Former teacher heads center's outreach program

By Mark Siegal '00

Anna M. Waldron, a former enrichment teacher for grades five through 12 in the Lansing school system, recently was named education coordinator for the new Nanobiotechnology Center (NBTC) at Cornell.

Anna Waldron, education coordinator for the Nanobiotechnology Center, stands in front of Knight Laboratory in Phillips Hall March 31. Frank DiMeo/University Photography

Funded last year by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which named it one of five new national science and technology centers, the NBTC seeks to create a partnership between academic research and industry in using the ultra-small techniques of microfabrication, such as in electronic integrated circuits, to manipulate biological systems.

The program for education and outreach was started to deliver concepts related to nanobiotechnology to regional K through 12 classes, students in higher education and to adults. "This will be an exciting part of the center's overall program to inform the public about nanobiotechnology," Waldron said.

Planned outreach activities include regular tours of the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility (CNF) in Knight Laboratory for high school students. The first students, a dozen juniors and seniors from Elmira High School, were welcomed on Feb. 15 and were given a two-hour tour of Knight Lab by Alton Clark, associate director of CNF. "We pulled together a group of students in the midst of exploring colleges so that they could see first-hand what nanobiotechnology was all about, while also experiencing the campus," said Waldron.

"I thought it went wonderfully," she said. "I received an e-mail from the coordinating teacher, who said the students had enjoyed the tour. They wanted to come back for a more hands-on experience next time."

Other outreach activities planned include a traveling museum exhibit in partnership with the Sciencenter in Ithaca, a middle school science club for girls, development of laboratory experiments for high school students in cooperation with the Cornell Institute for Biology Teachers and creation of a children's book.

Waldron had connections with Cornell even before joining the NBTC. At Lansing High School last year she joined with Jim Bell, Cornell assistant professor of astronomy, and Diane Sherman, coordinator of astronomy education/outreach at Cornell, to guide 15 Lansing students through a "space drive." The students participated in the first field test of a robot vehicle called FIDO (for Field Integrated Design and Operations Rover), a prototype for the vehicle that could explore the surface of Mars in the years ahead. While FIDO was undergoing field tests in southern California, the Lansing students took over the controls and commanded the vehicle from their classroom.