Center for Excellence in Education Building Understanding between Young Scholars from the US and the Arab and Islamic World
The Research Science Institute Focuses on Scientific Excellence and Developing Mutual Respect Vienna, Virginia, July 18, 2003—The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) opened the twentieth Annual Research Science Institute sponsored in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. CEE’s flagship program , which started in June and will end in August, is one of several that reflects the Center’s mission to nurture careers of excellence and leadership in science and technology for high school students. Students from Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Singapore and Turkey are among the 79 students (representing 33 states in the US and 13 countries) attending the prestigious six-week program in Boston from June 23-August 1, 2003. “ We are delighted with the participation of high school students from countries having a predominantly Muslim population. Such experiences build bridges of international understanding among future leaders in science and technology ”says Joann DiGennaro, President of the Center for Excellence in Education. Robert Persiko, Chief of Youth Programs Division, Department of State, Educational and Cultural Affairs, expresses the State Department’ s enthusiasm for CEE’s summer program. According to Mr. Persiko, “The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State is pleased to partner with the Center for Excellence in Education in sponsoring participants in this year's Research Science Institute. The program promotes a key foreign policy objective under the Bureau's Partnerships for Learning initiative—to engage youth in the Arab and Islamic world in a dialogue with American youth to promote mutual understanding and respect.” “The students with their diverse backgrounds have adapted well to the rigors of our program at MIT and are working productively with students from countries as diverse as India, Israel, and Russia, ” says Dr. Carey Inouye, Director of the Research Science Institute program. “In fact, they are so well adjusted that if you didn’t know that they were from another country, you would have assumed that they are all students from the US.” The Research Science Institute is a highly competitive, one-of its-kind program that combines on-campus course work in scientific theory and off campus work in scientific research. Students work under mentors who are leading scientists, mathematicians, and engineers at MIT, Harvard, research institutions and private industries. Their exchange of ideas and knowledge transcends all barriers of nationality, race or religion. Field trips to cultural and scientific institutions further the opportunities to bond with each other and build the close-knit relationships that promote mutual understanding. About the Center for Excellence in Education The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) nurtures careers of excellence and leadership in science and technology for academically talented high school and college students. Co-founded in 1983 by the late Admiral H.G. Rickover and Joann DiGennaro, President of the Center for Excellence in Education, the Center’s programs help keep the United States competitive in science and technology and further international understanding among future leaders of the world. CEE challenges students and assists them to become the creators, inventors, scientists and leaders of the 21st Century. CEE’s programs—the Research Science Institute, the Role Models Program, and the USA Biology Olympiad—are offered cost free to students competitively selected for participation. # # #
CONTACT:
Maite Ballestero
Vice President, Programs
Center for Excellence in Education
703-448-9062 ext 235
maite@cee.org
|
|