SCIENCE OUTREACH

June - August 2024

Volume 18

Connecting and Enhancing Community Engagement

Science Outreach will facilitate mutually beneficial and sustainable relationships between Princeton University Science educators and researchers. Science Outreach serves as a nexus connecting faculty, students, and postdocs with youth, schoolteachers, nonprofit organizations, and the broader community with the goal of increasing engagement, participation, equity, and inclusion in STEM fields. Science Outreach supports Astrophysical Sciences, Center for Statistics and Machine Learning, Chemistry, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Geosciences, Mathematics, Molecular Biology, Physics, Princeton Neuroscience Institute, and Psychology.

ASAP Program Summer Intern

Krisha Shah was a Science Outreach summer internship student in the Aspiring Scholars and Professionals (ASAP) program sponsored by the Emma Bloomberg Center for Access and Opportunity. Krisha Shah (‘27) is a student at Rutgers Honors College majoring in Cell Biology and Neuroscience with a minor in Computer Science, with aspirations of pursuing medicine and biomedical research.

As a Science Outreach intern, her primary responsibilities included compiling the first annual report, which involved data collection and analysis, conducting comprehensive interviews, informative writing, and applying graphic design principles to present findings effectively.

Outside the ASAP Program, she is the Lead Extern for her Public Health Bootcamp project under the Rutgers Master of Business and Science Externship this summer. Furthermore, Krisha is an Advising Fellow Leadership Team Member of Matriculate, HC Scholar Leadership Coaching Senior Mentor, Chemistry Teaching Intern, and a Science Lab Assistant. In her free time, Krisha enjoys crafting, watching football, and playing various outdoor sports. Krisha will continue her work with Science Outreach during the Fall 2024 semester.

New In Science Outreach

The Laboratory Learning Program

Previously supported by the Office of the Dean for Research, the Laboratory Learning Program (LLP) was added to the Science Outreach portfolio in late December 2023 and fully onboarded in January 2024. LLP is a full-time, free research experience in science for high school students ages 16 and over. Students participate in research opportunities supervised by Princeton faculty and research staff. Over 3,000 students applied to the program this summer, and 83 students were placed in engineering and natural science research laboratories.

Thank you to all the faculty and departments participating in the LLP program. Faculty research project plans for the Summer 2025 program are due January 2025. More information will be sent to interested departments later this fall. Please reach out to scienceoutreach@princeton.edu for more information,.

Rutgers Extension and Millhill STEM Enrichment Camp Visit Campus

On August 1, Science Outreach hosted a group of 30 rising 7th-9th graders from the Rutgers Extension and Millhill summer program. The visit was led by Maha Yusuf, a Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment and the Princeton MAE department. Dr. Yusuf guided the students through the Engineering Quad and her electrochemistry lab in the Craig Arnold group, captivating their interest with a practical demonstration of her designed batteries in action.

Another graduate student from the Arnold group, Shaharyar Wani, gave a tour of the carbon lab and showcased his work on using freeze-dried egg whites to create activated carbon, which has applications in water filtration, energy storage, and sound and thermal insulation.

The event concluded with a tour of the Bioengineering Institute led by Jessica Varela, Manager of Educational Operations, Outreach & Events at Princeton. The students also visited the Cohen Lab, which specializes in the biophysics of tissue behavior and bio-inspired materials.

SAVE THE DATE!

Saturday. October 5, 2024

MBOP (Molecular Biology Graduate Student Group) and Science Outreach are collaborating to host the 1st annual Princeton Science Fair on Saturday, October 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

High school students with an independent research project are invited to present their work, meet other students interested in science, and learn more about future career and academic opportunities! For more information, scan the QR code in the flyer or contact Science Outreach.

PNI and Science Outreach

Donate Microscopes

This summer, the Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Science Outreach donated surplus microscopes to Foundation Academy Charter School in Trenton.

The microscopes will be used in elementary and middle school classrooms. The science teachers are excited about what worlds will open up to the students as they explore through the lens of their new microscopes.

Science Outreach is looking forward to future partnership opportunities with Foundation Academy.

Lawrenceville High School

Visits PNI

This summer, Elita Lee and Elizabeth McDevitt hosted the Lawrenceville High School Brain-Computer Interface Club in PNI. The visit consisted of demonstrations about EEG and its setup, explaining how EEG works and its benefits. Thank you to all who assisted with this visit.

Science Outreach In the Community

Science Outreach at the Ewing Library

On June 22, Camilo Correa, a postdoc research associate in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, led a science opportunity for 2nd—5th graders at the Ewing Public Library.

The students enjoyed the activities, and the parents were excited to have their students participate in them. The Science Education department at PPPL provided additional assistance, and volunteers included Margaret Fairborn from Whitworth University, who is working at PPPL as a summer internship student this summer, and Dr. Abdel Majid Kassir from PPPL.

SCIENCE OUTREACH

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Save the Date - Thursday, November 7, 2024, for this year's Boys & Girls Clubs of Mercer County’s STEM Conference. Volunteers are needed to present STEM workshops, facilitate discussion on a STEM Career Panel, and assist throughout the day as logistics volunteers. Please get in touch with scienceoutreach@princeton.edu for more information or sign up to volunteer using the volunteer information button below.

Volunteers Needed!

Volunteers are needed this semester for science outreach opportunities at:

The Trenton Free Public Library, The Ewing Public Library, Lawrenceville Library, Princeton Public Library, Urban Promise, and The Boys and Girls Club!

Please click the volunteer box below if you want to volunteer for any Science Outreach opportunity. Volunteers are needed for ongoing and new outreach opportunities at area schools and community programs. Please let me know the outreach opportunity you are interested in, and you will be contacted to learn more about how you can share your science in the community.

Let's Track Your Community Outreach

If you, your lab, or your department facilitated an outreach opportunity, please complete the tracking form and upload a photo from your event. We will feature your opportunity in the next edition of the Science Outreach newsletter.