96 replies to this topic

[Arpa]

http://www.panorama....tumanyans-home/

18:04 15/02/2012 » Topic of the day
Ghukasyan brothers to pay USD 145000 for Hovhannes Tumanyan’s Tbilisi house
The purchase agreement of Hovhannes Tumanyan’s Tbilisi house will be signed on February 22. The house will be sold for USD 145000, Chairman of the Writers’ Union of Armenia Levon Ananyan told a Panorama.am reporter from Tbilisi.

We will remind that Mayor of Gyumri Vardan Ghukasyan said Ghukasyan brothers are ready to buy with their own financial means the part of the house which belongs to A. Lezhava (120 sq.m.) to donate it to the Armenian community of Tbilisi. He wrote a letter of obligation.

A delegation left for Tbilisi on Tuesday which included Chairman of the Writers’ Union of Armenia Levon Ananyan, the cousin of Gyumri Mayor, MP Artyom Ghukasyan, and two representatives of Gyumri Mayor’s Office.

Levon Ananyan said that they and Armenian Ambassador to Georgia Hovhannes Manukyan met with A. Lezhava today.

“I think there will be no obstacles and the purchase agreement will be signed on February 22,” said he.

http://hetq.am/eng/n...now-damage.html
Tumanyan House-Museum Suffers no Snow Damage

[Yervant1]

EXHIBITION REMOVES VEIL OF HISTORY OBSCURING ANATOLIAN MINORITIES

yerkir.am
18:55 - 15.02.2012

Some 200 photographs are on display at an exhibit 'Cultural
Diversity in Old Diyarbakır,' which relates the lives and commercial
contributions of Diyarbakır's long-forgotten peoples.

The Birzamanlar (Once Upon a Time) Publishing House has launched a
photography exhibition in Istanbul's Tophane neighborhood, providing
a rare glimpse into the history of non-Muslim minorities living in
the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.

"Official history teaches us that all these cities were created by
the Turks, and that all the fair deeds of the past were done by them.

Those who are not Turks or Muslims are depicted as unfavorable
figures," Osman Köker, the owner of the Birzamanlar Publishing
House, recently told the Hurriyet Daily News. "The cultures, faiths,
traditions and genetics of the peoples of old are also part of the
reality we call the Turkish nation."

Around 200 photographs compiled from 40 different sources are on
display at the "Cultural Diversity in Old Diyarbakır" exhibition,
which is being jointly organized by the Birzamanlar Publishing House
and the Anatolian Culture and Global Dialogue, an Istanbul based
nongovernmental organization. The exhibition at Tophane's Tutun Deposu
began Feb. 10 and will continue until March 10.

"Eastern Anatolia was much richer at the turn of the 20th century than
it has been in the Republican period, both culturally and materially,"
Köker said, adding that the memories of old were still very much
alive in Anatolia.

The exhibition, which relates the lives and commercial contributions of
Diyarbakır's long forgotten peoples, such as the Armenians, Syriacs,
Chaldeans, Anatolian Greeks and the Yezidis, also features explanatory
notes in Turkish, English and Kurdish.

"Armenian newspapers were published and theaters [staged plays]
not merely in Diyarbakır, but also in many other [nearby] places
like Elazıg, Erzurum, Van and Erzincan. There were many factories
[making various kinds of produce] ranging from the silk industry
to metal wares. These [factories] did not [produce] solely for the
domestic market but also for exports," Köker said.

Turkish people are now striving to learn about the truth instead
of the bragging of official history, he said. "All of us have grown
weary of such vein boasting."

Old shopkeepers and artisans in the region readily confide they had
learned their skills from Armenians and Syriacs, he said.

Köker said they had already taken the exhibition to many different
corners of the world, including Armenia and that Anatolian peoples
had always shown great interest in the exhibition at every stop.

"Diaspora Armenians know precious little of the things they see in
the exhibitions. They see the concrete [images] of things that seem
to them like the stuff of legends. Moreover, they are nonplussed
that this project has been undertaken by a person of Turkish-Muslim
identity from Turkey," he said.

Köker also said they had conducted research in the Orlando Carlo
Calumeo Collection, the

Boston-based Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archive, as well as
the Annuaire Oriental, an annual commercial almanac that has been
published since the mid-19th century, while they were preparing for
the exhibition.

[MosJan]

Ani, book-album on ancient Armenian capital, published

13:20 • 15.02.12

A book-album depicting the history and cultural heritage of Ani, the medieval Armenian capital, has been published in Yerevan upon the initiative of the Ministry of Culture.

The edition, dedicated to the 1,050th anniversary of declaring Ani a capital, is unique as it provides detailed information on constructions never measured in the past.

Speaking at the presentation of the book, Samvel Karapetyan, the head of the foundation Studying Cultural Monuments, thoroughly explained the initiative.

He said that the most elaborate studies were conducted by Toros Torosyan, who had introduced three constructions that had never been measured before.

"We have also portrayed all the semi-ruined churches, explaining how they might look now if they had been renovated. The book also has a supplementary sheet, which features the city's map," he said.

The book-album comprises several sections, each featuring different architectural monuments (churches, cross-stones etc.).

Several experts had joined Karapetyan to explore the sites of the historical Armenian capital. Their studies lasted only a week.
The book contains 600 photographs and is designed for both professionals and ordinary readers.

Tert.am

[ED]

[ED]

[Arpa]

A better audio-video

[Nané]

- Asbarez Armenian News - http://asbarez.com -

Armenia Fund Begins Construction of School in Shushi

Posted By Contributor On February 16, 2012 @ 5:29 pm In Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

The construction of the Shushi vocational school
Facility is expected to revive Artsakh’s trade traditions

YEREVAN—The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s French affiliate has launched the construction of a vocational school in the city of Shushi. The future institution will be named after French-Armenian benefactor Yeznik Mozian, whose bequest has provided the necessary funds for the project.

With a total area of 4,050 square meters, the future school will accommodate up to 225 students. It will offer a three-year certificate program in various specialties as well as a broad spectrum of general academic subjects.

The two-story campus will feature all required amenities including fully appointed classrooms, workshops, labs, and a library. The facility will also be equipped with central heating and air-conditioning, and comprise storage space for educational materials. Currently construction crews are laying the building’s foundations.
“On the model and standards of similar French professional institutions our architects and consultants have designed this school to practice the most effective educational methods. School professors and instructors will be selected and trained accordingly”, says the Mozian family representative Robert Aydabirian, who is the overall project coordinator.

Graduates of the Yeznik Mozian School -who will be certified variously as locksmiths, metalworkers, welder, casing worker, mason, painters, roofers, stuccoer, tilers, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and other specialists – are expected to enter the local job market, helping fill the shortage of trade professionals.

“The school will welcome students from all over Karabakh as well as Armenia, being equipped with dormitory facilities and aimed at becoming the most advanced school of this kind in the region”, points out the chairman of the Hayastan Fund French affiliate Bedros Terzian.

“Today Artsakh is in dire need of highly skilled professionals in the construction sector,” says Kajik Khachatryan, head of the Shushi District Administration. “The Yeznik Mozian School will mean a wonderful opportunity for young people who wish to specialize in a particular trade and become accomplished specialists.”

“The establishment of the Yeznik Mozian School is an unprecedented initiative in the history of our organization,” said Ara Vardanyan, executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. “We are confident that, thanks to the contribution of our French-Armenian benefactor, the socio-economic development of Shushi will be further boosted by an educational institution poised to produce generations of highly qualified professionals.”

The Yeznik Mozian School is being constructed in Shushi’s eastern neighborhood, which continues to be developed as the city’s educational quarter. It is already home to several music and liberal-arts schools as well as the Agriculture Department of Artsakh State University.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
URL to article: http://asbarez.com/101030/armenia-fund-begins-construction-of-school-in-shushi/

[Nané]

Year-long Armenian cultural events to be held in Canada

February 17, 2012 | 11:11

YEREVAN. - Armenia’s Ambassador to Canada, Armen Yeganyan, met on Wednesday with Dr. Daniel Caron, the Librarian and Archivist of Canada, and discussed bilateral cooperation in the field of humanities.

Armenia’s Ambassador informed that capital Yerevan is declared by UNESCO as the 2012 Book Capital of the World, and that this year the country is marking the 500th anniversary of Armenian printed books, MFA informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The interlocutors reached an agreement in principle to organize joint events in Ottawa and in other Canadian cities. And Dr. Caron expressed his readiness to assist in all the initiatives.


http://news.am/eng/news/93669.html

[Arpa]

Apres du Nane
Ապրէս դու Նանէ
You get the idea!

[Yervant1]

THE MAYOR OF BUENOS AIRES TO ATTEND THE CELEBRATIONS OF THE 500TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN PRINTING

armradio.am
18.02.2012 15:50

Armenian Ambassador to Argentina Vladimir Karmirshalyan had a
meeting with Mauricio Macri, the Head of Buenos Aires Government. The
Ambassador invited the Mayor to participate in the events in Yerevan
dedicated to the 500th anniversary of Armenian book-printing and the
proclamation of Yerevan as World Book Capital 2012.

The head of Buenos Aires city government said the visit to Yerevan
would promote the reinforcement of ties between the two sister-cities.

Earlier the Armenian Ambassador met with the Minister of Culture of
Buenos Aires Ernan Lombardi to discuss the details of the Argentinean
delegation's participation in the events in Yerevan.

[Yervant1]

ARMENIA CREATES VIRTUAL OBSERVATORY SERVER

news.am
February 18, 2012 | 11:35

YEREVAN. - The Institute for Informatics and Automation of the National
Academy of Sciences of Armenia has created a virtual observatory
(VO) database.

The Armenian VO likewise is a product of cooperation, between
astronomers and computer specialists, within the framework of
which corresponding environments are created, where a wide range
of astronomical data are jointly used and an effective scientific
research is conducted.

The Armenian VO server currently uses a new catalogue comparison
program, which surpasses the similar programs created throughout
the world, and the scientific research is conducted on the basis of
this program.

This database enables to dynamically increase the quantity of the
data being kept. Also, there are no strict limitations on the volume
of data being added.

The comparison program is installed in the webpage, in the Armenian
VO environment, and this allows for the astronomers to apply online
for a new effective approach for comparison.

The Armenian VO was recently included in UNESCO Memory of the World
International Register.

[Arpa]

THE YEAR OF THE BOOK AND PRINTING

Note that the year 2012 is the 500th anniversary of Armenian Printing.

A very rare event when NYT writes something positive about Armenia and Armenians.

http://hetq.am/stati...12/02/11029.jpg

Armenia: Imprints of a Civilization; Venice Exhibition Review

17:45, 23 February, 2012
By Roderick Conway Morris
The following review deals with the exhibition “Armenia: Imprints of a Civilization”, dedicated to the 500th anniversary of Armenian book-printing, that is running at the Correr Museum in Venice until April 10.
Armenian civilization is one of the most ancient of those surviving in the Middle East, but for large parts of its history Armenia has been a nation without a country. This has given the spoken and written word, the primary means through which Armenian identity has been preserved, enormous prominence in its people’s culture.
Over the centuries this emphasis has fostered a particular regard for books and the means of producing them. Scribes added notes on the proper care and conservation of books and advice on hiding them during dangerous times, even on “ransoming” them should they fall into the wrong hands. A late 19th-century English traveler observed that the Armenians prized the printing press with the same “affection and reverence as the Persian highlanders value a rifle or sporting gun.”

In 1511 to 1512 (the exact date is uncertain), the first Armenian book was printed in Venice. The event was especially significant for this scattered nation, which did not acquire a modern homeland until 1918 and then only in a small part of its ancestral lands.
The anniversary is the occasion for “Armenia: Imprints of a Civilization,” an impressive exhibition organized by Gabriella Ulluhogian, Boghos Levon Zekiyan and Vartan Karapetian of more than 200 works spanning more than 1,000 years of Armenian written culture. These range from inscriptions and illuminated manuscripts to printed and illustrated books, including many unique and rare pieces from collections in Armenia and Europe.
The show opens with the atmospheric painting of 1889 by the Armenian artist Ivan Aivazovski, “The Descent of Noah from Mount Ararat,” from the National Gallery in Yerevan. It shows the Old Testament patriarch leading his family and a procession of animals across the plain, still watery from the subsiding Flood, to re-people the earth.
The extraordinary grip that this mountain has had on the Armenian imagination is tellingly demonstrated by subsequent sections on sculpture, the Armenian Church and the Ark — the conical domes of Armenian churches seeming eternally to replicate this geographical feature that symbolizes the salvation of the human race.
Christianity reached Armenia as early as the first or early second century. And Armenia lays claim to having been the first nation that adopted the faith as a state religion, sometime between 293 and 314, a date traditionally recorded by the Armenian Church as 301.
There followed, in around 404 or 405, an initiative that has been one of the cornerstones of the endurance of the Armenian ethnos: the invention of a distinctive alphabet capable of rendering the language’s complex phonetic system. This made possible the translation of the Bible — the majestic 10th-century Gospel of Trebizond is on show here — and the foundation of Armenian literature in all its manifestations, sacred and secular.
The desire to illustrate the gospels and other Christian texts was the primary impetus for the development of Armenian art, which drew on an unusually wide range of sources thanks to the country’s position at the crossroads of several civilizations.
As Dickran Kouymjian writes in his essay in the exhibition’s substantial and wide-ranging catalog, which is available in English, French and Italian: “Armenian artists were remarkably open to artistic trends in Byzantium, the Latin West, the Islamic Near East and even Central Asia and China.”
A sumptuous display of these illuminated books brings together some of the finest surviving examples from the ninth to the 15th centuries, and it is curious to discover that even after the advent of printing, the tradition of illumination continued in Armenian monasteries for a further two and a half centuries.
The acme of the Armenian miniature was reached in the 13th century, during the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which ruled over a substantial part of Asia Minor (1198-1375), until it was overthrown by the Mamluks of Egypt.
Armenian contacts with Venice date to the period when the nascent lagoon republic was a remote western outpost of Byzantium, where Armenians held senior positions in the administration and the military. In the sixth century the Armenian governor Narses is credited with introducing the cult of Theodore, or Todoro, Venice’s first patron saint and Isaac the Armenian is recorded as the founder of the ancient Santa Maria Assunta basilica on the island of Torcello.
Contacts became frequent during the Kingdom of Cilicia as Venetian merchants expanded their activities in the Levant and their Armenian counterparts sought opportunities in Europe.
In 1235 the Venetian nobleman Marco Ziani left a house to the Armenian community at San Zulian near Piazza San Marco, which came to be called the Casa Armena and provided a focal point for Venice’s ever more numerous Armenian residents and visitors.
The testament drawn up in 1354 by the governess of this house, “Maria the Armenian,” indicates that by that time there was not only a thriving community of merchants, but also clerics and an archbishop, to whom she left three of her six peacocks. Later the church of Santa Croce was founded on the same site, still today an Armenian place of worship. Both Marco Ziani and Maria’s wills are on show.
A precious copy of the first Armenian book printed in 1511-1512, a religious work titled the Book of Friday, is also on display. The innovation led to the setting up of a host of Armenian presses all over the world. The fruits of these — from locations as far-flung as Amsterdam, Paris, Vienna and St. Petersburg to Istanbul, Isfahan, Madras and Singapore — form the absorbing last section of the exhibition.
Venice was given a further boost as the global center of Armenian culture by the arrival in the lagoon of Abbot Mekhitar and his monks in 1715. This visionary was born in Sivas (ancient Sebastia) in Anatolia, and had spent time in Echmiadzin and Istanbul. Later he took the community he had created to Methoni in the Peloponnese, which had been conquered by the Venetians in the 1680s. But the prospect of the town’s recapture by the Ottomans led to Mekhitar’s decision to take refuge in Venice. In 1717 he and his followers were granted a lease on the island of San Lazzaro, which has been their headquarters ever since.
Under Mekhitar, San Lazzaro became the epicenter of a worldwide Armenian cultural revival. The community created a study center and library, was responsible for printing scores of books in Venice and elsewhere, and established an international network of schools, where a high proportion of Armenia’s religious and secular elite received an education into modern times.
The Armenian Academy of San Lazzaro has published Bazmavep, a literary, historical and scientific journal since 1843, one of the oldest continuous periodicals of its kind. And the first Armenian newspaper-magazine was Azdara (The Monitor), founded in Madras in 1794.
San Lazzaro’s most famous foreign student was Lord Byron, who learned Armenian there with the scholar Harutiun Avgerian, with whom he collaborated on the production of an Armenian and English grammar, containing translations by the poet.
(New York Times, February 23, 2012)

http://www.nytimes.c...t-conway24.html

[Yervant1]

HEROISM WORTH A LIFE: ARMENIAN RESCUERS FORGE THROUGH THICK SNOW TO SAVE PREGNANT WOMAN
By Gayane Abrahamyan

ArmeniaNow
22.02.12 | 15:58

Photo: www.mes.am

The news of heroic action by a group of Armenian rescuers who carried
a pregnant woman on a stretcher three kilometers through thick snow
is making headlines in Armenian media.

On Tuesday, relatives of a seven-month pregnant, Gyulnara Faroyan, 20,
who had an acute kidney disorder, tried to take her from the village
of Tchartchakis to the hospital of Aparan (Aragatsotn province) by
a tractor, however the tractor was stuck in snow with three passengers.

Gyulnara's mother-in-law, Zoya Faroyan, told ArmeniaNow that the
woman had an acute pain in her kidney and they turned to the village
administration asking to open the road with the help of machinery
to take Gyulnara to hospital, however, they say it was impossible to
clear the way.

The family called the Emergency Situations Ministry of Armenia and
rescuers walked a few kilometers to reach their home, as the roads
in the village were impassable for vehicles.

"There has never been such a thing in our village or in adjacent
villages. Hadn't the rescuers reached on time I would have lost my
daughter-in-law. It was a matter of life, we almost lost our hope,"
says Faroyan. The rescuers took the pregnant woman to the interstate
highway, where the ambulance was waiting for them.

Nikolay Grigoryan, head of the public relations department at the RA
Ministry of Emergency Situations, says that this was a unique case
in the history of their rescuers.

"Of course, there were similar situations; however it is a unique
case when rescuers walked several kilometers through a hardly passable
area," Grigoryan told ArmeniaNow.

Doctors at Aparan's hospital say Gyulnara still remains in serious
condition. "Had she arrived a few hours later, it would have been
hard to save her life. The time of her delivery has not come yet;
however, let's hope that everything will be fine," says director of
the Aparan Medical Center Hayk Shmavonyan.

[Arpa]

A DELIGHTFULLY BEAUTIFUL NOSTALGIC STORY

See the picture of Karo’s friend Koulka , the beautiful White Horse.

http://hetq.am/eng/a...hite-horse.html

http://hetq.am/stati...12/03/11414.jpg


====

Gyumri's Glory - Phaeton Driver Karo and His White Horse

12:17, 3 March, 2012
The black and white photo to the left, taken in 1968, shows one of the last horse-drawn buggies (phaeton) plying the streets of Gyumri in Armenia.
At the reins are master-driver Karo and his prized white horse, Koulka.
The accompanying photos of this bygone era in Armenia’s second largest city belong to Khachik Khachatryan. His father Karo was one of the last phaeton drivers in the town along with another well-known driver names Grish.
Khachik says that his father had a favourite horse called Koulka that pulled his father’s carriage for seventeen years straight.
“When my father died, I swear to you that the horse shed tears,” Khachik tells me.
Khachik’s forefathers moved to Gyumri from Kars back in the 1800’s. He says that the family has a long list of phaeton drivers to its credit.
With the growing use of cars, after WWII, the horse and buggy trade slowly faded. One of the reasons was that horses were constantly being frightened by the sound of the automobiles.
http://hetq.am/stati...aytonchiner.jpg



Phaeton driver Grish (left) and Karo

However, in 1960, Grigor Hasratyan, President of the Leninakan Political Council, decided to restore the old tradition. When word got out, a handful of the remaining phaeton drivers rushed to take advantage of the opportunity.
By the 1970s, only two were left – Khachik’s father Karo and Grish.
Karo passed away in 1977 at the age of 59. His sons decided not to sell the carriage but keep it as a memento of their dad and a more romantic time.
“Every 2 or 3 years, we take it out of storage, washed it sown and give it a repainting. One year, we have the carriage out in the yard and an acquaintance of ours walked by. He said he was the godfather to a young couple about to be married and wanted to take them to the church in the phaeton. I told him it would be fine but that he had to get the horses,” says Khachik
Every since then, the sons have rented out the carriage on a number of occasions.

http://hetq.am/stati...royi-fayton.jpg



Karo’s phaeton

“It turns out that years after my dad’s passing, his beloved phaeton still plies the streets of Gyumri. Neither I nor my brother ever drove the buggy. We went off and did our own thing and went into different professions. But the phaeton survives,” Khachik says with a smile that hides a degree of remorse.
Khachik works in the regional government office but still finds time to take care of the buggy with his brother’s help.
His father Karo appears in such films as “The Melodies of Shirak”, “Yerankyun” and “Heghnar’s Fountain”
(Phaeton is the early 19th-century term for a sporty open carriage drawn by a single horse or a pair, typically with four extravagantly large wheels, very lightly sprung, with a minimal body, fast and dangerous. The rather self-consciously classicizing name refers to the disastrous ride of mythical Phaëton, son of Helios, who set the earth on fire while attempting to drive the chariot of the sun).
====
Where is Sip , our Dune Buggy nut?

In the English those vehicles are known both as Hansom (taxi of yore) and Buggy

http://ac4.yt-thm-a0...d76f7913a577480

[MosJan]

Fayton nstats antsnim quchov....

Yerg hishum eq .



Es fayton lusahogi Vache Hovsepyann el e nstl... Videon gtnem post knem

[Arpa]

http://shirakcentre....ries/faeton.jpg



To see the rest go to Literature Khachik Dashtents

http://shirakcentre....ayacqshirakic/1

ՖԱՅՏՈՆ ԱԼԵՔԸ
ԽԱՉԻԿ ԴԱՇՏԵՆՑ

Գյումրի քաղաքում շատ կառապան կար.
Այնտեղ էր ապրում Բաբիենց Հայկը,
Այդ տղամարդն էր Ալեքպոլ բերել
Առաջին փոքրիկ երկանիվ կառքը:
Այնտեղ էր ծնվել Ծուռվզենց Արշոն,
Աչքերով խաժակ, ձիերով նախշուն,
Ո՞վ տեսած չկա Կնութ Վարդանին,
Որ կանգնած էր միշտ իր կառքը քշում:
Հապա Կռո՞ւնկը։ Մի՞թե չի անցել
Այդ ժիր գյումրեցին մի օր ձեր թաղով…..
-----
Also look here at the opening and at 24;15 … and on

!

http://haykmedia.com..._7f625622d.html

Edited by Arpa, 04 March 2012 - 09:26 AM.

[Arpa]

ԲԱՐԻ ԱՐԱԳԻԼ

http://www.armeniano...sts-armenia.jpg



Love Birds
Stork nests are a sure sign that spring has returned to Armenia.
-----

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=qjiqC5I8K20


ԲԱՐԻ ԱՐԱԳԻԼ

Խոսք` Ա. Գրաշու
Երաժշտ.` Ա. Հեքիմյանի
Ես ոչ անտուն եմ, ոչ էլ տարագիր,
Ունեմ հանգրվան, ունեմ օթևան:
Ազատ Հայրենիք, երջանիկ երկիր,
Երջանիկ, երջանիկ երկիր:
Բարով, արագիլ, բարի արագիլ,
Արագիլ գարնան, արագիլ ամռան,
Իմ տան մոտ ապրիր, բախտի արագիլ,
Բույն հյուսիր ծառին,
Բարդու կատարին:
Իմ բալիկների աստղերն են շողում
Հույսով անթառամ,
Վարդերով վառման,
Վշտերս դառան ժպիտներ շողուն:
Արագիլ, ինձ հետ ուրախ՜ գովերգիր
Յայլա ու վրան,
Հանդեր հոտևան,
Արտեր, այգիներ, մանուշակ երկինք:

[Nané]

glendalenewspress.com/news/tn-gnp-0307-glendale-community-college-student-torkom-pailevanian-selected-for-nasa-program,0,4446977.story


Glendale News Press

Glendale Community College student selected for NASA program

Torkom Pailevanian, 19, will be part of elite group in three-day space program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston

By Megan O'Neil, megan.oneil@latimes.com

3:26 PM PST, March 6, 2012

A Glendale Community College student is among 92 aspiring young scientists and engineers selected last week to join the National Community College Aerospace Scholars program and help design robotic rovers in an educational collaboration with NASA.

Torkom Pailevanian, 19, will join an elite group of community college students from across the country at the Johnson Space Center in Houston for a three-day, hands-on engineering experience starting May 9. It is designed to foster talent within science, technology, engineering and mathematics, known within education circles as STEM disciplines.

“It really caught my interest, and when this opportunity came up, I jumped right on it,” said Pailevanian, a student worker at the Glendale Community College Planetarium and an intern at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge. “I thought it would be interesting to learn about a new planet.”

The second-year student learned about the program from a classmate, and quickly set about assembling his application. He was then tasked with completing a four-part, web-based assignment in which he had to develop an exploratory mission to Mars.

“You had to state why you wanted to do certain things in certain ways,” Pailevanian said. “You are basically creating a practical mission to Mars to the best of your knowledge of all the technology available today.”

The Glendale native, who currently has a 4.0 grade point average, said that he harbors a life-long fascination with how things function. He hopes to transfer to Caltech and major in engineering and physics, and credits Glendale Community College professor Rick Guglielmino as someone who has motivated him to work hard.

“It was easy to learn with him,” Pailevanian said of his Physics 101 professor. “The time would go by so quickly. You wouldn’t even realize you had been sitting in lecture for an hour and 15 minutes. I would try to impress that teacher, to do something he had never seen.”

Once at the Johnson Space Center, student participants will work together in teams to form companies engaged in Mars exploration, and build prototype rovers that will then be used to navigate a course and perform tasks, such as collecting rocks and water.

Engaging underserved and underrepresented learners in STEM initiatives helps NASA to build a more inclusive and diverse workforce, Leland Melvin, associate administrator for education with NASA, said in a statement.

“Community colleges offer NASA a great pool of STEM talent critical to our scientific and exploration initiatives,” Melvin said. “They also serve a large portion of our nation’s minority students.”

[Arpa]

Ապրէս/ Ապրիս ‘նուշիկ Նանէ- “Սիրելիս, հոգիս, հոգյակս, հարազատս ... և մի շարք շատ ավելի «ջերմ» արտահայտություններ:”
That is the kind of Good and Beautiful News we like to hear.

[ED]

I'm Proud of my people