Biocomplexity Hosts CBIC Student Tech Tours

On Friday, November 17, 2023, the Biocomplexity Institute once again hosted a student group from the Charlottesville Business and Innovation Council (CBIC) Student Tech Tours. These annual tours, organized by the CBIC, introduce local middle and high school students to the dynamic high-technology world in the Charlottesville-Albemarle County region.

For the first time, a group of homeschooled students from the Fredericksburg area aged 12 to 16 visited BI to learn about our research, the joy of being a scientist, and what it takes to follow your passion. Our team from BI displayed science communication at its best!

Joel Thurston from the Social Science and Decision Analytics (SDAD) Division and Thomas Li and Andrei Bura from MathBio led two small sessions for the students. They showcased the power of community engagement and age-appropriate science communication. Joel introduced an interactive tool to support and inform local public policymaking. Among many other things, students could investigate download speeds and infrastructure gaps in their home counties. Thomas and Andrei from MathBio showed the students how exciting careers are as researchers by showcasing the ways mathematical intuition appears in everyday life. Through games and riddles, Andrei highlighted how simple mathematical relationships appear in complex theories and utilized cases that enable cutting-edge genetics research.

We thank students, parents, and CBIC for the outreach and the opportunity and look forward to upcoming visits!