84 high school students from 35 states and 16 countries convene virtually for prestigious six-week summer academic research program
McLean, VA (June 23, 2020) – The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) welcomed the 84 top achieving U.S. high school and international scholars to the 37th annual Research Science Institute (RSI), jointly sponsored with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). RSI is an intensive, six-week program that gives students the opportunity to conduct original, cutting-edge science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research. Due to the coronavirus, RSI 2020 is being held virtually June 21-August 1.
“We are so pleased to make innovative use of technology to deliver this,” said Joann P. DiGennaro, CEE President.
RSI scholars learn about the careers, achievements and challenges of STEM through presentations and dialogue in RSI’s Distinguished Guest Lecture Series. RSI’s 2020 guest lecturers include:
- Jeremy Wolfe, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology & Radiology, Harvard Medical School and Visual Attention Lab, Department of Surgery, Brigham & Women's Hospital
- Tom Leighton, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO, Akamai Technologies
- Wolfgang Ketterle, PhD, Nobel Laureate, Physics, MIT
Dr. Amy Sillman, an RSI ’84 alum, will lead the Institute this summer.
RSI is offered cost-free by CEE to competitively selected top achieving students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Students are selected by CEE’s committee of professional educators and RSI alumni based on high school records, personal essays, standardized test scores, teacher recommendations, research experience, potential for leadership, and honors and awards in math and science.
The Research Science Institute offers top academic math and science students the opportunity to experience graduate-level research and camaraderie with other talented STEM scholars. RSI has 2,900 successful alumni with a STEM career retention rate of 80 percent.
The RSI annual summer program consists of one week of theoretical classroom work, followed by four-and-a-half weeks of high-level research under the mentorship of leading scientists, engineers, and researchersin the students’ respective areas of interest. In their final week, students demonstrate their research work through written academic papers and oral presentations to their peers and a panel of judges.
This year, in addition to 53 U.S. high school rising seniors, 31 international students are participating from Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey in RSI 2020.
Click here for a list of the U.S. students.
Click here for a list of the international students.
About the Center for Excellence in Education
The Center for Excellence in Education was founded in 1983 by the late Admiral H.G. Rickover and Joann P. DiGennaro, President of the Center. The Center's mission is to nurture high school and university scholars to careers of excellence and leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and to encourage collaboration between and among leaders in the global community. CEE’s programs include the Research Science Institute (RSI), the USA Biolympiad (USABO), and the Teacher Enrichment Program (TEP).
| Media Contact: | Tom Flavell, (703) 448-9062 ext. 237 |
Center for Excellence in Education: https://www.cee.org/
Research Science Institute: https://www.cee.org/research-science-institute
USA Biolympiad: https://www.cee.org/usa-biology-olympiad-usabo