A Call for New York High Schoolers to ARISE and Study Science

NEW YORK, March 5, 2013 – Wanted: 20 current 10th and 11th grade high school students from New York City with a passion for engineering and science, to study this summer alongside leading faculty and graduate students in state-of-the-art laboratories at Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly).

Funded by the Pinkerton Foundation, the competitive new summer program is dubbed Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering (ARISE). ARISE is part of a Science Research Mentoring Consortium coordinated by the American Museum of Natural History.
It will expose youngsters to areas such as mechanical and civil engineering; information systems and cyber security; materials science and robotics; protein engineering and molecular design, and bio-interfacial engineering and diagnostics.

“We’ll be looking for young people who are passionate about science and engineering, and who are committed to make the most of this opportunity,” said Ben Esner, director of the NYU-Poly Center for K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Education. “ARISE is intended to be a transformative experience for students in New York City public schools with little or no access to high quality, advanced STEM education. In this program and others, NYU-Poly is pleased to be able to provide that access.”

A thorough application process will require recommendations from teachers, transcripts, an essay submission and an interview. Special recruitment and selection efforts will target female students and students of color—demographic groups that often lack access to the challenging academic preparation needed to pursue higher education and careers in STEM.

“We are delighted to partner with NYU-Poly to launch its exciting new ARISE program," said Rick Smith, president of the Pinkerton Foundation. "ARISE will be a key member of the Science Research Mentoring Consortium being coordinated by the American Museum of Natural History and fits perfectly with Pinkerton's goal of providing rich scientific experiences to talented but disadvantaged young people in New York City." The Pinkerton Foundation is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of New York City’s young people by helping them develop the skills, self-reliance and strong values necessary to live up to their full potential.

ARISE will accept 20 students in 2013 and 22 in the summer of 2014.  The seven-week program will introduce students to engineering concepts and principles, instruct them on the scientific method, teach research practices and lab safety, and improve math skills. With individual graduate-student mentors, ASPIRE participants will spend the latter half of the program in placements where they will make practical contributions to their lab’s research objectives.

ARISE joins a robust list of STEM initiatives for pre-college students at NYU-Poly, including the Central Brooklyn STEM Initiative (CBSI), Science of Smart Cities, Creativity in Science Engineering and Technology (CrEST), and the National Science Foundation-sponsored Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW) Day Camp for Young Women. “Our STEM programs not only teach the young people who participate, they also teach us how to do this work well and how to innovate,” Esner said. “We’re developing courses and curriculums that can be replicated all over the country.”

For more information on ARISE, including eligibility, deadlines and application procedures, visit http://arise.poly.edu.