Rep. Roscoe Bartlett Presents a Certificate of Excellence to the MdBioLab for its 75,000th MD HS student participant
Congratulates Constituent and MdBioLab Intern, Elizabeth Entin
Washington,
Jul 20 -
Congressman Roscoe Bartlett presented a certificate of excellence to representatatives of the MdBioLab Mobile Science Lab on July 20, 2010 when the lab came to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Rep. Bartlett also toured the lab and spoke at a news conference about it.
Rep. Bartlett said, "A great professor in college sparked my interest and encouraged me to embark on the path of becoming a scientist. I am worried because since the 1970s American students have been falling further and further behind students from other nations. Too few Americans are studying and achieving excellence in science, mathematics and engineering. A lot of that is a problem with our culture. A country gets what it celebrates. Americans used to celebrate and congratulate our best and brightest students for deciding to become scientists, engineers and mathematicians. That's what made it possible for Americans to be the first in the world to land a man on the moon. For too long, Americans have been celebrating and elevating athletes and entertainers while denigrating boys and girls who excel in science and math as geeks and nerds. That has to change for America to maintain our world superiority as the most prosperous economy with the best technology, most innovative businesses and the strongest military. The MdBioLab is a great contribution to making that necessary change. I applaud the MdBioLab for providing high school students in Maryland with an inspirational hands-on educational experience. Students who use the MdBioLab get to use state of the art high tech laboratory equipment. MdBioLab participants personally discover that science, technology, mathematics and engineering are keys to solving some of the most intriguing mysteries and the greatest challenges facing our country."
Photos from Rep. Bartlett's visit are posted on his website. Among the photos: Rep. Bartlett presents a certificate of excellence for the MdBioLab's 75,000th participant: (L-R) are Rep. Bartlett's constituent as well as a summer 2010 intern for the MdBioLab, Elizabeth Entin; Renée Winsky, CEO Tech Council of Maryland; JJ Finkelstein, President and CEO, RegenRx; Rep. Bartlett and Rick Zakour.
The MdBioLab is one of 65 such mobile laboratories across the nation. The labs visit high schools to introduce students to innovative hands-on laboratory experiments. The MdBioLab has visited each county in Maryland and will shortly celebrate the milestone of educating 75,000 students across the state of Maryland. It visited Capitol Hill on July 20, 2010 to educate Congressional leaders on the contributions of mobile bioscience laboratories to increasing and enhancing high school students' education and interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields.
Rep. Bartlett is one of six Phd scientists who are currently members of the House of Representatives. Rep. Bartlett earned both Master's and Doctorate degrees in Human Physiology from the University of Maryland. Before his election to Congress, Rep. Bartlett worked as a professor for more than 20 years. He also worked as an engineer earning 20 patents. Each year, Rep. Bartlett donates a portion of his salary for scholarships for undergraduate students from Maryland's Sixth District who are majoring in STEM fields at the colleges and universities in the district.
