Educating Scientists for Tech Valley: A Cohort Scholars Program

该项目支持生物化学、化学、计算机科学和物理学专业的学生在生物技术、纳米技术和信息技术领域就业，这些领域是纽约州首府“科技谷”的重要增长领域。该计划建立在队列计划和正在进行的以纳米技术课程开发和化学、生物化学、生物信息学、物理和计算机科学研究为重点的本科生项目的现有经验基础上。定期举办关于技术谷研究和实习机会的研讨会，在学生学者的整个本科职业生涯中，由一个跨学科的教职员工提供指导。该项目的学术价值在于它专注于关键的跨学科研究领域，这些领域构成了一些最迅速发展和在智力上具有挑战性的科学领域。此外，该项目还加强了位于区域经济发展中的学术和产业互动。该项目的更广泛影响体现在它与两所当地社区大学的正式合作伙伴关系上，从一开始就与他们的学生合作，帮助他们为顺利过渡到PI机构的四年制科学项目做好准备。这些“支线”学校的学生人口中，少数民族和第一代大学生占了相当大的比例，因此提供了该项目能够产生广泛影响的另一个方面。具体活动包括为期两年的大学站点的指导和辅导计划，联合科学博览会，以及社区大学生参与暑期研究机会。最后，与当地许多高科技行业建立了持续的关系，这些行业的毕业生有机会在毕业后获得就业机会。

This project is supporting students in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Computer Science, and Physics for careers in biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology, which are important growth areas in the "Tech Valley," New York State's Capital Region. The program builds on existing experience with cohort programs and ongoing undergraduate-focused projects in nanotechnology curriculum development and research in chemistry, biochemistry, bioinformatics, physics, and computer science. Seminars on Tech Valley research and internship opportunities are regularly conducted, and mentoring throughout the student scholars' undergraduate careers is provided by an interdisciplinary cohort of faculty. The intellectual merit of the project lies in its focus on key interdisciplinary fields of inquiry which form some of the most rapidly developing and intellectually challenging areas of science. Furthermore, the project strengthens academic-industrial interactions that are situated in regional economic development. The broader impacts of the project are seen in its formal partnerships with two local community colleges to work with their students from the start to help prepare them for smooth transitions to the four-year science programs at the PI's institution. The student population at these "feeder" schools has a significant portion of minority and first-generation college students thus providing another aspect through which the project is able to exercise broad impact. Specific activities include mentoring and tutoring programs at the two-year college sites, joint science fairs, and participation by community college students in summer research opportunities. Finally, on-going relationships are in place with numerous local high-technology industries where graduating students have the opportunity to gain employment upon graduation.