The Feng Zhang Fund for STEM Education and Outreach

Origin: The Tang Prize is awarded on a biennial basis, each with a cash reward of NT$40 million. Projects proposed by the laureates also receive a grant of up to NT$10 million. The 2016 grant for Biopharmaceutical Science is shared between Dr. Charpentier, Dr. Doudna, and Dr. Feng Zhang.

Project Summary:Dr. Feng Zhang, the 2016 Tang Prize laureate in Biopharmaceutical Science, has decided to use the grant funds to establish “The Feng Zhang Fund for STEM Education and Outreach,” in order to promote education in biopharmaceutical science. Equal portions of the funds will be devoted to two programs. First, Dr. Zhang and his team will provide an ongoing series of articles in Science News with a focus on biopharmaceutical science and related topics. Science News is a world-leading magazine launched in 1921 by the Society for Science & the Public. In one specific year, more than 20% of the topics covered in Science News were specifically on biopharmaceutical sciences, and another large proportion of the topics that were also discussed were on basic science, technology and math, topics that support the learning of biopharmaceutical sciences. Through the acclaimed “Science News in High Schools Program,” Science News also reaches more than 4 million high school students in over 4,300 schools in the U.S. and other countries. Secondly, an equal portion of the funds will be used to support the biopharmaceutical components of the “Education Outreach Day Program” at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Through this program, about 4,000 students from economically disadvantaged high schools and middle schools in ISEF’s host cities and who are interested in science are able to participate in the annual ISEF. Therefore, they can have access to the demonstrations and classroom experiences of biopharmaceutical science provided at the ISEF. 

Final Report: https://reurl.cc/OVjnjv