A student works on a wetlands project with the Center for Reservoir & Aquatic Systems Research at Baylor University this summer. | Photo courtesy of Frank Mathis
This summer, high school students spent a month working with Baylor University professors on science projects through the High School Summer Science Research Program. Through this program, the Texas university encourages students to consider science, technology, math and engineering careers, said Frank Mathis, the program's director and associate dean for sciences in the College of Arts & Sciences. The intense program gives students hands-on experience in scientific research — and a taste of college life.
“They get a feel for what it’s like to be a scientist," Mathis said, "particularly at an academic institution."
This year, the program made history with more than 160 student applicants. And the 10 students chosen for the program were embedded in their research projects — they weren't treated any differently than the Ph.D or masters level students they work with, said Heidi Marcum, a senior lecturer in the Environmental Science Department and the summer science program coordinator.
"They literally just get their hands wet and they do the research right alongside with the grad students.”
Her students research wildlife, and 5 year ago, one of them studied the effect of enrichment activities on white-handed gibbons at a zoo. Normally the primates sat around a lot, but when she filled a puzzle box called a Buster Cube with treats, the gibbons spent more time trying to solve the puzzle. Their natural behavior increased by 10 percent, and their abnormal sitting-around behavior decreased by 10 percent, which makes them healthier.
Every student creates an abstract of the research that they present on the program's final day, and some of them publish the research results in peer-reviewed journals. Many of these students go on to universities such as Harvard, Yale and Stanford. They're bright, motivated and driven to reseach, whether they're working on genetic markers of cancer, animal-human interactions or windmill efficiency.
“We take their passion for science and help them focus it and see what science really does," Marcum said. "And the professors really love the kids, the students. They come back every year.”
The professors aren't compensated financially for participating in the program, but they do get to work with high-achieving students who bring new life, new blood and new ideas to their projects, Mathis said.
Over the last 12 years, associate professor Bob Kane from the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry has included a high school student on his research team of eight to 10 people. The graduate students on his team help train the high schoolers and teach them techniques involved in organic synthesis.
This year, the team focused on making compounds that could be used to create more effective vaccines. Each year, Kane wants students to make a new molecule and understand its relevance. They don't always make something new, but that's the goal of research.
“We hope that by the end of their time here, they’ve been able to do some experiments that haven’t been done before," Kane said, "make some new compounds, or use old compounds in a different way."
