Foreward
It is my privilege to write this foreward for Teknos on the occasion of its 20th year. Teknos was born in the early formative days of this special school whose mission is the preparation of students in the sciences, technology, and mathematics The idea for TJ's own scholarly journal that published student STEM research grew out of the belief that scientific and technical writing is as much a part of the scientific endeavor as the data collection and analysis itself. Publishing one's research is a fundamental part of the business of doing good science and engineering. It was clear from the beginning of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology that is was important for a school devoted to the teaching and learning of science and technology to have a peer-reviewed journal for student research.
Teknos, the student journal for the sciences, technology, and mathematics, was begun with the understanding that the scientific information generated by our students, as with any other research professional, needs to be disseminated. This journal served as a way of providing feedback to these young scientists or engineers and as a contribution to the open exchange of ideas and information that forms the interconnected basis of modern scientific effort. It is evident from the articles published in this volume that students at TJHSST are doing just that. To do good research is to effectively communicate that research so that new avenues of research are generated for others to build on. In publishing their research in Teknos, students have become active members in the community of other working scientists, engineers, and mathematicians who are actively engaged in working to resolve environmental, health, energy, agriculture, and technology issues facing the world today.
Significantly, Teknos was also conceived as a celebration showcasing the work of our students in the wide range of their science and technology projects. Research by students begins in the ninth grade with the integrated science projects (IBET) and culminates in the advanced investigations developed for the science fair, or as senior projects produced in the school's senior research labs or mentorship program. The mentorship program has students working closely with the area's leading scientists and engineers. In the following pages you will read about Susan Hastings and Meghan Kelly's work with the hearing ability of the lines seahorse. Who knew that sea horses could hear? Alex Weissenfels presents his research on Hawking radiation which he describes as the real color of black holes. These students, along with the work of other authors published in this volume, are to be congratulated for their creativity and hard work in successfully completing their investigations. These authors know that the research process is not easy and is filled with many "crises" and false starts. However, these students also know the deep satisfaction that comes with the ownership of understanding a small corner of our world's underlying design. The lessons learned from this successful completion of a real world research investigation will sustain and inform them throughout the rest of their professional lives regardless of the profession they choose.
Much has changed in the technology available and the realities of the publishing world since the first issue of Teknos was published in the spring of 1989 using two MacIntosh SE computers and early versions of MacPaint and Microsoft Word. In those early days backup copies of the journal were stores on a collection of 3.5 inch floppy disks. This method was considered revolutionary years earlier. Undoubtedly the next 20 years will bring further changes as significant as a switch to a digital publishing process. E-publishing and the movement to open access publishing will provide both new opportunities and challenges for future editors of this journal. But the one thing that I am confident about is that the vision and dedication of the pioneering staff—Jeff Brown, Frank Probst, Owen Thomas, Tom Manderfield, Todd Dampier, and Stephanie Masamura—along with the outstanding contributions of Thomas Jefferson High School students published in Teknos will be as evident in Volume 40 as it has been in the volumes to date.
My best wished to you as you move forward to the next 20 years of publication and thank you for the wonderful first 20.
Dennis McFaden
Biology Teacher
Teknos Sponsor 1989-1992
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology