‘Virtual’ symposium brings nanotech, biotech topics to K-12 science teachers

On Monday, May 1, educators from around Wisconsin will join with educators in Indiana and Minnesota to explore the convergence of nanotechnology and biotechnology with a panel of experts drawn from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the National Science Foundation and Wisconsin’s biotechnology community. The New Technologies symposium will originate from the Pyle Center at UW–Madison and will be broadcast live via Internet2 beginning at 8 a.m.

The convergence of nanoscience, biotechnology and information technology is a major frontier in research, with potential to enhance human abilities and improve the nation’s productivity and quality of life. This virtual symposium provides an opportunity for K-12 science teachers and other educators to gain an understanding of the concepts and applications involved in these disciplines to solve current and future problems and for making the United States more competitive in the world marketplace. Science teachers will learn how to use these technologies topics to demonstrate the interdependency of the sciences of biology, chemistry and physics with technology in their science classrooms.

Sponsored by the UW–Madison School of Education’s Office of Education Outreach and Department of Curriculum and Instruction, New Technologies represents collaboration among the National Science Foundation, the UW–Madison College of Engineering’s Center for Nanotechnology, the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), Beloit College, and representatives from the nanotechnology and biotechnology industry.

Among the presenters will be Robert Gibbs, program director of the Division of Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education at the National Science Foundation; George Lisensky, professor of chemistry at Beloit College; and Michael Sussman, director of the UW–Madison Biotechnology Center.

For further information, contact Steve Lanphear at slanphear@education.wisc.edu or Karin Silet at silet@education.wisc.edu.

Register for the symposium online. To register by phone, call (608) 262-0810 (TDD (608) 265-2370) or by fax (608) 265-3163. Anyone can call toll-free at (800) 741-7416.

The UW–Madison Office of Education Outreach provides workshops, conferences, distance-learning courses, seminars and institutes on a range of topics reflective of the mission and activities of the School of Education.