REACT at Cornell University | Research Education and Activities for Community Teachers

The REACT (Research and Education Activities for Community Teachers) program connects K-12 educators to current research at Cornell University. Led by graduate students, this two-day workshop includes presentations on research and the path to higher education, lab tours, and demonstrations. The goal of REACT is to show teachers how cutting-edge research is performed today, equip them with activities that can help them bring that research back to the community and their students, and foster relationships between educators and graduate students. REACT was started at University of Michigan in 2017, and has grown tremendously since. Our team visited the University of Michigan workshop in 2019 and started a Cornell branch of the program in 2020 to bring REACT to educators in New York.

The 2025 REACT workshop will take place on Wednesday, July 30 and will be conducted fully online this year.

Agenda (July 30, 2025 @ Zoom):

10:00 AM – 10:05 AM: Welcoming Remarks

10:05 AM – 11:20 AM: Session 1

10:05–10:20 AM Talk: Isabel Delo, “Rebuilding Behavior: Insights into Neural Circuit Regeneration in Planarians”
10:20–10:35 AM Lab tour: Jeannie McDonald, “Reed Lab Tour: How Do Butterflies Make Their Colorful Wings?”
10:35–11:20 AM Activity: Manasi Anand, “Teaching Environmental Studies: Creating Future Change Makers”

(11:20 AM – 11:35 AM: Break)

11:35 AM – 12:40 AM: Session 2

11:35–11:50 AM Talk: Banseok Lee, “Dynamics of Sex Chromosome Gene Expression During Spermatogenesis”
11:50 AM–12:05 PM Lab tour: Laura Wu, “Metals Under Fire: How Speed Shapes Strength”
12:05–12:40 PM: Group Photo & Graduate Student Panel (Q&A)

(12:40 PM – 1:40 PM: Break)

1:40 PM – 2:40 PM: Session 3

1:40–1:55 PM Talk: Erick Eguia “How Do Cells Keep Themselves Clean?”
1:55–2:10 PM Talk: Ashwin Dahal, “3D Printing Layer by Layer: from LEGO to Rocket Propulsion System”
2:10–2:25 PM Lab tour: Vinh Pham, “Research in a Virology Lab”
2:25–2:40 PM Lab tour: Meghna Bajaj

2:40 PM – 2:45 PM: Closing Remarks

Contact

Please get in touch if you would like to volunteer or to ask about attending this event in the future:
react@cornell.edu

Organizing team – Cornell REACT 2025

Colby Gekko (Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology)
Jena Shields (School of Applied and Engineering Physics)
Tiffany Hsu (Department of Food Science)
Katherine Wang (Department of Materials Science and Engineering)