Ambassador For Scientific Research: Richard Bond, Ph.D.

As the Coordinator of SPRI's Summer Institute for Teachers at Kenilworth, a highly acclaimed 4-week research program for middle school teachers, Dr. Bond oversees an activity-centered curriculum designed to introduce 6th through 8th grade science educators to the latest technologies used in the fields of basic and pharmaceutical science. Participants work side-by-side with research scientists, focusing on topics such as Genetics, Oncology, Recombinant Proteins, DNA Sequencing, Virology, and Molecular Biology.

Since the program's inception, more than 40 teachers have experienced the Summer Institute at Kenilworth. Reviews have ranged from enthusiastic: The Summer Institute for Teachers was a great opportunity for me to learn more about "real world" science!; I was amazed at the whole scope of the drug discovery process; to glowing: I gained a lot of new ideas for some great inquiry-based, hands-on labs for my students; The program has helped me pass on scientific knowledge and techniques to my students in a fresh new way to capture their imagination; Each day when I arrived I knew I was in for an exciting event...!

Dr. Bond is delighted to be involved with a program that makes such a positive impact on teachers, and, ultimately, on students. "In today's high-tech world," he says, "it is more important than ever to understand and appreciate the sciences."