(From left to right: Jacinta Cai, Sarah Brewer, John Hoyle)

Welcome to the New and Improved asms.net!

Math instructor and new Webmaster Sarah Brewer, ASMS senior and SGA secretary Jacinta Cai, and Communications Coordinator John Hoyle worked this summer to bring you an ASMS online experience that is more direct, stylish, and user-friendly.

Most items are accessible from the drop-down menu at the top of the page, except for a handful of items accessible only from the “Essentials” menu on the home page. In the footer of each page, you can find links to Dragonmail, Netclassroom, the ASMS Facebook page, and the ASMS Flickr page.

As this new site features a new and broader range of content, there are some areas that aren’t quite finished yet.  Faculty and staff can help fill in the holes by sending updated information to webmaster@dragons.asms.net

Employees and student groups are invited to link their own sites wherever mentioned on the site.  If you or your student group would like to link a site, please email the URL to the Webmaster.  If you do not have a site but would like one, you can easily create a Google site from within Dragonmail –  http://www.asms.net/dragonmail/index.html

Please direct any web questions, comments, or updates to webmaster@dragons.asms.net

I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to the Board of Directors for their selection of me as the new President of the Alabama School of Math and Science. I am deeply honored and humbled. Together—students, faculty, staff, Board, & friends—we will build an even greater ASMS!

The yearbook for ASMS is titled Azimuth. In Latin, this means “the way or the path” (scientifically, the definition has been expanded a bit). This is most appropriate for our school because I see that concept as a key component of the critical mission of ASMS. Our school is to provide a path or way for our students from all across Alabama to achieve maximum success. The teaching and learning process must always take center stage. Certainly, though, we desire a balanced educational experience for our students and we will continue to work toward this goal.

I look forward to beginning the school year and setting the course for ASMS for the coming years. I want to simply begin with a “conversation” with all aspects of our school family. Our goals and aspirations for the future of ASMS must be a composite of what we all think and feel. Truly, TOGETHER, we will build that “path or way” for our school.

Please know that my door will always be open to you. If you are in the Mobile area, definitely come by to visit with us. Also, E-mail me anytime at LTurner@asms.net or call me at 251-441-2100 to chat. I want to get to know all persons in the ASMS family as soon as it is possible.

Again, I deeply appreciate the Board’s confidence in me to lead ASMS. We have challenges to face, but none that we cannot address or work through to make our school the very best that it can be in all facets of our mission to educate Alabama’s students entrusted to us.

Sincerely,

Larry Turner, Ed.D.

1995

Steve Martin is an Assistant Professor in the department of Chemical Engineering at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA.

Mende Ritch recently moved to Sydney, Australia, and is working for Focus Strategies & Solutions as a Senior Consultant for IBM Cognos Technologies.

1996

Destry Webster was married in January.  He, his wife Stacie, and their daughter Kylie live in Guin, AL

1997

Joe Brown is an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Alabama.  He earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and Engineering, UNC SPH.  His research interests include: drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene in developing countries; Household-scale water quality interventions; environmental health microbiology; epidemiology of waterborne infectious diseases; and quantitative microbial risk assessment.

Tyree Daniels works for Morgan Keegan’s banking department as Vice President for fixed-income banking in Memphis, TN.  He is an active volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club, and has started and runs his own youth mentoring program called Leaders and Learners.  To read more about Daniels, click here:  http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/sep/12/leadership-academy-fellows-tyree-daniels-great/

This summer, three ASMS students and one alumnus are spending six weeks in Taiwan, learning Mandarin and immersing themselves in Taiwanese culture.

Seniors Jonathan Evans, Victoria Vazin, Stephanie Wood, and 2010 grad Beth Lauritson (who will be attending Auburn in the fall) spend four hours a day learning Mandarin.

“I have enjoyed being immersed in the culture of Taiwan and learn a new language,” says Evans, who has been posting photos and updates about the trip on Facebook. “I love the culture and would recommend this program if anyone who wants to learn more about another culture or language.”

Evans also says that one of the most memorable parts of his experience has been getting to know the Taiwanese people and eating their food. “What I have taken from this is that people, even from halfway around the world, live very similar lives, but I’ve also noticed some extreme differences – like the food.”

Besides learning Mandarin, these ASMSers also enjoyed visiting cultural attractions and museums, including the beach, open-air shopping, food markets, and temples.