Success with Science
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©2010 Gaglani et al. SUCCESS WITH SCIENCE: The Winners‘ Guide to High School Research Shiv Gaglani with Maria Elena De Obaldia Scott Duke Kominers Dayan Li Carol Y. Suh Foreword by Nobel Laureate Dudley R. Herschbach www.successwithscience.org Five Harvard students and research competition winners reveal how to succeed at high school research. 1 ©2010 Gaglani et al. Dedicated to our parents, teachers, and mentors for their invaluable encouragement, guidance, and support. 2 ©2010 Gaglani et al. CONTENTS Preface Acknowledgments Foreword Part I: The Benefits of Doing Research 1. Why do Research? 2. Personal Development 3. Scholarships 4. College Admissions 5. Career Decisions Part II: Getting Started on a Project 6. Forming an Idea 7. Finding a Lab and a Mentor 8. Working in a Lab 9. Impressing your Mentor 10. Keeping a Logbook Part III: Elements of a Successful Research Project 11. Using the Scientific Method to your Advantage 12. Writing a Publishable Paper 13. General Presentation Techniques 14. Making a Board or Poster 15. Giving a Presentation 3 ©2010 Gaglani et al. Part IV: Opportunities and Competitions 16. Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 17. Siemens Competition for Math, Science, & Technology 18. Intel Science Talent Search 19. Other Major Research Competitions 20. Summer Research Programs Part V: Research Beyond High School 21. Research after High School 22. Conferences and Papers 23. Research Community About the Authors Appendix 4 ©2010 Gaglani et al. PREFACE Welcome to The Winners‘ Guide to High School Research! First, congratulations are in order because you have already taken the first steps to succeeding with science by picking up this book. There are many ways to succeed in high school, though there are few that can parallel science research in terms of the widespread opportunities and immense benefits it provides to students who excel in it – hence the title Success with Science. The tagline is The Winners‘ Guide to High School Research because this is a guide written by, and containing the advice of, students who have performed extremely well in science research competitions such as the International Science and Engineering Fair, Siemens Competition, and Intel Science Talent Search, among many others. By reading this book and using the advice within it, you will learn how to formulate a research project idea, find people who can help you complete it, effectively present it to diverse audiences, and participate successfully in research competitions. This guide has been written to be useful to anyone interested in science research: from the freshman rookie with a vague interest in science to the senior veteran striving for first place at the Science Talent Search. With its testimonials from high school students whose lives were positively changed by their research experiences, this guide also aims to motivate and empower students who otherwise would not pursue science and research opportunities. In doing so, this book seeks to encourage more students to pursue science and technology, or at least to think creatively and take initiative. With these ambitious goals in mind, what is the best way to use this book? When I developed the idea and outline of this guide, I chose to divide it into five distinct parts that may be read sequentially or separately depending upon your interests and needs. I recruited four of my peers to be contributing authors based on their experiences and strengths, which are reflected in each part. Part I details the many individual benefits you can realize from participating in science research. For example, many high school students who do research get into top colleges, win scholarships, learn about career options, make lifelong friends, and develop qualities and skills that will help them throughout their life – the chapters in Part I describe each of these benefits in depth. After Part I whets your appetite to do research, Part II describes the nuts and bolts of getting started by forming an idea, finding a lab or mentor, working in the lab, impressing your mentor, and keeping records of your research in a logbook. Once you make some progress on your project, Part III will help you present your research – in both written reports and oral presentations – to your teachers, science competition judges, and the general public. Part IV not only describes the major research competitions in which you can enter your project and the summer research programs in which you can participate, but also provides advice from actual winners and participants on how to do your best in those venues. Finally, Part V provides a glimpse of what research is like after high school, because there are key differences in college, and knowledge of these differences will help you hit the ground running when you are an undergraduate. One important note that cannot be overemphasized is that your science research experience will prime you for success, especially if you approach it with a genuine interest in 5 ©2010 Gaglani et al. research and discovery rather than an interest in winning competitions. Though the awards and prestige that come with winning are great byproducts of excellent research, the research experience itself is far more valuable in the long-term. Best of luck with your research career! Shiv Gaglani Primary Author and Editor, Success with Science: The Winner‘s Guide to High School Research Cambridge, Massachusetts January 31, 2010 6 ©2010 Gaglani et al. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are many people who helped make this book possible. First, we would like to thank Professor Dudley R. Herschbach for his tremendous support and encouragement. He is the co- advisor of the Harvard College Undergraduate Research Association (HCURA), which we all have been members of. We would like to thank HCURA – especially Lev Shaket, Koning Shen, Wendy Ying, and HCURA co-advisor Greg Llacer – for empowering us to reach out to countless students, teachers, and professionals regarding this project. In the same vein, we would like to thank those students, teachers, and professionals who contributed invaluable advice and quotes to this book. In terms of the publishing process, we are indebted to Malorie Snider for her help contacting publishers and proofreading the manuscript, Poonam Sharma for her early advice on publishing a book while in college, and William Kominers, Ellen Dickstein Kominers, and Saritha K. Tice for their legal advice. Last but not least, we are very thankful to Research Corporation for Science Advancement for publishing this manuscript and, in particular, Dan Huff whose energy, helpfulness, and patience throughout the process helped turn this project into a reality. Shiv Gaglani Shiv is grateful to all of his high school research teachers at West Shore High and supporters in Brevard County, especially Sherie Jenkins, Tonya Galaida, and Richard DiPatri, as well as his mentors at the University of Central Florida, University of Miami, Clemson University, and Harvard University. He is especially thankful to his RSI mentor, Dr. Glenn D. Rosen, for his guidance over the last five years, as well as to Dr. Nelson Ying for his tremendous support throughout high school and into college. He would also like to thank Professor Dudley R. Herschbach, whom he met at the International Science and Engineering Fair years before entering Harvard. Little did he know that Professor Herschbach would be his advisor, mentor, supporter, and friend throughout his college years. Finally, he is grateful to his sister, Anushka, for always believing in him, and his parents, Dr. Mukesh Gaglani and Vanita Gaglani, for the sacrifices they made so that he could begin this journey, for the continuous support that has allowed him to come this far, and for the lessons in character that give him strength and guidance each day. Maria Elena De Obaldia Ellen is grateful for the mentorship of her professors at the University of Pennsylvania and the Children's Hospital of Boston for instilling her with a deep appreciation for science. Ellen is thankful for scholarship and grant support from the United States Navy, Army, Intel Corporation, Siemens Foundation, the Harvard College Financial Aid program, and the National Institutes of Health. Ellen is deeply grateful to her parents for encouraging her to take on big challenges and seeing her through the obstacles that have come along with this. She is also grateful for her family and friends, who have supported her thus far in countless ways. 7 ©2010 Gaglani et al. Scott Duke Kominers Scott appreciates the support of his undergraduate research advisors (Susan Athey, Erik D. Demaine, Drew Fudenberg, Edward L. Glaeser, John William Hatfield, William R. Kerr, Alvin E. Roth, Kay Kaufman Shelemay, Andrei Shleifer, David Smith, E. Glen Weyl, and especially Noam D. Elkies), his Research Science Institute mentors (Christopher C. Mihelich, John Rickert, Jenny Sendova, and Aaron M. Tievsky), and his high school teachers (especially Susan Schwartz Wildstrom). While writing his Guide chapters, Scott was supported by a Harvard College PRISE Fellowship and a Harvard Mathematics Department Highbridge Fellowship, and by the Harvard IQSS Summer Research Scholars Program. Many of Scott's friends provided helpful comments and suggestions on this work: most notably, Zachary Abel, Andrea J. Hawksley, Sonia Jaffe, Gregory Llacer, and Steffano U. Saldrium. Additionally, Scott would like to thank his family for their energy and inspiration. Dayan Li Dayan is greatly indebted to Jane Hemelt, Rocco Mennella, Godfrey Rangasammy, and all of his high school science teachers for guiding him through his first forays into scientific research; he also gives special thanks to Dr. David Roberts and Dr. Jeffrey Isenberg for their mentorship at NIH; finally, he thanks Dr. Zhijun Chen, Professor Benjamin Allen, Dr. Bodo Stern, Professor Dudley Herschbach, Professor Andrew P. McMahon, and his parents, Chaoxia He and Wenbin Li, for being such generous sources of support and inspiration in his development as a scientist.