High Schoolers Discover College, Careers in Science, Through Project SEED
Over the past seven years, the Department of Chemistry and the American Chemical Society (ACS) have established an important network of connections for economically disadvantaged high school students that helps them discover college and careers in science.
Through Project SEED, academically talented students gain hands-on experience conducting paid chemistry research and experiments with state-of-the-art technology. The eight-week program, which runs from June 20 to Aug. 12, places students in the lab or field Monday through Friday, eight hours a day.
Students participate in a specialized research project with a mentor from Duquesne and also receive education and career counseling. Students receive stipends for their work and compete for $5,000 college scholarships, which Duquesne program students have succeeded in earning.
“We have developed a very rich program here,” said Dr. Jennifer Aitken, associate professor of chemistry, and founding coordinator of the program. “In addition to their research projects, students receive safety and library training. They also participate in field trips to local chemical companies, meet with admissions and financial aid staff, and visit at least one other local university.”
This year, Project SEED is a finalist for the ChemLuminary Award, which will be presented at the ACS’s National Meeting in Denver, Colo., on Tuesday, Aug. 30. The award recognizes ACS members and student affiliates for outstanding accomplishments, achievements and service.
Six local students were selected to participate in the 2011 Project SEED program:
1) Dwayne Coleman, senior, Central Catholic High School
2) Deja Irvin, junior, Steel Valley High School
3) Chelsea Weidaw, junior, Sto-Rox High School
4) Vincent Smara, junior, Sto-Rox High School
5) Marissa DeFratti, senior, Sto-Rox High School
6) Elizabeth Thornton, senior, Sto-Rox High School.
Thornton and DeFratti are returning students. They will do a second summer of research this year and they will travel to Colorado to give a poster presentation on their work at the ACS National Meeting in August.
DeFratti will continue research on her project, Copper Catalyzed Atom Transfer Radical Cyclization Reactions In the Presence of Reducing Agents, under the supervision of Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Tomislav Pintauer. Thornton will continue her research project, Glycine Receptor Structure and Function, under the guidance of Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Michael Cascio.
Professor of Chemistry Dr. Jeffry Madura and Sto-Rox High School chemistry teacher Joshua Lucas assist in coordinating the program. This year, students also are blogging about their experiences.
“I am very excited to work with this year’s group of students,” Madura said. “I am also very pleased with the immense support that the program has received from the University.”
Funding for this year’s program came from: the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh; the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh; the Local Pittsburgh Section, American Chemical Society; a private donation from Mr. Joshua Lucas, Sto-Rox High School Chemistry Teacher; and the National American Chemical Society.