Geeks FSO is bringing to fruition an interrelated set of programs and projects that address two fundamental goals identified by leading scientists and affirmed by the RFPs (Requests for Proposals) of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Sustainability, and the need for everyone's participation (certainly a major increase in participation which suggests the need for a wider understanding of what we are facing both in the near and long terms of planet earth.)Increased participation in STEM by underrepresented populations in those fields. (STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)In pursuing sustainability we are exploring the development of an Environmental Science & Earth Systems Urban Laboratory (ES2UL) to work on issues related to the quality of life in urban settings. Currently we are focused on reshaping urban waste disposal by:

• Reducing the use of energy in transport of the waste stream through minimizing the weight of food waste by removing the water by high pressure pressing.
• Increasing the amount of recyclable material removed from the waste stream through ("What's in for me?") STEM incentives for those population groups not achieving their goals for recycling.

In pursuing increased participation in STEM by underrepresented populations in those fields this will be "the team's" fourth major venture into educational outreach to those underrepresented populations. The first, starting in 2000, was a three-year met tower installation at Plainfield High School that led to the Essex-Stevens Model Research Lab program that Professor Nadia Lvov, Assistant Professor/ECC LSAMP Project Director, Division of Mathematics and Physics, Essex County College, Newark, NJ, has administered so successfully these past ten years, and which in turn led to the Summer Science Program at Valley Settlement House in West Orange, that is now in its eighth year and coordinated by Luis Grados, who was recruited out of the Essex-Stevens program while attending ECC. Luis is a key advisor to the new initiative--the fourth major venture--in which we are doing the following:

• Providing an open court workshop for young people to learn coding of apps and create content every Friday afternoon from 4 to 7 pm at The Rack Cafe, 1844 Springfield Ave, Maplewood, NJ 07040, (973) 327-2353, https://www.facebook.com/TheRackCafe, with an open mic showcase from 8 to 10 pm on the first Friday of the month. (The next one is December 5th.)
• Livestreaming our activities in tandem with the tech workshop, including a live discussion of our ES2UL initiatives and their impact on the community, seeking input on how to improve our efforts from a wider audience.
• Looking toward the installation of a Free Space Optics (FSO) link to provide high speed/high bandwidth communications for the workshop.

Please note: Geeks FSO is planning to restart its Sunday afternoon "open court" workshops at Valley Settlement House as soon as possible. Contact us at [email protected].