High School Interns in Plant, Soil, and Environmental Sciences

DBNRRC intern pouring liquid nitrogen for DNA extraction

For the past three years high school students participating in the Summer Internship in Plant, Soil, Environmental and Biotechnological Sciences (SIPSEBS) program sponsored by the University of Arkansas - Pine Bluff have spent a day at the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center. (DB NRRC). On Friday, June 19, 2010, this years' interns discovered how to isolate DNA; use DNA markers to identify different plants; and how to determine the starch (amylose) content of rice. The students also learned about the various phenotyping techniques and data collection methods to keep up with thousands of different varieties of rice. All student activities were hands-on and used methods similar to those used for the NSF supported project.

Ms. Aretha Everett and Dr. M. Jalaluddin from UAPB are responsible for coordinating the SIPSEBS program. Dr. Georgia Eizenga, project co-PI, organized the interns' visit assisted by project participants Teresa Hancock, Daniel Wood and student interns, Chance Jackson and Grant Brock. Several other DB NRRC colleagues also participated.