my imagination and fire my enthusiasm about science and engineering. My fervor, however, has been a recent development and is not the byproduct of my early exposure to math and science. I am convinced that the more readily available cutting edge exposure to emergent technology is made to younger people, the more likely they may embark upon the more difficult roads to gaining scientific and engineering training. So, short of a radical and costly redesign of primary and secondary math and science education, how can we present the work of current researchers and the reality of emergent technologies to the high school student? We will utilize a virtual world, Second Life.

Using Fuller's analogy, the biggest ship is the internet, and every user gets to be the captain and navigator. An argument could be made that any search engine is a trimtab, because it steers the internet's resources to the user. Truly the limitations of the search engine are the limits to the inquisitiveness or basic query of the user. So, how does a person expand their knowledge base in this environment? Second Life affords the user, an avatar in 3-d space, the ability to interactively explore new worlds of ideas.

In 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik. The American reaction was one of deep seated alarm. A perceived technology gap was viewed as an education failure. Math and science needed to be effectively taught at the primary and secondary level, and more promising students needed to be directed towards basic scientific research and engineering careers. While the space race caught the public imagination and fueled a rise in engineering and scientific studies, fifty years later we are at similar crossroads. The new world economy we live in is completely reliant on computer technology. Why are some of the brightest students failing to consider scientific, mathematic or engineering careers? The answer lies in early math and science education. While many qualified and committed teachers exist, their hands are often tied by lack of funds and strict guidelines. The trick is to get kids excited about the world and learning about it. The space program got a generation excited about the future, and while strapping a man on top of a chemical rocket and launching it was thrilling, it is nothing compared to what's coming in the next few years. Providing a dynamic tool to introduce these ideas to young people could provoke an unprecedented interest leading to more careers in science. More design scientists and engineers would be the ultimate result of this trimtab, more people to work on the complex problems of our planet.

The trimtab here is the creation of Fuller University in Second Life....FUSE.

As our society becomes increasingly reliant on the vast power of computation, more people, especially high school students, must understand technology. At FUSE, students get broad exposure to many areas of science and engineering, and they acquire the vocabulary necessary to investigate elsewhere on the web. The university would be an interactive museum experience, where we would house exhibits to introduce people to areas of technology, i.e. computer architectures, genetics, nanotech, AI ... all crucially important topics that for many are just vague concepts. Students would see that Spaceship Earth requires the fuel of new scientific knowledge to preserve mankind.

We could invite researchers and engineers to summarize their work in layman terms and put it into an exhibit, ensuring that we continually updated with current research. Changing layouts in the virtual world and adding space is relatively cheap in Second Life, astronomically cheaper. Wouldn't people visit museums more often if they were constantly being updated with new interactive content?

Second Life, with its rapidly expanding user base, is currently the largest 3-d virtual space available. It is a useful new way to engage people on the web, and is rapidly becoming mainstream with recent plot references on TV shows, CSI and The Office. With the university, we would be able to count the number of visitors and links into the space, and also be able to poll them about which areas were most appealing. This would add a social dimension where visitors interested in certain technologies would be able to congregate with people of similar interests. This might lessen some of a social stigma traditionally associated with science and math at the high school level. Eventually, it will be very fashionable to be technologically and scientifically literate. It seems inevitable that Second Life will be utilized for its ability to educate people, why not start now while these areas and these applications are still in their nascence?

This plan is ecologically responsible since participating in a virtual world means no physical energy besides electricity is spent visiting university. Anyone with broadband internet access and a free Second Life account can go into the space. Currently, there are two separate Second Life areas, one for adults and one for teens. Since we are targeting high school students, FUSE would have campuses in each environment.

Addressing the replicability of our proposal, the internet is known for viral spread of ideas. It's not hard to imagine that someone who enjoyed visiting our space would then start up one of their own projects, i.e. Joe's computational biology hut. Just having more technological terms in people's mouths would be a benefit to the world. This is a big first step towards popularizing serious study of technology.

Public high schools are hungry for new ways to engage the students. This would be cheap access to a wealth of educationally valuable material. As schools struggle to keep up with new technology, accessing FUSE wouldn't require the expensive licensing fees that are associated with current proprietary educational software.

In terms of achievability, 100000 dollars buys the land permanently in both of the Second Life areas. It’s then a function of getting interesting content into the university. The professors that I have referenced would use the resources of their departments to get this thing ready. There is so much amazing research just at U of I, and we would start here, summarizing research and putting up exhibits. When other people see the viability of this model, then research models from other schools should come rolling into Second Life.

Since virtual spaces such as Second Life will eventually be ubiquitous for people's interactions with the web it would be advantageous for the Fuller Institute to establish a presence there.

There is a great gap between what people know is possible and what is actually happening. Future technologies will be even more socially transformative than the Internet (AI). Awareness of the power of technology is something that Fuller espoused through his World Game. “To give information to the people is the most certain and legitimate engine of government.” (James Madison)

Second life is still developing. The affinities that people develop early on will influence where they go later, so entering this space sooner is strategically advantageous to reaching the maximum number of people. Even if the idea of FUSE is not prize worthy at this time, there is inevitability to this type of educational development in the virtual world.

Everett's interpretation of quantum physics, what some scientists use to explain the execution of quantum factoring algorithms, states that all possible universes occur in parallel. Humanity is currently facing huge problems. The only solution is through technological development and fundamentally altering how people understand their relationship to the world. As the future branches through the space of all possible worlds, we don’t want to be in one of the universes where the scientific knowledge necessary to save us wasn’t created.

The greatest engine of creation currently is the human mind, and FUSE enables a path of having science more widely understood, thus increasing humanity's ability to shape the world and overcome our most serious problems. What are the consequences of having a generation of children fluent in computational science and physics?

Ironically, interactions in the virtual space will lead to people having a greater understanding of the real physical world. Increasing knowledge of science can only have the best consequences for mankind, for the planetary ecosystem, and for maximizing the probability of a favorable future. To paraphrase William Faulkner, the destiny of mankind is ultimate victory. I believe this. We now have to reconcile the facts that we face severe ecological and social problems and that our species is about to enter a new era marked by the existence of incalculably powerful technologies.
It’s time to light the FUSE.