Bowling Green State University and Owens Community College have established themselves as partners in
science, and they are mid-way through the first year of a program that helps math and science students
get hands-on research experience.
A SET-GO program – Science, Engineering and Technology Gateway Ohio – will allow students to graduate
from a two-year community college and enter the workforce directly, or transition to BGSU for a
four-year degree. SET-GO provides a flexible program providing non-residential summer bridge and
research opportunities, and monthly community meetings to keep connected.
In June 2008, the National Science Foundation funded the SET-GO grant for five years. The goal of the
project is to increase the number of students majoring in STEM: science, technology, engineering, or
math. There are three parts to the project: the Art of Science Community, summer research, and the Owens
Ready Bridge.
The purpose of the Art of Science Community is to provide a setting for interactions between faculty,
graduate and undergraduate students. A speaker is invited to talk about his/ her experience working in
some STEM field. The theme this past year was "Building a Better Environment." Ralph Semrock
of Owens Community College described the construction of his energy-efficient house. Carol Stepien
described how she came to be the director of the Lake Erie Center, and Barry Piersol of BGSU described
research on electric vehicles.
The second part of the SET-GO project is the summer research. The purpose of this program is to give
students a chance to do basic research and to see what a career in science, math, or technology would be
like. The students in this program have completed at least one year of college. Thirty-three students
are working in labs across the BGSU campus. Among these students are two Owens Community College
students, Amanda Ramirez and Stacey Burris. They are spending 10 weeks performing basic research, for
which they are paid $3,500. The research is similar to the type that graduate students might perform.

The third part of the project is the Owens Ready Bridge. This is a five-week class held at Owens
Community College designed to introduce students to STEM fields, to enhance their math skills, and to
have them perform laboratory work similar to exercises they see in ecology, chemistry, and biology labs.
Student in this class are recent high school graduates or college students who have recently chosen to
major in STEM fields. This summer, there are 22 students in the Owens Ready Bridge. They will receive
$1,000 stipends upon successful completion of the class. The grant also pays the student’s tuition for
this three-credit-hour course.