On August 12 visitors and researchers from around the SF Bay Area packed into the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) seminar room. They weren’t coming to see a renowned scientist or the director of a Federal research office. They came to hear the story of six unassuming and slightly shy high school researchers who spent their summer in a biofuels lab.

iCLEM teamProgram leaders Clem Fortman, Adrienne McKee, and James Carothers went out of their way to develop a program, affectionately known as iCLEM (for Introductory College Level Experience in Microbiology), that provides paid research opportunities to high-potential high school students from families with little or no college experience. The six students selected this year became an active part of the JBEI mission to develop cellulosic biofuels. Starting with sample compost materials, the students screened the materials of cellulolytic activity, then isolated and optimized the constituent enzymes. In doing so they studied chemistry and molecular biology, got hands-on experience in state-of-the-art lab techniques, and learned that they have what it takes to make a career in science. In their presentation of results, the students fluently talked about the technical details of the project, the conceptual basis of light-to-fuel, and the nuances of developing cheap, renewable energy from non-food agricultural resources.

The research experience was at least as transformative for the instructors as it was for the students.  Rowan Driscoll, a biology and chemistry teacher at Oakland Unity School and veteran from last year’s inaugural iCLEM team, joined Berkeley High School environmental science teacher Kate Trimlett and Laney Community College student and iCLEM research assistant Ahmed Akbar to provide guidance and instruction to the students. The program requires teachers to develop a curricular plan that can be used in the teachers’ classrooms, exposing many students to advanced concepts from a real-world biofuels research lab. “Working with these six high school researchers and scientists here in the lab, I’ve been able to build a curriculum that I can take back to the 150 students that come through my classroom every day,” remarked Driscoll. “I view this project as a great way to show students what’s going on with energy and the environment, and how science can be a tool to improve society.”

Akbar reminded the six high school researchers in this year’s iCLEM proram that this summer was just the beginning for them. “These students can use their hands-on experience, concepts, and professional connections to seek greater opportunities.”