<p>I have a question on this too. How do these people think up their projects? I just don't get it. I see these people doing experiments on whachamacallits to attempt to make them into some environmentally friendly recycleable plastic... I don't even understand 2 words from their projects... how did they come up with those</p>
<p>^^I started researching in 9th grade after my science teacher forced me into the intel science fair. My dad turned me on to science at a very young age. He taught me a lot of hands on skills, using a lathe, mechanical drawing, etc. My intel project, which I whipped up in about a month and a half consisted of a miniature ringbom engine which produced electricity from the temp differential between an ice cube and a cup of boiling water. Sounds lame, right? But the engine itself was really hard to make and I got a bunch of awards for innovative engineering as well as admission officers' and professional engineers' attention. I stopped doing intel but intend to again this year. I took the concept to a larger scale working with more fluids and geo-thermal concepts for the past 2 years. I don't do any of the research at a college or anything. Just in my basement and garage shop as well as the local university library. I just knew I wanted to do something with alternative heat engines and after watching a history channel special on Stirling engines, I wanted to do my own rendition. You can contact a lot of universities about summer research programs. I think for a lot of them you need to demonstrate an expressed desire in a certain idea to get a mentorship. Usually you have already started the research before you go. I know you can work in a lab helping with graduate students' work once you've taken analytical chemistry (post o-chem).</p>
<p>Many universities have summer science/engineering programs to look into (not necessarily competitive), particularly if you are female. BU used to offer a brief one week intro to biotech topics with labs & presentation.
Read - use Google. Pick a topic you may have interest in, read enough and eventually you'll have a question. Try to answer it. Friend of S eventually asked what exactly happens to nano particles in the environment - do they degrade, disperse or what? After much reading he contacted a professor and visited the lab. From there worked local college lab(set up by the prof & hs sci teacher) and the research resulted in some nice accolades and experiences. Does your high school have an enthusiastic science teacher?
If not, you might also google "Society of...." or "American Assoc of...."
whatever you're interested in. Also, look at your state u for more high school programs, sci fairs etc. Contact the person in charge of your state sci fair for guidance. Best of Luck.</p>
<p>I did two months of research this summer and a preview week last year... the preview week was more of a high school program, though, whereas this year I was doing a project of my own. I was researching how peroxiredoxins affect cancer, i.e. whether they inhibit or promote cell growth. As far as I know, I was the only high schooler doing research at the university... If you want to start a project, you might talk to some of your high school's science teachers, or even go to the local university and ask if they might be able to offer you an opportunity. Sometimes the professor you work with will acknowledge you in the paper once it's published, which looks pretty good on college apps.</p>
<p>I interned at UC berkeley's nanotech program under a program that only allowed 15, post-junior year high school students from around the SF Bay Area to individually work under a grad student of different departments. I worked for about a month this summer doing a biochem project under the College of Chemistry and enjoyed it fully.</p>
<p>Previously participated in the area and state science fairs back when, won several prestigious awards that I'll def be including in my app, but nothing like Siemens and Intel level stuff -- I kinda was caught too much in ECs and school to spend time off to do that level research. =[ regrettable, but understandable</p>
<p>As for the classes, take any that apply to your anticipated research topic. For instance, I haven't even taken basic level physics, but have taken AP bio and AP chem and numerous comm. college bio/chem courses in addition to the regular bio/chem I had taken earlier in high school. It's probably why I got the biochem mentor at UC Berk.</p>
<p>D did after Softmore year in HS. Bio and Chem courses. Cancer research project. Entered sci fair jr year HS, one local, then 4th next level. Don't know how many kids, but there are many U's in area that run programs plus situations like I had (not a program).</p>
<p>You don't necessarily need to do research through a university for it to be effective and successful in competition.</p>
<p>I got interested in quantum physics/quantum computing research in my sophomore year and have continued it through senior year. It ended up turning into a mathematical, experimental, and computer simulation analysis of more effective quantum computing techniques. I got involved because I'd done research in various fields since 6th grade and wanted to find something I liked to concentrate in throughout high school. Namely something I could continue working with in college. I hadn't taken any special science classes previously, just Honors Biology I think which doesn't even apply to this topic. All the mathematics and theory I needed to learn I got through a mentor I found and self-study. Again, I didn't have a university to work with. All three years of experimentation was conducted in the back of my school's physics lab although I did have to borrow equipment from the local community college (they surprised me with how much equipment they had). As long as you're proactive in finding mentors and teachers who are open to helping you, you can accomplish a lot. I've entered the science fairs every year State wins and one ISEF, Intel Semifinalist.</p>
<p>To address username, I seriously just went to the library said "ok, I like physics, what's the hardest thing in physics that looks interesting to me that I could work with?"...quantum physics! Three years later I haven't looked back.</p>
<p>What year of high school were you in when you started? Sophomore</p>
<p>What exactly are you researching/did you research? Bird flu vaccine </p>
<p>How did you get involved with it in the first place? My dad :) </p>
<p>What science classes did you take previously to working in the lab? Genetics, AP Bio, AP Chem, read lots of papers and my mentor basically taught me microbiology</p>
<p>Have you entered any of the science fair compitions? I will</p>
<p>How many other high school students volunteer with you or at the university at which you are working? 2 or 3 at different labs</p>