To aid in increasing scientific literacy and bettering scientific communication, I started the Outreach Initiative for the Student Chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS) at the University of Michigan. This group trains graduate student volunteers in communication to take polymers-based lessons to K-12 classrooms across Southeast Michigan, and has reached over 50 classrooms and nearly 3000 students since its inception. Our pedagogy and best practices were documented in an article in the Journal of Chemical Education.

In 2017, I created Research Education and Activities for Classroom Teachers (REACT), a one-day workshop for Michigan teachers focused on providing access and exposure to University of Michigan research across all fields, held in both 2017 and 2018 attended by a combined total of 72 teachers from across Michigan. The day included research talks by doctoral researchers, laboratory tours, and activity demonstrations by student outreach groups. This workshop has continued since my departure from Michigan, and was the subject of the peer-reviewed article Bringing Science Education and Research together to REACT.

Here you can view university coverage of the 2017 and 2018 REACT workshops. Current and future workshops are featured on the new website.