Like other students who take part in Stony Brook's high school research program, he used the university's laboratories and equipment for the project.
He said SSP contacted him last year based on the success of the decade-old high school research program at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science TAMSS).
In a recent study of a high school research internship program at the University of Rochester, students reported that the program had a positive influence on their performance in advanced science courses, enhanced their interest in pursuing a career in science, and increased their confidence in applying sophisticated laboratory skills (Knox et al., 2003).
"Long Island emphasizes high school research," said Dr. Rafailovich, a professor and director of the Garcia Center for Polymers at Engineered Interfaces, a National Science Foundation-financed seven-week summer scholar program in materials research science and engineering at the State University at Stony Brook.
Education is an important part of her high school research.
In the 1980's, Ms. Krieger developed one of the Island's first high school science research programs at Ward Melville and coached nearly 100 Intel semifinalists and finalists.
That interaction is as critical as the hands-on experiences, said Sasha Ban, senior program manager for the high school science research program of the New York City Department of Education.
"But now that the community has voted down the budget twice," he said, "we had to cut $1.4 million and have begun the process of dismantling our educational programs -- including the elimination of several elementary positions and librarians, our high school science-research program, our award-winning school-to-career program, half of our middle-school sports teams and clubs".
A variety of high school and undergraduate research programs have been implemented to provide students with hands-on research experiences.
I first discovered my appetite for research through high school summer programs, like the Research Science Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a series of high school science fairs.
