Short Hills Student Attends Prestigious Summer STEM Program

Short Hills resident, Esther Pasternak, a senior at Blair Academy, Blairstown, NJ, was awarded a full scholarship to attend the highly selective 2018 Summer STEM Program at The Cooper Union in New York City. The six-week program ran from July 9 to August 16, 2018 and offered many different project areas for students. Pasternak chose chemical engineering, “Alternative Fuels and the Global Energy Crisis”.

“It was great to have the opportunity to further my academic interests in STEM. Working with highly knowledgeable professors and peers was a very rewarding experience and I look forward to pursuing a future in the engineering world," she explained.

The Albert Nerken School of Engineering at The Cooper Union has been preparing high school students to pursue undergraduate careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields for over 25 years. The Summer STEM Program is a six-week intensive that immerses current high school sophomores and juniors in hands-on engineering design and problem-solving, thereby placing them on the right track for careers in technological innovation. Projects range broadly and include robotics, digital fabrication, computer programming and app development, biomedical and genetic engineering, improved urban infrastructure, and even racecar design. Faculty and teaching assistants from the departments of civil, chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineering provide students with foundational knowledge and expert guidance to address real-world problems in their respective disciplines of expertise. Students also attend workshops on oral presentation skills, technical writing, career counseling, and college admissions. They are given access to Cooper Union’s library resources, computer facilities, and laboratories to perform their research, design, analysis, and prototyping. Typically, projects include at least one field trip to a local museum, exhibition, or gallery to enhance the students’ experience. Esther’s Chemical Engineering section visited Con Edison for a day, went to Columbia University for a college fair, participated in a symposium of women in STEM followed by a seminar on presentation skills. The program culminated with each group submitting technical writing assignments summarizing their research and presenting their work to an audience of invited guests. To recognize their successful completion of the program students received a certificate of achievement from the Albert Nerken School of Engineering. For students who may be interested in attending the program in 2019, The Cooper Union expects that many admitted students who spend their summer in the program will go on to pursue a STEM career simply because they are already interested in these fields. The college is also searching for students who may not be completely convinced that a STEM career is for them and just want to explore. For a more detailed description of the program, please go to: http://cooper.edu/engineering/summer-stem As part of Cooper Union's legacy, financial aid is made available, up to 100% of the cost, for students who either meet criteria of need and/or who are otherwise underrepresented in the STEM fields. All students are encouraged to apply for this enriching educational opportunity. This program is open to current high school sophomores or juniors spending the summer in the Greater NYC area. Students must be sophomores or juniors during the period in which they apply (rising juniors and seniors in the summer they attend the program). Admission to the program is selective; screening of applicants begins on the deadline. All materials, including those from references, must be submitted by the deadline for full review and consideration. The Summer STEM program is supported through generous donations from the Pinkerton Foundation, The Henry Sterne Trust, and the New York Building Foundation. Contact: summerSTEM@cooper.edu