High school students in the United States are consistently outper-formed by those from Asian and some European countries oninternational assessment of mathematics and science, according toThe Condition of Education 2006 report released in June 2006 bythe U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Educa-tion Statistics NCES http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2006/06/06012006.html http://www.ed.gov/pubs/12TIMSS/SecIII.htmlThere has been an increasing decline in college enrollment inthe fields related to math and sciences. The sole decline amongthe top five popular degree fields between 2003 and 2004 was inengineering and engineering technologies. In the global economythat is driven by advancement in science and technology, thispoor performance calls for action and improvement in the currentmethods of teaching math and science in high schools.This issue is critical because there is an acute shortage ofqualified math and science teachers across the United States.Many middle and high school science classes are taught by teach-ers without adequate training and credentials. Elementary andsecondary science curricula have not been an educational priority.It is as if the better students will find a way to advance them-selves, and those that are on the cusp of wanting to know moreabout science are left in a lurch.The National Science Foundation NSF has been proactive inpromoting quality science education by providing funding andresources for 7th to 12th grade teachers who seek professionaldevelopment. This education is used to strengthen their academicskills in teaching math and science. NSF supports scienceteaching by delivering programs through university engineeringdepartments that provide teachers with a broad knowledge ofmathematics and science strategies that can be applied in theclassroom to promote science teaching and learning.The NSF/Research Experiences for Teachers RET summerworkshop provides a range of inquiry-based experiences forscience and math teachers creating an opportunity for them toengage in state-of-the-art research with professors and graduatestudents, to hone their skills in applying the scientific method.Teachers are exposed to innovative technologies and how thesetechnologies are applied to research. Teachers generate real datathat can be synthesized and measured. The research can then beused to improve their quality of life.Our RET team was involved in an environmental research lablooking for an innovative and cost-effective technology to removeodorous compounds from surface water. The presence of odorouscompounds in water is a phenomenon that high school studentscan easily grasp. Each city has its own surface water problems.The need to develop an effective technology to remove odorsfrom water becomes a real issue for students. When students arepresented with potentially dangerous situations they understandthe need to learn; thereby becoming active participants. This leadsto a productive classroom environment and an increased interestin the field of science.It is really exciting to see how research activities can result inreal life applications that provide solutions to human needs. Forexample, the impact of the current research being conductedmight be directly used by local water treatment plants to removepersistent odors in water. RET-trained teachers collect and sharescientific data with their students. This data then becomes authen-tic, believable, and easier to understand. The student’s involve-ment in this real-life research gives them ownership into the sci-ence and math program.The lab research experience also clarifies concepts like nano-technology, environmental chemistry, scientific method, and labsafety. The RET project provides a great opportunity for teachersto work side by side with engineers and engineering students todevelop effective problem-solving strategies and pedagogy thatare readily available for use in the classroom. There is a plethoraof resources and lesson plans available on the RET websitehttp://www.eng.uc.edu/dept_cee/research/ret for use by mathand science teachers. Assessment tools are discussed and devel-oped to measure student progress toward the learning of math andscience, with regard to state science standards.RET teams work with engineering students and field engi-neers. Field trips to actual testing sites are used to bring theseexperiences together. They help the teachers learn how structuralengineers use basic principles of algebra, geometry, trigonometry,physics, and chemistry to assess material properties, and applygeneral design methodology in bridge building. The teachers alsoexamine everyday problems that structural engineers face in theirwork, and how they use hands-on mathematical models to pro-vide possible solutions to those problems and brainstorm various