Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Mitra, M.; Nagchaudhuri, A.; Marsh, L.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
UNIV OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE
PRINCESS ANNE, MARYLAND 21853

BEAT (BIO-ENERGY ACADEMY FOR TEACHERS) THE ENERGY CRISIS AND ENHANCE BLT (BIO-ENERGY LITERACY FOR TEACHERS)

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The primary goal of the proposed program is to expand the familiarity and knowledge of complex topics of bio-energy, feedstock systems, and sustainability for in-service and pre-service teachers in science, technology, agriculture, and mathematics. The program objectives are to: provide a systems-perspective in bio-energy training program to K-12 teachers; 2) develop and provide curricular materials and teaching tools for K-12 teachers for enhancing instruction in the areas of sustainable bio-energy; 3) leverage other ongoing training activities and training tools in bio-energy; and 4) increase the institutional capacity for outreach in applied agricultural and natural sciences with emphasis on bio-energy. By training 10 teachers per year and through systemic outreach and experiential learning, it is anticipated that the students in grades 3-12 will be reached and their perspectives regarding career pathways in the areas of bio-energy will be influenced. Thereby, the program will support the science-based food and agriculture mission of the USDA. The participants at the yearly summer institute will learn and design projects centering on biodiesel through the usage of different oils, building simple photobioreactors for culturing oil-producing microalgae, assessing performance of the biodiesel obtained from various feedstock, and evaluating information from a global perspective to present a picture of the biofuels movement. The trained teachers will work throughout the year to develop standards-based lessons in bio-energy to implement in their classrooms. Through early education, students will be able to apply critical thinking skills in evaluating energy issues and to become a knowledgeable, active citizenry that uses energy responsibly.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives are: 1.To provide a systems-perspective in bio-energy training program to pre-service and K-12 teachers: The overarching vision of the proposed project is to expand the familiarity and knowledge of elementary, middle school, and high school level STEAM teachers and undergraduate pre-service teachers from agriculture, biology, chemistry, mathematics, and technology participating in the program with the complex topics of sustainable bio-energy through a systems perspective. 2. To develop and provide curricular materials and a set of teaching tools for K-12 teachers for enhancing instruction in the areas of sustainable bio-energy: In addition to training STEAM teachers on a systems perspective of bio-energy, the project will also focus on developing and providing workbooks and laboratory tool kits for implementing classroom activities in bioenergy and bio-fuels. 3. To leverage other ongoing training activities and training tools in bio-energy: Another important objective of the program is to build upon the existing strengths and increase the efficiency of the investment in the proposed project by leveraging other already-existing bioenergy educational projects, educational training, and educational product development programs. 4. To increase the institutional capacity of UMES for outreach/extension in applied agricultural and natural sciences and food science education with emphasis on bio-energy: UMES will host a number of outreach activities, for the UMES community, local school teachers, students, parents, and other area businesses to increase community awareness and informal education about bio-fuels and environmental sustainability. The proposed project will engage six pre-service teachers and twenty-four in-service teachers from "STEAM" disciplines during the three-year period of the summer institute. Through hands-on learning activities in classroom, field, and laboratory settings, participants will be sensitized to the critically important issues of the "carbon cycle" and its relevance to "biodiesel" and climate change and the utilization of natural resources and wastes for the generation of bio-products.Through extended internships each year, two pre-service teachers from the STEAM will continue their experiential learning and receive assistance with curricular development related to bio-energy. Survey instruments will be utilized to document and analyze feedback from teachers about the classroom, field, and laboratory components of the institute. Teacher training materials such as workbooks focusing on topics related to biodiesel. As a follow-up, teachers will be utilizing these resources to develop unit and lesson plans and to post on the project website. The articles developed for publication in conference proceedings and archival journals will also be posted on the website. Besides contributing to the workforce development needs in areas of critical importance, the project efforts will enhance awareness of environmentally-friendly practices such as reducing waste, promoting recycling, and advancing the "green initiative" on campus as well as on the lower Eastern Shore and could be a model program nationwide.

APPROACH: The project personnel team will develop the program process and selection criteria. The selection process will be based on criteria developed and agreed upon by the project investigators and advisory panel. Ten participants will be selected selected from the disciplines encompassing science (biology, chemistry), technology, agriculture, and mathematics programs every year. Eight will be in-service STEAM teachers chosen from the elementary, middle, and high schools of the lower Eastern Shore counties. A graduate student from one of the UMES STEAM graduate programs will be hired every summer to provide teaching support to the project investigators. The two pre-service teachers, besides getting trained at the Summer Institute, will also work throughout the academic year with the project investigators on some of the new and existing experiential learning activities. After the training, the teachers will have sufficient familiarity and experience with the teaching tools that they will be able to present to teachers in their home schools. They will also have gained the skill to implement activities in their classrooms related to bio-energy and to share their lessons with the fellow teachers and faculty. The one-week teachers' training institute will comprise the following components: workbook lecture and discussion, hands-on activities related to extraction of oilfrom various oil-based feedstock;conversion of extracted oil into biodiesel in the laboratory; testing the quality of the biodiesel; introduction to algae with special emphasis on oil-producing micro and macroalgae; construction of a simple algal photobioreactor with the eventual objective of cultivating mass cultures of specific microalgal strains; invited lectures by experts in the field of bio-energy; and tours of various facilities and local industries involved with bio-energy related activities and research. The workbooks will include the teaching materials from the institute. Through discussions and hands on experiences, the participants will learn and design projects and will be able to assimilate knowledge from various disciplines. The workshop will also include career exploration activities, invention activities, and teacher graduation/completion certificates. Following the summer training, each year, the teachers will work with the investigators in the areas of science, mathematics,engineering and technology, and instructional design and will ensure that the curricula and inclusive activities developed are aligned with national standards of STEAM. The evaluation will make use of multiple methods and instruments. Evaluation of project objectives will be accomplished through annual critical reviews by an advisory panel of experts and stakeholders with the assistance of survey assessment tools and program reports. A survey assessment tool(collected from both teachers and their students, before and after incorporation of the training into the classroom) will be used to provide additional data for the continuous improvement and measurable assessment of milestones. Trainees will be surveyed before and after training.

PROGRESS: 2012/09 TO 2017/08
Target Audience:The target audience included undergraduate STEM students (Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Environmental Sciences); graduate students from the science disciplines; and preservice and in-service teachers.Undergraduate STEM students were given exposure in the areas of bioenergy with special emphasis on biodiesel (from waste cooking oil provided by the University Dining Services at UMES); carbon sequestration methods; cultivation of microalgal and macroalgal species; preparation of home-made algal soaps from the biodiesel glycerin; building organic solar cells; and microbial fuel cells. These experiential learning experiences generated more awareness towards sustainable energy and associated bioproducts. A one-day workshop in Bioenergyin P20 STEM curriculawas held at the American Society of Engineering Education's annual conference in Columbus, OH.in June, 2017,wherefifteenSTEMeducators received hands-on training and lessons on Sustainable Bioenergy and Bioproductswith special emphasis on applications of algae in food, health, agriculture, and energy. The workshop was hosted by the Energy Conversion and Conservation Division of American Society of Engineering Education. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The opportunities included experiential learning activities and training on the equipment such as Microbial Fuel Cells, OrganicSolar Cells,Bio Pro-190, Algal Photobioreactor System from Culturing Solutions for graduate and undergraduate students.The project provided professional development forfifteen educators (nine university STEM faculty; four STEM K-12 teachers; and two post-doctoral associates involved with teaching) in the areasof bioenergy, bioproducts,sustainability. So there has been change in knowledge and actions: • Knowledge--Enhanced basic and applied knowledge of sustainable bioenergy and bioproducts for teachers and university faculty; improved content knowledge of STEAM-related disciplines with a particular focus on Bioenergy an Bioproducts and Sustainability for teachers, professors and students; enhanced skills in team-building, management, presentation,and hands on activities including equipment usage related to various aspects of Bioenergy; increased exposure to new STEAM careers for students in K-12 schools. • Actions--Increased number of classrooms using laboratory tools and kits, and unit and lessons for teaching, bioenergy, and bioproducts; adoption of materials from the institute in the STEAM courses such as Physical and Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Plant Sciences, Physics, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, and Aviation Sciences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Some of the results have been disseminated through internal and national conferences, proceedings, book chapters, and related professional meetingsThere have been some outreach activities and informal lectures in the local schools and also at the university. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

IMPACT: 2012/09 TO 2017/08
What was accomplished under these goals? The program has been successful in attracting and recruiting students in STEM education. Some of these students have undergone a preliminary training on the various aspects of Bioenergy and have continued with the experiential learning activities from winter 2017 onwards (Objective 1); A one-day workshop was hosted in Columbus, OH, in June 2017, in conjunction with the American Society of Engineering Education's Energy Conversion and Conservation Division at their annual conference. Fifteen educators attended the workshop and got training (lecture materials and laboratory sessions) on content, and relevant resources pertainingto the topics of biofuels with special emphasis on microbial fuel cells, organic solar cells, liquid biofuels from algae, bioheat,biomass, sustainability, carbon sequestration and climate change, systems thinking, energy policies and economics, and sustainable bioproducts. Various tool kits such as algal photobioreactors,biodiesel, and biodiesel glycerin soap kits were updated and used as curricular materials for the workshop. Theparticipants have beenincorporating some of these components in their classrooms in the academic year of 2017-2018, and many of them will be presenting their findings including students' learning impacts at the 2018 annual conference of the American Society of Engineering Education in June in Salt Lake City, Utah. The BEAT program is built upon the bioenergy educational projects such as "Northeast Bioenergy and Bioproducts educational programs: Providing Faculty with Training Tools, and In-Classroom Support, and "Biofuel, Sustainability, and Geospatial Information Technologies to Enhance Experiential Learning Paradigm for Precision Agriculture Project" (Objectives 2 and 3).

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2012/09 TO 2017/08
1. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Nagchaudhuri, A., Mitra, M., and Henry, X. 2017. Experiential learning activities for K-12 outreach and undergraduate students involving production and utilization of biodiesel. Also, presented at the Annual Meeting of ASEE, Columbus, OH, June, 2017. Best Paper Award.
2. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Mitra, M. Bioenergy Education Across Disciplinary Boundaries: Enriching Science and Engineering Curricula. International Conference on Transformations in Engineering Education (ICTIEE), Hyderabad, India, January 6-8, 2017; Manipal University, Rajasthan, January 11-12, 2017.

PROGRESS: 2015/09/01 TO 2016/08/31
Target Audience:The target audience included undergraduate STEM students (Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Environmental Sciences); graduate students from the science disciplines; and preservice and in-service teachers.Undergraduate STEM students were given exposure in the areas of bioenergy with special emphasis on biodiesel (from waste cooking oil provided by the University Dining Services at UMES); carbon sequestration methods; cultivation of microalgal and macroalgal species; preparation of home-made algal soaps from the biodiesel glycerin; building organic solar cells; and microbial fuel cells. These experiential learning experiences generated more awareness towards sustainable energy and associated bioproducts. A one-week workshop for a total of twelve pre-service and in-service teachers, and university faculty was hosted at UMES, where the educators received hands-on training and lessons on Sustainable Bioenergy with special emphasis on applications of algae in food, health, agriculture, and energy. A new course in Bioenergy, Bioproducts, and Sustainability was developed and taught by the Principal Investigator where all the experiential learning activities were incorporated besides teaching content in the areas of Systems Thinking, Biofuel, Policies in Sustainable Bioenergy, and Bioproducts. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The opportunities included experiential learning activities and training on the equipment such as Microbial Fuel Cells, Organic Solar Cells, Bio Pro-190, Algal Photobioreactor System from Culturing Solutions for graduate and undergraduate students. The project provided professional development for ten educators (seven school teachers and three university faculty) in the areas of bioenergy, bioproducts, and sustainability. So there has been change in knowledge and actions: • Knowledge--Enhanced basic and applied knowledge of sustainable bioenergy and bioproducts for teachers and university faculty; improved content knowledge of STEAM-related disciplines with a particular focus on Bioenergy and Bioproducts and Sustainability for teachers, professors and students; enhanced skills in team-building, management, presentation, and hands on activities including equipment usage related to various aspects of Bioenergy; increased exposure to new STEAM careers for students in K-12 schools. • Actions--Increased number of classrooms using laboratory tools and kits, and unit and lessons for teaching sustainability, bioenergy, and bioproducts; adoption of materials from the institute in the STEAM courses such as Physical and Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Marine Botany, Plant Sciences; Aviation Sciences; Engineering; Environmental Sciences at UMES. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Some of the results have been disseminated through conferences, proceedings, book chapters, and related professional meetings. There have been some outreach activities and informal lectures in the local schools and also at the university. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We anticipate the following to be accomplished during the next project period: • Enhanced interdisciplinary collaborations at the intra and inter-institutional levels; and also collaborations among professional educators (at UMES and the various local school districts) to facilitate recruitment of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Mathematics) teachers for the summer workshops; • Increased awareness of alternative natural resources (various feedstock including algae) as sources of biofuels and bioproducts for participating undergraduates and graduate students; • Day-Long Bioenergy and Bioproducts Workshop will be conducted for K-12 Teachers, Community College Faculty and University Faculty at the 2017 ASEE Annual Conference in Columbus, OH in June 2017 to reach a bigger audience; • It is expected that the teachers will be able to train other teachers from various schools on the use of laboratory kits, workbooks, and career options for the students; • Educators who have participated in the 2016 and previous one-week summer workshops are expected to develop new course materials for their classrooms and laboratories in the areas of bioenergy and bioproducts; also permanent incorporation of materials from the workshops in their existing courses; • Teaching tools such as primers and lesson plans based on all activities (laboratories, discussions, demonstrations, roleplay debates) have been developed by the collaborating partners; • Surveys on assessments of the institute, student-learning and outcomes; pre and post tests will be collected and analyzed. • Experiential learning activities in bioenergy and bioproducts will be incorporated in undergraduate research and independent study at UMES

IMPACT: 2015/09/01 TO 2016/08/31
What was accomplished under these goals? The program has been successful in attracting and recruiting students in STEM education. Some of these students have undergone a preliminary training on the various aspects of Bioenergy and will be continuing with the experiential learning activities from winter 2017 onwards (Objective 1); A one-week workshop was hosted at UMES in the month of August (15-19, 2016) for STEM K-12 teachers, graduate students, and university faculty. The educators got intensive training (lecture materials, field trips, and laboratory sessions) on content, various tools and equipment, and other relevant resources pertaining to the topics of biofuels with special emphasis on microbial fuel cells, organic solar cells, liquid biofuels from algae, bioheat, biomass, sustainability, carbon sequestration and climate change, sustainable aquaponics gardering, systems thinking, energy policies and economics, and sustainable bioproducts. Various tool kits such as algal photobioreactors, biodiesel, and biodiesel glycerin soap kits were updated and used as curricular materials for the institute. The educators are intending to incorporate some of these components in their classrooms in the academic year of 2013-2014. The BEAT program is built upon the existing bioenergy educational projects such as "Northeast Bioenergy and Bioproducts educational programs: Providing Faculty with Training Tools, and In-Classroom Support, and "Biofuel, Sustainability, and Geospatial Information Technologies to Enhance Experiential Learning Paradigm for Precision Agriculture Project" (Objectives 2 and 3). The investigators are currently working on hosting outreach activities for the community and K-12 teachers.

PUBLICATIONS: 2015/09/01 TO 2016/08/31
1. Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Design and implementation of a sustainable Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (IMTA). X. Henry (under the supervision of Dr.Madhumi Mitra
2. Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Mitra, M., Nagchaudhuri, A., and Henry, X. 2016. Sustainability in Bioenergy Academy for Teachers (BEAT):Changing Perspectives and Practices toward Greening of the Curricula. In W. Leal Filho and S. Nesbit (eds.), New Developments in Engineering Education for Sustainable Development, World Sustainability Series; Springer Publishers
3. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Henry, X., Mitra, M., Nagchaudhuri, A., and Zhang, L. 2016. Automated Multiparameter Water Monitoring System as an Experiential Learning Platform for Undergraduate STEM Majors; 2016 Proceedings of the American Association for Engineering Education Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA, June 2016.

PROGRESS: 2014/09/01 TO 2015/08/31
Target Audience:The target audience included STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Mathematics) students, university faculty, and in-service and pre-service teachers in the STEAM areas. Undergraduate and graduate students worked in the cutting-edge experiential learning activities in the areas of bioenergy and bioproducts that included making biodiesel from waste cooking oil from the campus at the biodiesel facility; making bioethanol from cultivated species of macroalga, Gracilaria. They also worked on extracting soybean oil from the soybeans that were harvested from the UMES farm and also using the oil press converted to soydiesel. The glycerin that was produced as a by-product was used in producing algae-infused glycerin soaps. The microalgal species such as Spirulina and Chlorella were cultivated in the photobioreactors under various conditions for optimum production and used for soaps. A four-day workshop on bioenergy and bioproducts was hosted by UMES for 11 K-12 teachers where they received hands-on training on sustainable bioenergy and bioproducts. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided training for undergraduate and graduate students; pre-service and in-service teachers in the form of workshops and institutes where a variety of lectures, guest seminars, discussions, and hands-on activities in the areas of Renewable Energy, Systems Thinking, Sustainability, Biomass, Biofuels, Biopower, Bioheat, Carbon Sequestration, Algal Feedstock, Photobioreactors, Bioproducts, Economics, and Policies in relation to Bioenergy and Bioproducts were included as major components. Various kits, binder, lab manual, electronic version of the primer, and other related handouts were distributed to the K-12 teachers. The teachers presented their lessons on the last day of the institute. They also received professional development credits (45 hours equivalent through 3 credits) along with certificates of completion and stipends. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results were disseminated through conferences, workshops, seminars, and professional development institute in seminar. Many of the courses taught by faculty also incorporated some of the content from the institutes that were attended by the faculty. Many students in these courses got theoretical and practical knowledge in the areas of bioenergy and bioproducts. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1) Encourage all participants to incorporate and continue with the bioenergy and bioproducts activities in their curricula; and 2) Involve more pre-service teachers from STEAM disciplines to enhance their content knowledge in renewable energy and climate change through campus-wide workshops and experiential-learning activities; 3) host a one-day conference/symposium K-12 in-service and pre-service teachers along with some of the selected alumni for continuing education in research and learning related to bioenergy and bioproducts. Also, it would be highly beneficial to involve the high school students in a workshop in the areas of sustainability to motivate them to pursuing STEAM careers. This will also be a good tool for recruitment of competent students at UMES.

IMPACT: 2014/09/01 TO 2015/08/31
What was accomplished under these goals? A three-week long research experiential activities in summer was held for undergraduate and graduate students where they got exposure to the cutting-edge research and learning including content in the areas of algal biodiesel, algal bioproducts, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture; algal photobioreactors. A four-day institute on Bioenergy and Bioproducts was hosted by UMES for 11 K-12 educators in the STEAM disciplines. The educators got hands-on experiences in the areas of Bioenergy and Bioproducts such as biodiesel and bioethanol from feedstocks; Microbial Fuel Cell; Biolite activity; Algal Photobioreactor; and Bioproducts from Algae and other Plants. The post-tests conducted showed improvement in content knowledge in the areas pertaining to bioenergy, bioproducts, and sustainability. Also, the participants exhibited increased confidence and comfort label in teaching topics related to sustainability, systems thinking, bioenergy, bioproducts, policies and economics, and climate change.

PUBLICATIONS: 2014/09/01 TO 2015/08/31
1. Type: Book Chapters Status: Accepted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Mitra, M., Nagchaudhuri, A., Henry, X. 2016. Sustainability in BioEnergy Academy for Teachers (BEAT): Changing perspectives and practices toward "greening" the curricula. In print World Sustainability Series, Springer Publication
2. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Mitra, M. 2014. Addressing the global trilemma of food, energy, and environment. Are seaweeds the ideal candidates? Key note address at the Conference Exploring Basic and Applied Sciences for Next Generation Frontiers. Nov 14-15, Jalandhar, India.
3. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Mitra, M., Nagchaudhuri, A., Henry, X., and Shirvani, C. 2015. Bioenergy Academy for Teachers promotes transdisciplinary content in STEM education. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Engineering Education, Seattle, June 14-16, 2015. Published Proceeding.
4. Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2015 Citation: 1) Rochford, K., Mitra, M., Waguespack, Y., Nagchaudhuri, A., Henry, X. 2015. Analysis of Volatile Organic Compounds in Species of Gracilaria from Maryland Coastal Bays. Submitted to Botanica Marina

PROGRESS: 2013/09/01 TO 2014/08/31
Target Audience: The target audience included undergraduate STEM students; graduate students from the science disciplines; and pre-service and in-service teachers from Chemistry and Biology. Undergraduate students were given exposure in the areas of bioenergy with special emphasis on biodiesel (from waste cooking oil provided by the University Dining Services at UMES and soydiesel from soybean oil extracted with the help of the oil press); carbon sequestration methods through the Integrates Multitrophic Aquaculture with Gracilaria and white shrimp culture; generation of biethanol from Gracilaria species along with usage of the feedstock, Gracilaria, for various purposes such as fertilizers, feed, and soaps; cultivation of various species of algae for the purpose of generating biodiesel. These experiential learning experiences generated more awareness towards sustainable energy and bioproducts. A one-week workshop for a total of eleven pre-service and in-service teachers, and university faculty was hosted at UMES from July 7-July 11, 2014, where educators received hands-on training and lessons on Sustainable Bioenergy wih special emphasis on applications of algae in food, health, agriculture, health, and energy. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The opportunities included experiential learning activities and training on the equipment such as the Bio-Pro 190; Algal Photobioreactor Systems from Culturing Solutions and Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture. The project provided professional development for eleven educators (three preservice teachers from Biology and Chemistry; four middle school and high school teachers, one graduate student, and three university faculty) in the areas of bioenergy, bioproducts, and sustainability. There has been change in knowledge and actions: Knowledge--Enhanced basic and applied knowledge of sustainable energy and bioproducts for teachers and university faculty; improved content knowledge of STEAM-related disciplines with a particular focus on Bioenergy and Bioproducts and Sustainability for teachers, professors, and students; enhanced skills in team-building, management, presentations, and hands on activities including equipment usage related to various aspects of Bioenergy; increased exposure to new STEAM careers for K-12 schools. Actions-increased number of classrooms using laboratory tools and kits, and unit and lessons for teaching sustainability, bioenergy, and bioproducts; adoption of materials from the institute in the STEAM courses such as Physical and Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemsitry, Marine Botany, Plant sciences; Aviation Sciences; Engineering; and Environmental Sciences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results have been disseminated through conferences and related professional meetings. There have been some outreach activities and informal lectures in the local schools. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We anticipate the following to be accomplished during the next project period: Enhanced interdisciplinary collaborations at the intra and inter-institutional levels; and also collaborations among professional educators (at UMES and the various local school districts) to facilitate recruitment of STEA (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Mathematics) teachers for the summer workshops; Increased awareness of alternative natural resources (various feedstock including algae) as sources of biofuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol for participants of this project; It is expected that more teachers will be able to train other teachers from various schools on the use of laboratory kits, workbooks, and career options for the students; Faculty who will be participating in the one-week summer workshops are expected to develop new course materials for their classrooms and laboratories in the areas of bioenergy and bioproducts; also permanent incorporation of mateirals from the workshops in their existing courses; Surveys on assessment sof the institute, student-learning outcomes; and pre-and post-surveys (content-related) will be developed and the existing ones modified; Experiential learning activities will incorporate more activities in the areas of bioethanol from seaweeds; microbial fuel cells; and integrated miltitrophic aquaculture. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journal articles; conference proceedings; and presentations at national conferences

IMPACT: 2013/09/01 TO 2014/08/31
What was accomplished under these goals? The program has supported two students in Biology Education and one student in Chemistry Education. These students participated in the student experiential learning activities through the year and also participated at the one-week summer institute on Sustainable Bioenergy from July 7-July 11, 2014. The educators got intensive training (lecture, field trips, and laboratory sessions) on content, various tools, and equipment, and other relevant resources pertaining to the topics of biofuels, with special emphasis on liquid biofuels from algae, bioheat, biomass, and sustainablility. Three new activities such as Microbial Fuel Cells, BioLite, and BITES were introduced. A new activitiy on Sustainability was also introduced. Some of the educators have already incorporated the activities of the institute in the classrooms. The investigators are currently working on hosting outreach activities for the community and K-12 teachers. In the Biodiesel lab, the participants worked with the soybean oil extracted from the Oil Press (purchased through the BBEP program) and converted to biodiesel. The soybeans were harvested from the UMES fields, taken to the biodiesel facility, and the oil was extracted and used at the institute.

PUBLICATIONS: 2013/09/01 TO 2014/08/31
1. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Henry, X., Mitra, M., and Nagchaudhuri, A. 2013. Preliminary investigations of Spectral Optimizations on Algal Photobioreactor Performance for Carbon and Nitrogen Recycling from Combustive Sources. Presented at the ASA, CSSA, and SSSA International Annual Meetings, Tampa, Florida, November 3-6, 2013.
2. Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Henry, X., Mitra, M., and Nagchaudhuri, A. 2014. Design and Testing a Novel Photobioreactor to grow algae for carbon recycling. Accepted for Publication in the International Journal of Engineering Science and Innovative Technology.
3. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Henry, X., Mitra, M., and Nagchaudhuri, A. 2014. Integrated Inland Culture of White Shrimp and Gracilaria species for Food and Bioenergy Production. Presented at 7th Biennial NOAA EPP Forum in Princess Anne, MD.
4. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Thornton, R., Mitra, M., Henry, X., Charles, R., and Waguespack, Y. 2014. Urea's impact on Gracilaria growth in the Delmarva Coastal Bays. Presented at the 7th Biennial NOAA EPP Forum in Princess Anne, MD.
5. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Henry, X., Mitra, M., and Nagchaudhuri, A. 2014. The effects of Urea on the growth of Gracilaria tikvahiae harvested from the coastal bays of the Delmarva Peninsula. Presented at the ASA, CSSA, and SSSA International Annual Meetings, Long Beach, California, November 2-5, 2014.

PROGRESS: 2012/09/01 TO 2013/08/31
Target Audience: The target audience included undergraduate STEM students; graduate students from the science disciplines; and pre-service and in-service teachers. Undergraduate STEM students were given exposure in the areas of bioenergy with special emphasis on biodiesel (from waste cooking oil provided by the University Dining Services at UMES); carbon sequestration methods; cultivation of species of Chlamydomonas, Chlorella, and Scenedesmus (microalgae in the algal photobioreactors); preparation of home-made algal soaps from the biodiesel glycerin. These experiential learning experiences generated more awareness towards sustainable energy. A one-week workshop for a total of ten pre-service and in-service teachers, and university faculty was hosted at UMES, where the educators received hands-on training and lessons on Sustainable Bioenergy with special emphasis on applications of algae in food, health, agriculture, and energy. A new course in Bioenergy, Bioproducts, and Sustainability was developed and taught by the Principal Investigator where all the experiential learning activities were incorporated besides teaching content in the areas of Systems Thinking, Biofuel, Policies in Sustainable Bioenergy, and Bioproducts. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The opportunities included experiential learning activities and training on the equipment such as Bio Pro-190, Algal Photobioreactor System from Culturing Solutions for graduate and undergraduate students. The project provided professional development for ten educators (seven school teachers and three university faculty) in the areas of bioenergy, bioproducts, and sustainability. So there has been change in knowledge and actions: Knowledge—Enhanced basic and applied knowledge of sustainable bioenergy and bioproducts for teachers and university faculty; improved content knowledge of STEAM-related disciplines with a particular focus on Bioenergy and Bio-products and Sustainability for teachers, professors and students; enhanced skills in team-building, management, presentation, and hands on activities including equipment usage related to various aspects of Bioenergy; increased exposure to new STEAM careers for students in K-12 schools. Actions—Increased number of classrooms using laboratory tools and kits, and unit and lessons for teaching sustainability, bioenergy, and bioproducts; adoption of materials from the institute in the STEAM courses such as Physical and Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Marine Botany, Plant Sciences; Aviation Sciences; Engineering; Environmental Sciences at UMES. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Some of the results have been disseminated through conferences and related professional meetings. There have been some outreach activities and informal lectures in the local schools. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We anticipate the following to be accomplished during the next project period: Enhanced interdisciplinary collaborations at the intra and inter-institutional levels; and also collaborations among professional educators (at UMES and the various local school districts) to facilitate recruitment of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Mathematics) teachers for the summer workshops; Increased awareness of alternative natural resources (various feedstock including algae) as sources of biofuels and bioproducts for participating undergraduates and graduate students; At least ten teachers (pre-service and in-service) will be trained on bioenergy, bioproducts, and sustainability leading to enhanced literacy in bioenergy and sustainability during the 2014 summer institute; It is expected that the teachers will be able to train other teachers from various schools on the use of laboratory kits, workbooks, and career options for the students; Faculty who will be participating in the one-week summer workshops are expected to develop new course materials for their classrooms and laboratories in the areas of bioenergy and bioproducts; also permanent incorporation of materials from the workshops in their existing courses; Teaching tools such as primers and lesson plans based on all activities (laboratories, discussions, demonstrations, role-play debates) have been developed by the collaborating partners; Kits in bioenergy and bioproducts for dissemination in schools will be developed at UMES; Surveys on assessments of the institute, student-learning and outcomes; pre and post tests will be developed. Experiential learning activities in bioenergy and bioproducts will be incorporated in undergraduate research and independent study at UMES

IMPACT: 2012/09/01 TO 2013/08/31
What was accomplished under these goals? The program has been successful in attracting and recruiting students in Biology and Chemistry Education. Some of these students have undergone a preliminary training on the various aspects of Bioenergy and will be continuing with the experiential learning activities from winter 2014 onwards (Objective 1); A one-week workshop was hosted at UMES in the month of July (15-19, 2013) for STEM K-12 teachers, and university faculty. The educators got intensive training (lecture materials, field trips, and laboratory sessions) on content, various tools and equipment, and other relevant resources pertaining to the topics of biofuels with special emphasis on liquid biofuels from algae, bioheat, biomass, sustainability, carbon sequestration and climate change, systems thinking, energy policies and economics, and sustainable bioproducts. Various tool kits such as algal photobioreactors, biodiesel, and biodiesel glycerin soap kits were developed and used as curricular materials for the institute. The educators are intending to incorporate some of these components in their classrooms in the academic year of 2013-2014. The BEAT program is built upon the existing bioenergy educational projects such as "Northeast Bioenergy and Bioproducts educational programs: Providing Faculty with Training Tools, and In-Classroom Support, and "Biofuel, Sustainability, and Geospatial Information Technologies to Enhance Experiential Learning Paradigm for Precision Agriculture Project" (Objectives 2 and 3). The investigators are currently working on hosting outreach activities for the community and K-12 teachers.

PUBLICATIONS: 2012/09/01 TO 2013/08/31
1. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Mitra, M., Nagchaudhuri, A., and Rutzke, C. 2013. "Energizing the STEAM curricula with Bioenergy and Bioproducts". Presented at the Annual Meeting of American Association of Engineering Education in Atlanta, June 23-26, 2013
2. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Mitra, M. 2013. Implementation of algal photobioreactors for research and education in classrooms. Presented at the International Symposium on New Horizons in Bioenergy Research (NHBR-2013), Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, India, January 14-16, 2013. Invited Oral Presentation.
3. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Nagchaudhuri, A. and Mitra, M. 2013. Cross-Disciplinary experiential learning and research projects in agricultural automation, environmental stewardship, and remote sensing. Invited Seminar at the BVB College of Engineering and Technology, August 17, 2013.

PROGRESS: 2012/09/01 TO 2013/08/31
Target Audience: The target audience included undergraduate STEM students; graduate students from the science disciplines; and pre-service and in-service teachers. Undergraduate STEM students were given exposure in the areas of bioenergy with special emphasis on biodiesel (from waste cooking oil provided by the University Dining Services at UMES); carbon sequestration methods; cultivation of species of Chlamydomonas, Chlorella, and Scenedesmus (microalgae in the algal photobioreactors); preparation of home-made algal soaps from the biodiesel glycerin. These experiential learning experiences generated more awareness towards sustainable energy. A one-week workshop for a total of ten pre-service and in-service teachers, and university faculty was hosted at UMES, where the educators received hands-on training and lessons on Sustainable Bioenergy with special emphasis on applications of algae in food, health, agriculture, and energy. A new course in Bioenergy, Bioproducts, and Sustainability was developed and taught by the Principal Investigator where all the experiential learning activities were incorporated besides teaching content in the areas of Systems Thinking, Biofuel, Policies in Sustainable Bioenergy, and Bioproducts. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The opportunities included experiential learning activities and training on the equipment such as Bio Pro-190, Algal Photobioreactor System from Culturing Solutions for graduate and undergraduate students. The project provided professional development for ten educators (seven school teachers and three university faculty) in the areas of bioenergy, bioproducts, and sustainability. So there has been change in knowledge and actions: Knowledge—Enhanced basic and applied knowledge of sustainable bioenergy and bioproducts for teachers and university faculty; improved content knowledge of STEAM-related disciplines with a particular focus on Bioenergy and Bio-products and Sustainability for teachers, professors and students; enhanced skills in team-building, management, presentation, and hands on activities including equipment usage related to various aspects of Bioenergy; increased exposure to new STEAM careers for students in K-12 schools. Actions—Increased number of classrooms using laboratory tools and kits, and unit and lessons for teaching sustainability, bioenergy, and bioproducts; adoption of materials from the institute in the STEAM courses such as Physical and Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Marine Botany, Plant Sciences; Aviation Sciences; Engineering; Environmental Sciences at UMES. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Some of the results have been disseminated through conferences and related professional meetings. There have been some outreach activities and informal lectures in the local schools. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We anticipate the following to be accomplished during the next project period: Enhanced interdisciplinary collaborations at the intra and inter-institutional levels; and also collaborations among professional educators (at UMES and the various local school districts) to facilitate recruitment of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Mathematics) teachers for the summer workshops; Increased awareness of alternative natural resources (various feedstock including algae) as sources of biofuels and bioproducts for participating undergraduates and graduate students; At least ten teachers (pre-service and in-service) will be trained on bioenergy, bioproducts, and sustainability leading to enhanced literacy in bioenergy and sustainability during the 2014 summer institute; It is expected that the teachers will be able to train other teachers from various schools on the use of laboratory kits, workbooks, and career options for the students; Faculty who will be participating in the one-week summer workshops are expected to develop new course materials for their classrooms and laboratories in the areas of bioenergy and bioproducts; also permanent incorporation of materials from the workshops in their existing courses; Teaching tools such as primers and lesson plans based on all activities (laboratories, discussions, demonstrations, role-play debates) have been developed by the collaborating partners; Kits in bioenergy and bioproducts for dissemination in schools will be developed at UMES; Surveys on assessments of the institute, student-learning and outcomes; pre and post tests will be developed. Experiential learning activities in bioenergy and bioproducts will be incorporated in undergraduate research and independent study at UMES

IMPACT: 2012/09/01 TO 2013/08/31
What was accomplished under these goals? The program has been successful in attracting and recruiting students in Biology and Chemistry Education. Some of these students have undergone a preliminary training on the various aspects of Bioenergy and will be continuing with the experiential learning activities from winter 2014 onwards (Objective 1); A one-week workshop was hosted at UMES in the month of July (15-19, 2013) for STEM K-12 teachers, and university faculty. The educators got intensive training (lecture materials, field trips, and laboratory sessions) on content, various tools and equipment, and other relevant resources pertaining to the topics of biofuels with special emphasis on liquid biofuels from algae, bioheat, biomass, sustainability, carbon sequestration and climate change, systems thinking, energy policies and economics, and sustainable bioproducts. Various tool kits such as algal photobioreactors, biodiesel, and biodiesel glycerin soap kits were developed and used as curricular materials for the institute. The educators are intending to incorporate some of these components in their classrooms in the academic year of 2013-2014. The BEAT program is built upon the existing bioenergy educational projects such as "Northeast Bioenergy and Bioproducts educational programs: Providing Faculty with Training Tools, and In-Classroom Support, and "Biofuel, Sustainability, and Geospatial Information Technologies to Enhance Experiential Learning Paradigm for Precision Agriculture Project" (Objectives 2 and 3). The investigators are currently working on hosting outreach activities for the community and K-12 teachers.

PUBLICATIONS: 2012/09/01 TO 2013/08/31
1. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Mitra, M., Nagchaudhuri, A., and Rutzke, C. 2013. "Energizing the STEAM curricula with Bioenergy and Bioproducts". Presented at the Annual Meeting of American Association of Engineering Education in Atlanta, June 23-26, 2013
2. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Mitra, M. 2013. Implementation of algal photobioreactors for research and education in classrooms. Presented at the International Symposium on New Horizons in Bioenergy Research (NHBR-2013), Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, India, January 14-16, 2013. Invited Oral Presentation.
3. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Nagchaudhuri, A. and Mitra, M. 2013. Cross-Disciplinary experiential learning and research projects in agricultural automation, environmental stewardship, and remote sensing. Invited Seminar at the BVB College of Engineering and Technology, August 17, 2013.