Graduate Fellows K12 NSFInvitational Conference

March 16-19, 2012

Washington, DC

Only 30 graduate students from across the United States were selected to participate in a poster session held at the National Science Building in Arlington, VA. This research is supported through the NSF Scientists as Teachers – Teachers as Scientists Project. Shohreh Amini, Ph.D., is PI; Eric Borguet, Ph.D., and Judith Stull, Ph.D., are co-PIs.

Elizabeth Reilly, graduate student in Biology, presents her research poster.

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Laura Skorina, a graduate fellow in Biology, stands in front of her poster. The three other posters presented are by Paul Finn, Justin Kaplan, and Matthew Sender, all in the Chemistry Department.

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Matthew Sender, graduate student in Chemistry, presents his research.

Session Title: Taking Advantage of Every Opportunity to Expand STEM Pipeline: Chemistry and Biology in the Food Science Classroom

Session Abstract: Desiring to raise scientific knowledge and skills, teachers from Saul Agricultural High School, located within the city limits of Philadelphia, have been participating in the Temple University project with positive effects being realized by the fellows, the teachers, and their students. One example of raising the high school students’ appreciation and understanding of science has been taking place in the “Butchering” class. Students attending this school do so for many reasons, one of which is to have the necessary skills to enter the labor force upon graduation. All too many students see college as beyond their grasp, even though they have the ability. One way to change their perspective is to start with what they think they need to know and then to add the scientific content so that they see the connections. In this workshop, the presenters discuss how lessons on the need for licensing and food cleanliness progressed to an identification of bacteria and DNA and continued on to the underlying chemistry.

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