Keivan Ettefagh is sort of a scientific Clark Kent.

Within the walls of his lab at UNCG, the PhD candidate in medicinal biochemistry studies natural substances like goldenseal. He hopes to lay the groundwork for new antibiotics that can fight drug-resistant bacteria like MRSA.

But two days a week, Keivan becomes Mr. E, inspiring fifth-graders to embrace science.

“Having to explain complex things at a fifth-grade level has taught me a lot,” he says, flashing a shy smile. “I mean, I can explain to my family what I do now.”

“They want to know about everything,” says Erica Rzucidlo '08, the classroom teacher at Montlieu Academy of Technology in High Point who partners with Keivan. “They're always asking, ‘Is he coming today? Is Mr. E. gonna be here today?’”

Keivan works with Erica as part of UNCG's GK-12 program. GK-12 is funded for five years by a $2.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

Keivan and eight other graduate students from UNCG are working as resident scientists in local public schools this academic year. Their goal is to bring more hands-on science learning into the classroom and hopefully generate a new wave of scientists.

Students at three High Point-area schools are taking part in GK-12 — Montlieu, an elementary school; Welborn Academy of Science and Technology, a middle school; and Andrews High School. They have adopted the 2.5-mile greenway that runs behind all three schools as part of a hands-on environmental project. Picking up trash; planting trees, bushes and flowers; developing a butterfly garden; and studying water and soil quality have become part of their routine.

Erica's fifth-graders have taken the project to heart, spending time outdoors on the greenway, arranging for a greenhouse facility paid for by GK-12, and writing letters to High Point Parks and Recreation officials. The kids even made a rap video about the greenway.

“There's a lot of service-learning involved,” Keivan says. “We're really trying to reach out to the community and build something that will be sustainable throughout the year. It's so uplifting. We're seeing direct results, really making a difference in people's lives.”

GK-12 is designed to work with the standard public school science curriculum. For fifth-graders, that curriculum means studying how living things interact with their environment, land forms, erosion, etc.

On a chilly afternoon just before the winter holiday, Keivan and Erica drill students on natural land features such as deltas, flood plains and grasslands. Then the fired-up fifth-graders break into groups to solve the problem Mr. E proposes: How can people build houses close to the water without the houses being destroyed?

“This will be our last experiment with water erosion,” he tells them. “The peak. The max. The end-all and be-all.”

The students take their experiment seriously, and some groups have heated discussions about what land features to use in their experiment. They will use paint pans loaded with soil and water, blocks, Popsicle sticks and egg cartons to model the natural environment and man-made structures. Only time will tell which groups' houses will be left standing.

Having Keivan on hand to design experiments and bring in resources — for example, a marine biologist friend who discussed the tiger shark — has helped to engage students, Erica says. “It gets you out of the textbook. It's hands-on learning.”

Talking the talk

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Kristen Pérez works with eighth grade students to assess water quality of the greenway near their middle school, Welborn Academy of Science and Technology. They are checking to see if the environment supports microscopic life forms.

Keivan's fellow resident scientist, Kristen Pérez, a graduate student in biology, can talk the talk of the scientist. Amoebae, cytoskeletal proteins, propagation. But she's learning to tone down the science-speak thanks to a classroom of eighth-graders.

“With these kids, if you don't talk in their language, they stop you in your tracks,” she says. “I'm helping them to see that just because I'm a scientist doesn't mean I'm just babbling off big words. I try to give them different ways to approach science.”

Kristen assists Deborah Roll, a classroom teacher at Welborn Academy of Science and Technology as part of GK-12. Kristen and the other residents earn stipends and money for tuition through GK-12. But money is the least of her rewards.

“I honestly just love being around kids,” says Kristen, who plans to become a physician's assistant or a teacher. “I love inspiring them to become interested in science.”

The eighth-graders are studying water quality, which has led them to study the ecosystem in the greenway that runs behind their school. They're testing water quality, and checking to see if the environment supports microscopic life forms, a sign of health.

Kristen would like to use dictyostelium as a test organism because it thrives in soil near freshwater systems. Haven't heard of it? She can explain.

Her current research involves the amoeboid, an effective modeling organism for cancer research. By studying the cytoskeletal proteins that enable cell division in the dictyostelium, she hopes to add to our understanding of how cancer cells divide and how we might stop them from multiplying.

Kristen says several students have already begun talking about future careers in science. One girl wants to be a marine biologist; two other students want to become forensic scientists.

“Some of them were afraid of science, intimidated by it,” says Kristen, herself a product of Guilford County Schools. “I like being able to empower children so that they want to learn. It's more than just doing science, it's about empowerment and encouragement. It's just being able to help kids focus on doing well in an academic setting.”

And the eighth-graders seem to be thriving.

“She breaks down stuff very easily for us to understand,” says student Aisjon Teasley. “She's serious about learning, but we still have fun in what we do.”

“I didn't like science at first,” adds Edgar Jones. “Until she made me realize that I can do it.”