On Saturday, NSF C-GEM participated in the 6th Annual Kits Cubed STEM Fair on the front lawn of Oakland Technical High School. NSF C-GEM scientists demonstrated the science of biopolymers to over 3000 attendees using “Pasta-mers,” which demonstrate how polymer sequence and shape inform function.… Read More »NSF C-GEM brings polymer science to the Kits Cubed STEM Fair
This week, Thomas Li (graduate student, UC Berkeley) presented his research at Quantum-Si’s “Precision Proteomics: Sequencing Proteins with Single-Molecule Resolution” seminar at UC Berkeley. Congratulations to Thomas for his presentation!
On Tuesday, C-GEM researchers—Vincent Chim (graduate student, UC Berkeley), Helena Roberts-Mataric (graduate student, UC Berkeley), Izzi Piper (graduate student, UC Berkeley), and Qi Xie (postdoc, UC Berkeley)—participated in Community Resources for Science’s (CRS) Bay Area Scientists Inspiring Students (BASIS) program. C-GEM partnered with CRS to… Read More »NSF C-GEM brings polymer science to Bay Area elementary schoolers
Top: (Left to right) Dr. Qi Xie (postdoc, Schepartz lab), Dr. Preeta Pratakshya (postdoc, Francis lab), Amos Nissley (graduate student, Cate lab), Roan Winthrop (undergraduate, Cate lab). Bottom left: Pasta-mers made at the Bay Area Science Festival with 3D printed examples of RNA and proteins.… Read More »NSF C-GEM brings polymer science to the Bay Area
On Sunday, C-GEM participated in the Cambridge Science Carnival at the Kendall/MIT Open Space. The Cambridge Science Carnival is an annual, family-friendly science extravaganza, featuring over 100 STEAM activities, including C-GEM’s “Pasta-mers” activity with a fluorescent flourish. C-GEM scientists taught the science of biopolymers to… Read More »NSF C-GEM brings polymer science to the Cambridge Science Carnival
C-GEM transformed the Nobel Prize-winning technique of directed evolution into an educational board game! Directed Evolution: The Game tasks players with solving a puzzle where your pieces are determined by a roll of the dice. During a game, players are awarded puzzle pieces based on… Read More »Learn about Directed Evolution Through Play
On Saturday, C-GEM participated in STEM Day at the Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS). STEM Day celebrates innovative science education research performed at LHS and UC Berkeley. At STEM Day, C-GEM scientists demonstrated the science of biopolymers to over 800 museum guests using “Pasta-mers,” which… Read More »NSF C-GEM brings polymer science to Lawrence Hall of Science STEM Day
This week, Dr. Alexandra Kent (postdoctoral scholar, Cate lab), Dr. Chandrima Majumdar (postdoctoral scholar, Cate lab), and C-GEM Executive Director Dr. Sarah Smaga all attended the 2025 ASBMB Annual Meeting in Chicago. Alexandra and Chandrima both presented posters and were selected to speak in the… Read More »Two NSF C-GEM postdocs and Executive Director Smaga Present at ASBMB
On Saturday, C-GEM helped kick off the 12th annual Atlanta Science Festival at Georgia Tech’s Celebrate STEAM day. Over 5,000 attendees came to Georgia Tech to try hands-on activities for all ages, covering topics like robotics, biology, space, art, and more. Our booth featured MaryAgnes… Read More »NSF C-GEM brings polymer science to Atlanta Science Festival
In honor of National Pasta Day, join C-GEM as we build polymers out of pasta! C-GEM scientists developed a kid-friendly activity to demonstrate how the sequence of amino acids or other monomers affects the folded structure and properties of a protein. The idea came from… Read More »Celebrate National Pasta Day with NSF C-GEM