High School Scholars Visit NIMBioS

Two Tennessee high school students mix beans in a cup to simulate the outbreak of a disease during their visit to NIMBioS.

Tennessee high school students visited NIMBioS last week as a part of the annual Tennessee Junior Science and Humanties Symposium. Suzanne Lenhart, NIMBioS associate director for education, outreach and diversity, spoke to the students and their teacher sponsors about how NIMBioS researchers apply mathematics to solving some of today’s biggest biological questions, including how to manage and control diseases. A hands-on activity called “Outbreak in a Cup,” led by Kelly Sturner, NIMBioS education and outreach coordinator, generated discussion of important components in a disease model. Jennifer Richards, from Hands On and a NIMBioS collaborator, introduced students to data visualization software called Gapminder and led the students in exploring data on malaria around the world. The symposium gave students the opportunity to present their own original scientific research in a public forum, compete for scholarships, and tour labs and facilities on the UT-Knoxville campus and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.