Jim Burress, from WABE.org and 90.1 FM, is following the story of 12 Westside high school students as they progress through Project ENGAGE, which stands for Engaging New Generations at Georgia Tech through Engineering.
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Read about the Project ENGAGE Mentor Match Luncheon here.
30 students from the single gender high schools B.E.S.T. Academy and Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy applied and 12 were selected to participate. Professor Emeritus Robert Nerem, working with the program, says that they admitted 12 instead of the planned 10 as a result of the high-quality pool of applicants.
In addition to conducting paid laboratory research in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, the program is proving to be a great model for interdisciplinary interaction within Georgia Tech. The mentors had a training session with Taneisha Lee, Program Director of the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC). Lee Baker, president-elect of Georgia Tech Black Alumni Association came and spoke to the scholars about the concept of “belonging”.
The program began with a four week cell biology boot camp led by Dr. Manu Platt. Professional development activities learned through the program include: written and oral communication; data analysis; time management; and accessing online databases. In the coming month, scholars will participate in Responsible Conduct in Research training from Senior Academic Professional Jason Bornstein in Ivan Allen College of the Liberal Arts and industry visits to a cell therapy company and a medical company.
Nerem says that Project ENGAGE is meant to inspire the scholars to aspire to a life of possibilities.
On July 26th, the scholars will be giving short oral presentations about their research thusfar followed by a poster exhibition and luncheon. For more information about Project ENGAGE, please contact Robert Nerem at 404-894-2768.