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The Summer Science Program (SSP) is a residential enrichment program in which gifted high school students complete a challenging, hands-on research project in celestial mechanics.
By day, students learn college-level astronomy, physics, calculus, and programming.
By night, working in teams of three, they take a series of telescopic observations of a near-earth asteroid, and write software to convert those observations into a prediction of the asteroid's orbit around the sun.
Stimulating guest speakers and field trips round out the curriculum.
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This prestigious program has drawn young scientists from around the world for 50 years, accelerating their intellectual and personal development, and inspiring them to seek equally challenging educational and career paths.
Many SSP alumni have gone on to distinguish themselves at selective universities.
Established in 1959 at Thacher School in Ojai, California, SSP became an independent non-profit in 2000. It now takes place at two campuses: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro, and Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California.
"SSP remains the most academically cohesive and intense educational experience I have ever had. That, I suspect, is true for most who are fortunate enough to attend it. If it weren't for SSP my vision would be narrower, my aspirations less ambitious, and my life less rich. I don't exaggerate."
--Dr. E.C. Krupp SSP '61, Director, Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles
"What surprised me was that it wasn't the rigors of learning orbit determination that had the greatest impact in shaping my outlook on life and my future career - but the social experiences. Pulling an all-nighter after your own work was completed, just to help your friends. Keeping team (and TA!) morale high at 3 am. Academically SSP is both rigorous and unique, but what makes it very special and very dear are the social, 'coming-of-age' experiences that I am absolutely certain cannot be had anywhere else. The bonding, the late night discussions, and the whole experience, are unparalleled even years later."
--Ryan Kabir SSP 2000
[read more quotes from alumni, young and old]
The Summer Science Program values a diverse community in terms of gender, ethnicity, citizenship, socioeconomic status, and national origin. Young women and traditionally underrepresented minority students are especially encouraged to apply.
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News
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April 30 2010
Boston-area alumni and families, including current MIT and Harvard students, attended Boston Night at the Observatory, hosted by John Briggs '76 at Clay Center Observatory in Brookline.
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March 16 2010
Erika DeBenedictis '08 won the $100,000 first prize in the Intel Science Talent Search, for developing a software navigation system to improve spacecraft travel through the solar system.
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Jan 13 2009
Lunar science is coming to SSP '10. The Center for Lunar Origin and Evolution (CLOE) at Southwest Research Institute has been selected to be a founding member of NASA's Lunar Science Institute. As part of this NASA grant, CLOE scientists, including Dr. Amy Barr '94, will visit the Summer Science Program each summer to share their ongoing work with SSP students.
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