SLI Events

STEM Outreach Events

SLI partners up with others to organize events to draw in an audience of students in STEM. 

Terra Vitali: Vitality of the Earth

Systems in Action for Restoring Vitality and Health

Friday, April 21, 2023

1pm - 4pm

Rooms 4501 and 4502 at Foothill College

The Earth's biosphere, encompassing over 500 million square kilometers of both organic and inorganic systems, is a complex web of nearly 9 million estimated species of plants, animals, and microbes. Seventy percent of our world is ocean, just 30% land.

These systems are interdependent, and produce vital ecosystem services, including clean air and water, fertile soil for agriculture, food, timber, and pollination. However, human activities are causing degradation to the biosphere and disrupting its ability to deliver these essential services. 

See how much our world has changed!

NASA-Ames and Foothill's Science Learning Institute invites YOU to join us for a hybrid event to explore ways in which using systems thinking and efforts on converting our linear economy processes toward a circular economy in geoengineering and planetary management are helping make progress toward restoring the biosphere to its healthy state, as it was 10,000 years ago when human civilization first began to impact Earth's landscape. 

We will have speakers from academia, government, and industry, and will highlight opportunities for students to get involved in such areas as ecosystems services, systems thinking, shift from linear economy to circular economy, regenerative person-centered solutions, paradigm-shift in federally funded operations to Open Science, AI utilization with application to these end goals. We are looking to have break-out sessions for discussion and idea generation

Join us to be part of a community of citizen scientists trying to make a change to restore the vitality and health of our Earth!

This will be a hybrid event - in-person at Foothill College and on Zoom.

RSVP to let us know you'll attend

Guest speakers will include:

Jonathan Trent, retired NASA Scientist, Founding Director- UpCycle Systems, Watsonville, CA.

Sanjoy Som, Planetary Sciences and Astrobiology Research Scientist at NASA Ames, Director of Blue Marble Space Institute of Science

Graham Lau, astrobiologist and communicator of science: Director of Communications and Marketing for Blue Marble Space, Research Scientist with the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Director for the Young Scientists Program at Blue Marble; also host of the show “Ask an Astrobiologist”, which is sponsored by the NASA Astrobiology Program and SAGANet.

And more to come...

Unlocking the Secrets of Transfer: SLI Alumni Panel Series

The SLI STEM Impact Team is hosting a series of sessions about transfer, especially focusing on the experiences of students/ alumni from underrepresented groups. Come join us to hear about their experiences to prepare yourself for transfer - whether it's this year or next!

Am I Smart Enough? Beating Imposter Syndrome While Transferring

Tuesday, February 28, 2023 from 3 - 4pm

Watch THE RECORDING

“Am I Smart Enough? Beating Imposter Syndrome While Transferring” is the second session of SLI’s Transfer Series where Foothill alumni will talk about their experiences in adjusting academically after transfer and their experiences and their journey of overcoming imposter syndrome.

• • Brandon Gomez, San Jose State University
  • Steve Silva, UC Davis
  • Stacy Tran, UC Irvine

Are You Ready to Move On?

Friday, February 10, 2023 from 12 - 1pm

Watch the Recording

Are you interested in hearing about transfer from former Foothill students? Are You Ready to Move on? is the first session of SLI’s Panel Series where Foothill alumni will express their successes and challenges as a transfer student. Here, panelists will talk about how they found community, secured necessities such as housing and books, and dealt with the shift from community college to university life.

• • Jasslie Altamirano, UC San Diego
  • Daniel Ramos, San Jose State University
  • Daniel Chavez, UC Berkeley

Check out our past events