Programs

The Education and Outreach area of GLBRC supports and collaborates on a diverse array of programs, which complement our mission and goals. These programs mainly address the needs of K-12 and undergraduate learning communities, and topically address bioenergy-related issues ranging from biotechnology to sustainability. Click on the title to be redirected to the programs website or for more information.

**Now accepting applications for our 2012 Summer Institute! Read below for details.**

Bioenergy Institute for Educators (UW): Accepting Applications!

In this one-week Institute (Aug. 13-18), teams of educators explore core areas of GLBRC research, get hands-on experience with our education materials, and delve into the development of inquiry-based classroom activities. The Summer Institute is trageted primarily toward grades 6-12 educators and features numerous field trips, workshops and labs. Check out this article about the 2012 institute:Building Bioenergy Savvy Educators.

Research Experience for Teachers (RET) (UW)

The RET allows teachers to spend six weeks on campus in the summer (July 9-Aug. 18) to develop a classroom lab or activity related to bioenergy. Participants work with their mentor scientist to conduct bioenergy research and then collaborate with the mentor and the E&O staff to create a related activity to be used in a school setting. Read about previous RET participant experiences in the following article: A Summer in the Lab.

Applications are now closed.

Integrated Biological Sciences Summer Research Program (IBS-SRP) (UW):

The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) will direct an undergraduate program at UW-Madison during the summer of 2012. This program is part of the IBS-SRP (Integrated Biological Sciences - Summer Research Program) which provides students an opportunity to conduct research as well as interact with peers in an interdisciplinary learning community. Participating undergraduate students will spend ten weeks conducting full-time research. Example study areas include microbial conversion of biomass to biofuels, genomics, enzymology, protein structure, molecular biology, plant breeding, and ecological analysis.
Article: A Summer in the Lab

Kellogg Biological Station Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (MSU):
The Sustainability Thrust of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) will offer a summer undergraduate research program at the Kellogg Biological Station (KBS), Michigan State University, focusing on the sustainability of biofuels. In addition to working with a mentor on an individual research project, students will participate in weekly discussions focusing on environmental, ecological, and economic implications of alternative biofuel practices. Students also will meet researchers working on different aspects of biofuel production, from engineering systems to molecular biology, and take field trips to production facilities. Students will present their research finding in a community-wide poster session at the end of the program.

Summer Research Experience in Bioenergy (MSU):
The ten week program is designed to give students experience in the theory and practice of bioenergy in the areas of biology, chemistry, chemical engineering and computational sciences. It includes a variety of projects and participating laboratories and will collaborate with the field-oriented KBS summer research experience (described above) for common experiences. While the main emphasis is on gaining laboratory experience, the ten week program includes informal lectures from faculty and social activities. For more information please contact Professor Jonathan Walton (walton@msu.edu).

Introductory College Sustainable Biofuels Course (UW):
“Bioenergy: Sustainability Opportunities and Challenges” (UW-Madison Agronomy 375, Fall 2010) is a three-credit undergraduate course that explores a wide range of interdisciplinary issues associated with bioenergy. There is a strong focus on systems perspectives and understanding the complexities that are involved and so typical for modern scientific and technological challenges. The potential for future biofuels to be a renewable energy source and to mitigate global climate change is highlighted. This course is a part of the UW-Madison FIG program (First-Year Interest Group, http://figs.wisc.edu/), and all the students also take 1st semester General Chemistry and Environmental Studies: People and Resources. Article: O Bioneers

Environmental Literacy Project (MSU):
ELP Our goal is to integrate Environmental Literacy into contemporary K-12 curriculum. We have four working groups, each of which is working on different strands of environmental literacy: carbon cycle, water cycle, biodiversity and evolution, and connecting actions. Groups consist of university-based researchers and K-12 teachers. Major products of past work are: (a) research papers addressing student conceptions of environmental issues; (b) assessments that can be used with elementary, middle, and high school students. Read this article about the GK-12 Partnership Bioenergy Sustainability Project at Kellogg Biological Station or visit their website.

International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) Competition Team (UW):
The underlying, long-term goal of the iGEM Competition team at UW-Madison is to promote education and research in biological engineering. The iGEM undergraduate competition was established at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004 to address whether simple biological systems might be constructed from standard, interchangeable parts in living cells. The competition is designed to enable the systematic engineering of biological systems by bringing together teams from around the world and providing a forum for the open development and sharing of biological protocols, reagents, and tools. The 2009 UW-Madison team will focus on bioenergy and consist of approximately 8 undergraduate students, a graduate research assistant, and five faculty advisers. In general, the students span a range of disciplines covering engineering, genetics, biochemistry, mathematics, microbiology, and immunology. The 2008 team (http://www.news.wisc.edu/15867) was awarded a bronze metal for their work. For more information, please contact Brian Pfleger (pfleger@engr.wisc.edu). Photo by David Appleyard.

Wisconsin Fast Plants (UW):
Over the past 20 years the Wisconsin Fast Plants Program has worked with teachers, scientists and other educators to demonstrate the importance of understanding life cycles, plant biology, genetics and its relationship to the environment through data collection and analysis, using a model organism, Brassica-rapa. Working in partnership with GLBRC, the Wisconsin Fast Plants Program staff will to broaden our available instructional materials and research data sets to support building teacher and student understandings with relationship to fundamental bioenergy concepts.