This excerpt comes from the ATE @ 20 blog. It is reprinted with permission.
For biotechnology student Kim Lantrip, the thrill of participating in scientific discovery happened during the second semester of her biotech program at Flathead Valley Community College (FVCC) in Montana.
The molecular procedure for identifying wildlife species that she and classmate Brad Dixon devised and tested this spring is helping to determine whether Canada lynx and wolverine, two threatened species, are living in the Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. The animals have been seen, but a wildlife biologist needs physical evidence to seek “critical habitat” designation of the 7,885-acre refuge.
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Community college educators and students continue to be the primary beneficiaries of theNational Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program, according to the new ATE Annual Survey.
In 2014, NSF invested $64 million in the program that supports the development of highly qualified technicians for careers in advanced technology fields such as nanotechnology, cybersecurity, photonics and information technology. The two-year college educators, who generally lead the initiatives, are expected to partner with industry and other education sectors as they develop model programs for students and professional development for faculty.
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With the goal of developing a diverse population of creative problem solvers, “science evangelist” Ainissa G. Ramirez sees the role of STEM 
educators as “awakening the inner scientist” in all students.
“We need creative problem solvers because of the range of problems that require STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) solutions,” she said in her keynote address Wednesday at the opening of the Advanced Technological Education(ATE) Principal Investigators Conference in Washington, D.C.
Calling community colleges one of the “last bastions of democracy,” Ramirez, whose parents attended community colleges, likened the promise that two-year public colleges make to their students to the words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.
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