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Stony Brook University Awards OSI Pharmaceuticals Science Teaching Fellowships This month, Stony Brook University awarded OSI Pharmaceuticals Teaching Fellowships to Tad Sterling and Gina Zhou. OSI Pharmaceuticals, headquartered in Melville, NY, develops novel pharmaceutical products designed to extend life or improve the quality of life of patients with cancer, diabetes and obesity. “OSI is delighted to make these fellowships available to outstanding prospective teachers. We are investing in our youth and in the future of Long Island”, states Ann McDermott, Director of the OSI Pharmaceuticals Foundation. Fellowships were made possible by a grant from the OSI Foundation and are given to outstanding Stony Brook students who will pursue careers in science teaching, thereby nurturing our next generation of scientists. The applicants were required to prepare an innovative lesson plan that adhered to state standards and then to use this plan in their student teaching experience before finally publishing the results. Mr. Sterling, who resides in Ronkonkoma, NY, received his B.A. degree in Earth and Space Sciences, magna cum laude, from Stony Brook in 2006, and is now enrolled in the master’s degree program in teaching earth science. His lesson plan, Making Predictions: Earth Movements, uses the Google Earth mapping program and information on past earthquakes to teach middle school students to make predictions on where earthquakes may occur in the future. The data and programming required are provided by William Holt and Glenn Richard in the Department of Geosciences. Ms. Zhou, a resident of Stony Brook, received her master’s degree in Chemistry from Stony Brook in 2005 and is now enrolled in the master’s degree program in teaching biology. Her lesson plan entitled, Welcome to Mars, takes middle school students through a series of hands-on science and engineering projects centered on a space mission to Mars that teaches the developing nature of science, the interrelatedness of different science fields and the importance of teamwork. The Director of Science Education at Stony Brook, Keith Sheppard notes that “Tad and Gina are exactly the kind of teachers we need in the schools; knowledgeable, creative and focused on the needs of students.” The Director of Stony Brook’s new Center for Science and Mathematics Education, David Bynum, asserts that “corporate support for university and school excellence in science and mathematics is an essential ingredient in our country’s educational future. We are deeply appreciative of OSI’s tangible recognition of this."
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