The 2024 cohort of Syracuse-area high school students who took part in the 鶹ƵUniversity Physics Emerging Research Technologies Summer High School Internship Program.
Thanks to a new National Science Foundation grant, 鶹ƵUniversity’s physics department doubles the number of Syracuse-area high school participants in their paid summer internship program.
STEM jobs are quickly becoming the backbone of America. By 2031, STEM occupations are , while non-STEM occupations will grow at about half that rate at 4.9%. Therefore, it’s essential for today’s students to gain a solid foundation in math, science and engineering subjects. 鶹Ƶis about to see its own boom in STEM jobs, as the arrival of the Micron chip manufacturing facility will include 9,000 high-paying positions at the Central New York campus.
Federal funding organizations like the National Science Foundation (NSF) have acknowledged this workforce shift and are seeding and supporting initiatives aimed at growing a diverse STEM workforce. Since 2022, the Department of Physics has hosted one such program, bringing in Syracuse-area high school students to participate in a paid research internship. In support of that program, the NSF recently pledged nearly $1 million to 鶹ƵUniversity through their Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT) campaign, which will fund the physics internship over three years.
Ruell Branch
Originally known as 鶹ƵUniversity Research in Physics (SURPh) during its first two summers in 2022 and 2023, the program seeks to create STEM career pathways for historically excluded groups by involving them in authentic research experiences and providing mentoring and peer networks. SURPh was the brainchild of former physics student Ruell Branch ’24, who pitched the idea to his professors as a way to strengthen the University’s connection with the local community and inspire local students to pursue STEM.
“I wanted 鶹Ƶhigh school students who have interests in physics to see what it’s like to work as a paid scientist,” says Branch, who graduated from the 鶹ƵCity School District. “I think it’s extremely important for students to get experience conducting research in an actual science lab.”
With the help of physics professor , Henninger High School science teacher Melanie Pelcher, and fellow 鶹Ƶalum and Henninger High School graduate Devon Lamanna ’23, G’24, SURPh was born. Now, thanks to the NSF funding awarded to Ross and fellow physics professor and department chair , the summer program will be funded through the summer of 2026.
“The new NSF support is a game-changer,” says Soderberg. “It signifies to the students who participate that not only those of us in the SU physics department and 鶹Ƶcity schools, but also policymakers in the federal government, see value in helping them get excited about STEM disciplines and see the potential for them as future professionals who will someday help drive innovation and discovery.”
The three-year grant, totaling nearly $1 million, allowed the program to grow from 12 students in 2023 to 24 in 2024 and brought in additional faculty mentors. SURPh was made possible in past years thanks to funding from the John Ben Snow Foundation and internal support from the Engaged Humanities Network and the physics department.
“This program could not have achieved NSF funding without these other sources to prop us up,” says Ross.
Now called the 鶹ƵUniversity Physics Emerging Research Technologies Summer High School Internship Program (SUPER-Tech SHIP), the program just wrapped its summer session with a closing ceremony and poster session. Through SUPER-Tech SHIP, students were exposed to skills and concepts related to computational physics, biophysics and particle physics during the six-week program.
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