The 2018 Illinois Summer Research Academy (ISRA) will begin Monday, June 25, and run through Friday, June 29, on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal. The research academy will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The program is for current high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. The initial deadline to apply for the program is Monday, April 2. Interested students can download the form online.

Participants will spend a week with Illinois State professors and students and high school students from across Illinois. They will work on various hands-on research projects in biology, chemistry, or computing and information technology. Students will be introduced to research projects that Illinois State professors are currently working on and will be exposed to the tools and techniques that are being used to accomplish these projects. The program is commuter-based and will not include any overnight on-campus housing, breakfast, or dinner meals.

This year’s research opportunities are available in the following areas:

• Molecular neuroscience with Andrés Vidal-Gadea, professor of molecular neuroethology.
• Chemistry of gold nanoparticles with Jeremy Driskell, associate professor of analytical chemistry.
• Nanoscience and materials chemistry with Jun-Hyun Kim, associate professor of nanoscience and materials chemistry.
• Organic chemistry with Andrew Mitchell, associate professor of organic chemistry.
• Opportunities in computing: A hands-on overview of information technology will be given by Illinois State’s Associate Professor of Information Systems Glen Sagers and other faculty members from the School of Information Technology.

The cost of the program is $295 per student and includes daily lunches and a T-shirt.

Financial assistance for the program includes need-based financial scholarships and Computing and Information Technology scholarships among others.

Applications received after April 2 will be reviewed for admittance on a case-by-case basis, as per availability. No applications will be accepted after May 15.

For more information visit here or contact Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Assistant Director for Outreach, Amy Bloom at (309) 438-8115 or by email.