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COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY RECEIVES $3 MILLION BIOFUELS GRANT TO TRAIN FUTURE WORKFORCE by Jerry McCarthy.
Not categorized. Tagged with bioenergy, co, higher ed, nsf, talent and workforce.The biofuels industry in Colorado and around the nation has grown so complex that the next generation of scientists need to know all its angles - from the chemistry of making it to the economics of selling it, said Colorado State University Professor Ken Reardon, the recipient of a $3 million National Science Foundation grant to provide interdisciplinary biofuels training for doctoral students.
The NSF grant will establish the Integrated Graduate Education in Biorefining and Biofuels Program and will support the education of up to 45 doctoral students over the next five years in everything from environmental assessment (greenhouse gas impacts) to fuel engineering and plant biotechnology.
The grant, from NSF's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program, is one of only 20 selected nationwide.
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WIRED Biotechnology Program (Finger Lakes Region) Gives Students Glimpse of High-Tech Future Careers by Jerry McCarthy.
Not categorized. Tagged with high school, ny, stem and summer program.BATAVIA, NY (08/21/2008) -- Lauren Mullen, a senior at Byron-Bergen High School, plans to attend college after graduation to study veterinary science. This summer, she took the opportunity to participate in the WIRED Biotechnology Program at
"I really enjoyed the program. It was great to have something to stimulate my brain during the summer," Lauren said. "And it was nice to get paid too."
Approximately forty of the area's brightest students participated in the program, which ran from July 7-August 16 and included instruction in Career and Educational Planning, Fundamentals of Cell Biology, and an Introduction to Biotechnology. One of the key features of the program included field trips to locations such as Gaymar Industries, Inc. in Orchard Park, a company that produces high-tech medical equipment; Syntec Custom Injection Molder in Pavilion, which manufactures injection molded plastic products for the pharmaceutical industry; University at Buffalo in Amherst, where students toured the Dental School Library and the School of Dental Medicine; and United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia, where students visited the hospital's laboratories.
Texas Bioscience Institute Middle College Program – White Coat Ceremony by Jerry McCarthy.
Not categorized. Tagged with high school, stem and tx.[ News from the high school academy/middle college/magnet school program front: White Coat Ceremony - a nice medical school-y touch and recognition]
Ask the usual fifth-grader what they want to be, and pro sports athlete, police officer, firefighter and astronaut are the popular choices, even if few children ever follow through on their dreams.
When Timothy Young decided to be a brain surgeon in fifth grade, he made that a goal – one he continues to follow.
Young, a junior at
San Diego's biotech cluster by Ed Morrison.
Categorized as networking. Tagged with clusters and economic development.Here's another good review of how San Diego has developed its biotech cluster.
San Diego is home to the third largest concentration of biotechnology companies in the world, behind the Bay Area and Boston. It’s an impressive claim that industry insiders say is the result of two major forces: the cluster of world-class research institutes that sprang up more than 40 years ago on the Torrey Pines Mesa and the success of one local company that fostered a generation of gutsy entrepreneurs with the money and expertise to start new companies.
Great Bay Community College Hosts Biotech Summer Research Camp by Brad Wiggins.
Not categorized. Tagged with education, high school, higher ed, k12 and talent.
College hosted high school teachers, students for program
STRATHAM — BioConnectNH recently hosted its second annual Biotech Summer Research Camp bringing together six high school teachers and six students from around the state to Great Bay Community College where they had the opportunity to advance their knowledge and experience in the growing field of biotechnology.
"I recently graduated from a small high school where the resources were limited," student Jennifer Gray said. "I left feeling almost unprepared for college due to lack of experience, particularly with laboratory equipment.
"I plan on attending Boston University in the fall majoring in biology and the BioConnectNH program allowed for me to gain knowledge with top of the line equipment, giving me the leverage I needed in order to compete in my classes. It boosted my confidence in completing laboratory experiments, and gave me the hands on experience I was in need of."
Prior to arriving at Great Bay Community College, the students proposed an area of study which built on biotech basics learned in their high school classes. During the week, students worked with their high school teachers and faculty from Great Bay, using the college's state-of-the-art equipment to pursue and further execute their proposal. The goal of the research camp was to increase the biotechnology knowledge of the students and teachers; increase the teachers' classroom skills and introduce students to the career options available to them in the biotechnology industry.
BioConnectNH provides training to upgrade the skills of existing workers and new entry level workers, and to create a career pathway for students at high school and college to easily move toward rewarding careers in the life sciences. BioConnectNH invests in the key areas of high school and community college capacity building, industry-driven workforce training, and works to connect employers, students and workers and develop the infrastructure needed to nourish growth in the NH biotech sector. BioConnectNH is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.
For more information, visit www.ms.nhctc.edu/BioConnectNH.
Biotech funding bill hits Senate by Jerry McCarthy.
Not categorized. Not tagged.A biotech funding bill that extends SBIR and STTR past an impending sunset has reached the floor of the senate after clearing the House of Representatives in April.
The bill in its current form will add 14 years to the lifespans of both the SBIR and STTR programs and increase the funding available in phase I and phase II awards, and it will broaden eligibility for participants in some key areas.
2007 Ohio Bioscience Industry Workforce Survey by Brad Wiggins.
Not categorized. Not tagged.As discussed during the Bioscience Interest Group meeting on Tuesday, July 15, below are links to a workforce survey and statistical data related to bioscience in Ohio. Many thanks to Dr. Bill Tacon, Senior Director, Workforce & Education, BioOhio for sharing these with us:
http://www.bioohio.com/getdoc/2347ac32-b075-464d-a62c-ce037a4af1ea/2007-Ohio-Bioscience-Industry-Work-Force-Survey-Su.aspx
http://www.bioohio.com/working-learning/Workforce-Facts-Figures.aspx
DOE Makes Alternative and Renewable Transportation Fuels Announcement by Brad Wiggins.
Not categorized. Tagged with bioenergy and doe.The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the selection of two small-scale cellulosic biorefinery projects in Park Falls, Wis. and Jennings, La. for federal funding of up to $40 million over five years. These projects will further President Bush’s goal of making cellulosic ethanol cost-competitive with corn-based ethanol by 2012, and help reduce America’s gasoline use by expanding the availability of alternative and renewable transportation fuels.
CNET: DOT proposes contest to 'green' jet fuel industry by Brad Wiggins.
Not categorized. Not tagged.
In the race to curb global warming, the aviation industry lags behind as one of the largest polluters. But the U.S. government wants to help rectify that problem by calling on technology experts for green-air solutions.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation said that it will finance a new competition designed to spur innovation in renewable fuels and technologies for the aviation industry. To this end, the DOT, along with the Federal Aviation Administration, has granted $500,000 to the nonprofit X Prize Foundation to form a contest that will call on private industry to develop alternative jet fuels or technologies. The coming aviation X Prize could carry a prize purse of $10 million or more for the winner--contest money to be provided by a yet-to-be-determined private sponsor.
"It will be a competition that everyone wins, because a breakthrough in alternative jet fuels is a potential game-changer that could bring lower airline fuel costs, greater U.S. energy independence, and cleaner air," U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters said in a statement. Peters announced the grant Thursday at the American Association of Airport Executives summit in Washington D.C.
The creation of an aviation prize is part of the FAA's so-called Next Generation air traffic modernization program, or "NextGen." The goal of the FAA's program is to double the capacity of the U.S. aviation traffic system by 2025, but by maintaining the growth in a carbon-neutral fashion. The FAA believes that alternative aviation fuels or so-called coupling technologies--those that might mitigate air pollutants, for example--may be able to offset the greenhouse gas emissions expected from increased air traffic.
The grant is also among the first given from the government to the X Prize Foundation to form an industry X Prize. The Foundation has been in talks with the DOT and FAA about a potential aviation contest for alternative fuels since the mid-90s, when the nonprofit first announced its Ansari X Prize, a competition to foster private suborbital space flight which was won in 2004. In recent months, the DOT issued a request for proposal to the industry to run a similar aviation contest for alternative fuels, and it ultimately chose the X Prize Foundation.
The nonprofit plans to consult with industry experts over the next 14 months to develop its aviation prize, including setting rules that will govern the competition. After that time, it expects to launch the competition by 2011, with the goal for it to be completed by 2016. Once announced, it would be the X Prize Foundation's fifth official X Prize competition, including the current $10 million Archon X Prize for Genomics, the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize, and the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize for energy-efficient vehicles.
For that prize, the Department of Energy has granted $3.5 million to the X Prize Foundation to educate young people about energy-efficient autos.
"With all the discussion about global warming, the increasing cost of oil, and the increasing congestion everyone's feeling at the airport, we need to do something dramatic about it and we think it's the contest model," said Jason Morgan, senior director of prize development at the X Prize Foundation
Delaware Valley WIRED Awards Innovation Investment Grant by Brad Wiggins.
Not categorized. Not tagged.July 1
The Delaware Valley Innovation Network (DVIN) announced today the award of its first Innovation Investment Grant. The Wistar Institute will receive$89,000 to support the Wistar Biomedical Technician Training (BTT) Program, a two-year workforce development program in biotechnology and biomedical research.
The BTT Program providesCommunity College of Philadelphia (CCP) students instruction and hands-on experience training while preparing for careers as Biomedical Technicians. "We see tremendous value in supporting a pipeline of talented students from theCommunity College of Philadelphia through real work experience at the Wistar Institute, various industry laboratories and the Fels Institute," saidHelen Groft , Project Director of DVIN. "These students will be able to jumpstart their careers and employers will have experienced candidates to hire."
The Innovation Investment Award will support the Wistar Institute-CCP partnership and provide training opportunities for 17 first and second year students through CCP's new Center for Science, Engineering and Emerging Technologies. Dr.William Wunner , Director of the Biomedical Technician Training Program said, "The BTT program equips promising community college students with a better understanding of cancers, genetics diseases, autoimmune diseases, and a multitude of related conditions that affect human and animal health."
Since 2001, life science companies and affiliated institutions where students participating in the BTT program have included:
· Centocor (Radnor, PA )
· Cephalon (West Chester, PA )
· Charles River Laboratories (Malvern, PA )
· GlaxoSmithKline (Collegeville, PA )
· Neose Technologies (Horsham, PA )
· Tengion, Inc. (East Norristown, PA )
·University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP)
· Fels Institute ofTemple University
The Wistar Institute will be working with DVIN to expand their training program to other community colleges throughout the tri-state region.
About DVIN Innovation Investments
The DVIN Innovation Investment Fund will provide more than
The next deadline for Innovation Investment proposal submissions is
More information about DVIN Innovation Investments, including guidelines, FAQ's and upcoming information sessions is available at http://www.delawarevalleyinnovationnetwork.com/dvin/guidelinesannouncement.htmhttp://www.delawarevalleyinnovationnetwork.com/dvin/guidelinesannouncement.htm.
Point of Contact:
About DVIN
The Delaware Valley Innovation Network (DVIN) was formed in 2005 to apply for a Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. This unique, collaborative effort was endorsed by the governors of
About the Wistar Institute
The Wistar Institute is an international leader in biomedical research with special expertise in cancer research and vaccine development. Founded in 1892 as the first independent nonprofit biomedical research institute in the country, Wistar has long held the prestigious Cancer Center designation from the National Cancer Institute. Discoveries at Wistar led to the creation of the rubella vaccine that eradicated the disease in
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Denver Metro: Opening Minds to Bioscience by Ed Morrison.
Categorized as Public, STEM and Workforce. Not tagged.
One of the great advantages of the WIRED initaitive comes in building new approaches to project-based learning in high schools. Here's an excellent example from Denver metro in biosciences:
A cutting-edge project designed to deliver hands-on training and equipment to Denver Metro high school teachers has come to a successful conclusion, and as a result, high school students throughout the region have had the opportunity to conduct more than 6,000 DNA-related experiments in the classroom during the 2007-08 school year.
The project is designed to equip high school teachers and students with hands-on instruction in molecular biology and information about careers in Colorado’s bioscience industry.
The Community College of Aurora has launched this initiative and maintains a web site (Opening Minds to Bioscience) where you can learn more.
