Our outreach program pairs biophysics graduate students with local K-12 teachers to develop lessons which teach middle and high school students about the exciting research happening here at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. 

The teachers we work with come from local and suburban Chicago schools where they teach physics, biology or chemistry to students from 7th to 12th grade. 

The graduate students are PhD candidates doing research on a vast array of topics in biophysics, from single molecule fluorescence microscopy to molecular dynamics simulation of membrane proteins.  These students come from diverse academic backgrounds, including physics, biology and computer science and are eager to give back to the community while improving their ability to teach and communication their research.

To learn more about the program, check out our outreach manuals under the “Program Information” heading at the left.  You can also explore the selected reading material to learn more about current issues in science education, browse through the list of participating teachers and view the list of previously developed sample lessons.  We are always looking for more graduate students and local teachers to participate in our program.  If you are interested, please contact:

                       Bob Clegg

                       Professor of Physics and Biophysics

                       Director, Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology

                       (217) 333 - 1630

                       156 Davenport Hall

                       607 South Mathews Ave.

                       Urbana, IL 61801 USA