"Worldwide Reputation for Excellence in Biotechnology"

Mr. Leo Palmero, 52, who has taught biology for more than 30 years, desired to have an extraordinary biotechnology center in his school because he wanted to bring his students into the forefront of modern biotechnology. This dream has come true, he has established a biotechnology center with practically no resources except making phone calls, writing letters, and making collaboration with scientific companies.

Mr. Palmero has received several awards for his role in teaching and promoting biotechnology in secondary schools. President Clinton and Vice President Gore have also appreciated his role in accomplishing biotechnology education at school levels.

North Rockland Biotechnology Center, which is one of the largest biotechnology centers at the high school level, has also hosted workshops to train teachers throughout the United States. Several of Plamero's students say that they enjoyed the biotechnology experiences, which provided them the knowledge and understanding that goes beyond textbooks. "We don't have to wait for college for the experience we're getting now," stated by students of North Rockland Biotechnology Center. "We are trying to train our students to get jobs that will go well into the 21st century. If we want our children to rise to the challenge, we need to stimulate them intellectually and creatively.," Palmero said. "With our program," he says, "we hope to get kids turned on to biology and chemical engineering so we can supply the manpower to future generations for biotechnology research." Mr. Palmero is also developing the program for middle school students in the district so that they will be well grounded in the fundamentals of biotechnology by the time they enter high school.

In addition to giving teacher training workshops around the southern New York area, Mr. Palmero has given workshops at the University or Wisconsin-Madison, Northern Arizona University, Colorado State University, and the Ontario Science Center in Toronto, Canada. He has also served as a consultant for Novo/Nordisk in New York City and a beta tester for Staratagene, Inc., La Jolla, California. Furthermore, he is currently serving in teh New York State Biology Mentor Program. Recently, National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) have selected Mr. Leo Palmero as one of the nine High School workshop participants for the workshop which will be held from July 15 through August 2, 1996. Mr. Palmero is also likley to participate in the field testing next year.