Curieus
capstone
Free, selective mentorship experience designed to train under-served high schoolers in a STEM field of their choice.
for
8-10th
graders
10
weeks
3
initiatives
2-3
students per initiative
Curieus Capstone is an in-depth opportunity for highly motivated, low-income 8th-10th graders to engage in meaningful and deep research, culminating with a presentation and feedback on their work from experts in the field they pursue. Over the course of a semester, students will learn core concepts in the area of their project and then engage in the full research cycle including “field” work and summarizing and presenting their work. Presentations will be held with university faculty and professionals in the field, with an emphasis on experts from underrepresented backgrounds for the students to resonate with.
Apply below
capstone introduction
technical training in area of research
research process
meaningful hands-on research with concrete results
research recap
preparation of final presentation
demo day!
presentation of research to experts in the field
week 1
week 3
week 9
week 10
Program 2 starting January 25
Spaces are limited to ensure quality. Dates and times will be determined according to student availability, once accepted.
Initiatives
AI +
Medicine
mentored by John Ho
This project intends to give a student a basic introduction to machine learning and how it can be used for image classification, specifically cervical cancer. The student will learn the biology behind cervical cancer and how it is detected, as well as gain an understanding of neural networks and how they work. The student will run a neural network on a provided cervical cancer dataset, and learn about and use certain machine learning techniques to increase accuracy. The project will culminate in a capstone presentation given to two professors at the end of the internship.
Sustainable Design Thinking
mentored by Maya Khodabakchian
This project intends to give students a well rounded understanding of the processes involved in designing and manufacturing sustainable products. This interdisciplinary course will introduce students to the ethics of sustainability, the correct way to approach the problem, and the various ways to develop a ‘greener’ product. They will spend the first couple weeks learning about the key sustainability issues of the modern world and the solutions that have been proposed. Then, they will propose a product, calculate the net efficiency rates, and net price, determining if their design would ultimately survive on the market. Students will learn about the environment, different influential industries, how to calculate energy use, and important marketing strategies.
mentored by Alexandre Acra
This project intends to give the students a technical introduction to concepts in data analysis, coding, and astrophysics. The students will learn basic concepts in physics and Python coding in the first few weeks. Then, the interns will work through the analysis of several data files surrounding metallicity (the proportion of certain heavier elements) in galaxies and how it affects their corresponding lifecycles. Once finished with the project, the interns will present their work to a professor of astrophysics for feedback, ultimately connecting them to further research opportunities.