UW Science Professors and Students to Visit Casper Feb. 19

University of Wyoming professors and students, who have begun traveling the state to discuss UW’s Science Initiative, are scheduled to be in Casper Thursday, Feb. 19.

Botany Professor Greg Brown and Mark Lyford, UW’s Life Sciences Program director, along with students Nicholas Dowie and Mikey Tabak, are scheduled to take part in hands-on science activities with CY Middle School students and meet with the public.

The UW delegation will be at the school from 9-11:30 a.m., working with students in the seventh-grade class of teacher Polly Beebout. At noon, the group will attend and speak at a meeting of the Casper Rotary Club at the Casper Petroleum Club.

From 5:30-6:30 p.m., the professors and students will be at the Metro Coffee Company, 241 S. David St., to meet with alumni and other members of the public. Anyone interested in learning more about the Science Initiative is encouraged to attend.

Endorsed by a governor-appointed panel of accomplished scientists, industry leaders and other professionals, the initiative aims to transform science education and improve student success at UW and across the state, while creating world-class facilities to propel research on issues important to the state and nation.

The plan calls for programmatic and facilities improvements in two phases, starting in 2015 and concluding in 2021. It emphasizes collaboration among multiple disciplines by assembling researchers into a single complex with shared instrumentation, technical support and collaboration spaces.

The plan also signals a dramatic change in the way the foundational sciences are taught at the university, moving from traditional lectures and laboratories to an “active learning” format. That approach involves collaborative work among small groups of students and instructors, with traditional lectures replaced by a variety of learning opportunities including short interactive lectures, small-group discussions, case studies and Web-based opportunities outside of class.