Summer Institute

Gabrielle Adams, a 19-year-old at The Ohio State University and an aspiring chemistry major, has always had a knack for science. From the Columbus area, Adams enjoys solitude hikes, spending time with her nieces and exploring the Ohio State community.

Six years ago, like most sixteen-year-olds, I had no idea what I wanted to do for a living. I knew that I liked math and science, but outside of solving word problems, I had only a vague notion of what STEM looked like in the so-called “real world.” Then, in the summer of 2013, I attended the Summer Institute (SI) at the Ohio Supercomputer Center.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, women make up less than one-quarter of those employed in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) occupations in the United States. Not only does this mean that women in STEM remain a disproportionate minority, but it also contributes to STEM field underemployment in the U.S., with not enough properly trained candidates to fill science and technology jobs.

Over the past five years, I have had the privilege of working with the Summer Institute program at the Ohio Supercomputer Center. Summer Institute, SI for short, is “a two-week residential program that gives gifted Ohio high school students project-based, hands-on learning,” and each year is a unique experience for both myself and the students who participate in this program.

This year, 2014, marks the 25^th anniversary of OSC’s Summer Institute program for high school students. Since the Ohio Supercomputer Center grew from academic roots, it was only natural for the center’s founders to develop a program through which they could share with students the fascinating and empowering computational resources they’d assembled. It also was logical that they would create a pipeline to help educate and inspire future scientists and engineers.