Staff Celebrations
Nathan Hale teacher receives science grant, invited to present research paper at conference
Karl Englert, a Nathan Hale High School science teacher, has received a $15,000 grant to improve science education in the Pacific Northwest. The grant was awarded through the Partners in Science Program of the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.
The goal of the program is to provide high school science teachers with opportunities to work at the cutting edge of science – thus helping them to revitalize their teaching, develop new inquiry-based teaching strategies, and encourage more students to pursue careers in science.
The award enables Englert to form a partnership with a research scientist and to conduct basic science research during the next two summers. Englert will be conducting his research jointly with Dr. John I. Clark at the University of Washington on "Studies of Eye Lens Protein Aggregate Disease."
As part of this grant, Englert is being invited to attend a national conference Jan. 17-18, 2014, in San Diego to present a poster on the summer's research. He will also present a paper on both summers of research at the conference in January 2015. This conference will strengthen Englert professionally and give insight into how science is being taught at some of the finest schools in the nation.
According to a letter from M.J. Murdock Trust announcing Englert's award, he "exhibited exceptional qualities at Nathan Hale High School that, on the one hand, have demonstrated merit of this award, and, on the other hand, will most certainly be use in bringing special insights and enthusiasm back to the classroom."
The grants are awarded based on proposals submitted on a competitive basis. Both the scientific merit of the project proposed – as well as the potential impact on the high school classrooms and labs – are weighted in determining recipients of grants.
Applications were accepted from high school teachers and mentors from a five-state region to conduct summer research. The selection of awards is based on the qualifications of the partner members, the quality of scientific research proposed, and the potential of its impact on the high school setting.
The Murdock Trust, created by the will of the late Melvin J. (Jack) Murdock, provides grants to organizations in five states of the Pacific Northwest that seek to strengthen the region's educational cultural base in creative and sustainable ways. The Partners in Science Program is one of its many efforts to do so in its grant-making region.