Science Teachers From Livermore Schools Visited Sandia

From Livermore Schools: Science teachers from Livermore schools visited Sandia/California as part of the school district’s Science and Engineering Month recently. The afterschool tour introduced the teachers to Sandia’s role in disease diagnostics, biofuels, and biodefense.

“The program focused on Sandia’s biosciences portfolio,” said Madeline Burchard, community relations officer at Sandia/California. “Program participants also learned about Sandia’s involvement in important current events such as the Zika outbreak in West Africa, West Nile in California, and anthrax scares. We also wanted to impart to them that future problems will be solved by students and young professionals who are comfortable working in interdisciplinary teams.”

One teacher who participated in the program said, “I had no idea that so much bioscience happens at Sandia and wish that it was earlier in my career so that I could do some of this work.”
Other teachers said they found the program interesting and appreciated learning about the possibilities to connect with Sandia and the technical talent at the Labs. One chemistry teacher asked if the Sandians who addressed the group could come speak to her class.

The teachers toured Sandia’s Algae Raceway and heard presentations from Cathy Branda, senior manager of the Applied Biosciences and Engineering group, and Tori VanderNoot, manager of the Biotechnology and Bioengineering department.

Image Via Livermore Schools