asp. You can preview the video via QuickTime player.
2. Computational science and computer science – aren’t they the same? No. There huge differences. The rapidly growing capability of computers and how scientists are using them has transformed science itself. The green triangular diagram that describes the nature of a scientific model deserves a few minutes of deep thought. http://www.shodor.org/refdesk/Help/whatiscs
3. Where can I find cool tools, and then what do I do with them? Computational Science Education Reference Desk (CSERD): a treasure trove that “aims to help students learn about computational science and to help teachers incorporate it into the classroom.” http://www.shodor.org/refdesk
4. How can I get professional development related to advanced computing? International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis: The HPC community simply calls this “SC” or “supercomputing,” followed by the year. Education program: http://www.sc-education.org
5. Are there other HPC sites? Yes! The TeraGrid http://www.teragrid.org is a collaboration of nine HPC sites, including TACC.
6. Can I and my students really use advanced computing in our classroom? Try out some of the tools at CSERD. www.shodor.org/refdesk/ Experiment with science gateways listed on TeraGrid’s Science Gateways page. http://www.teragrid.org/programs/sci_gateways/
7. What is cyberinfrastructure?
8. What are cyberinfrastructure’s impacts for STEM and education? The National Science Foundation has asked the same question. The NSF Office of Cyberinfrastructure provides a list of reports that provides some answers. http://www.nsf.gov/od/oci/reports.jsp

Please contact Education & Outreach Coordinator, Brad Armosky, if you have any questions.