Gifted Atlanta

The College of Sciences at Georgia Tech is recruiting high-school students who attend Atlanta Public Schools for a new summer research program in the natural sciences.

The Summer Research Academy will match each student with a Georgia Tech laboratory in their field of interest within the sphere of natural sciences (think chemistry, biology, physics — disciplines that explore the natural world). Students will spend seven weeks completing a research project from start to finish, including reading scientific literature, planning experiments, analyzing the data they collect, and presenting their findings.

The program is open to students who will be at least 16 years old when the program begins in June. No prior research experience is required. Georgia Tech is especially interested in including students from groups that historically have been underrepresented in science and technology fields.

The Summer Research Academy is being funded by the College of Sciences, and therefore is free for participants. The application requires two essays, a high-school transcript, and two references. The deadline to apply is March 13.

The Honors College at the University of West Georgia is starting a new summer program for rising high-school juniors and seniors.

The Georgia Scholars’ Institute (GSI) is a four-week program for high-achieving students. Participants will take two honors classes, with the opportunity to earn six hours of credit toward both their high-school diploma and their college degree through Georgia’s dual enrollment program.

GSI students will live in The Oaks, a residence hall that houses UWG’s Honors Living-Learning Community. They also will take part in non-academic activities planned for them by the program.

Students who enroll at GSI through dual enrollment will not have to pay tuition, but will pay $1,500 for room and board. A limited number of scholarships to cover these costs may be available.

The application deadline is April 1, 2022. Applicants must provide a high-school transcript and ACT or SAT scores*, along with other documentation.

* If your child hasn’t taken the ACT or SAT, regular registration for the March 12 SAT test date is open through this Friday, February 11; late registration for that test date will continue until March 1.

The University of West Georgia will offer academic camps on its Carrollton campus this summer for students rising to grades 6 through 12. This is a shift for UWG, which previously offered camps for elementary school children. The Department of Continuing Education told me the new camps will have more of an academic focus and will be taught by UWG faculty and staff.

Camps will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, with early drop-off and late pick-up available.

Registration hasn’t opened yet. However, UWG has set up a poll at the webpage linked above, where you can indicate which topics would interest your child. Choices include forensic science, archaeology, drawing, photography, Esports, entrepreneurship and several others. UWG even has an open answer form where you can tell them what additional topics would appeal to your child. The final camp lineup will be based on the responses they receive.

Clemson University plans to open a new camp this summer for students interested in space and astronomy. The Clemson Space Camps will be hosted at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute in western North Carolina and will be run collaboratively by staff from both Clemson and PARI.

The PARI facility has research-grade optical and radio telescopes, and PARI’s skies meet the gold-level rating standard of the International Dark Sky Association, making it an outstanding place to view outer space.

Campers will conduct independent and group research under the guidance of astronomers and scientists. They’ll also take a field trip to the main Clemson University campus to tour the labs of some of the university’s astrophysics faculty. The camps also include activities such as campfires, hiking and tubing.

Middle-school students (ages 11-14) are offered a one-week residential camp; high-schoolers (14-17) can attend a two-week residential camp. Registration is open now.