BASF stirs up excitement for chemistry with local high school students

Eighteen juniors learn about college and career opportunities at BASF Teens’ Lab program

MCINTOSH, AL, June 6, 2017 – Eighteen high school juniors in Washington County recently attended BASF’s Teens’ Lab – a newly-launched two-day program hosted at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, geared towards students learning about college and careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

“Through this joint effort with the University of South Alabama, BASF is showing students how chemistry and careers are created,” said Jason Slinkard, Site Director for BASF in McIntosh. “Teens’ Lab will be an annual opportunity that we will offer to inspire local students to be future leaders in the industry.”

On day one, participants and their parents learned about the college application and scholarship process, toured BASF laboratory facilities, and had conversations with BASF professionals who provided advice and answers on school and career choices.

“My career goal was to pursue a pre-medical degree,” said Brennan McIlwain, Millry High School. "The activities and sights we saw throughout the Teens’ Lab experience lit a fire for chemistry I’ve never had. Now, I feel like a degree in chemistry will truly be what I want to pursue.”

Day two activities consisted of Teens’ Lab participants investigating characteristic material properties and identifying substances by chemical and physical investigational methods.

“The students all did a great job working through the various laboratory experiments,” said Jason W. Coym, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Chemistry at University of South Alabama. “The Teen’s Lab program offers encouragement to students to pursue higher education and careers in STEM fields. We look forward to continuing this partnership with BASF."

The Washington County school district identified the Teens’ Lab participants. High school juniors currently enrolled in chemistry, or those who have taken chemistry, were eligible to participate.

Students who completed the program are eligible for a University of South Alabama scholarship and a summer internship at the BASF facility in McIntosh, Alabama.

For more information about careers at BASF, visit http://careers.basf.us.

For press photos, please click on the following links:

https://www.basf.com/press-photos/us/en/photos/2017/06/06-06-17_teenslab1.jpg
Suggested caption: Eighteen high school juniors in Washington County, Alabama, participate in BASF’s inaugural Teens’ Lab in North America.

https://www.basf.com/press-photos/us/en/photos/2017/06/06-06-17_teenslab2.jpg
Suggested caption: BASF partners with the University of South Alabama show students how chemistry and careers are created in the Teens’ Lab program.

https://www.basf.com/press-photos/us/en/photos/2017/06/06-06-17_teenslab3.jpg
Suggested caption: BASF’s Teens’ Lab participants learn how the laboratory analyzes and reports sample results at the manufacturing facility in McIntosh, Alabama.

About BASF

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 17,500 employees in North America, and had sales of $16.2 billion in 2016. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, visit www.basf.us.

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 114,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of about €58 billion in 2016. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com.

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