BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- For the third year, California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB), with the help of Chevron, has teamed up 50 Kern County high school students and 11 K-12th grade teachers with CSUB students and faculty to participate in a four-week summer program designed to rejuvenate teachers and increase the interest of students in science and mathematics related careers.

The summer project is one of three program components CSUB has implemented as a result of Chevron’s $1 million grant for STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) education from 2007 – 2009.

The program, known as REVS-UP, or Research Experience Vitalizing Science – University Program, pairs teachers and students together to conduct research projects in biology, chemistry, computer science, geology, mathematics and physics.

Students who have experience in the STEM fields are paired with teachers and participate in cutting-edge research projects that are ongoing at CSUB.

For students with limited exposure to the sciences, they are paired with teachers to develop experiments and projects to be featured in a manual suitable for grades K-12.

This year’s research projects include constructing robotics, learning to incorporate household chemicals into middle and high school science curricula, studying patterns that are caused by sound waves, building a spectrophotometer - an instrument used to determine the intensity of various wavelengths in a spectrum of light - using a DVD, and analyzing compounds that make some peppers hotter than others.

The REVS-UP research results will be highlighted and demonstrated at a reception on Thursday, Aug. 6 at 2 p.m. in the lobby of the CSUB Science I building.