The Wilhelm Lab research-integrated outreach and education plan is called:
BE4NANO – Bionanotechnology Engagement for Native Americans in Oklahoma
Objective
To inspire successful careers as scientists and engineers in underserved and underrepresented student populations through:
- Engagement of underserved and underrepresented minority high school junior students in bionanotechnology via classroom visits, campus visits, and summer camps.
- Creation of academic and social support networks for BE4NANO undergraduates within the institution to facilitate academic success and professional development.
Infrastructure and Environment
The BE4NANO initiative is supported by unique collaborations and partnerships with tribal, state, school, and institutional representatives, including Kiowa and Wichita tribes, Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center, and 14 partner high schools in rural southwest Oklahoma.
The BE4NANO initiative is supported by the NSF CAREER award (2048130).
Progress Updates
Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center STEM Day – Fall 2024
November 2024 – We participated in the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center STEM Day together with 150 high school students. Thanks to the various OU and OUHSC colleagues for the support!
BE4NANO Classroom Visit – Fall 2024
October 2024 – The Wilhelm Lab team visited the student classrooms at the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center. The students learned about nanoparticle synthesis, characterization, and clinical applications of nanomedicines.
Thank you for the great partnership!
BE4NANO Joins CURE Jr. Program
June 2024 –The Wilhelm Lab BE4NANO program joined the CURE Jr. event at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center for an outreach opportunity with high school students.
BE4NANO Summer Research Camp 2024
May 2024 –High school students from the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center (Fort Cobb, OK) participated in a week-long summer research camp in the Wilhelm Lab.
Thank you to everyone for your support!
NSF CAREER Award – 2048130
BE4NANO hosts OUHSC College of Medicine Club Scrubs Students
April 2024 – The Wilhelm Lab BE4NANO program hosted high school students from the OUHSC College of Medicine Club Scrubs initiative. Club Scrubs is a hands-on, exciting, interactive club for high school students interested in exploring health and STEM careers.
BE4NANO Outreach at “Kids Night with Microscopes” Event
April 2024 – The Wilhelm Lab team participated recently in the “Kids Night with Microscopes” outreach event organized by the Oklahoma Microscopy Society and the OU SRNML. Thank you for the invitation and the opportunity to share our bionanotechonlogy research.
BE4NANO Day @OUHSC – March 2024
March 2024 – Our BE4NANO students from the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center visited the OUHSC College of Nursing to learn about healthcare skills. Thanks the College of Nursing team for the support!
BE4NANO Day – March 2024
March 2024 – We hosted high school students from the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center for our BE4NANO Day. Thanks to the SBME and GCoE teams for the support!
Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center STEM Day – Fall 2023
November 2023 – We participated in the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center STEM Day together with 150 high school students. Thanks to the various OU and OUHSC colleagues for the support!
Fall 2023 – BE4NANO Classroom Visit
November 2023 – Our SBME faculty team visited the pre-engineering and biomedical sciences high school classrooms at the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center in Fort Cobb to engage students in bionanotechnology, bioimaging, and biomedical engineering.
BE4NANO Summer Research Camp 2023
May 2023 – High school students from the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center in Fort Cobb participated in a week-long summer research camp.
BE4NANO Day @OUHSC – April 2023
April 2023 – Together with the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement at the College of Medicine, we hosted high school students from the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center for our BE4NANO Day at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC). Thank you all for your support!
2023 National American Indian Science and Engineering Fair (NAISEF)
April 2023 – We participated in the 2023 National American Indian Science and Engineering Fair (NAISEF) in Stillwater at OK State University.
BE4NANO Day – March 2023
March 2023 – We hosted high school students from the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center for our BE4NANO Day. Thanks to the OU SRNML, SBME, and GCoE outreach teams for the support!
Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center – STEM Day
March 2023 – We participated in the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center STEM Day together with 150 high school students. Thanks to the Gallogly College of Engineering outreach team, the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, and Prof. Rebecca Scott for the support.
BE4NANO Classroom Visits 2022
November 2022 – Our SBME faculty team visited the pre-engineering and biomedical sciences high school classrooms at the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center in Fort Cobb to engage students in bionanotechnology, bioimaging, and biomedical engineering.
BE4NANO Summer Research Camp 2022
May 2022 – High school students from the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center in Fort Cobb participated in a week-long summer research camp.
BE4NANO Day 2022
April 2022 – High school students from the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center in Fort Cobb visited the OU Gallogly College of Engineering and the OU Samuel Roberts Nobel Microscopy Laboratory as part of the 3rd BE4NANO DAY. Thank you to everyone involved for making this day a success, in particular Benjamin “BJ” Lee, the OU AISES student chapter, the GCoE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program (Lisa Morales), and the SRNML team (Andy Madden, Preston Larson, Julian Sabisch, and Tingting Gu).
BE4NANO Day 2022
March 2022 – High school students from the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center in Fort Cobb visited our lab as part of the 2nd BE4NANO DAY to learn more about our bionanotechnology research, college admission, and the University of Oklahoma. Thank you to everyone involved for making this day a success!
BE4NANO Outreach
October 2021 – As part of the “Bionanotechnology Engagement for Native Americans in Oklahoma” (BE4NANO) outreach and education initiative, Wilhelm Lab visited the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center in Fort Cobb to engage high school juniors in classroom hands-on demonstrations around bionanotechnology. We thank SBME Prof. Rebecca Scott for joining us, and we are grateful for the support through the NSF CAREER award (2048130).
BE4NANO – Virtual Classroom Visit – Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center in Fort Cobb
December 2020 – As part of the “Bionanotechnology Engagement for Native Americans in Oklahoma” (BE4NANO) outreach and education initiative, Wilhelm Lab visited the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center in Fort Cobb virtually via Zoom due to COVID19 restrictions to engage high school juniors in classroom hands-on demonstrations around bionanotechnology.
YouTube video from the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center highlighting the BE4NANO outreach event:
BE4NANO DAY 2020
March 2020 – High School Junior students from the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center in Fort Cobb visited our lab as part of the 1st BE4NANO DAY to learn more about our bionanotechnology research, college admission, and the University of Oklahoma.
BE4NANO – Visit of Paoli High School
February 2020 – We visited Paoli High School as part of our “Bionanotechnology Engagement for Native Americans in Oklahoma” BE4NANO outreach and education initiative. Thank you for the invitation!
BE4NANO – Visit of Riverside Indian School in Anadarko
November 2019 – As part of the “Bionanotechnology Engagement for Native Americans in Oklahoma” (BE4NANO) outreach and education initiative, Wilhelm Lab visited Riverside Indian School in Anadarko to engage chemistry high school junior students in classroom hands-on demonstrations.
BE4NANO – Visit of Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center in Fort Cobb
October 2019 – As part of the “Bionanotechnology Engagement for Native Americans in Oklahoma” (BE4NANO) outreach and education initiative, Wilhelm Lab visited the Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center in Fort Cobb to engage biomedical sciences high school junior students in classroom hands-on demonstrations.
BE4NANO Presentation
August 2019 – Stefan Wilhelm introduced the proposed BE4NANO (Bionanotechnology Engagement for Native Americans in Oklahoma) outreach and education initiative during the Southwest Oklahoma STEM Alliance (SOSA) meeting in Anadarko, OK.
BE4NANO Summer 2019 Activites
Summer 2019 –As part of the “Bionanotechnology Engagement for Native Americans in Oklahoma” (BE4NANO) outreach and education initiative, Wilhelm Lab participated in Student Summer STEM camps organized by Kiowa Tribe and Kaw Nation to engage students in hands-on demonstrations and hosted high school students and teachers from Norman North and Cache High School.
BE4NANO – Students Make Their Own Nanoparticles
April 2019 – As part of the “Bionanotechnology Engagement for Native Americans in Oklahoma” (BE4NANO) outreach and education initiative, Wilhelm Lab visited Gracemont Public Schools (Wichita Tribe) and Fort Cobb Public Schools (Kiowa Tribe) to help middle school and high school junior students make their own nanoparticles. The classroom visits were facilitated by tribal higher education officials as well as the OU Tribal Liaison Office.
