Summer Science Program
The Summer Science Program is a highly selective and intensive science research immersion experience. It began as a collaboration between top science and technical schools including Cal Tech, MIT and Purdue. Each year there are four iterations of the program on different campuses among the participating universities. For 2020, thirty-six students each will attend schools rotating between UNC, New Mexico Tech, UC Boulder and Purdue to pursue research in either Astrophysics or Chemistry. There is a tuition fee, however the majority of the program is funded through donations from alumni and former instructors. This is an extremely prestigious program.
Classroom and lab sessions are scheduled six days a week, interspersed with guest lectures and behind-the-scenes field trips to add variety. Classroom time is for developing an understanding of experimental science in general and the research topic in particular. Problem sets reinforce the material.
Each team is assigned its own target to study, performing the research from start to finish: collecting experimental data, analyzing that data, and reporting the results.
How do I get started? Check out the Summer Science Program website for more information.
How do I expand this narrative arc? If you are fortunate enough to be selected into this program your road ahead will be paved with gold. Kidding. Kind of. But seriously, it’s VERY hard to be accepted, and if you are it is likely because you’ve demonstrated exceptional achievement in STEM. You’ve now put yourself into a category with all the other math/science geniuses applying to college. How can you stand out?
How about spending your next summer at Cooper Union in New York City designing plastic eating bugs or exploring the intersection between engineering and music?
Think about whether there are practical applications in your community for your area of study. Then launch a community impact project that puts this work to good use.
Do you wish that more kids in your school shared your passion? Start a Tinker Club in your high school where you and friends take apart and rebuild household appliance and other small machines. Or take this idea into a local elementary school where you can ask as a mentor to other budding scientists.
HOT TIP: This prestigious summer program is an incredible way for you to advance and expand your knowledge of and research in physics and chemistry. As with all time-limited pursuits, the value to you is mostly correlated to what you do with it. Don’t leave your research behind when the summer ends. Ask how you can bring your work home with you, and get help establishing mentoring relationships so you can capitalize and expand on your hard work. This is an obvious launching point for one of the major national and international science fairs. More important, the cutting edge work that you do at SSP could be a game changer for you and the world!