The science departments at the University of Oregon propose a two week residence summer program to cultivate an interest in science and to promote science as a career choice for selected high school students who are ready to enter their junior or senior year. Approximately thirty-five faculty members from Chemistry, Biology, Geology, Physics, and Computer and Information Science will be selectively recruited to participate in the program. Initial response by the faculty to this proposal has been positive. The Summer Science Experience will focus on the theme Frontiers in Research that leads to laboratory exploration at a level at which high school students can gain from the experience. Some of the topics to be included in the program include questions of ethics, career choices, superconductivity, DNA recombination, synchrotron radiation, photoelectron microscopy, artificial intelligence, plate tectonics, and topics in neuroscience. The existing program which has been successful in introducing high school students to many aspects of scientific research, has been self- supporting and therefore expensive students. Funding by the NSF will strengthen the existing project by broadening participation to previously underrepresented groups and by insuring a more balanced program between girls and boys.
