The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
YHS students receive Altarum Scholarships
Adams, Good, and Liederbach showed exceptional ability
By Kathleen Conat, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: June 16, 2005
Three Ypsilanti High School juniors are each recipients of $1,500 scholarships from the Altarum Institute, a nonprofit research and innovation organization based in Ann Arbor. Alex Adams, John Good and Tim Liederbach, calling themselves Team Infinity, were part of the pilot program for the Altarum Science and Technology Education Program (ASTEP). The presentation of the scholarships was made at Altarum headquarters in Ann Arbor, at which time the team presented its findings.
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ASTEP is a web-based interactive program that engages selected high school students in scientific research and writing and is meant to encourage students to be curious and excited about math and science, while teaching them scientific writing skills, according to Ken Baker, Altarum's President and CEO. Jeff Moore, Altarum's Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer, was straightforward when he added that one of the goals of the program was to have the students consider scientific careers "and, perhaps, be hired by Altarum."
ASTEP received a generous donation from the Pfizer Corporation for launching this pilot program, which, next year, hopes to incorporate one or two schools in Virginia, as well as YHS students. Pfizer was represented by David Cantor, Director of Research in Michigan.
Five teams were chosen by high school counselors to participate in ASTEP 2004. Four of the teams were made up of seniors and one consisted of the three juniors who won. Before the end of the project, three of the teams had dropped out.
The area of inquiry for the project was "Infectious diseases" and the question posed was: What is the risk of a major outbreak of an infectious disease in the Ypsilanti area within the next two to three years?
Team Infinity's paper, titled "Improving Bioterrorism Surveillance in Michigan: The Role of Education and Communication," examined the sharing of information between public health agencies and the educational needs of clinical and laboratory personnel to improve Michigan's bioterrorism surveillance system.
The teams were mentored by Altarum Scientists George Miller, Hillary Mull, Larry Cobler, Tim Doyle and Nancy French. Mull was Tem Infinity's assigned mentor.
Alex Adams is the daughter of Bruce and Christine Adams of Ypsilanti. She is vice president of the Key Club at YHS, a member of the women's swim team, plays the French horn in symphony band, is attending both the Air Force and Naval academies camps this summer and plans on attending either the Naval Academy or Purdue University.
"I'm considering medical and science areas for possible career opportunities," Adams said after the presentation. "The entire experience was great."
John Good is the son of Carter and Nancy Good of Ypsilanti. He is president of the Key Club, a member of the Chamber Singers and the tennis team, founder and editor-in-chief of The Ypsi Times school newspaper, active in his church youth group and an Eagle Scout candidate.
"I was impressed by the professionalism," Good said. "There are a lot of practical applications to learning to research and then write about it. The research and critical thinking can be applied to all areas of life."
Tim Liederbach is the son of Jeff and Pamela Nelson Liederbach. He is captain of the YHS men's swim team, president of the water polo club, a member of the tennis team and an Eagle Scout. He is attending the Air Force Academy camp this summer.
"I enjoyed everything about writing the paper," Liederbach said. "I liked being treated as a peer and working in a professional atmosphere."
Max Mullins, head of the YHS science department; Mike McIntosh, assistant principal and Kim Ferrell, assistant principal, served as liaisons with Altarum at the high school.
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