AISES region IV conference comes to NSU

Michael Landrum

TNE Writer

It has been three years since NSU has had an American Indian Science & Engineering Society

Region IV Conference. Each year the members of region IV vote the conference. Each

university or college who is interested in having the conference must submit a bid and provide

information as to why they should hold the event.

It was announced at the AISES National Conference in Orlando Florida this past November

NSU would be the site of the 2015 region IV conference after Haskell Indian Nations University

withdrew their bid. There are currently twenty four chapters in the AISES Region IV covering

high schools, colleges and professional chapters in the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri,

Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

“Given the time frame for us to prepare, our NSU AISES chapter has worked hard from the

beginning of this semester to provide good educational and informative topics and sessions for

our fellow AISES members,” said Sky Wildcat, NSU AISES vice president. “Most chapters have

a year to plan for the conference, we had less than five months.”

The conference will start with an early registration and social event April 9 in the UC Morgan

Room. The Native American Student Association will facilitate the social games and events.

“We introduced the early registration day and social event during the 2012 region IV conference

here at NSU and it has stuck with the conference ever since,” said Melissa Sam, NSU AISES

treasurer.

The early registration is an unofficial day of the conference and is not mandatory to attend.

NSU’s robotics team, RoboHawks, will be doing a presentation and demonstration to help start

the conference sessions.

“The RoboHawks are extremely excited to be a part of this year’s AISES region IV conference,”

said James Townsend, RoboHawks team captain. “We are thankful for the opportunity to share

what we do as an organization and help educate those who know nothing about robotics and

robotics competition.”

This year’s theme of integrating cultural resources will provide informative sessions and

activities from professors Dr. Christie Hollman and Dr. Johnathan Fisher. Professional

workshops will be provided by Career Services and Continuing Education. Dr. Jody Buckholtz

and Dr. Christopher Burba will be informing attendees of research opportunities by other

learning institutions and corporations within STEM. NSU’s physics and chemistry clubs will

have interactive activities for those who want to know a little more about physics and chemistry.

The AISES region IV conference is just one of many opportunities AISES provides for students

to share ideas, network and form partnerships. There will be various venders and sponsors

attending this year’s conference such as Exxon Mobile, Tinker Air Force Base and ABB. The

AISES region IV conference will start at 9 a.m. and end around 5 p.m. on April 9. The Region

IV caucus meeting will close with the closing social event at 3 p.m. on April 10. All events will

be in the University Center.

For more information about the conference, call the Center for Tribal Studies at 918-444-4350.

Published 4/06/15

NSU AISES adviser Alisa Douglas and member Melissa Sam participate in social painting event during the 2014 AISES region IV conference at the University of Oklahoma. AISES regional conferences provides AISES members an opportunity to network and share ideas with others.