<p>Hi, I'm a junior and I want to start a science research so I can enter a science fair. The thing is I've never did any science research before. I don't really know how to do one!!! So, I thought that I should find a professor who can help me. I e-mailed many professors (cuz I was afraid I might not get any help). I e-mailed to professors who are interested in several different areas too:chem, bio, engineering, physics and astronomy. And only one professor answered me back and told me that she could help. But she is a professor in the area of material science and engineering. The problem is I don't know anything about that area of science yet. I've only took Biology and Chemistry at school, and because of my school's policy, I'm not allowed to take any AP science course until I'm a senior. And I was kinda hoping that the professors who are in the area of chem and bio would e-mail me back, but they didn't. Recently, I have been researching online about material science and engineering and nanotechnology/carbon nanotubes seemed interesting. But I don't really have a background on the topic.<br>
Sorry about the long background info .....</p>
<p>So my question is:
Is it possible for me to learn about nanotechnology as I do my research? I was wondering if it is possible to do some research on nanotechnology and choose a topic then study more on the topic as I do my research. Is this a right way to start a science research???</p>
<p>Learning about a topic while you’re doing research on it is exactly the purpose of research; you don’t completely understand a phenomenon so you do experiments to hopefully understand it better. But in your case, it seems like you feel that you don’t have the necessary prerequisites to do relevant research in nanotechnology. Well I don’t know too much about nanotechnology, but the materials science shouldn’t be too difficult to gain some experience in. But it all depends on the nature of the research. </p>
<p>Also, I don’t know which exact field you plan on conducting research in. You said a professor in materials science contacted you but you’re reading aboout nanotechnology?? Do the fields overlap or something?</p>
<p>To !Mi Vida!: Thanks for your post! 
The professor is interested in nanotechnology (that’s what it said on the website) and I have been interested in the field before, but I didn’t really have time to read about it or get any background about it yet. One of my problem is that I don’t think that the professor is interested in doing the research with me. I mean… she did answer me back by e-mail and she told me to call her. I called her and told her I wanted to do research about nanotech, and she asked me if I had any background and I said “not really…”. After that I asked her if it was okay if I could meet her sometime and sent her an e-mail asking when she is available. Then… she didn’t answer me back… And I feel like she isn’t interested in doing the research with me anymore because i don’t know anything about the subject and maybe she thought that I was a “dumb high school kid”. She did help some high school students in Intel STS though… I saw her name as one of mentors online…I dont know why she didn’t answer me back yet and I’m getting worried because I feel like she won’t help me. And i am planning to do local science fair (in Feb.) Have you done any science research before? Is it okay if I send you a message or something to ask about how to start science research? Seriously, I have so many questions right now that just keeps popping up in my head whenever I think about this science research thing…</p>
<p>Hi, I used to have a similar problem as you are in now, just before the summer of my junior year (i’m senior now).
I did want to do some scientific research over the summer just as you did, but I wasn’t sure if I knew something or not enough to do a research or who would take in a lowly high school student?
Well, here’s what happened to me: I was originally accepted into University of Iowa’s Student Training Program where students do something like a scientific research project with a mentor, and I had planned to go to there to do a research project on speech science, but it was canceled because of the flooding in Iowa.
Since I couldn’t go to Iowa, but I still want to do something for the summer, so I had spammed about 22 professors in Boston by looking them up. At first, I wasn’t sure what field I could do research in. I did think of doing biology, but which biology I wanted to do? Then, after thinking for awhile, especially the field (speech science) I was supposedly to work in, I thought I might want to do something related to hearing, auditory system, and deafness related. So, I looked more around the internet, and I found that this particular field was mostly concentrated at Harvard and MIT. So, I went and spammed those professors, including my resume.
Within the day I sent out those emails, I got a promising response back from a MIT professor, saying he would like to know more about me. Then, we kept in contact, and finally, he said he would like me to come up to Boston for an interview and tour of the Harvard-MIT lab. After the interview, he said I can start working.
I think the interview was a way to gauge my background and how much I could contribute to his project, and I guess I did have enough background to do work with him on the project. After two months in Boston, I finally had my name published on the research paper along with his.
So, the bottom line is that keep persisting, and maybe, you just might get lucky as I did. But I did not conduct an original research project, as you had wanted, but it pays off working with a MIT professor and having your name on the paper for contributing, since he will write me a letter of recs for colleges.
And really, our background knowledge are probably pretty similar, since I only had taken those high school math and science classes.
It seems like that the lady kinda expect you to know more about this nanotechnology stuff to do some independent research stuff, or otherwise, how can you do a research without knowing those stuff? I really don’t know anything about material sciences/nanotechnology.
But then, I’m probably no help to you when it comes to doing an independent research, like you’re asking, but i just thought you might want to know what I did to get to work in a lab. Or you could try to find a field that isn’t so “hot” to get an internship or a professor, like mine.</p>
<p>Thank you so much wildchartermage! I wasnt actually looking for science research during summer vacation though… which was a big mistake. i should have looked for it a long time ago. I just had no idea that it was really hard to get the opportunity. I went to a college summer program then started looking for research opportunity with a professor in late August. i was planning to start the research in the beginning of september and prepare for the fair in Febuary (and do the research during school year). That’s why i was looking for a professor around my home. Thanks for your advice! I’ll keep trying. But, if I do not get any professor to help me, is it possible to do the research on my own, without a mentor?</p>
<p>Yes, it is possible to do research on your own, but to enter intel STS, your project has to be original somehow.</p>
<p>Oh, I’m not entering intel STS. I wanted to participate in regional science fair so I can try to shoot for Intel ISEF. What is the difference between intel STS and intel ISEF? I know that for STS you have to be a senior…</p>
<p>Is it possible to do research and prepare for regional science fair in short period of time? I am really regretting that I didn’t know about science fairs earlier (cuz my school doesn’t know or engage in any math/science related competitions 
) and I know that I am starting late. I probably would be able to start research in September, if I get lucky finding a mentor to help me. I have to submit online application by December and submit my abstract by January, and I feel like I don’t have enough time. But at the same time, I don’t want to give up either just because the fact that i don’t have enough time to do it. Now, I know about the science fairs and ISEF, I want to try my best to do well on the research and the science fair. So… is it possible to do a decent research in a couple of months???</p>
<p>I don’t know too much about intel STS and ISEF. You might want to google them to find about the difference between them. I’m not going to be able to enter them. =/.
And my school doesn’t engage in any math/science related competitions either. =/, but this new high school i’m going to has science Olympiad team, so I guess i’ll join it.
Yes, you can do a decent research in two months, just as I did some research over the summer for 2 months at Harvard-MIT.
your project doesn’t have to necessarily cover a wide scope. You could really narrow and focus on one aspect and do research on that, and if you’re lucky to have some progress or results from the project, then go ahead. And keep looking for mentors, and be persistent. And again, do you really want to do nanotechnology? or what fields do you have in mind?</p>
<p>Well, my first choice is chemistry. My second choice is nanotech. But i think I want to go with chemistry because I know more about it and I am also self-studying AP Chem this year. But I am planning to just read several science magazines and try to pick out an area of chemistry which interests me. Then I was going to study more about that area and then pick a topic that I want to do research on. And then I am thinking of contacting professors. Is this an okay way to start out the research? Or is it going to make me harder to find a mentor?</p>
<p>I think your plan sounds good. I would go ahead with it and see what happens. But if you just happen to talk with a professor, the professor might ask you questions to see how much you know it and see if you can do this project or not. So, keep studying and reading on chemistry or nanotech in case that happens. But yeah, go ahead and contact professors.</p>
<p>i had my kids google science fair projects. there are so many sites showing how to do research and giving ideas for anyone from K-12. this is a great place to start. also there are many projects published on the internet so you can see just how the person set it up and presented it…also for a first timer you may want to know it is important to have a neat and readable board for your project. that takes time to do so leave some time to organize and glue on your project…</p>