What is it about?
Each summer, the Garcia Summer Scholars Program at Stony Brook University takes more than 50 high school students who have barely conducted an acid-base titration and turns them into cutting-edge Materials Research scientists. These students not only win high school competitions such as Siemens and Intel; they have presented their projects at MRS Poster sessions and the American Physical Society (where they have been mistaken for graduate students), published in refereed journals, and have even acquired patents. They go on to college and beyond to pursue degrees in Materials Science, Physics, and Chemical Engineering, becoming the next generation of innovators. How is this possible? This article journeys through one of the most successful high school research programs in the country.
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Why is it important?
With the increased emphasis on STEM education, the Garcia Program encourages hands-on scientific inquiry.
Perspectives
I have participated in the Garcia Summer Scholars Program for 17 years. Dr. Miriam Rafailovich, its director and innovator, is amazing beyond words. She doesn't get a dime of salary for all the hard work that she does every year with all of these students; in fact, she always has to scrounge for program funding due to reductions in financial backing and grants. Yet the students' immense successes attest to the unique guidance and opportunity that she extends to all the participants.
Rebecca P Isseroff
Stony Brook University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Turning High School Students into MRS Authors and Presenters: The Magic of the Garcia Summer Scholars Program, MRS Advances, January 2017, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1557/adv.2017.172.
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