Several avenues exist for beginning to explore research in chemistry while a student is still in high school. Many high schools participate in science fairs, and the Southwest Ohio Regional Science Fair is held here at the University of Cincinnati. High school students with an interest in chemistry are encouraged to participate in these science fairs as an entry point into research in chemistry. The Department awards several scholarships to the University of Cincinnati for outstanding science fair projects related to chemistry. These are given to students who choose to major in chemistry. In several instances, high school students have connected with faculty members in our department and continued their project here.

Project SEED for High School Students

The Cincinnati Section participates in the Project SEED Program, an ACS sponsored program that places economically disadvantaged high school students in academic, industrial, and governmental research laboratories for eight-to-ten weeks during the summer.

The program builds on its success from the past four summers, during which students from Aiken, Hamilton, Jacobs, Purcell Marian, Winton Woods, and Withrow International high schools worked with University of Cincinnati and Xavier University chemistry faculty. This coming summer will involve as many as four students who each will receive a generous stipend while working for 8-10 weeks in local research laboratories under the direct supervision of a mentor.

If you are a high school teacher with a student who might be interested in participating or if you are a practicing chemist (academia, industry or government) who would like to host a student, or make a contribution to the program, please contact the program coordinator, Anna Gudmundsdottir at the University of Cincinnati, Anna.Gudmundsdottir@uc.edu. Participating research sites are expected to contribute a fraction of the stipend for each hosted student.