Goals of the project: (1) To recruit and select bright students, including women, individuals with diverse backgrounds with respect to geographical origin and ethnicity, and students from non-Ph.D.-granting institutions where research possibilities are limited. (2) To involve students in basic, experimental research in microbiology. (3) To expose students to a broad range of bioscience research. (4) To develop each student's critical-thinking skills. (5) To develop each student's ability to record, analyze, and present scientific information. Overall, the goal is to promote the students' interests in scientific careers and to enhance their likelihood for success. Means of achieving the goals: The student participants will be integrated into faculty research programs and will be expected to perform like beginning graduate students. Informal faculty-student discussions plus weekly seminars will supplement the laboratory research. Weekly informal lunches, two picnics and a banquet will facilitate social and scientific interactions. At the end of each summer's program, the students will prepare oral presentations to be given at a Summer Program Symposium. Each student will also prepare a written research report, under the guidance of the student's mentor. Overall significance: Summer research programs are very valuable settings for bright students to experience basic scientific research. A significant fraction of the summer students do not have research opportunities at their institutions and might choose non-science careers due to lack of exposure to basic research. Of course not all students who participate in summer research programs in basic science choose careers in basic science, but experience shows that nearly all of the students to go on to post-graduate training in a graduate or professional school. The graduates of summer programs who do choose to go on to graduate school in science have a much better idea of what to expect, and they have a much greater chance of success.
