About six years ago, Mike Shore was just getting into the position of CAS (Centers for Advanced Studies-the PPS gifted program) Facilitator at Allderdice High School, where he taught physics. He was approached by students who wanted to do research for which Allderdice lacked equipment and experienced personnel. He went first to the University of Pittsburgh and found several mentors in biology, but did not find much help in physics, math, or computer science. He then contacted CMU and was directed to Dr. Steve Garoff in the physics department and Dr. Mike McHenry in materials science.
Soon after they met, Garoff asked Shore if he would be interested in a Partnership. They applied for, and were awarded, a Partners in Science grant from the Research Corporation in Tuscon, AZ which allowed Shore to work in Garoff's lab for two summers. They also went to work on developing lines of communication between CMU and Allderdice during the school years. During the final year of the Partnership, they used discretionary funds to hire a high school student to work in the lab for a summer. The success of this program inspired Shore to write a proposal to expand the idea.
Shore proposed to hire ten high school students for eight weeks in the summer and to place them with established research groups in the University to experience real scientific research. This proposal was directed towards groups normally underrepresented in science, such as women and minorities.
The program was first funded for the summer of 1995, with Shore as director and Garoff as coordinator. Ten students from eight city schools were selected to participate. The students worked full-time in biology, chemistry, physics, and computer science labs for an hourly wage. Several students continued their work during the school year as independent studies. The program was again funded in 1996, and twenty-eight students from nine schools applied for the ten positions. Unfortunately, Mr. Shore suffered a heart attack that March and the program was cancelled for that year. Money given for the 1996 program combined with contributions for 1997 allowed Shore and Garoff to expand the program to fourteen students from five city high schools. They also hired Julia Sero, an intern from the 1995 program, to assist Shore in the daily administration of the students' activities.
Students from the 1995 program are being contacted to find out about their first year of college and their opinion of the effect of the program on their lives and plans. Students from each year will be tracked as they move beyond high school and start to develop careers.
Julia, for example, credits her love of cell biology to her internship at CMU, and plans to become a biochemist.
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