LLE > Around the Lab
February 2003: Summer High School Program
 Each
year, LLE invites area high school juniors to apply to a summer
research program. Selected applicants are teamed with staff advisors
and spend eight weeks working on individual research projects. These
projects culminate in a symposium where the students present their
findings to family, teachers, and members of the Laboratory's scientific
and technical staff. Fifteen students participated in 2002, the
largest group in the program's fourteen-year history.The goal of LLE's Summer High School Research Program is to excite a group of high school students about careers in the areas of science and technology by exposing them to research in a state-of-the-art environment. Too often, students are exposed to "research" only through classroom laboratories, which have prescribed procedures and predictable results. In LLE's summer program, the students experience many of the trials, tribulations, and rewards of scientific research. By participating in research in a real environment, the students often become more excited about careers in science and technology. In addition, LLE gains from the contributions of the many highly talented students who are attracted to the program. This year, Phoebe Rounds of Irondequoit High School was selected as a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search and Siddhartha Ghosh and Joy Yuan of Pittsford-Mendon High School were selected as semifinalists for research projects they carried out at LLE. These students are among the 300 semifinalists nationwide chosen from the 1600 who entered the competition, which is often regarded as a "Junior Nobel Prize." Rounds designed a new frequency-conversion system that has the potential to create smoother laser beams. Ghosh carried out experimental work on improving high-speed x-ray streak cameras, instruments used to diagnose fusion experiments carried out on the OMEGA laser system, while Yuan performed computer simulations of a new type of laser amplifier. In recognition of their scientific achievements, each student will receive $1000 and their high schools will receive $1000 per semifinalist to support their science and math programs. Rounds is one of 40 students who will travel to Washington D. C. in March to compete for scholarships up to $100,000. As a finalist, she will receive a $5000 scholarship and a high-performance computer. We are proud of all our Summer High School Research Program participants, past and present. We look forward to continuing our mission of education by introducing young adults to scientific research. |
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James
Keefer
