Join us at our Symposium as we celebrate 15 years of The Baxter Center for Science Education. This year we will be holding the Symposium on Monday, May 12, 2025 from 8-3:30pm at the Chicago Botanic Garden, with a fun celebration after. Join us and over 100 Chicagoland middle and high school science teachers for a day of learning with presentations and activities led by talented speakers to bring back to the classroom. In doing so, we hope that educators will feel empowered to bring the new tools they learned back into the classroom to enrich student experiences. Check out previous programs here!

Click the Register button to join the waitlist by April 7th!

Overview

• Date: Monday, May 12, 2025 from 8-3:30pm. The day will start with registration and breakfast from 8-9am, with our keynote at 9am. All guests are cordially invited to a post-Symposium 15-year celebration from 3:30-5pm.
• Location: Chicago Botanic Garden (1000 Lake Cook Rd, Glencoe, IL 60022)
• Audience: Middle & High School Science Teachers and Admin (All are welcome!)
• Food: Light breakfast, lunch and refreshments included
• Cost: Free attendance and parking
• Perks: Receive free classroom and lab materials!

Attendees have the chance to...

• Explore hands-on lab activities, sessions on social and environmental justice, and more!
• Meet other science teachers from the greater Chicagoland area
• Earn up to 5 ISBE professional development credits for attendance

Schedule

Keynote & Breakout Sessions

Sessions will include a Keynote Address from Dr. Ashty S. Karim, assistant professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Northwestern University, and a variety of breakout sessions. More session information will be added soon!

Keynote Address Science and Metabolic Mixology: Accelerating Industrial Biotechnology

Industrial biotechnology is one of the most attractive, emerging approaches to address the demand for carbon-negative technologies posed by the accelerating climate crisis. Unfortunately, biotechnology design-build-test cycles—iterations of re-engineering organisms to test new sets of biological combinations—remains costly, risky, and slow. One key limitation is that cellular survival objectives are often diametrically opposed to the objectives of engineers. Cell-free synthetic biology allows us to rethink how we meet this global challenge by facilitating rapid building of prototypes with biology. Using cell-free technologies, we can conduct precise, complex biomolecular transformations in cell lysates without living, intact organisms. In other words, cocktails of cellular machinery harvested from cells that are broken open can be used to build biological systems and processes. By harnessing the advantages of cell-free synthetic biology, we’ve developed in vitro approaches to design, build, and test enzymes and pathways to inform cellular design.

In this talk, I will describe our efforts to reimagine R&D for industrial biotechnology. I will describe the scientific developments that informed the design of sustainable bioprocesses currently being used at LanzaTech, a Skokie-based biotechnology company. In addition, I will discuss our efforts at Northwestern University to define how we teach synthetic biology and train future leaders of the field. Throughout the talk I will sprinkle in a little about my backstory, the culture I try to create, and how I try to bridge the world of education and research.

FAQ

• Does it cost anything to attend? Due to the generous support of the Baxter International Foundation, we're able to cover registration fees for teachers so that you can attend the symposium for FREE!
• How do I get to the event? Directions to the Chicago Botanic Garden can be found here!
• How much does parking cost? Nothing! Attendees will not need to pay for parking. 
• What if transportation is a barrier to attending the event? We understand that our event may not be centrally located for everyone, and transportation could be a concern. If you need assistance with transportation to attend, please reach out to us at bcse@northwestern.edu. We are committed to making the event as accessible as possible and are happy to help in any way we can!
• What time should I get there? Registration and breakfast begin at 8am. It takes a little time to park and 5-10 minutes to walk to the event space.
• Do I get ISBE PD Credits? Yes! Illinois teachers will receive up to 5 ISBE PD credits for attendance. Please be sure to follow the instructions in your registration email prior to the event. 
• Uh-oh, now I can't make it? What do I do now? We only have a limited seats for this event, so if you can't make it, please let us know and we will give your place to another! You can either update your reservation status on your account of email us at bcse@northwestern.edu to let us know you can't make it.
• What should I bring? Feel free to bring a water bottle and something to take notes. Comfortable walking shoes are encouraged!