ASPB EDUCATION FORUM

ASPB Grant Awards Program Update
Daniel Scheirer Races to Get Energy Ingenuity About Biofuels on Track

ASPB member Daniel Scheirer (Duke University) is gearing up to get students from kindergarten through college racing into the future by driving fuel-efficient cars—virtual cars, that is. Since 2006, when he received $21,888 from the ASPB Grant Awards Program, Scheirer has been developing and marketing a series of computer games about the development and uses of biofuels. The goal of Scheirer’s project, entitled “Renewable Biofuels: From Camarasaurus to Corn,” is to get students actively engaged in learning how plants create energy, how the energy is transformed into biofuels, and how the technology fits into the greater scheme of politics, business, and everyday life.

A functional version of Scheirer’s first game, Race for Your Future, is now ready to roll. Race for Your Future presents graphically appealing information that students use to gain “plant biology savvy and energy ingenuity” in order to take their own band on an ecoefficient road trip across the United States. The program offers both simple and technical scientific language to accommodate any teaching level. Users learn to identify different fuels and to understand the problems or risks associated with each. The game reveals the step-by-step procedure through which plants are used to make biofuels. Users must correctly organize screen icons to re-create the production process and make headway on their road trip. The end result shows the carbon cycle from corn seed to eventual release of carbon dioxide.

Race for Your Future also incorporates a novel approach to understanding fuel economy that allows participants to choose from a variety of cars and fuels to meet criteria put forth by the activity. Guidelines may ask users to find the combination that allows for the greatest distance on a single tank of gasoline or to choose the most environmentally friendly combination. Students must think and drive as they analyze and interpret the data generated by the trip.

Interested in learning more? Race to your keyboard, start your search engine, and verify that your energy ingenuity is up to speed at http://hdbiology.com/raceforyourfuture.