K-12 Outreach

Education, outreach and training have been an important component of CCR's mission since its inception, with on-going K-12, undergraduate and graduate level programs. In terms of K-12 outreach, each year CCR runs the Eric Pitman Annual Summer Workshop in Computational Science. Every summer, high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors spend a week learning computer programming and its application to problems in chemistry, visualization, and most recently bioinformatics.   High school students have not been the only beneficiaries of this program. Through NSF REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) grants, CCR has supported many undergraduates over the years to help with the development of the workshops, including course material in Linux, Python, Perl, MYSQL, C++, and CGI.

Based on the success of CCR's summer workshops and desire to have a broader impact on science and math education at the high school level in WNY, CCR, in collaboration with Dr. Bruce Pitman and high school teachers from the Orchard Park School District, developed the "Next Generation Scientists: Training for Students and Teachers" program, the goal of which is to provide HS teachers with many useful, self-contained modules in computational science that HS teachers can readily incorporate into their curriculum. The initial focus was on bioinformatics.  Though the program has been sunset, the website included programming exercises with solutions, PowerPoint presentations on programming, bioinformatics, databases, and other topics.

In the summer of 2009, CCR offered a program in computational science for high school students from the Buffalo Public Schools. The Mayor's Next Generation Scientist Program consisted of a summer long course in computer programming that provided the students with an introduction to the important role that computation plays in scientific research.

• Eric Pitman Annual Summer Workshop in Computational Science
• Next Generation Scientists Project - a collaboration of University at Buffalo faculty and local high school teachers to develop instructional activities for high school students in bioinformatics.
• NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics Life Sciences Education Program
• UB/BPS Excelsior Scholars Program - 2 week intensive summer program for 8th grade students excelling in science and math
• Sciences and Mathematics Mentoring - Buffalo Public Schools - UB Professor Joseph Gardella
• University at Buffalo: Center for Educational Collaboration - Pre-K-16 Outreach