Good Job, Project SEED 2011

I just want to congratulate Marissa and Liz for their awesome work in Denver. Both did an exceptional job at the Sci-Mix poster session and earned those three days off from school. They represented and advocated for our program very well, helping to make sure that Project SEED is available to needy students for years to come.

Also, congratulations to all of Duquesne's 2011 Project Seedlings. We had an productive, rigorous, and hopefully rewarding summer. Good luck in if you're off to college, and work hard if you're back in high school.

Thanks to Duquesne's University, the Department of Chem and Biochem, and all of the exceptional staff, grad students, and professors. Your contributions to the education of these children will be well remembered as they age and proceed through their careers. They will cite you in future meetings and conversations as individuals and mentors who changed their perspective. That's a cool thing and a profound way to maintain the continuity of our culture.

On a personal note, thank your for your continued support of my research and the opportunity to continue to serve the Project SEED students.

PIttsburgh Section Wins the ChemLuminary Award for Best Project SEED Program

Duquesne University and The Pittsburgh Section of the ACS has been recognized for two of the last three years as the best Project SEED program in the country!

Tell me that ain't cool...?

Duquesne Project SEED feature on Imagine Pittsburgh

Read the article here.

Big Blog Challenge

Interview someone else's professor or a graduate student who you do not work with. Get them to tell you their story. Ask questions like....

How did they arrive at Duquesne University?

Did they always want to be a chemist?

What do they like most about their job?

What are some of their regrets and missteps?

What would they do differently?

Creative questioning is preferred.

Summarize your conversation on the blog. Pictures and video are worth bonus, but there must be written content too. This blog has a high value reward.

Blog Challenge #3

Post pictures and video of you and your fellow SEED students in action in the lab. Be sure to be wearing all of your personal protective equipment (goggles, lab coats, and gloves).

Blog Challenge #2

Interview one of your fellow Project SEED students and summarize their project in a blog post -most detailed, best written wins. Everyone should interview someone different.

As always, pictures and video are worth extra.

Duquesne Press Release

Hey everyone. Here is a link to an article in the Duquesne Times.

http://mail.srsd.k12.pa.us/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://times.duq.edu/2011/06/high-schoolers-discover-college-careers-in-science-through-project-seed/

Blog Challenge #1

For our first blog challenge write about the following:

1. Identify yourself, your high school, and the neighborhood where you live.
2. Write a paragraph that describes what you hope to accomplish this summer.
3. Write a paragraph that describes your initial impressions of Project SEED, the work you will be doing, and the people you've met so far.

If you are returning SEED student adapt the above.

Best written, most reflective wins.

Make sure you label all blog entries with your name.

Judging will be by close of business Wednesday.

Project SEED Calender

Forensics Day Summary

This year Duquesne University's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry helped to facilitate Forensics Day at Sto-Rox High School. A crime scene was setup, evidence was gathered, and finally analysis was performed with the university's secondary electron microscope. High school students collaborated with graduate students Mrs. Kim Rosmus and Mr. Carl Burnetta from Dr. Jennifer Aitken's solid-state chemistry research group. Students compiled their data, drew conclusions with respect to the "crime's" perpetrator, and presented their findings for review. Below is a video that summarizes our work.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0923183.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

End of the Summer Checklist

Here is a list of things we have to do. Please check this post often, cause I'll be updating it as we wrap things up. I post updates in bold.

1. End of Summer Survey - I'll post this link soon.

Survey Link

Go here and then click on "Student Follow-up survey".

When finished, you must print the acknowledgement that your survey
was received and sign your name and print your name on the page.

2. Thank you cards and poster - Everyone is responsible for writing two thank you card. Everyone must sign all thank you cards written. Thank you cards should be written in word, proof read, and then hand written into the card. Coordinate with each other so you don't write for the same person. Be personable and mention be sure to mention the reason why you are thanking them.

Ms. Barbara Adams- the librarian (thank you for the training) -Liz Thorton
Dr. David Seybert - Dean of the School of Natural Science (thank you for the lunches and salary support)- Ian Carroll

Tabitha Riggio (donation)
Dr. Mitch Johnson (for assistance and donation)
Dr. Jim Manner (donation)
Dr. Jeff Madura (assistance)- Ian Carroll
Dr. Paul Johnson (donation)-Sydney Burkholder
Mr. Philip Clarke (Participation in events and organizing tour and
financial aid, symposium) -Tristan Freeman
Dr. Michael Leonard (for organizing tour) -Tristan Freeman
Maria Revetta PPG (tour)-Sydney Burkholder
Tom Barclay - Bayer (tour) -Marissa De Frati
Dr. Joshua Pak (Project SEED committee chair) -Amanda Anderson
Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh (donation)
Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (donation) -Marissa De Frati
Ms. Raihanah Rasheed (Project SEED office)

Cecilia Hernandez (Project SEED office)
Ms. Sandy Russell and Ms. Amy Stroyne (thanks for assistance) - Liz Thorton
Local Pittsburgh Section ACS (support) -Amanda Anderson

3. Transfer your photos to my laptop.

4. Finish Dr. Aitken's blog challenge.

5. Turn in papers by Friday.

6. ACS posters by Friday unless you are coming in next week.

7. Each of you must write a final blog post. It must summarize your experience. It must state clearly how this program has helped your grow as a scientist, adult, student, and person. It must contain appropriate thanks and acknowledgement folks who have helped you this summer.

Stolen Photo

I stole this photo from Marissa's camera. You should steal photos from Marissa's camera too, and post them on the blog with an explanation. I'll let Marissa summarize what she is doing in this picture in the comments below.

Mandatory Blog Challenge. Due August 2nd

Choose a graduate student or professor and discuss with them their career path and the road they traveled to arrive in their current position. Ask them what they would do differently. Ask them what their greatest successes and failures were along the way. Be insightful and thought provoking. Posts will be judged for depth of content, how well your writing engages the reader, and creativity. Pictures and videos always get you bonus points. This is not just a mandatory challenge, but it is also a big reward challenge.

Rough Draft of Abstract Due 7/9/2010 (Today)

Please read the formatting rules carefully before you begin writing your abstract for the symposium.

http://www.duq.edu/urp/symposium.cfm

Blog Challenge #2

Post a complete summary of your research to date. Include experiments you performed, training you've received, and the future direction of your project. Spelling and grammar count. The most thorough and error free wins the swag.

Blog Challenge #1

In an effort to make the blog more robust and well, fancy, occasionally I'll post blog challenges. The winner of these challenges are of course rewarded with swag.

Challenge #1
Post a picture and explaination of a laboratory technique or piece of equipment that they will be using this year.

ACS Convention with the Project SEED students.

Suffice it to say, we had a great time. I'll let Candy and James describe it for you.

Videos from the ACS Meeting in Washington DC

Our Summer Wraps Up

Our Project SEED students would love to be writing this last blog entry, but as you can imagine, they are busy wrapping up their projects, so I've been recruited.

I've been involved in Duquesne's summer programs for three years now, and I have been sending my brightest science minded students to Dr. Aitken since Project SEED started here about 6 years ago. Over the years, I have seen the profound impact this experience has on the social and academic development of my students. These kids come from tough backgrounds and overcome terrible adversity. Project SEED provides them with unique opportunities to grow that we cannot replicate in our economically challenged high school. Each year I struggle (in a good way) to figure out which of my students to select, knowing that it is likely going to give them an advantage over their peers and open doors that leads to financial gains as they mature. It's a tough decision, but over the years, I've gotten good at finding the right combination of smarts, attitude, and personality. This summer's crop of students particularly excelled. They have shown sincere interest and concern and have worked long hours above and beyond the call of duty. Their mastery of the material has been impressive and has lead to rich and engaging group meetings. I'm proud of each of them for how far they've come in such a short period of time, and I look forward to seeing continued growth if they return next summer.

I'd also like to thank everyone who makes this possible. Without the support of the ACS, our generous corporate donors, the professors and staff of Duquesne's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Dr. Aitken, a dozen or so of my students would have had very different futures.

Project SEED on Facebook

If you have a Facebook account, please join the ACS Project SEED group.