On a snowy day in February 2010, the Link Lab hosted 125 students from grades 7-10 and their parents for a program of workshops on a wide variety of topics in biotechnology and bioengineering. The students are members of the Center for Talented Youth (CTY), a program established by Johns Hopkins University. Students and parents came from as far away as the west coast to participate in the program. In addition to the Link lab, Professors Michael McAlpine (MAE), Bob Prud’homme (CHE), Howard Stone (MAE), and Michael Hecht (CHM) also contributed workshops. Please check out pictures of some of the workshops below.

Bob Prud’homme and graduate student Nathalie Pinkerton prepare for a demonstration with liquid nitrogen
  
Jessica and Siyan teach students about green fluorescent protein (GFP) and protein purification.

Mike McAlpine gives a talk about the intersection of nanotechnology and bioengineering.

Jamie tells students and parents about biotechnological uses of bacteria.

Mikhail and Diya spoke about medical and energy applications of biotechnology.
  
Geoff Hunt, a postdoc in the Schwarzbauer lab, teaches students about stem cells in culture.

In summer 2010, the Princeton University Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering hosted four talented students from the Class of 2011 at Union City High School. These students, Kevin Erazo, Caroline Pelaez, Emma Russo, and Paola Severino, were part of Project SEED, a program sponsored by the American Chemical Society (ACS) to enable high school students to gain research experience in the chemical sciences. The students stayed in dorms at Princeton during the week. The entire program was organized by Prof. Link with hard work from graduate student Diya Abdeljabbar and Union City High School science department chair Nadia Makar. Emma and Paola worked in the Link lab on protein engineering while Kevin and Caroline worked in the Benziger and Nelson labs, respectively. At the end of the summer, each of the students presented their work at a symposium at nearby Rider University. In addition, these students will present their work at several different meetings and science fairs throughout the school year. See below for some pictures of Emma and Paola working in the Link lab as well as some pictures of all of the students presenting their work at the symposium. Prof. Link is grateful to the ACS, the department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science for providing funding for the students’ stipends and housing. We look forward to making Project SEED at Princeton an annual tradition!

  
Paola Severino prepares a reaction and Emma Russo sonicates some cells
  
Emma Russo checks the growth on a petri dish and sets up an epi-tube inverter
  
Paola Severino takes flow cytometry measurements
  
Presentations