Abstract:
Algae Foundation is an American non-profit organization dedicated to all forms of algal-based workforce development, education, and training by promoting the “Power of Algae” and its ability to transform human society and the environment upon which it depends. The Algae Technology Educational Consortium (ATEC), the Algae Foundation’s primary DOE funded program, has served over 250,000 students and trainees from all 50 states and 100 countries. 

The ATEC initiatives are intended to develop algal-based bioeconomy workforce development and education programs including: 1. Collegiate curricula in Algal Cultivation (six independent collegiate courses) and Algal Biotechnology (Lab Primer and two intensive lab courses); 2. Algae Cultivation Extension Short-courses version 2.0; Part 1 (seaweeds) and Part 2 (microalgae); 3. Algae Academy, K-12 STEM education programs (Cultivate, AA, and SASI); and 4. Algae Massive Open Online Courses. 
ATEC 2017-2024 accomplishments include: Algae Academy ~ 202,000 students in 50 states; Adoption of ATEC curricula by 41 academic institutions with more than 2300 students; Algae MOOCs #1 (Introduction to Algae), #2 (Algae Biotechnology), #3 (Introduction to Seaweeds), and #4 (Harmful Algae Blooms and Proliferations) have attracted > 50,000 students with a 98 % approval rating; ACES has been taken by more than 2800 students from 100 countries. 
The AlgaePrize 2023-2025 with $ 215,000 in prize awards, was released September 2023, is a U.S. Department of Energy sponsored student competition including high schools through doctoral programs to develop new algal technologies supporting gigaton scale algal cultivation. The 15 finalist teams (5 high schools, 3 community colleges, and 9 universities (several teams with multiple schools) were selected in January 2024. The winners and grand champion will be announced during the AlgaePrize 2023-2025 competition weekend, April 2025 scheduled to be held at the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colorado.
In 2024, The Algae Foundation will release Phycoverse, a tabletop game in which players collaborate to complete missions in biotechnology, food production, and fuel systems using algae. The game engages real-world examples of applied phycology to introduce players to five major groups of algae. Created for ages 13-adult, the game is appropriate for family game nights as well as classroom learning.

Bio:
Dr. Levine, Professor Emeritus and CEO of the Algae Foundation has been a professional educator for 47 years concentrating on marine biology, sustainability and global ecology. Dr. Levine has owned marine natural products and biotechnology companies and been a professor at Duke University, Universities of Hawaii and Southern Maine. Dr. Levine was awarded two U.S. State Department Fulbright’s: 2009-2010 New Century Scholar and 2016-2017 Distinguished Chair fellowships. 
Dr. Levine’s experience includes academic and applied research covering marine botany, aquatic natural product discovery, and ecological phenomena. Dr. Levine’s presentations include schools, community colleges, universities, service clubs, libraries, United Nations, U.S. National Press Club, TV scientific contributor, DOE, USDA, and NSF. Dr. Levine’s efforts include 41 publications, 3 books and 102 national and international professional presentations