Well, I guess it's time to post something. To get the ball rolling, I've listed a few questions that will help frame the issues and concerns that any graduates of RHS might have about the science curriculum.
1. How many science courses did you take at RHS?
2. How well did you feel these courses prepared you for similar courses in college?
3. What were the best things about science education at RHS? What could be improved?
4. If you could change three things about RHS science ed, what would it be?
I'll get the ball rolling:
Q1. Which science/math courses did you take at RHS?
A1. Science: Bio honors, Chemistry honors, and Physics AP.
Math: Geometry honors, Algebra 2 honors, Trig (summer), Calculus
AP, Statistics AP
Q2. Hit and miss. Bio was decent; I studied for and took the Bio AP test senior year, and then had to study for and take a placement exam a year later to place out of the notoriously terrible intro bio course at Harvey Mudd. I got to take an evolutionary biology course, which was very interesting and gives me limited street cred when discussing evolution with both scientists and the public today. Chemistry and Physics were pretty unhelpful; I didn't have the discipline to study on my own at that stage. The math courses were okay, though Calculus and Statistics were outstanding.
Q3. Best: Organized lectures in bio, surprisingly substantial lab equipment in physics.
Improvement: (1) Poor connection/coordination between science and math departments. (2) Few laboratory, hands-on experiences (3) programming class desperately needed (4) improve rigor and training in upper-level science course curriculum
Q4. I've got more than three:
Organizational:
(1) Create an alumni network. Organizational theory tells us that institutions do not change unless (1) they fail, (2) there is outside pressure, (3) an external threat to the organization inspires change. As of now, there is no apparent external pressure from the PTA or any community organization to push for science education changes, nor is the external threat manifested through a loss of local jobs in the technological/industrial sectors (partly because Rosemead's economy is not structured around those sectors). Failure is difficult to measure if you don't keep track of your alumni. An alumni network can help administrators (and meddling community activists) keep track of employment trends of alumni, and figure out whether things are getting better, worse, etc. Also, an alumni network can be a source of motivated speakers and volunteers who are willing to give talks or provide resources.
In the classroom:
(1) Connect coursework with the "real world". This includes everything from gimmicks involving liquid nitrogen ice cream (and why it tastes better than store-bought) to real experiments. Lab equipment should be updated and really used; education studies show that interactive, hands-on learning is about 3 times as effective as traditional lecture learning for retention of material.
(2) Each math and science course should have a syllabus that describes in detail what should be covered in the class. This helps students see the big picture and
Curricular:
(3) Create and maintain a good programming class. This is CRITICAL. If a student doesn't know how to program by the time they enter college, they're already substantially behind everyone else who wants to study science. Besides, it teaches a way of thinking that is useful.
(4) Eliminate honors classes, or at least make an effort to convert to AP classes, where possible. The accountability of having an exam with measurable results will help ensure that teachers see them as a challenge and a responsibility, rather than merely a mark of prestige/seniority to claim.
Extracurricular - Community Partnerships:
(5) Recruit volunteers from local industry to teach students about real workplace skills. I wanted to be an astronomer since I was six, but I didn't have any clue as far as what an astronomer was, or what they did. I learned the hard way by doing, and now I like it less. If we want students to make enlightened choices and not completely waste undergrad, we ought to provide opportunities to introduce students to real engineers, real scientists, real programmers, real architects, real nurses, etc.
(6) Get GATE and CSF to sponsor more talks and visits. I hope things are better now; both were pretty damn scattered when I attended their meetings. Then again, I was poorly organized and clueless in high school. Funding issues aren't insurmountable as long as you have dedicated, ambitious students and a solid advisor who can help facilitate connections that can bring in good speakers.
School/District Policy
(7) Solid commitment from the administration. The administration can either help or hurt science ed reform by their hiring practices and policies. For example, they can help by grantwriting, doing the nice political stuff with local businesses and colleges, and making an effort to pass their own exit exams. If resources are scarce, administrators can also work at the district level to create a central lab facility to be shared by all five high schools and local policies that ensure that the underfunded provisions of NCLB (counseling, tutoring, tracking, etc.) are instituted. Again, if funding is the problem, I think it would be possible for either RCS or another agency to hustle.
(8) Improve counseling services. The counselors are overworked; there's no way that you can keep track of 300+ students and provide meaningful profiles for all of them. This is especially true of the career counselor, who has to split his 40-hour week between Rosemead and El Monte High Schools. Either we make it required to have freshman fill out a career sheet that is processed over time, or otherwise make up the shortfall by providing more counseling services. I emphasize career counseling in this case, though it is possible that more emotional counseling services are needed as well - this is beyond my area of experience and expertise, and would require the input of the school psychologist.
National policy
(9) Soul-searching from the academic community. Those of us who are scientists (or pretenders to the throne) need to do some real soul-searching about what science is and is not, what we expect from scientists, and how science can serve society. Those of us who have some measure of either guilt, social conscience, or just decent PR skills owe it to ourselves and our community to put ourselves out a bit and make sure that science doesn't stagnate. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) are a fact of life in most institutions, and research science is no different. The key is retaining enough youth and creativity - both in and out of the lab - to be willing to try novel solutions within the broader framework of vested interests, institutional inertia, and economic and political realities. Most agree that standardized tests are a crappy way of measuring problem-solving abilities, but they do have the advantage of being (1) easy to quantify, (2) standardized, and (3) relatively cheap. Alternative solutions need to show a payoff that warrants the investment in time and political capital that will be needed for such a shift. This isn't a job so much for Rosemead, though an inspired and plucky school/district administration could make a name for itself by trying things that Sacremento does not explicitly mandate, nor the electorate explicitly demands.
Where to now? Well, hopefully I'll shore up my academic situation here, then put together a business plan with an action item list for RCS, then go from there. Hopefully we can recruit some effective leaders in situ in the Rosemead area to work on this - it's too hard to manage this project 3,000 miles away.
Post your thoughts!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Shuey School webpage
Wow, the Shuey webpage is nice. It's actually better than the RHS one. Perhaps a sign that being a California Distinguished School means something?
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
National Science Education Funding
Just got this from a science policy mailing list from the American Institute of Physics:
FYI
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 22: February 12, 2007
Web Version:
Science Education in the FY 2008 Budget Request
Federal efforts to improve science and math education would receive
a boost under President Bush's FY 2008 budget request, as part of
the American Competitiveness Initiative. All divisions within NSF's
Education and Human Resources (EHR) Directorate would receive
increases compared with the FY 2007 request. Funding for certain
math and science education programs within the Department of
Education (DoEd) would also be increased. However, the request for
the Math and Science Partnership programs within both NSF and DoEd
are equal to the FY 2007 requests.
While the FY 2007 appropriations are not yet finalized, it appears
that the Senate is likely to agree to the Continuing Resolution
passed by the House (see FYI #14), which holds most programs to FY
2006 funding levels. The CR would increase funding for NSF's
Research and Related Activities Directorate over FY 2006, but
apparently would maintain NSF's EHR programs at FY 2006 levels.
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
The FY 2008 request would provide a total of $750.6 million for
NSF's EHR Directorate, compared to an FY 2007 request of $716.2
million. This represents an increase of 4.8%, or $34.4 million.
The comparable FY 2006 funding level for EHR was $700.3 million.
(Note: None of these EHR totals include funding for the EPSCoR
program, which the FY08 request proposes to transfer from EHR to
Research and Related Activities.) According to NSF budget
documents, the programs in NSF's EHR Directorate "respond to the
need expressed in the President's American Competitiveness
Initiative" with activities to attract and retain people and broaden
participation in scientific and technical fields, enhance
understanding of how students learn, train highly-qualified
teachers, and develop effective curricular materials.
The divisions within EHR would all experience growth over the FY
2007 request:
RESEARCH ON LEARNING IN FORMAL AND INFORMAL SETTINGS: Up 3.5%, or
$7.5 million, from $215.0 million to $222.5 million. The comparable
FY 2006 appropriation was $215.6 million.
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT: Up 3.1%, or $4.5 million, from $143.9
million to $148.4 million. The comparable FY 2006 appropriation was
$119.8 million.
GRADUATE EDUCATION: Up 5.5%, or $8.9 million, from $160.6 million to
$169.5 million. The comparable FY 2006 appropriation was $153.1
million.
Within Graduate Education, support would be provided for an
additional 200 graduate fellowships.
UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION: Up 6.8%, or $13.4 million, from $196.8
million to $210.2 million. The comparable FY 2006 appropriation was
$211.9 million.
Within Undergraduate Education, the Math and Science Partnership
(MSP) program would receive $46.0 million, equal to the FY 2007
request. FY 2006 funding was $63.2 million. Under the FY 2008
request, $29.0 million is intended for new awards. The request
states that NSF's MSP program "will coordinate its efforts with
other education programs at NSF, the Department of Education, and
state-funded efforts."
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
According to budget documents, the FY 2008 request would provide
$397.0 million "to support the American Competitiveness Initiative
by strengthening the capacity of our schools to improve instruction
in mathematics and science." Requested funding under this
initiative would include $125 million each for elementary and
middle-school Math Now programs to improve math instruction; $90
million to expand the training of teachers to teach, and
opportunities for students to take, Advanced Placement and
International Baccalaureate courses in science, math, and critical
foreign languages; and $25 million for the Adjunct Teacher Corps to
enable qualified professionals to teach secondary school courses,
with an emphasis on science and math. The requested amounts for
these programs are generally equal to the FY 2007 requests.
Math and Science Partnerships: The DoEd MSPs would receive flat
funding at $182.1 million, the same as the FY 2007 request and the
FY 2006 appropriation.
FYI
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 22: February 12, 2007
Web Version:
Science Education in the FY 2008 Budget Request
Federal efforts to improve science and math education would receive
a boost under President Bush's FY 2008 budget request, as part of
the American Competitiveness Initiative. All divisions within NSF's
Education and Human Resources (EHR) Directorate would receive
increases compared with the FY 2007 request. Funding for certain
math and science education programs within the Department of
Education (DoEd) would also be increased. However, the request for
the Math and Science Partnership programs within both NSF and DoEd
are equal to the FY 2007 requests.
While the FY 2007 appropriations are not yet finalized, it appears
that the Senate is likely to agree to the Continuing Resolution
passed by the House (see FYI #14), which holds most programs to FY
2006 funding levels. The CR would increase funding for NSF's
Research and Related Activities Directorate over FY 2006, but
apparently would maintain NSF's EHR programs at FY 2006 levels.
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
The FY 2008 request would provide a total of $750.6 million for
NSF's EHR Directorate, compared to an FY 2007 request of $716.2
million. This represents an increase of 4.8%, or $34.4 million.
The comparable FY 2006 funding level for EHR was $700.3 million.
(Note: None of these EHR totals include funding for the EPSCoR
program, which the FY08 request proposes to transfer from EHR to
Research and Related Activities.) According to NSF budget
documents, the programs in NSF's EHR Directorate "respond to the
need expressed in the President's American Competitiveness
Initiative" with activities to attract and retain people and broaden
participation in scientific and technical fields, enhance
understanding of how students learn, train highly-qualified
teachers, and develop effective curricular materials.
The divisions within EHR would all experience growth over the FY
2007 request:
RESEARCH ON LEARNING IN FORMAL AND INFORMAL SETTINGS: Up 3.5%, or
$7.5 million, from $215.0 million to $222.5 million. The comparable
FY 2006 appropriation was $215.6 million.
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT: Up 3.1%, or $4.5 million, from $143.9
million to $148.4 million. The comparable FY 2006 appropriation was
$119.8 million.
GRADUATE EDUCATION: Up 5.5%, or $8.9 million, from $160.6 million to
$169.5 million. The comparable FY 2006 appropriation was $153.1
million.
Within Graduate Education, support would be provided for an
additional 200 graduate fellowships.
UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION: Up 6.8%, or $13.4 million, from $196.8
million to $210.2 million. The comparable FY 2006 appropriation was
$211.9 million.
Within Undergraduate Education, the Math and Science Partnership
(MSP) program would receive $46.0 million, equal to the FY 2007
request. FY 2006 funding was $63.2 million. Under the FY 2008
request, $29.0 million is intended for new awards. The request
states that NSF's MSP program "will coordinate its efforts with
other education programs at NSF, the Department of Education, and
state-funded efforts."
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
According to budget documents, the FY 2008 request would provide
$397.0 million "to support the American Competitiveness Initiative
by strengthening the capacity of our schools to improve instruction
in mathematics and science." Requested funding under this
initiative would include $125 million each for elementary and
middle-school Math Now programs to improve math instruction; $90
million to expand the training of teachers to teach, and
opportunities for students to take, Advanced Placement and
International Baccalaureate courses in science, math, and critical
foreign languages; and $25 million for the Adjunct Teacher Corps to
enable qualified professionals to teach secondary school courses,
with an emphasis on science and math. The requested amounts for
these programs are generally equal to the FY 2007 requests.
Math and Science Partnerships: The DoEd MSPs would receive flat
funding at $182.1 million, the same as the FY 2007 request and the
FY 2006 appropriation.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Biotech info
Lisa sent me this info on the biotech sector in Pasadena. The key things to note for our purposes are
(1) biotech is back... sort of, meaning local jobs for students graduating in biology and biomedical engineering
(2) while retention may be a problem in Pasadena, university alums of RHS can count on getting a job at a firm in an area where housing prices aren't ridiculous (< $500,000). This is a good thing.
Where do we go from here? Well, I can use my contacts at HMC chemistry department to see if there is any market for recent grads. Also, we can hopefully get a speaker to talk to our students about the biotech sector.
We need to start having regular meetings again. I'll send an e-mail out to everyone shortly.
----
Biotech Blooms - Industry flourishing around Pasadena
By Elise Kleeman Staff Writer- Pasadena Star-News 11/11/2006
The late 1990s were a giddy time for biotechnology and high tech. Investors, flush with cash from a booming economy, leapt to fund budding start-up companies. Cities, excited by the prospect of high-paying jobs and environmentally friendly industry, raced to attract them.
In Pasadena, the City Council debated making South Raymond Avenue a "Biotech Corridor" and pouring redevelopment dollars into the relatively disused stretch between California Boulevard and Glenarm Street. The city also tried combining forces with local research institutes, hospitals and colleges to attract a vast belt of biotech companies between Pasadena and Claremont.
"Back in those days, it was still relatively early in the biotechnology industry," said Bruce Blomstrom, president of the Pasadena Bioscience Collaborative. "People were really optimistic that \ would develop into huge companies very quickly."
Then the dot-com market bubble burst.
Investors grew skittish about backing unproven technologies and the sea of start-ups that were to fill the biotech corridor dried up - along with much of the enthusiasm for the corridor plans.
The years since then have seen a slow reemergence of interest in biotech and high tech in Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley. Though attracting such companies to Pasadena continues to be a challenge, their numbers are increasing, spurred by a new emphasis on nurturing home-grown start-ups.
Even biologist David Baltimore, who recently retired as the first life-sciences-oriented president of Caltech, is rumored to be considering the area for a new start-up company, though he declined to discuss his plans in detail.
"We're figuring it out," said Stephanie Yanchinski, director of Pasadena Entretech, a support and networking organization for young start-up companies. "After the heady '90s era, when the money was just going to flow, we're figuring out that it's just going to happen more organically."
It starts at home
Organically, in Pasadena, means retaining the spin-off companies coming from the area's research institutions - Caltech, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Huntington Medical Research Institutes and City of Hope - and letting private investment push growth instead of feeding it with public funds.
"I think we've matured enough to realize it's not the attraction we have to worry about, it's the retention," said Eric Duyshart, economic development manager for the city of Pasadena. "More than half \ leave Pasadena for Boston or the Bay Area."
That number has improved significantly, however, because of Caltech's more concerted efforts to help professors start their own companies.
"Back in '98, they were just starting that program," Duyshart said, "but at least three-fourths were leaving the city. So we're getting better."
Among the new wave of entrepreneurial professors with companies in Pasadena is Mark Davis, a Caltech chemical engineer who launched the cancer drug companies Insert Therapeutics, Inc. in 2000 and Calando Pharmaceuticals in 2005.
Like many other biotech and high-tech start-ups, Davis' challenges included finding funding and securing laboratory space - problems exacerbated by the city's infant biotechnology industry.
"Here, nothing's routine," Davis said. "We're still at the stage that every time we're doing something, we're doing it for the first or second time."
Space for new biotech or high-tech start-up companies is especially difficult to find because they require specialized laboratories and equipment - extravagant expenditures for a new company.
Drawn by low rent
Davis found a home for Calando in Pasadena's east side among a small cluster of start-ups drawn to the area by low rents. Insert is housed in a Hill Avenue building owned by Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., which specializes in developing laboratory space.
Though he was glad to keep his companies in the area because of his ties to Pasadena and the ability to rent time on Caltech equipment, "Those reasons start to decline the more mature a company is," Davis said.
He is not alone - many of the companies that do start in Pasadena eventually contemplate moving elsewhere.
Such has been the case for more than half a century. Though Caltech-related firms from the huge Aerojet to the medium-size Aerovironment began in the city, they ended up putting down roots to the east, in Azusa and Monrovia, where land has always been cheaper. Many biotech firms move even farther.
Finding a way to keep such companies, many said, is Pasadena's next big challenge in developing its biotechnology and high-tech industries.
To that end, plans for development and expansion - including a renewed focus on Raymond Avenue - have made industry leaders cautiously optimistic about Pasadena's high-tech future.
Growing pains
Among those with an eye open for larger lab space in Pasadena is Jeff Raber, vice president of the 2-year-old company KinetiChem.
The company, which develops new chemical engineering methods, currently consists of a handful of people - Raber, a full-time chemist, the CEO and legal advisors - but is looking to expand in a year or two, Raber said.
"I would like to stay \, but I know cost is a consideration," he said. "I really don't know of another space that could suit us if we wanted to be in the area."
KinetiChem is one of seven at the Pasadena Bioscience Collaborative, a unique nonprofit organization nurturing start-up companies by offering relatively inexpensive lab space, equipment donated by pharmaceutical companies and partnerships with area universities.
Though an important piece of Pasadena's slowly emerging biotech industry (and despite its planned expansion a year from now), the Bioscience Collaborative won't be able to support many of its expanding companies much longer.
Enter the return of Raymond Avenue. There, a spate of new buildings are being planned, including the Alexandria Technology Center - a home for one to three more established start-up companies. Many hope that Raymond Avenue, now dubbed the "Innovation Corridor" by the city, could provide these growing companies a home and draw even more biotech developments to the area.
"Some companies that have been around a while are growing and will need larger facilities for their next step," said Peter Moglia, an Alexandria vice president and the head of its Pasadena operations. "It's just been slow - but slow growth eventually turns into a new project."
As the biotech industry in Pasadena looks to expand, so do those in other parts of the San Gabriel Valley. But the grand expectations of a biotech beltway stretching out to Claremont have faded somewhat.
"I would say that \ is a great goal, but you'd have to look at the other areas in the country that have life-science clusters - it's a slow process, it's a gradual process," Moglia said.
"Matchmaking and dialogue"
One factor dulling the initial fervor over a vast biotech corridor in the San Gabriel Valley is less "matchmaking and dialogue" than in the past, said Bill Opel, executive director of the Huntington Medical Research Institute. Another is the lack of major research institutions in many of those cities that could spin off companies.
Still there are hot spots of activity - Duarte's City of Hope, and the Claremont Colleges and Keck Graduate Institute.
The City of Hope, one of the leading cancer research facilities in the nation, is itself considering building a new biotechnology park with laboratory spaces for both outside companies and its own spin-offs.
By attracting start-up companies to the area, according to Larry Couture, the head of the hospital's Center for Applied Technology Development, future generations of drugs first envisioned at the City of Hope could reach clinics much faster.
"In many cases they are a much more effective vehicle in developing our technology," Couture said. "That's why we want a biotech park - we want these companies here."
City of Hope hasn't yet decided if it will go ahead with the project. Even without it, the hospital's potential to draw companies to the area is significant, Couture said.
In the past eight years, it has developed its own manufacturing, regulatory and licensing departments, easing the transition between the hospital's basic research and the start-up companies that could test any resulting new treatments.
If the City of Hope does decide to construct a biotech park, Couture said, he is sure there would be great demand.
"There is no question because I get the calls," he said. "If you build it, they will come."
Just as the City of Hope could someday help fill the need for laboratory space, the Keck Graduate Institute in Claremont could also emerge as another important part in bringing a strong biotech industry to the area.
Though local researchers might be bursting with good ideas for new companies, a significant difficulty for many is navigating the complicated business world of a start-up company. The problem is worsened by a lack of experienced executives.
"The biggest problem that we have in this area is recruiting senior management," Couture said.
Biotech business leaders are reluctant to move from industry hubs where they could more easily find a new job if their company folded, he said.
At KGI, though, students are taught how to translate scientific advances into marketable products.
This new graduate program, which emerged from a $50 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation, aims to produce a new generation of entrepreneurs savvy in both science and business.
The demand for KGI students is growing, said Molly Schmid, the institute's interim director of research.
"For the projects I've been involved with for the past two years, we've had more projects than we've had students to put on them."
There is still a large leap to make before the biotech and high-tech industries in the area take off, but the pieces, many agree, seem to be coming together.
"In 20 years," Couture said, "you could see this area becoming a biotechnology corridor."
elise.kleeman@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4451
(1) biotech is back... sort of, meaning local jobs for students graduating in biology and biomedical engineering
(2) while retention may be a problem in Pasadena, university alums of RHS can count on getting a job at a firm in an area where housing prices aren't ridiculous (< $500,000). This is a good thing.
Where do we go from here? Well, I can use my contacts at HMC chemistry department to see if there is any market for recent grads. Also, we can hopefully get a speaker to talk to our students about the biotech sector.
We need to start having regular meetings again. I'll send an e-mail out to everyone shortly.
----
Biotech Blooms - Industry flourishing around Pasadena
By Elise Kleeman Staff Writer- Pasadena Star-News 11/11/2006
The late 1990s were a giddy time for biotechnology and high tech. Investors, flush with cash from a booming economy, leapt to fund budding start-up companies. Cities, excited by the prospect of high-paying jobs and environmentally friendly industry, raced to attract them.
In Pasadena, the City Council debated making South Raymond Avenue a "Biotech Corridor" and pouring redevelopment dollars into the relatively disused stretch between California Boulevard and Glenarm Street. The city also tried combining forces with local research institutes, hospitals and colleges to attract a vast belt of biotech companies between Pasadena and Claremont.
"Back in those days, it was still relatively early in the biotechnology industry," said Bruce Blomstrom, president of the Pasadena Bioscience Collaborative. "People were really optimistic that \ would develop into huge companies very quickly."
Then the dot-com market bubble burst.
Investors grew skittish about backing unproven technologies and the sea of start-ups that were to fill the biotech corridor dried up - along with much of the enthusiasm for the corridor plans.
The years since then have seen a slow reemergence of interest in biotech and high tech in Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley. Though attracting such companies to Pasadena continues to be a challenge, their numbers are increasing, spurred by a new emphasis on nurturing home-grown start-ups.
Even biologist David Baltimore, who recently retired as the first life-sciences-oriented president of Caltech, is rumored to be considering the area for a new start-up company, though he declined to discuss his plans in detail.
"We're figuring it out," said Stephanie Yanchinski, director of Pasadena Entretech, a support and networking organization for young start-up companies. "After the heady '90s era, when the money was just going to flow, we're figuring out that it's just going to happen more organically."
It starts at home
Organically, in Pasadena, means retaining the spin-off companies coming from the area's research institutions - Caltech, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Huntington Medical Research Institutes and City of Hope - and letting private investment push growth instead of feeding it with public funds.
"I think we've matured enough to realize it's not the attraction we have to worry about, it's the retention," said Eric Duyshart, economic development manager for the city of Pasadena. "More than half \ leave Pasadena for Boston or the Bay Area."
That number has improved significantly, however, because of Caltech's more concerted efforts to help professors start their own companies.
"Back in '98, they were just starting that program," Duyshart said, "but at least three-fourths were leaving the city. So we're getting better."
Among the new wave of entrepreneurial professors with companies in Pasadena is Mark Davis, a Caltech chemical engineer who launched the cancer drug companies Insert Therapeutics, Inc. in 2000 and Calando Pharmaceuticals in 2005.
Like many other biotech and high-tech start-ups, Davis' challenges included finding funding and securing laboratory space - problems exacerbated by the city's infant biotechnology industry.
"Here, nothing's routine," Davis said. "We're still at the stage that every time we're doing something, we're doing it for the first or second time."
Space for new biotech or high-tech start-up companies is especially difficult to find because they require specialized laboratories and equipment - extravagant expenditures for a new company.
Drawn by low rent
Davis found a home for Calando in Pasadena's east side among a small cluster of start-ups drawn to the area by low rents. Insert is housed in a Hill Avenue building owned by Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., which specializes in developing laboratory space.
Though he was glad to keep his companies in the area because of his ties to Pasadena and the ability to rent time on Caltech equipment, "Those reasons start to decline the more mature a company is," Davis said.
He is not alone - many of the companies that do start in Pasadena eventually contemplate moving elsewhere.
Such has been the case for more than half a century. Though Caltech-related firms from the huge Aerojet to the medium-size Aerovironment began in the city, they ended up putting down roots to the east, in Azusa and Monrovia, where land has always been cheaper. Many biotech firms move even farther.
Finding a way to keep such companies, many said, is Pasadena's next big challenge in developing its biotechnology and high-tech industries.
To that end, plans for development and expansion - including a renewed focus on Raymond Avenue - have made industry leaders cautiously optimistic about Pasadena's high-tech future.
Growing pains
Among those with an eye open for larger lab space in Pasadena is Jeff Raber, vice president of the 2-year-old company KinetiChem.
The company, which develops new chemical engineering methods, currently consists of a handful of people - Raber, a full-time chemist, the CEO and legal advisors - but is looking to expand in a year or two, Raber said.
"I would like to stay \, but I know cost is a consideration," he said. "I really don't know of another space that could suit us if we wanted to be in the area."
KinetiChem is one of seven at the Pasadena Bioscience Collaborative, a unique nonprofit organization nurturing start-up companies by offering relatively inexpensive lab space, equipment donated by pharmaceutical companies and partnerships with area universities.
Though an important piece of Pasadena's slowly emerging biotech industry (and despite its planned expansion a year from now), the Bioscience Collaborative won't be able to support many of its expanding companies much longer.
Enter the return of Raymond Avenue. There, a spate of new buildings are being planned, including the Alexandria Technology Center - a home for one to three more established start-up companies. Many hope that Raymond Avenue, now dubbed the "Innovation Corridor" by the city, could provide these growing companies a home and draw even more biotech developments to the area.
"Some companies that have been around a while are growing and will need larger facilities for their next step," said Peter Moglia, an Alexandria vice president and the head of its Pasadena operations. "It's just been slow - but slow growth eventually turns into a new project."
As the biotech industry in Pasadena looks to expand, so do those in other parts of the San Gabriel Valley. But the grand expectations of a biotech beltway stretching out to Claremont have faded somewhat.
"I would say that \ is a great goal, but you'd have to look at the other areas in the country that have life-science clusters - it's a slow process, it's a gradual process," Moglia said.
"Matchmaking and dialogue"
One factor dulling the initial fervor over a vast biotech corridor in the San Gabriel Valley is less "matchmaking and dialogue" than in the past, said Bill Opel, executive director of the Huntington Medical Research Institute. Another is the lack of major research institutions in many of those cities that could spin off companies.
Still there are hot spots of activity - Duarte's City of Hope, and the Claremont Colleges and Keck Graduate Institute.
The City of Hope, one of the leading cancer research facilities in the nation, is itself considering building a new biotechnology park with laboratory spaces for both outside companies and its own spin-offs.
By attracting start-up companies to the area, according to Larry Couture, the head of the hospital's Center for Applied Technology Development, future generations of drugs first envisioned at the City of Hope could reach clinics much faster.
"In many cases they are a much more effective vehicle in developing our technology," Couture said. "That's why we want a biotech park - we want these companies here."
City of Hope hasn't yet decided if it will go ahead with the project. Even without it, the hospital's potential to draw companies to the area is significant, Couture said.
In the past eight years, it has developed its own manufacturing, regulatory and licensing departments, easing the transition between the hospital's basic research and the start-up companies that could test any resulting new treatments.
If the City of Hope does decide to construct a biotech park, Couture said, he is sure there would be great demand.
"There is no question because I get the calls," he said. "If you build it, they will come."
Just as the City of Hope could someday help fill the need for laboratory space, the Keck Graduate Institute in Claremont could also emerge as another important part in bringing a strong biotech industry to the area.
Though local researchers might be bursting with good ideas for new companies, a significant difficulty for many is navigating the complicated business world of a start-up company. The problem is worsened by a lack of experienced executives.
"The biggest problem that we have in this area is recruiting senior management," Couture said.
Biotech business leaders are reluctant to move from industry hubs where they could more easily find a new job if their company folded, he said.
At KGI, though, students are taught how to translate scientific advances into marketable products.
This new graduate program, which emerged from a $50 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation, aims to produce a new generation of entrepreneurs savvy in both science and business.
The demand for KGI students is growing, said Molly Schmid, the institute's interim director of research.
"For the projects I've been involved with for the past two years, we've had more projects than we've had students to put on them."
There is still a large leap to make before the biotech and high-tech industries in the area take off, but the pieces, many agree, seem to be coming together.
"In 20 years," Couture said, "you could see this area becoming a biotechnology corridor."
elise.kleeman@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4451
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Updated notes
Ok, here are the minutes from last meeting:
Rosemead Citizens for Science
Date: 2006 Dec 22
Location: Denny’s, 3643 Rosemead Blvd, Rosemead, CA 91770; 626-280-1776
I. Call to Order
II. Purpose of Meeting
Introduce the state of education in science and areas critical to scientific industry at Rosemead high school. Refine and confirm specific goals of RCS. Identify existing programs to reinforce and new ideas for further exploration. Discuss potential community partners and funding sources.
III. Modification of Agenda
IV. Consent Agenda
V. Old Business
None
VI. New Business
a. Introduction to the state of RHS science education
1. Overview of national, state, and local education policy and its impact on science education
Not done; need input from Rosemead teachers and administrators
2. Existing course offerings
Recently increased number of AP classes
3. Cocurricular/Extracurricular services and organizations
Existing partnership with Southern California Edison for pre-law
Science Olympiad – headed by Valerie Washington
b. Identify goals of RCS
1. Goal for college-prep science education
2. Goals for vocational technical training
At this time, focus specifically on college-prep kids going into science and science related fields. RCS will start by contacting local partners and soliciting volunteer services.
3. Other goals
c. Possible programs/areas to investigate and pursue
1. District organization/offerings
A. Need to understand organization of local school districts, e.g. cooperation between K-8 (Rosemead, Mountain View) and 9-12 (El Monte Unified School District) – Lisa T.
- Contact established with Amy Enomoto-Perez, district superintenedent; awaiting reply from Muscatel science teachers
B. Review of Advanced Placement program within next two years; legislation expected next year– Lisa T.
C. ROP Nursing vocational education – Tina H.?
2. Other local successful models
A. Gabrielino High School
3. Identify possible local partners and solicit volunteers to speak to students
Note: Career guidance coordinator, Fernando Torres, encouraged us to look at getting speakers. I think he will help with setting up a database of contacts. He currently splits his time between Rosemead and El Monte High.
A. Southern California Edison – Lisa T.
B. Other local engineering company volunteers – Tom G. (Philip Y.)
C. Biotech firms – Lisa T.
D. Architect firms (Woodbury) –
E. Art center school of design – Graphic Arts engineering – Tom G., Ryan Y.
F. Local colleges/research centers
a. Harvey Mudd College – Ryan Y.
i. SALSA
ii. Upward Bound – contacted, no reply; try calling
iii. Pathways – Mike Orrison willing to help
iv. Others – Jerry Van Hecke, chemistry professor and coordinator of HMC summer research, is willing to help; Richard Haskell, professor of physics, and Darryl Yong, professor of mathematics, interested in helping; David Andrews, professor of political science at Scripps, will use local contacts to explore interest
b. Caltech – Ryan Y.
c. Pasadena City College – Ryan Y.
d. Cal Poly Pomona –
e. Griffith Observatory – Ryan Y.
G. Medical doctor professionals
a. Alums – Jenny Hung, Tri Bang Tang, others?
b. Local hospitals
d. Other ideas/areas to investigate
1. Shadow engineer process – Tom G.
2. Board of education standards, and their impact on local schools – Lisa T.
3. Cal State LA – availability of teacher workshops
e. Potential Community Partners/
1. Local churches
Complicated; Philadelphia model for church-school partnerships not relevant because of lack of infrastructure and security need
2. Rosemead Chamber of Commerce
Diane Bladen, principal of RHS, is head of Rosemead Chamber of Commerce; interested in attending future meetings
f. Possible funding sources
1. Private foundations
2. American Competitiveness Initiative – Ryan Y.
3. Federal/State grants
4. Local companies
VII. Next Meeting:
VIII. Adjournment
Rosemead Citizens for Science
Date: 2006 Dec 22
Location: Denny’s, 3643 Rosemead Blvd, Rosemead, CA 91770; 626-280-1776
I. Call to Order
II. Purpose of Meeting
Introduce the state of education in science and areas critical to scientific industry at Rosemead high school. Refine and confirm specific goals of RCS. Identify existing programs to reinforce and new ideas for further exploration. Discuss potential community partners and funding sources.
III. Modification of Agenda
IV. Consent Agenda
V. Old Business
None
VI. New Business
a. Introduction to the state of RHS science education
1. Overview of national, state, and local education policy and its impact on science education
Not done; need input from Rosemead teachers and administrators
2. Existing course offerings
Recently increased number of AP classes
3. Cocurricular/Extracurricular services and organizations
Existing partnership with Southern California Edison for pre-law
Science Olympiad – headed by Valerie Washington
b. Identify goals of RCS
1. Goal for college-prep science education
2. Goals for vocational technical training
At this time, focus specifically on college-prep kids going into science and science related fields. RCS will start by contacting local partners and soliciting volunteer services.
3. Other goals
c. Possible programs/areas to investigate and pursue
1. District organization/offerings
A. Need to understand organization of local school districts, e.g. cooperation between K-8 (Rosemead, Mountain View) and 9-12 (El Monte Unified School District) – Lisa T.
- Contact established with Amy Enomoto-Perez, district superintenedent; awaiting reply from Muscatel science teachers
B. Review of Advanced Placement program within next two years; legislation expected next year– Lisa T.
C. ROP Nursing vocational education – Tina H.?
2. Other local successful models
A. Gabrielino High School
3. Identify possible local partners and solicit volunteers to speak to students
Note: Career guidance coordinator, Fernando Torres, encouraged us to look at getting speakers. I think he will help with setting up a database of contacts. He currently splits his time between Rosemead and El Monte High.
A. Southern California Edison – Lisa T.
B. Other local engineering company volunteers – Tom G. (Philip Y.)
C. Biotech firms – Lisa T.
D. Architect firms (Woodbury) –
E. Art center school of design – Graphic Arts engineering – Tom G., Ryan Y.
F. Local colleges/research centers
a. Harvey Mudd College – Ryan Y.
i. SALSA
ii. Upward Bound – contacted, no reply; try calling
iii. Pathways – Mike Orrison willing to help
iv. Others – Jerry Van Hecke, chemistry professor and coordinator of HMC summer research, is willing to help; Richard Haskell, professor of physics, and Darryl Yong, professor of mathematics, interested in helping; David Andrews, professor of political science at Scripps, will use local contacts to explore interest
b. Caltech – Ryan Y.
c. Pasadena City College – Ryan Y.
d. Cal Poly Pomona –
e. Griffith Observatory – Ryan Y.
G. Medical doctor professionals
a. Alums – Jenny Hung, Tri Bang Tang, others?
b. Local hospitals
d. Other ideas/areas to investigate
1. Shadow engineer process – Tom G.
2. Board of education standards, and their impact on local schools – Lisa T.
3. Cal State LA – availability of teacher workshops
e. Potential Community Partners/
1. Local churches
Complicated; Philadelphia model for church-school partnerships not relevant because of lack of infrastructure and security need
2. Rosemead Chamber of Commerce
Diane Bladen, principal of RHS, is head of Rosemead Chamber of Commerce; interested in attending future meetings
f. Possible funding sources
1. Private foundations
2. American Competitiveness Initiative – Ryan Y.
3. Federal/State grants
4. Local companies
VII. Next Meeting:
VIII. Adjournment
Sunday, December 24, 2006
First Planning Meeting
Here is the meeting information:
Tuesday, Dec. 26, 7PM
Denny's Restuarnat
3643 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770
626-280-1776
It will be very helpful if you can reply by e-mail if you can make it. Alternatively, give me a call at 607-592-6095.
Tuesday, Dec. 26, 7PM
Denny's Restuarnat
3643 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770
626-280-1776
It will be very helpful if you can reply by e-mail if you can make it. Alternatively, give me a call at 607-592-6095.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Presentation at Rosemead High School
A couple weeks back, I was trying to figure out how to get involved with Rosemead science education. A wise member of my department suggested that I start by giving a talk. I wrote to Ms. Washington and mentioned my interest. She replied and expressed support. We decided that Wednesday, December 20 was the best time for this talk.
I compiled a talk focusing on the following points:
I tried to go for a combination of humor (Denzel Washington, Salma Hayek, and Rowan Atkinson, a.k.a. Mr. Bean and the phenomenon of hot people moving in groups to illustrate the scientific method), drama (science not as a fuzzy feeling, but as a real way out of the ghetto and away from the drive-bys), and frank truth (money matters; they have to study harder than others, since they will be facing prep school kids). I don't know if I had an effect, but there was stark silence when I mentioned the murder of a Gabrielino student (also named Ryan) in a shooting incident during daylight hours two blocks from my house.
Anyway, the talk is now posted on my meager website.
It was great to see Donny Quick teaching at RHS. Donny is a good guy; I have known him and Teresa for a while, and admire them very much. Hopefully he'll be able to do good, and do well, in those familiar classrooms.
I compiled a talk focusing on the following points:
- What science is
- Why study science
- Debunking myths
- How to study science
- Research on extrasolar planets
I tried to go for a combination of humor (Denzel Washington, Salma Hayek, and Rowan Atkinson, a.k.a. Mr. Bean and the phenomenon of hot people moving in groups to illustrate the scientific method), drama (science not as a fuzzy feeling, but as a real way out of the ghetto and away from the drive-bys), and frank truth (money matters; they have to study harder than others, since they will be facing prep school kids). I don't know if I had an effect, but there was stark silence when I mentioned the murder of a Gabrielino student (also named Ryan) in a shooting incident during daylight hours two blocks from my house.
Anyway, the talk is now posted on my meager website.
It was great to see Donny Quick teaching at RHS. Donny is a good guy; I have known him and Teresa for a while, and admire them very much. Hopefully he'll be able to do good, and do well, in those familiar classrooms.
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