R&D Council "Reaches Out" to NJ Students with Educational Outreach Initiative The Research & Development Council's annual Educational Outreach Initiative "reached out" to nearly one thousand New Jersey high school students in November and December 2002. In the program, Council members "give back" to the community by discussing their own career path while educating New Jersey students and teachers on the many rewarding career opportunities awaiting them in the science, engineering, high technology, and research and development fields. This year, Council member representatives gave 24 presentations to New Jersey high school students. The participating high schools were in Jersey City, Trenton, New Brunswick, Nutley, Edison, Hillside, Piscataway, Westwood, Wayne Valley, Parsippany Hills, Bridgewater/Raritan, Bernardsville, Wanaque, Tinton Falls, Montvale, Hillsdale, Science High School in Newark, and Becton Regional and East Rutherford. The R&D Council's 2003 participants: Colgate, George Zimmerman Dow Chemical, Scott Wasserman FMC, John Lyga Fort Monmouth U.S. Army CECOM RDEC, Maureen Molz and Major Kenneth Copeland Hoffman-LaRoche, Jeff Tilley Honeywell, Natalie Merrill Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Alan Main Lonza, Shibu Abraham Mathews, Collins, Shepherd & McKay, PA, Diane Dunn McKay NJ Commission on Science and Technology, Dr. John V. Tesoriero Pfizer, Madhu Manandhar Pharmacia, Bill Johnson PSE&G, Harry T. Roman Science Registry, Don Truss Sun Chemical, Richard Durand Reckitt Benckiser, Diane Boesenberg, Andrew Cook, Claudia Hargain, Christine Manzo, Joseph Rubino and Kelly Shaw Textbook examples of R&D cannot compare with the real-life experiences of someone who is working in the field. As one district supervisor of high school science noted, "In education we try to relate the science that we teach to the lives of our students. The real examples provided by the speakers gave our students a sense of what goes into the eventual development of a consumer product... I look forward to continuing this program through the R&D Council of New Jersey next year." This is the reason why the program has been embraced by New Jersey schools and continues to be a resounding success. Mario Casabona, Chairman of the R&D Council of NJ says, "The R&D Council's annual Educational Outreach Initiative is the most important thing our members can do for the bright, young minds of New Jersey. By advocating careers in the sciences and research and development, we can keep our talented young people in our state for education and employment at one of New Jersey's thriving organizations. These young people are our future. We would also like them to be part of New Jersey's promising future." The R&D Council is committed to encouraging education, especially for New Jersey students considering careers in research and development. In addition to giving career presentations at New Jersey's high schools, the R&D Council sponsors the New Jersey Outstanding Science Scholar of the Year award, a merit-based $5,000 scholarship to the New Jersey university of their choice and awards several Engineering/Technician scholarships to the state's top community college students.