Science Teacher and Researcher (STAR)

STAR Participants

Developing Tomorrow's Science Teachers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The Science Teacher and Researcher (STAR) program, a collaborative project of California State University, provides pre-service and early-career science teachers with eight-week-long, paid and mentored research internships at a national research center. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is one of four institutions hosting STAR interns in summer 2009. See the Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education (CESaME) web site for details about the STAR program.

Program Goals

Attract undergraduate science majors to teaching careers by providing them with professional identities as both scientists and educators.
Give future science teachers first-hand experience within an applied research setting and connect them with a community of science practitioners.
Cultivate increased interest in science teaching to help address the shortage of science teachers in California.
Foster inquiry-based teaching and learning strategies to enhance student interest in science.
Open the door to expanded connections between national laboratories and schools through field trips, guest scientists and other interactions.

What You Will Do

Conduct scientific research as a member of a Laboratory research team.
Engage in weekly seminars and workshops focused on science teaching.
Attend professional development workshops with practicing teachers.
Attend science seminars offered by Laboratory researchers.
Prepare and present a research poster describing the summer research experience.
Attend at a special symposium for participants from all four STAR sites.
Attend social activities with Livermore STAR program participants and summer students.
Participate in STAR program evaluation activities during and after the internship.

Who Is Eligible to Apply

California State University science students in their junior or senior years who are interested in pursuing a career in teaching middle- or high-school science.
Recent science or engineering graduates who have applied to or are enrolled in a California State University teacher credential program.
Grade 6-12 science teachers in their first three years of teaching.

Citizenship Requirement

Participants interning at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory must be U.S. citizens.

Academic Credit

Contact the STAR program administration for details about earning academic credit for the summer internship.

Stipend and Expenses

Participants will receive a $4,000 stipend for completing the eight-week internship.
Travel costs also may be covered by the STAR program.
Contact the STAR program administration for specific information about stipends and travel reimbursement.

Accommodations

Housing costs may be covered by the STAR program.
Questions about accommodations should be directed to the STAR program administration.

How to Apply

Submit an application and be accepted into the STAR program. See the STAR program Website for program selection criteria and application information.
When you have been selected to participate in STAR and have chosen LLNL for your internship location, you will receive an email with a link to the LLNL on-line application.
Complete and submit the LLNL application and security questionnaire. All offers to work at the Laboratory are contingent upon receiving a security clearance.
Prospective mentors will review your on-line application; mentors may also contact you to clarify your interests or conduct a telephone interview.
Those selected for a STAR internship at Lawrence Livermore will be contacted by e-mail by April 2, 2009.

Typical Internship Schedule

The STAR internship work schedule is Monday through Friday, June 15 through August 7, 2009, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. The events listed below are required STAR program activities.

Date	Time	Activity	Location
Week 1: June 15-19
June 15	9:00-12:00	LLNL STAR Program Orientation	Bldg. 661
June 15	12:00-1:00	Mentor Welcome Luncheon	Bldg. 661
June 16-17	8:00-4:45	LLNL Employee Orientation and Training	TBA
June 18	8:00-4:45	Begin Mentored Internship	TBA
Week 2: June 22-26
June 22-23	8:00-4:45	Teacher Research Academy: STAR participants join with practicing teachers for two-day hands-on instruction	Bldg. 6675
June 26	12:00-4:45	Workshop 1: Classroom Resources	TBA
Week 3: June 29-July 3
July 2	12:00-4:45	Workshop 2: Standards and Inquiry Instruction	Bldg. 6675
Week 4: July 6-10
July 10	12:00-4:45	Workshop 3: Preparing a Research Poster Part 1	Bldg. 6675
Week 5: July 13-17
July 17	12:00-4:45	Workshop 4: Preparing a Research Poster Part 2	Bldg. 6675
Week 6: July 20-24
July 25	12:00-4:45	(Saturday Session) STAR Symposium: Workshops	TBA
Week 7: July 27-31
July 31	12:00-4:45	Workshop 5: Getting a Teaching Job	Bldg. 6675
Week 8: Aug 3-7
August 5	8:00-4:45	Out-Processing	TBA
August 6	12:00-4:45	Student Poster Symposium	Central Café
August 7	12:00-4:45	Student and Mentor Recognition Luncheon	B661
August 8	9:00 – 4:45	(Saturday Session) STAR Office Site Poster symposium	TBA

Developing Tomorrow's Science Teachers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a premier applied science laboratory that is part of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) within the Department of Energy (DOE).

The Laboratory is located in the City of Livermore, approximately 50 miles southeast of San Francisco; directions and map.

Internship Topics

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a multi-disciplinary research institution. While internship assignments change from year to year, 2009 STAR participants can expect assignments similar to those offered in 2008 (below).

Biochemistry: Researched cartilage cell growth on carbon nanotube scaffold.

Biochemistry: Examined how proteins from different sources affect bone turnover rate.

Applied Physics: Used ultrawideband-radar tagging technologies to send and receive information such as diagnostics, position, attributes, identity, and chemical/biological data.

Astrophysics: Helped build the Axion Dark Matter Experiment to detect axion particles by their decay into microwave photons in the presence of an intense magnetic field.

Bioengineering: Analyzed a variety of samples from semiconductors to tissue cells using time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry to examine chemical composition and protein localization within tissue cells.

Chemistry and Materials Science: Captured carbon dioxide from the flue gas of a power generation plants using resin ion exchange beads.

Bioinformatics: Used computer programs like Visual Molecular Dynamics to characterize proteins with no known structure or substrate by comparing proteins that have known structures.

Bioinformatics: Used FASTA software analysis to run a blast search on a genome sequence to identify associated genes and protein structure.

Nuclear chemistry: Age-dated corals from the Hawaiian Islands using accelerator mass spectrometry.