San Jacinto College already has a strong foothold in two of these areas, having an ongoing workforce development relationship with local petrochemical industries, and being a major player in the Aerospace Academy for Engineering and Teacher Education.

Now, the college is breaking new ground and venturing into the world of biotechnology, thanks to the establishment of the new Biotechnology Life Sciences Center at San Jacinto College South.

“It is exciting to work with our partners throughout the region to establish a Biotechnology Life Sciences Center,” said Dr. Linda Watkins, South Campus president. “The center will provide leading-edge education and training to meet the needs of industry, research laboratories and bio-related institutions and firms.”

Members of the college visited biotech labs at community colleges in California, one of the top biotechnology centers in the country. Modeling the new center after these facilities, the college is exploring every avenue to ensure the center’s success.

Training students is the essential part of San Jac’s plan to establish itself as a main supplier of biotech workers in the Gulf Coast area. These workers could find employment in fields such as computer engineering, genetics, animal science, biology and chemistry.

Already, the college has secured an articulation agreement with the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where students can pursue either an associate of arts or an associate of applied science degree and then transfers to UTMB to earn a bachelor’s degree in clinical laboratory science or a biotechnology-related area.

The college is working on another articulation agreement with Galveston College where students can complete their academics at the San Jac South and travel to Galveston for lab work. Also, this agreement includes a distance learning element, where a Galveston College biotechnology instructor could teach the lecture portion of the course via interactive television inside the South Campus’ Interactive Learning Center. Students could be ready for the biotech field within two years through this program.

Also, the college realizes that computer science is an important element of biotechnology and is taking steps to focus on bioinformatics as a part of its curriculum.

“Computers store information,” said Dr. Catherine O’Brien, San Jac South dean of program development, institutional effectiveness and health careers. “Say there is a new protein and a person needs to perform a search to identify the gene. This requires knowledge of how to write a computer program that can find it. A person needs to know both worlds – biotechnology and computer science.”

Through the life sciences center, students will be taught computer programs such as SQL, Access and Java. They also will learn how to navigate the Web and search databases.

Research and development is another area that is impacting biotechnology and is included in the college’s new program.

“Research and development has to have support,” O’Brien said. “Lab techs assist bench-top scientists which helps research run more smoothly. The articulation agreement with Galveston College could help supply technicians to places such as UTMB or the Medical Center.”

The center can also teach students how to understand operating procedures for bio-manufacturing processes. In order to process bio materials properly, a technician must follow instructions just like a cooking recipe.

“At this point, the technician is focusing more on the processing side, rather than the research side of biotechnology,” O’Brien said.

The college is looking into securing grants with the help of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, making industry contacts and conducting surveys to assist in the creation of the center. This also includes making sure students will be taught the necessary curriculum.

To further solidify its place in the biotechnology field, San Jac South is working with its own Math/Science/Art Institute to encourage student interest in biotechnology. Ann Tate, San Jac South math professor, heads the institute and is traveling to BIO 2005, a biotechnology convention, in Philadelphia to participate in teacher training programs. Also, Karen Duston, San Jac South biology professor, is going to BioLink in Berkley, CA to gather for information through faculty development workshops.

“We are excited about attracting companies to look at us as a viable area for biotechnological production,” said Dr. Bill Lindemann, San Jac chancellor. “We are doing our part to enhance the biotech industry and look forward to forming partnerships that will benefit us, the students and the community in general.”

A biotechnology career begins with signing up for summer classes by logging on to www.sjcd.edu or calling (281) 998-7600. Students can sign up for June summer classes until Tuesday, May 31. For July summer classes, students have until Thursday, July 7 to register.

Students who qualify for priority registration can sign up now. Regular fall registration begins July 18.