Artel Inspires Future Scientists Across Middle Schools in Maine

WESTBROOK, ME (November 15, 2017) – Artel, a strong supporter of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in our schools, took part in Maine Bioscience Day 2017 and had the chance to meet a fresh crop of potential lab personnel. This annual event brings life science industry professionals together with students in middle school classrooms across Maine to help encourage a new generation of future scientists. Artel lab applications experts met with nearly 200 students at Gorham Middle School to talk about their own careers in bioscience and give the students some real world experience using lab instrumentation. Students then had the chance to compete for medals by putting their new-found pipetting skills to the test.

“We’re looking to dispel the false notion that there are no jobs in Maine,” says Kirby Pilcher, President, Artel. “As an active member of our community, we relish the chance to interact with middle school students and show them that there is a whole world of exciting opportunities within our industry right here in Maine.”

An Artel expert discussed how her own personal experiences led to a career in life sciences, followed by an interactive Q&A with students. After a hands-on demonstration using lab instrumentation to expose them to a lab setting, students completed an applied science exercise demonstrating cohesion and surface tension. Finally, students had the chance to win medals by taking part in the Pipetting Challenge using the Pipette Calibration System (PCS).

Maine BioScience Day is a statewide initiative that spans across a dozen middle schools, reaching approximately 1,700 students. In addition to Artel, participating partners include Maine-based bioscience companies such as Alere, a developer of diagnostics technology for various diseases and toxicology, IDEXX, a laboratory animal diagnostics instrument and service provider, and Jackson Laboratory, an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution.

“This event is near and dear to all of the employees at Artel, giving us the rare chance to raise student awareness through the real application of science, and to promote science as a viable career path,” says Emily Avis, Laboratory Applications Specialist & Product Manager, Artel. “Kids walk away inspired, knowing that there are a wide range of sustainable job opportunities for them after graduation.”

About Artel

Laboratories worldwide depend upon Artel technology and expertise to standardize and optimize their liquid handling instruments and processes, and to provide them with total confidence in their results. Since 1982, Artel has been solving liquid handling quality, productivity and compliance challenges for laboratories in clinical diagnostics, pharmaceutical development and quality control, biotechnology research and manufacturing, regulatory agencies, academia, forensics, public health, agbio, food quality and safety, environmental testing, and research.