Leo Palmero recognizes that fewer and fewer American students are entering the fields of biology, chemical engineering, and other science disciplines.
To help reverse that trend, he has enlisted the support of the industry to provide equipment, computers, and other materials for the students in his biology classes at North Rockland High School.
"American companies have had to go outside the U.S. to hire qualified people, but they would rather hire Americans," says Palmero, director of the school's three-year old Biotechnology Center.
"With our program," he says, "we hope to get kids turned on to biology and chemical engineering so we can supply the manpower for future generations for biotechnology research."
In three years, the program has amassed more than $240,000 worth of donated equipment such as incubators, fermentation vessels, balance scales, and computers, Palmero says. The equipment is outdated for industrial use but is suitable for educational purposes, he says.
By gaining familiarity with some technical tools of the trade, students are well prepared if the choose to pursue a science curriculum in college.
"Doing the lab work, it gave me some experience to know what I'm doing." says Sean Culliney, 18, a 1993 North Rockland graduate and freshman chemical engineering major at Manhattan College. "(Palmero) is dedicated to the science, and he seems to enjoy teaching it to us."
Culliney is the recipient of an award from the American Institute for Chemical Engineering. He's also one of several of Palmero's proteges who have continued scientific training in college or have gone on to work for biotechnology companies.
Palmero's program has averaged about 40 students annually, with 45 to 50 this year involved ins some aspect of biotechnology experimentation, classes and independent projects.
He is developing the program for middle school students in the district so they will be grounded in the fundamentals of biotechnology by the time they enter high school.
Palmero - a high school teacher for North Rockland for 28 years - emphasizes the idea of students helping other students to gain a grasp of biology concepts. For example, his high school students present lessons to middle school students on lab experimentation; and his advanced biology class students mentor students in his ninth-grade honors biology program.
He also crosses curriculums to engage students in topical issues. For instance, his advanced biology students will debate and English class - taught by his wife, Joan, who is also the school's debate coach - on an ethical issue concerning genetic screening.
Some businesses require job applicants to undergo genetic screening, and if certain undesirable traits are detected, such as for physical or mental defects, the company may shy away from hiring the applicant, Palmero says.
Genetic screening was among the topics Palmero dealt with in the Human Genome Project Workshop in June at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
He was one of 80 high school teachers chosen nationwide to take part in the project, an attempt to locate, identify, and sequence all hereditary material in human genes and other organisms.
Palmero says if scientists can determine the factors controlling human development, it may someday lead to a cure for genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis and some types of cancer.
In July, Palmero, 49, taught in a National Science Foundation graduate program workshop for about 50 teachers at Northern Arizona University. that was followed by a Howard Hughes Fellowship workshop he led for about 35 teachers at Colorado State University, Palmero's alma mater.
In both workshops, he showed the teachers how to introduce biotechnology into their classrooms.
Last spring, Palmero, a Goshen resident, received Outstanding High School Science teaching awards from Sigma Xi, the scientific research society of Manhattan College; the Rockland/Westchester Science Supervisors Association; and the Tappan Zee section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering.
He is also scheduled to give a presentation at the Biotechnology Awareness Week Program to be held at the Ontario Science Center in Toronto, Canada, from Oct. 28 to Oct. 30.