9450388 Robb Early introduction to research is a most effective means for inducing young people to choose careers in science or medicine. In the Research Initiation for Science Excellence (RISE) program, we propose bringing minority (African-American and Hispanic) students into an intensive research environment, starting as freshmen or sophomores in college or as high school senior. Approximately 15 such students -- the RISE scholars -- will be selected each year for the five years off the project. Approximately 9 students each year will be chose from students at Stevens Institute of Technology, an engineering and science college in Hoboken, NJ and from the College of St. Elizabeth, a liberal arts college for women in Morristown, NJ. The remainder will be chosen from high school seniors in two inner city districts, Union City and Jersey City, NJ. The RISE scholars will receive stipends enabling them to participate in UPTAM (Undergraduate Projects in Technology and Medicine), a 10-week residential summer research program at Stevens. In addition to individual research projects in biology, chemistry, and medical technology, the UPTAM participants take part in seminars and colloquia, trips to research establishments, and a short course in presentation training. This highly successful program has, in its 22 year history, introduced over 300 college students to research. Nearly all of these have gone on to graduate or medical school. In the past, some individual minority students (including some very talented high school students) have been successful UPTAM participants. This proposal seeks to institutionalize the recruitment of minority participants on a larger scale. Minority students often find it difficult to thrive in an intense academic or research environment because of inadequate training in laboratory techniques and deficiencies in science and mathematics background. We are proposing academic year research initiation training in laboratory and instrumen tal techniques to help remedy this. Other tutoring, retention, and counseling programs for minority students are already available at Stevens. Stipends for the RISE scholars, which along with support for summer research supervisors make up the major part of the funds requested, are a necessity, since these students would otherwise have to take summer jobs. Selection as a RISE scholar will entail support for three summers. Along with the academic year research and other proposed activities, this should culminate in the senior year with the writing of an undergraduate honors thesis. The success of this program can be easily evaluated, since the graduation rate of minority students in college is known. We anticipate a much higher graduation rate for the RISE scholars, with many of them continuing on for graduate or professional training in science. We plan to continue the RISE program after the conclusion of the NSF support at about the same level (15 students per year). With demonstrated success, RISE scholarships should be attractive to corporate donors and to foundations committed to increasing minority participation in the sciences. Several potential donors, including Hoffmann-La Roche, Schering-Plough, and Sandoz, who are collaborating with us on research programs for undergraduates and precollege students, have already expressed interest.
