Faculty and students are
on the 'FaST' track
A new Argonne program is allowing college students and their professors to work with scientists on cutting-edge research.
 HANDS-ON LEARNING – Rakisha Nicholson (foreground) and Jasmin Feimster participated in the Faculty and Student Teams program in 2002. |
The goal of the Faculty and Student Teams (FaST) program is to foster collaboration between the faculty and the laboratory scientists, as well as provide hands-on research for students to encourage them to pursue careers in science and technology.
This new initiative represents a partnership between the Department of Energy's Office of Science and the National Science Foundation.
The program is primarily aimed at faculty and student teams from small undergraduate institutions and research institutions serving large populations of groups historically underrepresented in the fields of science, engineering and technology.
"I'm hoping to broaden my skills and knowledge in the field of biology, particularly molecular biology," said Jasmin Feimster, a participant from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT).
Harold Myron, director of Argonne's Division of Educational Programs, said FaST cultivates a relationship between the students and faculty, as well as the school and the laboratory.
"With their research," he said, "the faculty gets enhanced, the students get enhanced, and maybe if they're lucky they can continue their research at home during the school year. This benefits the faculty, the students, the school, Argonne and the National Science Foundation."
This summer there were three teams at Argonne. A team from NCAT, headed by Mary Smith, collaborated with Argonne's Darrell Chandler. They used bioinformatics and biochip technology to develop a biochip that allows the simultaneous detection of at least six viruses. They used the chip to study patterns of viral infection in various plant hosts.
"The biochip represents cutting-edge technology for biological research," Smith said.
 FaST TEAM – The summer 2002 FaST team included (front, left to right) Hector Rodriguez, Laveda Casterlow, Igor Dinor, Rakisha Nicholson (back row, left to right) Mary Smith, Jasmin Feimster, Oleg Yunakov and DEP program leader Linda Washington.. |
Another team from Pace University in New York City, headed by Dennis Anderson, collaborated with Argonne's Gregor von Laszewski. They used Java to create software for the grid, a distributed computing collaboration and data-handling infrastructure that connects geographically dispersed resources.
The final team, from Chicago State University, was headed by Jacques Richard and collaborated with Argonne researcher Paul Fischer. They worked to further develop NeK5000, a code that simulates fluid flow in a broad range of applications, ranging from reactor cooling to blood flow. The team investigated extensions to this code that would allow simulation of flow in situations where the vessel wall is moving.
"The program allowed me to experience some state-of-the-art technology that I may not have access to as an undergraduate at my university," said Rakisha Nicholson, a participant from NCAT.
Argonne's Linda Phaire-Washington, senior educational program leader, agreed with Nicholson, adding, "There are many favorable attributes to the FaST program. It gives participants an opportunity to be on the ground floor of new ideas and exciting projects, it involves them in a highly interactive and stimulating immersion experience in research, and it's an opportunity to add to the diversity of the science and engineering workforce. We are very excited about the long-term implications for FaST." – Katie Williams
For more information, please contact Donna Jones Pelkie (630/252-5501 or djpelkie@anl.gov) at Argonne.
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