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Jeffrey Graham, a science teacher at Windsor Forest High School, has been offered one of the two BOTTOMS-UP research internships to take place during the next two summers at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO).  Applications were solicited from dozens of secondary school science teachers in the Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence Southeast Regions (COSEE-SE) of Georgia, North and South Carolina. 

“Your extensive involvement in Chatham County science education and your broad variety of outside-the-classroom science teaching activities made your application one of the best,” said Dr. William Savidge, Assistant Research Professor in Mr. Graham’s acceptance letter.

BOTTOMS-UP, which is short for Benthic Observatory and Technology Testbed on the Mid-Shelf: Understanding Processes, is a three-year, $1.1 million research pilot project that will develop new techniques and strategies for studying environmental conditions at the sea floor.

The internship is a two-year commitment that will begin this summer on July 12, 2007 and end on July 25, 2007.  It will allow the two teachers selected to work with each of the scientists at the institute and learn first-hand how they go about collecting information about the oceans.  “Oceanography is moving away from dependence on data collected from ships toward a greater reliance on remote sensors that communicate with scientists on shore,” said Dr. Savidge.  The teachers will assist scientists in the analysis of data collected during a three-day cruise where instruments will be deployed and collected from the sea floor.  They will also work with others to find ways to use their experiences to enhance science teaching and environmental awareness in high schools.

After the completion of the second internship, Mr. Graham will be co-leader of a science teacher workshop where his experiences and insights will be shared with a larger group of secondary school science teachers from throughout the Southeast.  Mr. Graham will also take part in the teacher training and curriculum development components involved in the internship.

The research project was awarded to SkIO by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Ocean Sciences and Directorate for Geosciences.  For more information, visit their website at www.skio.peachnet.edu/research/sip or contact Dr. William Savidge at 912-598-3348.