Recent funding by Science Foundation Arizona will help Northern Arizona University expand its efforts to hook students on the "power and wonder of science and math."

Working to build a world-class science, engineering and medical infrastructure in Arizona by fostering innovative research and education programs, the foundation awarded NAU two K-12 Student and Teacher Discovery Program grants totaling $700,000.

The College of Education received a $375,000 grant to support a newly created Nexus math/science program for the development and expansion of nontraditional hands-on math and science programs for underrepresented populations of middle and high school students in Arizona.

The foundation also awarded $325,000 to a new Teacher Research Fellows program through the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences to provide summer research experiences for K-12 teachers through collaborative inquiry experiences.

Both grants actively involve faculty and staff from both colleges.

"This collaboration between education, engineering, math and science departments is a part of NAU's unique strength," said Laura Huenneke, dean of the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences.

The Nexus math/science program will help NAU increase participation in programs such as the Summer Scholars residential program that brings students to campus to participate in a "focused inquiry." This year's students will work with practicing environmental scientists to solve indoor air-quality problems.

"The funds will help the university expand several projects dedicated to engaging young students in the chance to solve problems using science, math and engineering," said Daniel Kain, dean of NAU's College of Education.

Numerous programs will get a funding boost, including the STEP UP engineering camp, a summer residential program where high-school students take a first step to seeing themselves as engineers. Funds also will support the Engineering Outreach Program that connects Native American students with engineering, the Summer Enrichment Program focusing on math and science as tools for solving real-life problems, and the Girls in Science Summer Day Camp program, where biology and chemistry professors help students use science to investigate crime scenes.

"By engaging students with scientists and mathematicians and their real-life work, these programs generate the kind of excitement that will hook students," Kain said. "We hope to offer students the motivation to see science and math in their futures."

The Teacher Research Fellows program pairs teachers with faculty researchers and undergraduate research students for five summer weeks. The teachers participate in a seminar that connects the lab research they have done to inventive techniques for teaching science and mathematics.

The goal is to strengthen teachers' skills and strategies in scientific inquiry and research and to prepare them to use what they have learned in their own classrooms.

"The United States is not producing scientists and engineers at the same rate as other countries," Huenneke said. "If we want to maintain a vibrant economy based on the latest innovations in technology, we need to make sure students grow up learning how exciting careers in science and technology are, and the best way to do that is to train the teachers."

Huenneke said that by working in the research environment this summer, the teachers should be able to return to their classrooms with some up-to-date methods for tackling scientific questions.

"We hope they return to the classroom with the excitement that researchers feel when they are chasing down answers and that they can pass that excitement on to their own students," she said.

The grants from Science Foundation Arizona are part of its $3.2 million investment through its K-12 Student Discovery Program to advance K-12 education within Arizona in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Science Foundation Arizona is a nonprofit organization initiated in 2006 to build and strengthen scientific, engineering and medical research programs and infrastructure in areas of greatest strategic value to Arizona's competitiveness in the global economy.

For information, visit www.sfaz.org.