NNU professors awarded $30K from Murdock Charitable Trust

The M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust has awarded two Northwest Nazarene University professors $15,000 grants to improve science education in the Pacific Northwest through the Partners in Science Program. The grants will enable outstanding high school science teachers to form partnerships with NNU faculty to conduct research during the next two summers. Following each summer of research, the teachers will share their findings at both regional and national Partners in Science conferences.

“NNU’s School of Science and Mathematics is committed to helping K-12 teachers enhance STEM education. The Murdock Partners in Science program provides a unique opportunity for high school science teachers to do cutting-edge, university research and then bring the new skills and knowledge back to the classroom,” said NNU Dean of Dr. Dan Nogales.

Professor of Physics & Engineering Dr. Dan Lawrence partnered with Cynthia Lapp, a science teacher at Nampa High School, to research “Vibrational Analysis Using Holographic Interferograms.”

Professor of Biology Dr. Jamee Nixon partnered with Tawny Olsen of Victory Charter High School to research “Studies of Human Monocyte Response to Antibiotic Treatment of Methicillin-Resistant ‘Staphylococcus aureus’.”

The primary goal of the program is to provide high school science teachers with opportunities to work on the cutting-edge of science, energizing their teaching and developing new inquiry-based teaching strategies to encourage more students to pursue careers in science. The grants are awarded to applicants from a five-state region that have been competitively reviewed.

This year, 25 grants of $15,000 each were awarded based on the qualifications of partner members, the quality of scientific research proposed and the potential of its impact on the high school setting.

The Murdock Trust, created by the will of the late Melvin J. (Jack) Murdock, provides grants to organizations in five states of the Pacific Northwest that seek to strengthen the region’s educational and cultural base in creative and sustainable ways. The Partners in Science Program is one of its many efforts to do so in its grantmaking region.