Research Symposium spotlights artificial intelligence

by Saloni Shah and Anna Vazhaeparambil

April 23, 2018

Filed under Online Exclusive, STEM

The upper school hosted its annual Research Symposium on Apr. 14, featuring both student and guest speakers, interactive booths and exhibits sponsored by various companies. WiSTEM, who was in charge of organizing the Symposium, decided the theme (“The Artificial Intelligence Revolution”), orga...

Students fight Clean Power Plan repeal

by Anvi Banga and Katherine Zhang, Aquila Asst. News Editor and STEM editor

April 23, 2018

Filed under STEM, Winged Post

The words “Speaker 117” echo through the room as a teenager, the first speaker of the session, rises from her seat. All heads turn towards her as she slowly makes her way to the podium at the front of the room, the soft squeak of her shoes making the only sound in the room. Taking a last peek at...

Bay Area’s coders compete in Harker Programming Invitational

by Karina Chen, Reporter

April 23, 2018

Filed under STEM, Winged Post

Students dispersed across Nichols Atrium focused on their laptops, hastily typing on their keyboards with looks of focus and intent as they were locked in on challenging programming problems. The teams nervously chatting amongst themselves, racing for the top spot in the Harker Programming Invitational...

Space industry’s privatization leads to new breakthroughs, challenges

by Tiffany Wong, Aquila News Editor

April 23, 2018

Filed under STEM, Winged Post

Since the Soviet Union’s launching of the first artificial satellite Sputnik 1 and the United States’ landing of the first humans on the Moon in Apollo 11 during the Space Race years, aerospace research agencies internationally have continued to push the world’s boundaries of space exploration...

Remember Stephen Hawking: Hawking leaves legacy of theoretical physics research and groundbreaking discoveries

by Gloria Zhang and Nicole Chen, Aquila Asst. Features Editor and Aquila Features Editor

April 23, 2018

Filed under STEM, Winged Post

Renowned theoretical physicist and author Stephen Hawking died at age 76 on March 14 after a long battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Members of Hawking’s family released a statement shortly after his death saying he died at his home in Cambridge, England. As the Director of Rese...

Annual Synopsys science fair draws student researchers

by Krishna Bheda, Aquila columnist

April 23, 2018

Filed under STEM, Winged Post

The  2018 Synopsys Championship took place at the San Jose Convention Hall on March 14th and 15th. High school students displayed their projects from 1:30pm to 5:00 pm for judges and were available for public viewing from 5pm to 6pm. Among many middle school and high school students from the Santa...

Global Reset: Day Zero

by Arushi Saxena, Reporter

March 12, 2018

Filed under STEM, Winged Post

Over three quarters of Cape Town, South Africa’s nearly 4 million residents will no longer be able to run water through their homes by July 9th. This day, dubbed Cape Town’s “Day Zero,” marks the time when reservoirs will be depleted below 13.5 percent capacity. “They could have planned ...

Siemens Foundation announces competition end, channels funds into new opportunities

March 12, 2018

Filed under STEM, Winged Post

The Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology has concluded after 19 years with its 2017 Competition, the Siemens Foundation stated in a news release on Feb 1. As of the time of writing, there are currently no plans for the competition to be picked up by another sponsor, as occurred when R...

STEM Scene

by Neil Bai, Aquila Copy Editor

March 12, 2018

Filed under STEM, Winged Post

Harker team wins National Science Bowl The Harker upper school Science Bowl team won the regional competition for the 2018 National Science Bowl (NSB), qualifying for the NSB National Finals taking place at Washington D.C. from April 26 to April 30. The NSB tests students’ knowledge in the subjects of biology, chemistry...

Deadliest flu season in a decade slows

by Katherine Zhang and Srinath Somasundaram

March 12, 2018

Filed under STEM, Uncategorized, Winged Post

Despite lowering numbers of flu-related doctors’ visits in recent weeks, this year’s flu season, the deadliest in a decade, is expected to last several more weeks as influenza viruses circulate throughout the country. With thousands of Americans dying weekly from the flu, this season is projected t...

Apple’s HomePod continues smart speaker trend

by Anthony Xu, Reporter

March 6, 2018

Filed under Online Exclusive, STEM

Following in the footsteps of Amazon and Google, Apple recently released their own voice-controlled smart speaker named the HomePod. Announced in early June last year, the HomePod became available to pre-order on Jan. 26, with the first orders arriving Feb. 9. Equipped with Apple’s voice assistant Siri...

Students speak against CPP repeal at EPA hearing

by Helen Yang, Aquila STEM Editor

March 2, 2018

Filed under Online Exclusive, STEM

Seven Harker upper school students spoke at the the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) listening session on the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) this Wednesday at San Francisco. Freshman Akshay Manglik; sophomores Jai Bahri, Anvi Banga, Avi Gulati, Alex Shing and Anthony Shing and...