Faculty-led initiative engages students in advanced biomanufacturing

Lisa Chizek, Assistant Teaching Professor in the School of Education, received a 2024 grant from the Education and Workforce Development (EWD) Seed Funding Program for Chemurgy 2.0, part of the Iowa National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR). 

The NSF EPSCoR program works to strengthen research and education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) across the U.S. Iowa’s current EPSCoR project, Chemurgy 2.0, advances biomanufacturing by using agricultural materials to create sustainable products and provides hands-on learning opportunities for students and educators statewide. 

Since receiving her grant, Chizek has partnered with small groups of students at North Tama and Springville High Schools to make information about advanced biomanufacturing more accessible to the public. Six students (three from each school) chose advanced biomanufacturing research projects that caught their interest. Chizek then arranged interviews and lab tours at Iowa State University and the University of Iowa so students could explore these projects firsthand. 

“Many students have never heard of advanced biomanufacturing or know about the research being done at our universities,” Chizek said. “This project helped rural high school students gain hands-on experience with that research and see how it benefits Iowa and beyond.” 

During their visits, the high school project participants met and talked with researchers and toured their labs to learn firsthand about the processes involved in the research, deepening their understanding of advanced biomanufacturing. The students then created videos explaining the research being done and the importance of the work for Iowans and beyond, making this complex science more understandable for general audiences. 

“The high school project participants were inspired and worked very hard on their final projects,” Chizek said. The videos are now featured on the Iowa NSF EPSCoR YouTube and have been shared with middle and high school students in the project participants’ school districts. 

“Sharing these translated videos is important because the videos raise awareness of advanced biomanufacturing research and highlight it as a possible and viable career path,” Chizek said. 

Chizek’s research focuses on engaging students with STEM in elementary environments in ways that nurture creativity and innovation. This project extends that mission, incorporates ideas from a project Chizek worked on during an internship at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, and demonstrates how collaboration across disciplines can make science more accessible to the public. 

The project also helped high school students envision themselves as future scientists. 

“The project brought these high school students to our universities,” Chizek said. “The students experienced firsthand the energy and enthusiasm, and the possibilities the universities have for them.” 

Student-created videos