AmericanChemicalSociety.com

Project SEED is designed to offer high school students from low-income families the opportunity to experience a career in chemistry-related sciences. The foundation of the program is the placement of students in academic, industrial, or governmental research settings for 8 to 10 weeks during the summer to engage in hands-on scientific exploration under the supervision of a volunteer mentor. Each year, ACS members and volunteer scientists around the country contribute their time and energy to mentoring our students, opening their eyes to new educational and career possibilities. Students also discover their ability to learn new skills and build confidence in their potential for the future. Individualized attention is guaranteed, as each mentor may supervise only one or two students. To emphasize the importance of their work, students receive a stipend for participating. Students can return for a second summer experience and are eligible to compete for a first-year college scholarship. Annual evaluations indicate that the program continues to simulate students’ interest in science; 66% expect to complete a graduate or professional school; 53% stated Project SEED helped them choose a college major; and 77% stated the program helped them decided to pursue a career in science. Since 1968 Project SEED has served nearly 9,000 students. In 2010, 345 students participated in the Summer I and 99 students in the Summer II program. Of the 444 students, 80 were supported by the ACS Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) at 49 institutions and four students received a Project SEED College Scholarship. At the 240th ACS Fall National Meeting in Boston, MA, over 60 students representing California, Massachusetts, Nashville, North Jersey, New York, Pittsburgh and Portland presented their summer research at the ACS Sci-Mix poster session. The following are the ACS PRF Participating Institutions: AIT Laboratories, CA Ashland Distribution Company, CA Bard College, NY Boston University, MA Brown University, RI Calvin College, MI Central Michigan University, MI Chevron Global Laboratories, CA Columbia University, NY Dow Corning Corporation, MI Drake University, IA Duke University, NC Duquesne University, PA Fairleigh Dickinson University, NJ Fordham College at Lincoln Center, NJ Georgetown University, DC Georgia College & State University, GA Henderson State University, AR Idaho State University, ID Illinois Institute of Technology, IL Illinois State University, IL Indiana University-Purdue Univ., IL Michigan State University, MI Montclair State University, NJ New Jersey Institute of Technology, NJ Portland State University, OR Prairie View A&M University Princeton University, NJ Rice University, TX Rutgers University, Cook College, NJ Seton Hall University, NJ St. John’s University, NY St. Peter’s College, NJ The University of Akron, OH The University of Memphis, TN University Med. Dentistry, NJ University of Berkeley, CA University of California, Davis, CA University of Cincinnati, OH University of Missouri-St. Louis, MO University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC University of Notre Dame, IN University of Redlands, CA University of Vermont, VT USDA, Western Research Center, CA West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, WV Western Michigan University, MI Youngstown State University, OH