David Petering above) and Crag Berg (below) will co-lead a team of scientists and educators who will develop and comprehensively support the program.

The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM) has been awarded a $1.4 million federal grant to create novel science-education materials for high school biology teachers, educate Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) and other regional teachers in their use, and support their dissemination to students.

The five-year Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA), funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health (NIEHS) with the National Center for Research Resources, is designed to stimulate students’ scientific curiosity and understanding. The goal is to prepare them to live in a world increasingly based on science and technology, and to inspire them to pursue biomedical and public health careers.

The educational modules will offer teachers and students multiple encounters with authentic scientific inquiry, says Principal Investigator David Petering, UWM Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and director of UWM’s Children’s Environmental Health Sciences Core Center. Petering and Associate Professor of Education Craig Berg will lead a team of scientists and educators who will develop and comprehensively support the program.

In addition, students will participate in an annual research conference, while teachers will gain professional development through workshops, and yearly scientific and educational support.

UWM is among 17 SEPA projects awarded to support K-12 and museum programs across the country. This is the third time Petering has received funding for a SEPA project at UWM.In 2002-07, UWM environmental health scientists developed educational modules and offered training for middle school science teachers under a SEPA grant.That project served 110 teachers in the Milwaukee area, reaching 5,500 students.

The new project will extend UWM’s outreach programs in environmental health sciences through the Children’s Environmental Health Sciences Core Center. The center, launched earlier this year with an $8.5 million grant from NIEHS, will soon be housed in UWM’s graduate-level School of Public Health.

It is a partnership with the Children’s Research Institute of Children’s Hospital and Health System and the only such center in the country devoted solely to children’s health in relation to their environment. One of its goals is to educate the public, including children, about environmental health issues, such as healthy lifestyle choices and the health effects of exposure to pollution.