A program geared towards improving math and science programs in various Buffalo public schools by UB professors and students has received a $485,000 grant from the John R. Oishei Foundation. Chemistry professor Joseph A. Gardella, who led a recent expansion of the program to include grade school students, leads the program.
A component of the civic engagement and public policy initiative of UB2020, the program aims to enhance and reinvigorate math and science programs by providing resources such as student and faculty assistance.
"I've been contacted by student clubs who want to volunteer, students who want to help, faculty members," Gardella said. "They're interested in being part of a presidential initiative that changes the way people think about career development, help mentor the next generation of kids that are in school, and link in to something that is a national need."
The need, according to Gardella, is for female and minority members in the science and engineering communities.
"There is a national call to improve under-represented women and minorities in science and engineering," he said. "We have an opportunity in Buffalo."
Initially geared towards middle school students at the Native American Magnet School, the program has now expanded to all grades at the Math, Science and Technology Preparatory School at Seneca (MST).
Formerly a vocational school, MST underwent a renovation and reorganization process to become a math and technology prep school. The final batch of vocational students will share the school next year, and are surprisingly excited about it, according to Gardella.
"The students held a welcoming pep rally on their own for the new kids, as if to say, 'We're the old Seneca, you're the new Seneca, here are our traditions,'" he said.
Gardella believes that earning trust is the first step towards success when working with a new school. The facility is state of the art, and one of 18 schools funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Students at the school will each receive a laptop and take trips to UB in an effort to get acquainted with university life. Gardella explained that students will learn exciting, up-to-date material and, hopefully, be inspired to move towards a career in science-related fields.
The school faculty will be given extensive training and summer research programs.
"The key feature on the research side is to link the expertise of UB with teacher development and making science more acceptable. We want to improve educational opportunities for students," Gardella said.
The Associate Dean of the College for Arts and Sciences, Gardella's expertise is in surface science, specifically Teflon surfaces. His work is focused on advancements in tissue regeneration.
He knows that this program may require many years and extreme effort to succeed, but as the 2005 winner of the "Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring," Gardella believes that hard work in mentoring hopeful future scientists will pay off with persistence.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
