Top high school students from Fargo high schools spent six weeks this summer conducting college-level research at NDSU. The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in coordination with the Department of Physics and Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials hosted the students as part of the Parents Involvement with Children, Nurturing Intellectual Curiosity in Science program, also known as PICNICS.
The program aims to inform parents and their children about recent advancements in science and technology, and encourage students in grades nine through 12 to consider science as a career path.
Under the direction of NDSU faculty, six students from local high schools conducted a variety of research projects alongside graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The students were selected based on recommendations from their teachers. At the end of the program, the students presented a poster on the research in a poster session Aug. 2 hosted by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Phil Boudjouk, vice president for research, creative activities and technology transfer, presented the students with certificates of completion.
The students who participated in the program were Jesica Qian of West Fargo High School, Elizabeth Anderson of Fargo North High School, Gerrit Postema of Fargo South high school; and Ruiying Feng, Lucy Wang and Andrew Nawrot of Fargo Davies High School.
There were six projects and each student was assigned to work on one independent project. The projects involved the use of light as a reagent to synthesize chemical compounds, synthesizing new catalysts to carry out chemical reactions, developing robust polymers from biomass to be used to make everyday materials, using computer simulation to understand the behavior of soft-matter, using lasers and infrared spectroscopy to understand molecular interactions and developing low-cost detection of breast cancer using strip technology.
“Students learn how modern research techniques can be utilized for performing cutting-edge research and also can see how they impact our day-to-day life,” said Sivaguru Jayaraman, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry and director of PICNICS program. “All have been top-notch students and essentially carried out research similar to undergraduate students who work in our labs. We also have a top-notch school system in our area that produces such high quality and exceptional high school students. It's a testament to our school teachers in our area.”
Initiated in 2007 as part of Jayaraman’s National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development program, PICNICS has developed into a summer internship program that typically hosts five or six high school students. NDSU faculty who hosted students in their research groups included chemistry and biochemistry faculty members Jayaraman, Mukund Sibi, John Hershberger, Guodong Liu; physics faculty member Alan Denton in collaboration with Daniel Kroll; and coating and polymeric materials faculty member Dean Webster.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.