VISITING STAN-X PARTNER SCHOOLS IN 2022
A summary of visits by Stan-X instructors to partnering schools in the US and UK
Lawrenceville School (March and December 2022)
Steve Murray
Seung visited the Lawrenceville School in 2022 and met with Nicole Lantz, Elizabeth Fox and Steve Murray. He worked with the students in the Research Molecular Genetics (RMG) course. He presented Nicole, Elizabeth and Steve with 'bobblehead' dolls he and his daughter Ella Kim had fashioned. These were small tokens of well-deserved appreciation from the Stan-X team.
In March 2022 Seung gave a presentation on experimental science to about one hundred 'second formers' (9th graders in Lawrenceville parlance), and taught students from the two sections of the RMG course. He used the Park et al, 2014 study in PLoS Genetics to instruct students on how to read a primary scientific paper.
In December 2022, Seung took a short trip to Lawrenceville to coordinate development of the summer Discover Now program and the Harvard Summer School course with Ms. Lantz.
Phillips Exeter Academy (May and October 2022)
Live demonstration in class
Seung and Lutz visited for several days in May to meet with members of the BIO670 course, and the instructors Anne Rankin and Townley Chisholm. Seung participated in fly genomic DNA preparations one evening and then hosted a pie party, graced by the presence of the principal, William Rawson. Mr. Rawson was presented with his own bobblehead, in thanks for his help and dedication to Stan-X. In October, Seung visited briefly around family weekend, and had the honor of presenting a 'meditation' in the Phillips Church. Afterwards, he spent time instructing students in reading original science papers, including Park et al, 2014.
Harvard University (May and June-August 2022)
Seung and Lutz visited the Harvard Biolabs in May 2022 to meet with Clark Magnan and his support staff. Clark runs the science support group at Harvard and showed Seung and Lutz the rooms they would occupy during their DCE course that summer. From June to August, Seung, Lutz and Nicole Lantz led SBIO-S15, with TA's Ellie Griffin and Lauren Fidelak. The course instructed 12 students from around the world for 7 weeks. The course evaluations were stellar, and the team will teach the course again in the summer of 2023.
Haileybury School (May and December 2022)
Haileybury students
Seung and Nicole Lantz (Lawrenceville) met with teachers Vicky Turner (also School Proctor) and Gareth Lewis (also head of science department), staff member Lloyd Stark, and leadership at the Haileybury School over several days in May, and taught in classes there. This teaching included students from Haileybury and from Haileybury-Turnford (a local state school). He used the Park et al 2014 study to instruct students on how to read a paper. He and Nicole met with Martin Collier (head of school) and Stephen Campbell (deputy head, academic) to discuss strategies for developing Stan-X programs at Haileybury, to hear about the new science complex under construction (with space dedicated for Stan-X instruction) and summertime internships for students in his group at Stanford (this past summer, his group hosted one student, Ms. Lotte Beard: see also Instagram posting). Seung gathered with students and faculty for a fine farewell meal at a local pub.
Seung returned briefly in December to meet and instruct students and discuss ESN and Stan-X with Martin Collier. He also met with Stephan Campbell to outline steps to deepen Stan-X ties including development of a Discover Now program for European/U.K. schools, summer 2023 student internships, mosquito DNA sequencing, and retraining Haileybury instructors/staff on using CRISPR-based course designs. They also discussed ways to develop interactions with Haileybury-Turnford, and the possibility of a site visit to Stanford in the spring of 2023.
Cambridge, U.K. (November-December 2022)
Seung met with Cambridge University faculty to discuss inception of Stan-X programs. This included meeting with Dr. Tim Weil, Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge University, and Deputy head of the Dept. of Zoology (Undergraduate), and with Prof. Matthias Landgrad, Deputy Head of the Dept. of Zoology postgraduate studies programs, and Wellcome Trust Investigator. There were productive discussions and a farewell high table dinner, punctuated by Christmas carols in the Pembroke College Chapel.
Seung has planned travel to teach and lecture at Stan-X partners in southern California, Harvard-Westlake School and Loyola Marymount University, in March 2023.