At Pleasant Grove High School in Pleasant Grove, science teacher David Michael van Dijk turns students into informed, active and committed scientists. He increased the number of Advanced Placement Biology classes offered from one to three. As the district's science specialist, Mr. van Dijk hosts the annual district science fair, from which projects regularly go on to compete at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). He has conducted a science fair training workshop for teachers in his district. Outside the classroom, Mr. van Dijk designs portable DNA technology kits for use by other schools in performing simple biochemistry labs. He is a member of the Master Teachers of Genomic Science at the Univeristy of Utah and helps to develop and maintain one of the world's largest interactive DNA education Web sites for the Genetic Science Learning Center at the Eccles Institute of Genetic Science.
1993 Brigham Young University, B.S.
