Becky Thompson has gone from washing laboratory beakers and other lab dishes for her work-study job at Columbia Basin College to getting her boots muddy in a post-Katrina New Orleans, where she collected and helped test air samples.

Thompson said the experience this year has given direction to her studies for a career in environmental sciences. And, she said, it couldn't have been possible without the educational partnership between CBC and RJ Lee Group, a private analytical laboratory services company based outside Pittsburgh.

The company and CBC take another step in their partnership today when the Center for Laboratory Sciences is unveiled at the Pasco campus. The center will be operated by RJ Lee Group scientists and offer educational and employment opportunities for students like Thompson who are pursuing science careers.

Students get hands-on experience they need at the center so they can go straight into the work force or continue their education elsewhere, said Rich Westberg, director at the center for RJ Lee Group.

"Students don't usually get this experience until grad school," said Rich Cummins, CBC's vice president for instruction.

The partnership also brings the college into the world of research and development, an area not normally within the financial reach of community colleges, Cummins said.

It's also another example, along with recent agreements with Washington State University Tri-Cities and Heritage University, of the 50-year-old college's attempt to meet the Mid-Columbia's higher education needs in the 21st century.

The center is part of CBC's new$18 million building that recently opened as part of the larger Washington Institute for Science Education, or WISE, project.

WISE is designed to produce graduates trained for high-tech, medical and science jobs. A better-prepared work force should bolster economic development, especially as the Mid-Columbia transitions from a Hanford-based economy.

In addition to the 153,300-square-foot Science and Technology building, the college last year opened the popular Moore Observatory and currently is building the $8.2 million, 66,000-square-foot Health Sciences Center at its Richland campus.

The new building has the capacity for an additional 1,000 students, said Frank Murray, CBC spokesman. About 6,800 students attend classes at the school, for a full-time equivalent of 4,500.

RJ Lee Group donated $150,000 to the WISE campaign and also is committed to a 15-year, $1.8 million lease of the Center for Laboratory Sciences.

The 12,500-square-foot center includes such things as a walk-in refrigerators to store samples, a wet chemistry lab, a microbiology lab, inorganic sample preparation lab, inorganic instrumentation lab, organic sample prep lab, semi-volatile organic instrument lab, volatile organic instrument lab and the list goes on.

The company has had a presence at the campus since 2001, originally taking on the maintenance of donated equipment from the Department of Energy. The college didn't have the budget or skills for the work, and in exchange the company got to use the equipment.

Westberg said the relationship with CBC has evolved over the years. "It's awesome for us and I imagine it's good for CBC," Westberg said.

The company moved into the new digs about a month ago. Previously it had offices scattered around the campus and across 20th Avenue.

He said the company also has labs in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and an office in New York City. It is certified by a number of states and the federal government.

In the Mid-Columbia, the company provides analytical testing for a number of clients, including wineries, cities, businesses and Hanford-area agencies.

For the wine industry, RJ Lee scientists test wines for sugar and alcohol levels. It also gets hired to put the wines under extreme hot and cold that simulate shipping conditions and help wineries ensure the wine still tastes good to the consumer.

The company also is hired by local governments to ensure they are in compliance with state and federal environmental requirements. It does similar work for businesses and industries, many of which are along the Columbia, Snake and Yakima rivers, and who are restricted in what they can put in the rivers.

And about half its business is offering technical support and analytical testing for Hanford-related businesses.

He said the company has 15 full-time employees and about five CBC students working in some role in the labs. Becky, he said, is a full-time laboratory technician.

Thompson, 30, of Richland, said she returned to college to get a degree in biology, perhaps becoming a fisheries biologist. Since high school, she's done stints in the Army and became a licensed massage therapist. She said science work agrees with her.

She started working for RJ Lee Group last January as part of CBC's work-study program. "I was the dishwasher," she said, cleaning flasks, funnels, beakers, test tubes and more.

But she impressed her supervisors and quickly was promoted to her position where she's certified to prepare organic samples for testing.

Westberg said students come to the company through work-study programs or are referred by CBC instructors.

Westberg said CBC instructors also bring classes over to see lab demonstrations and RJ Lee scientists give seminars. He said he's working with the college to develop an analytical sciences program.

"Students seem to be more interested in the sciences when they see how it's used in the daily work force," Westberg said.

Student employees have twice this year been sent to help the company respond to national emergencies. They responded to a train derailment in January in South Carolina that caused a chlorine leak that killed nine people and forced the evacuation of several thousand.

And they sent two people, including Thompson, to New Orleans to help with the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

"My hand went straight up," Thompson said, when volunteers were sought. She continued to pester Westberg weekly about getting a chance to go. And when asked Oct. 25, she said, "I packed my bags and was gone the next day."

She had to withdraw from her fall quarter CBC classes to go, but said the experience was worth it. She plans to go back to New Orleans later this month for 10 days, but expects to return for winter classes.

"I think it's a great deal for both the college and RJ Lee Group," Thompson said. "I think more students should get involved. I don't know if they know about it and it's right next door."