Progress 08/01/23 to 07/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience were high school Hispanic and underrepresented minority students enrolled in 9-12 grades. We contacted high school superintendents, principals, teachers, science club and career advisors in 15 high schools in the greater Houston area via e-mail and phone calls. We discussed the objectives of the USDA-Hispanic serving Institution-Pathway to University program (HSI-PUP) and requested them to encourage the students to participate in the 2-day summer camp and the 4-weeks research experience program. We also visited Houston ISD and introduced the USDA-HIS program to high school teachers. In addition, we invited 360 students from central Fort Bend and Lamar Consolidated ISD schools to visit the UH Sugar Land campus and to learn about the technology programs. Table-1 provides a listing of the neighboring schools. The UH Biotechnology faculties also served as judges at the 2024 Science and Engineering Fair of Houston and advertised the program to participants from 50 high schools. Table 1. Neighboring Schools and number of students visiting UH Sugar Land campus. School Name Number of Students Dates Type of Tour Central Fort Bend Center of Commerce Tech Day 300 3-01-2024 General, Technology Lamar Consolidated ISD 60 3-21-2024 Technology, BTEC Out of 100 high school students who applied for the program, we invited 43 students to participate in the 2-day summer camp in June 2024. Twenty students submitted applications for the 4-weeks summer research experience program. We recruited 11 students after going through their applications in which they wrote about their future ambitions. More than 1000 high school students accessed the USDA-HSI-PUP program website https://uh.edu/tech/usda-pup/ website to learn about various opportunities. Changes/Problems:Instead of selecting one undergraudate Hispanic student and giving $25,000 fellowship, we choose two Hispanic undergraduate students with Biology and Biotechnology major were chosen to receive $12,500 fellowship each. This change was communicated with the program leader and received their permission. The fellowship amount will be given to the students for 2 years. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Tour of the biotechnology teaching labs and bioprocess lab showcasing the bioreactors and AKTA chromatographs in UH Sugar Land. Visited the research labs of four biotechnology faculty at UH Sugar Land and discussed their research activities. Hands on experiments on 1) algae and their use as plant growth stimulants, and 2) food processing enzymes Walking tour of the UH Main Campus. Expert presentations How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Most of the information about the program are posted on UH HSI program website: https://usda-pup.egr.uh.edu/ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Like 2024, in 2025, we will continue to organize 2-day summer camp for 100 underrepresented high school students and 4-weeks research experience for 12 students at University of Houton. We will invite >500 students to UH Sugar Land campus and explain about various food, nutrition and biotechnology programs at UH. We will mentor two undergraduate hispanic students do carryout independent research and publish manuscript. We have also collected student survey during the summer camp for the past two years. This information will be complied and published in educational journal.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
About 100 high school students applied for the program and we selected 43 to participate in 2-day summer camp We successfully engaged 43 high school students from 45 different high schools in training and research activities. The activities started on June 12th and ended on 13th June 2024. The students who participated were 34 female and 19 males. Each student received a participation certificate upon the completion of the camp. The effectiveness of the camp activities and the students' knowledge gained were determined by a student survey performed at the end of each day during the camp. Prof. Neil Eldin evaluated the program based on the survey results. The feedback from the first day confirmed a high level of students' satisfaction. All the attendees (100% of the students) reported their satisfaction with the information presented on that day. Specifically, 34% of the students indicated that they were extremely interested in the topic of Careers in Clinical Nutrition; 41% reported that the hands-on activity on algae was extremely informative; 59% reported that the hands-on activity on enzymes was extremely informative; 44% reported that the information on Careers in Food Science was extremely informative; and 25% reported that the real world examples and interactive discussion was extremely informative. When asked about possible improvements for future offerings, the students' consensus was to increase the time allowed for the hands-on activities. This feedback is a positive sign of the students' interest and engagement that made them desire more of the activities offered. The feedback from the second day confirmed the high level of students' satisfaction. All the attendees (100% of the students) reported their satisfaction with the information presented on that day. Specifically, 41% of the students indicated that they were extremely interested in discussing the career opportunities in private industry; 44% reported that the UH Campus Tour was extremely informative; 59% reported that the Health and Human performance lab visit was extremely formative; 44% reported that the Greenhouse tour was extremely informative; 26% of students reported that the SEM core facility tour was extremely informative; and 41% reported that the information presented to parents was extremely informative. When asked about possible improvements for future offerings, the students' consensus was to increase the time allowed for the hands-on activities, and to reduce the time spent walking on campus to avoid the summer heat in Houston. We successfully organized a 4-week summer research experience for 11 high school students. The activities started on July 1st and ended on August 2nd, 2024. Six students were female, and five students were male. The students were grouped into 2/3-member teams and gained research experience in four different laboratories. Research topics include: (i) Microalgae cultivation, (ii) Nutrition and dietetics, (iii) Plant science, (iv) Lignin collection from mushrooms. At the end of the program, students shared their experience and skills gained and how this program has helped to shape their career by making a short presentation. The students' feedback was captured through a survey in the end. The collected data shows strong positive impact on the students and a high level of satisfaction with the program. In the end all the 11 high school students completed the 4-weeks summer research experience program and half of the students expressed their intention to apply to UH in the biotechnology, nutrition or hotel and restaurant management program. In the end, students received a participation certificate and $1,000 stipend.
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Progress 08/01/22 to 07/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience were high school Hispanic and underrepresented minority students enrolled in 9-12 grades. We contacted high school superintendents, principals, teachers, science club and career advisors in 15 high schools in the greater Houston area. We discussed the objectives of the USDA-Hispanic serving Institution-Pathway to University program (HSI-PUP) and requested them to encourage the students to participate in the 2-day summer camp and the 4-weeks research experience program. We also visited six schools and gave presentations to the teachers and students. In addition, we invited 357 students from 7 neighboring schools to visit the UH Sugar Land campus and to learn about the technology programs. Table-1 provides a listing of the neighboring schools. The UH Biotechnology Faculties also served as judges at the 2023 Science and Engineering Fair of Houston and advertised the program to participants from 50 high schools. Table 1. Neighboring Schools and number of students visiting UH Sugar Land campus. School Name Number of Students Dates Type of Tour Dulles High School 40 5-15-2023 Technology, BTEC Stafford Municipal School District 30 5-09-2023 Technology, BTEC Terry High School 12 5-05-2023 General Milby High School 9 4-21-2023 Technology Specific Elkins High School 35 3-24-2023 General Central Fort Bend Center of Commerce Tech Day 200 3-02-2023 General, Technology Lamar Consolidated ISD 31 2-03-2023 Technology, BTEC We invited 37 high school students to participate in the 2-day summer camp in June 2023. Twenty students submitted applications for the 4-weeks summer research experience program. We recruited 11 students after going through their applications in which they wrote about their future ambitions. About 800 high school students accessed the USDA-HSI-PUP program website https://uh.edu/tech/usda-pup/ website to learn about various opportunities. Changes/Problems:One student was supposed to be selected and given a $25,000 fellowship to complete a 4-year college degree. According to the UH policy, fellowships should be advertised in the fall semester so that eligible underrepresented students can submit their application. The section will begin before the start of the spring semester. Since we received the funding in August 2021, we could not advertise this fellowship in advance. We have reached the program officer and requested to disperse the funds to two students $12,500 each. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Prof. Neil Eldin evaluated the program based on the survey results. The feedback from the first day confirmed a high level of students' satisfaction. All the attendees (100% of the students) reported their satisfaction with the information presented on that day. Specifically, 20% of the students indicated that they were extremely interested in the topic of Health and Human performance; 44% reported that the hands-on activity on algae was extremely informative; 14% reported that the hands-on activity on enzymes was extremely informative; 18% reported that the information on UH degree programs was extremely informative; and 9% reported that the interaction with the industry professionals was extremely informative. When asked about possible improvements for future offerings, the students' consensus was to increase the time allowed for the hands-on activities. This feedback is a positive sign of the students' interest and engagement that made them desire more of the activities offered. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The feedback from the second day confirmed the high level of students' satisfaction. All the attendees (100% of the students) reported their satisfaction with the information presented on that day. Specifically, 9% of the students indicated that they were extremely interested in discussing the career opportunities; 14% reported that the human performance lab was extremely informative; 4% reported that the greenhouse tour was extremely formative; 11% reported that the UH campus tour was extremely informative; and 12% reported that the information presented to parents was extremely informative. When asked about possible improvements for future offerings, the students' consensus was to increase the time allowed for the hands-on activities, and to reduce the time spent walking on campus to avoid the summer heat in Houston. We successfully organized a 4-week summer research experience for 11 high school students. The activities started on July 5thand ended on July 27th, 2023. Five students were female, and six students were male. The students were grouped into 2-member teams and gained research experience in four different laboratories. Research topics include: (i) Microalgae cultivation, (ii) Nutrition and dietetics, (iii) The effects of microalgae as a biofertilizer on cotton and sorghum growth, (iv) Bioinformatics, and (v) Producing fungal mycelium on algal biomass. At the end of the program, students shared their experience and skills gained and how this program has helped to shape their career by making a short presentation. The students' feedback was captured through a survey in the end. The collected data shows strong positive impact on the students and a high level of satisfaction with the program. In the end all the 11 high school students completed the 4-weeks summer research experience program and half of the students expressed their intention to apply to UH in the biotechnology or hotel and restaurant management program. In the end, students received a participation certificate and $1,000 stipend. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will cotinue to organize 2-day work shop for 50 students and organize summer research experience for 12 students. We will increase the number of school visit to educate minority students about opportunities in Food, nutrition and agricultural biotechnology. We will also invite more than 10 schools to visit UH sugarland campus and give campus tour and provide information about various undergraduate program related to agriculture.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We successfully engaged 37 high school students from 20 different high schools in training and research activities. The activities started on June 12th and ended on 13th June 2023. The students who participated were 19 female and 18 males. Each student received a participation certificate upon the completion of the camp. The effectiveness of the camp activities and the students' knowledge gained were determined by a student survey performed at the end of each day during the camp.
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Progress 08/01/21 to 07/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience were high school Hispanic and underrepresented minority students between 9-12 grade. We reached out to superintendents, principals, high school teachers and career advisors in over 20 high schools in greater Houston area. We also reached out to minority serving non-profit and STEM organizations in Houston area. We explained about the USDA-Hispanic serving institution-Pathway to University program (HSI-PUP) objectives and requested them to encourage the students to apply to participate in the 3-day summer camp and 4-weeks research experience program. We also visited some schools to talk to the teachers and students. About 300-400 high school students were introduced to USDA-HSI-PUP program. About 31 students were given opportunity to participate and 29 students completed the 3-day summer camp. About 16 students submitted the application for the summer research experience program and 8 were selected and 7 complete the program. Changes/Problems:One student was supposed to be selected and given a $25,000 fellowship to complete 4-year college degree. According to the UH policy, fellowship should be advertised during spring semesterso that eligible underrepresented student can submit their application. The section will begin before the start of the fall semester. Since we received the funding in August 2021, we could not advertise this fellowship in advance. We will make necessary arrangements to identify the deserving student in fall 2022 and provide $25,000 fellowship. This year only7 students completed the 4-weeks summer research experience program. Next year we will make sure 13 students will get an opportunity to particiapte and benefit from the4-weeks summer research experience program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Pathway to University Programs (PUP) provided opportunities for high school students to explore the fields of Agricultural Biotechnology, Food Science, and Nutrition while gaining valuable information about college resources. Primary target audience was Hispanic youth 9-12th grade and other underrepresented minorities. Students were given opportunity to visit laboratories on UH main and Sugarland campus andlearn about exciting new research. During the3-day summer camp program31 high school students participated in various activities that took place 2-days in UH-Sugarland campus and 1-day at UH-main campus in Houston. Some of the activities include, (1) introduction to USDA-HSI-PUP activities, (2) Seven expert presentations (i. career opportunities in food science by Dr. Julia Jarrell; ii. UH undergraduate degree programs on food science and technology - by three UH college advisors; iii. climate change and agriculture - Dr. Ray Ram, PVAMU; iv. career opportunities in private industries -scientist from iBio, Inc., College station; v. application and financial aid - UH admissions staff; vi. career opportunities and vii. degree plans - UH Career center representative and on food and agricultural biotechnology by Dr. Albert Flavier), (3) four hands on activities (food safety testing using PCR, algae to produce plant stimulants, food processing enzymes, food calories, nutrition, and labelling) and (4) UH campus tour and greenhouse visit. Only 29 students completed the 3-day summer camp and received participation certificate. During the4-week summer research experience program, 8 high school students had an opportunity to work with graduate students and researchers in various UH biotechnology and nutrition lab. At the end of the program, 7 students completed the training and made a short presentation to share their experience and knowledge they gained. Two alumni of the UH Biotechnology program, one Arab-American and one African-American, described their pathway to UH from high school, their experiences as UH students, and their current careers. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Prof. Neil Eldin evaluated the program based on the survey results. According to this report the camp was effective in raising the students' interest in the career opportunities in the agriculture and food science fields. There was strong positive response to both, the interactive activities and lab work. Overall, the summer camp appears to be effective in satisfying the program objectives. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Prof. Eldin recommended to have the same schedule for the future camps and suggested two improvements. The first suggestion is to attract more Hispanic high school students. The second suggestion is related to increasing the number of hands-on activities in place of professional presentations. The summer camp organizing team will re-examine the number, length, sequence, and the choice of presenters of the professional presentations to create presentations that are more interactive and more interesting for the students.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
About 300-400 high school students were introduced to USDA-HSI-PUP program.We successfully organized a 3-day summer camp for 31 high school students from 20 different high schools in greater Houston areas. The activities started on 13th June and ended on 15th June 2022. Among the students who participated, 15 were female and 16 were male. Upon the completion of the camp, 29 students received participation certificate. A survey was completed by the students to measure the effectiveness of the camp activities and the students' knowledge gained. The student's feedback on the interactive activities and presentations was collected to validate the summer camp program and to aid in future improvements. We successfully organized a 4-week summer research experience for 8 high school students. The activities started on 27th June and ended on 22nd July 2022. Three students were female, and five students were male. The students were grouped into 2-member teams and gained research experience in four different laboratories. Research topics include: (i) Converting algal lipids to biodiesel, (ii) Nutrition and dietetics, (iii) The effects of drought and flooding on sorghum growth and (iv) characterization of bacterial strains from different soil samples. At the end of the program, students shared their experience and skills gained and how this program has helped to shape their career by making a short presentation. The students' feedback was At the completion of the program 7 high school students (2 female and 5 male) expressed their intention to apply to UH in the biotechnology (6 students) or hotel and restaurant management program (1 student). In the end, students received a participation certificate and $1,000 stipend.
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