In 2017-2018, the Shady Side Academy Senior School Science Department created a new class to help prepare motivated students for intensive summer research internships. Five juniors (now seniors) were accepted to the inaugural Summer Science Research Seminar course, taught by Dr. Scott Peterson and Dr. Kelly VandenBosche and focusing on advancing research skills such as academic paper reading, data analysis, scientific ethics and presentation skills.

Then, during the summer of 2018, the five students were placed in collaborating research labs at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University for 200+ hour internships conducting research with professors.

• Senior Adam Bozzone worked with Dr. Wei Xiong in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Pittsburgh. He focused on gradient metal alloys for applications in aerospace by optimizing the processing parameters of additive manufacturing and characterizing the microstructure and properties of the gradient alloy materials.
• Senior Isabella Cavagna worked with Dr. Willem Van Panhuis in the Department of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh. She collected and analyzed epidemological data on vaccination rates of Pennsylvania children in an effort to determine which counties had significant problems with their vaccination rates and how it had changed over time.
• Senior Lilith Scheele worked with Dr. Karen Arndt in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. She investigated controlling activation of genes in fruit flies by suppressing histone activity through gene modification to affect the charge transfer of a biochemical sequence.
• Senior Asher Tayal worked with Dr. Marcus Chmielus in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Pittsburgh, focusing on ferromagnetic shape memory materials used for microactuators and sensors. He designed a test apparatus and attempted to quantify the response of the materials to magnetic fields of varying strength.
• Senior Abigail Todd worked with Dr. Bryan Webler in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, focusing on making a lower-cost, high-strength steel for automotive applications. The project focused on trying to affect and characterize the ferrite distribution within the steel microstructure.

"The students all developed stronger research and data analysis skills that will be useful for them in college and future careers," said VandenBosche. "In addition, they learned a lot about the soft skills involved in working in a lab setting such as being comfortable with critique, being comfortable struggling to learn and how to problem solve on their own."

All five students presented their research to the Senior School community and answered questions about their work at an event the McIlroy Center for Science and Innovation on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018.

Congratulations to all five students! View photos of their summer lab work and presentations below: