Charlotte Area Science Network

CASN began when the Charlotte Chapter of Sigma Xi invited Dr. Bassam Shakhashiri to speak at UNC Charlotte in 2001. However, Dr. Shakhashiri, a nationally recognized advocate for science in the community; wanted to do more than just a single presentation at the university. Dr. Shakhashiri wanted to reach out to the larger community. Dr. Shakhashiri... had a busy two days in Charlotte. In addition to speaking to the University Honors Program at UNC Charlotte, he performed his signature chemistry show, Once Upon a Christmas Cheery in the Lab of Shakhashiri, at Discovery Place, free to the general public. He also took his message that science is fun to appearances on local radio, led a workshop for local science teachers and did science activities with children at a local community center. He encouraged others to become what he called Science Champions. The team, that organized Dr. Shakhashiris visit, realized how much more individual organizations could accomplish when they worked together. From this the Charlotte Area Science Network was born. The Charlotte Area Science Network is a collaboration of leaders in the science community working together to foster community, education and industry partnerships to promote science for life in the Charlotte area. We continue to strive to be Science Champions. After earning both a Master of Science in Biology from UNC Charlotte, and a Master of Arts in Teaching from UNC Chapel Hill, I began my career in higher education 17 years ago. I have been a member of the Gaston College Science and Math department for the past 11 years, have served as the Director of Undergraduate Research at Gaston College for the past 8 years, and have continuously worked to promote undergraduate research in community colleges across the state and nation. In 2017, I was honored to be named faculty member of the year for the state of North Carolina at the community college level (Excellence in Teaching award) as a result of this work. At Gaston College, I led a team to partner with the Community ...Read More