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THE Summer Science Program

As a grad student I taught 3 summers at SSP.

The Summer Science Program (SSP) is a residential enrichment program in which gifted high school students from around the world complete a very challenging, hands-on research project of their own. SSP is the only pre-college enrichment program operated, governed, and funded by its own alumni and former faculty – eloquent testimony to its impact. The educational experience of a lifetime – since 1959, it began as a program in astronomy. By day, students learn college-level astronomy, physics, calculus, and programming. By night, working in teams of three, they take a series of telescopic observations of a near-earth asteroid, and write software to convert those observations into a prediction of the asteroid’s orbit around the sun. Stimulating guest speakers and field trips round out the curriculum. SSP has now expanded into biochemistry.

I am an astronomer because I attended the “SSP” myself.  I also taught there, one of the most intense and rewarding experiences of my life.  Now I recruit students and faculty for the SSP. If you are either a high school student or a grad student or faculty member, I invite you to click on the SSP link above.

This venerable program has inspired young scientists for over 50 years, accelerating their intellectual and personal development, and motivating them to seek equally challenging educational and career paths. Many SSP alumni have gone on to distinguish themselves at selective universities, then to positions of leadership in their chosen careers.

Maarten Schmidt, discoverer of Quasars.

Maarten Schmidt playing volleyball at SSP!

Established in 1959 at Thacher School in Ojai, California, SSP is perhaps the oldest high school summer science program in the US and one of the most successful. It became an independent non-profit in 2000. It now takes place at two campuses: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro  and at CU, using the facilities of the Sommers Bausch Observatory. Here are some of the speakers at the program: Nobel laureates such as Richard Feynman and Eric Cornell, Maarten Schmidt, discoverer of quasars, planetary scientist Fran Bagenal. Here is a list of where SSP students go on to college.  It is a remarkable, inspiring program…..