Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi guys,
I know this is very early but I'm already looking for mentors/people who could help me with next year's science fair project, since I had such a good experience with my first one (I'm still a freshman). I'm even going to ISEF!!!
This year I did a relatively (in relation to what my mentor is doing) simple project involving nanotechnology and it abosloutely fasicnates me.
I also love biology and the human body but technology also, and after a lot of research and non-stop reading I have found two very specific areas that I want to do an extensive project on (either for ISEF, intel Science Talent Search, or others): nano-medicine (applications of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in medicine) and, number two is molecular nanotechnology (MNT) or nano-electro-mechanical systems (NEMS) in medical applications. Those are very specific and there is a lot of research about these two.
The thing is, I can only find current research about these two in like Berkley University (Lawrence National Lab) and MIT and Stanford and I live in the midwest in a kinda big city with a few universities but none conducting research like what I want.
What should I do? How would I find a mentor?
thanks a lot

Hi,

Congratulations on attending ISEF, and wanting to get a jump start on next year.

One place you might look for a mentor is within the IEEE Enginering in Medicine and Biology Society.

Here is their websiteL

http://embs.gsbme.unsw.edu.au/aboutus.html

If you click on the Geographic Activities tab on the left of the page you will get a list of their local sections with contact information. I think I saw about 5 or 6 located in the Midwest. These folks are interested in nanotechnology as it applies to medicine, among many other things. Many chapters have monthly meetings that are free to attend, may put you on their email notification list without having to formally join IEEE, and may have as members people who would be good mentors for you. It will also probably help that the IEEE (Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers) is very anxious to support students who are interested in becoming engineers.

I do not know where in the Midwest you live, but if you are close to Case Western Reserve University(Cleveland, Ohio), they appear to be active and interested in nanotechnology :

http://blog.case.edu/bcg8/2007/04/04/ne ... technology

I am sure if you look around a little you will find local folks who are interested in your area of interest.

Good luck, and above all have fun!

Barrett Tomlinson

Thank you. I sent an e-mail to the chapter chair near where I live.
I'll tell you how it goes.

Purdue University has some serious work going on in nano technology and related areas in conjunction with their Bio Medical Engineering / Pharmacy / Veternary Medicine and Biology departments/colleges that have received some significant research grants and patents according to articles in the Purdue Alumus, College of Science "Insights" Magazine and the "In Focus" Engineering Magazine.

If Purdue has research programs in these fields, then Michigan, Ohio State, and Illinois probably have them as well.

Hi idanby,

Congrats on your success so far!

Even though the research groups you've found doing the work you're interested in are far away, it is probably worth contacting the professors who head those labs:

--If there are other groups doing related work in your geographical area, those profs are very likely to know about it.

--They might be able to point you toward projects of an appropriate scope that could be accomplished with equipment that you could access (depending on the universities in your area, etc).

--There is a small chance you might be able to travel and work in a lab during the summer. It is common for labs to employ undergrad students during the summer, and funding for this can come from the professor's research grants, or sometimes students can apply to programs outside that lab (within the university, state level, national, etc) to fund themselves. You might want to have a talk with your parents about whether this is an option for you and whether it is essential for your expenses (housing, etc) to be covered and/or for you to be paid on top of that. I found a few funding opportunities that it looks like the prof would have to apply for on your behalf:

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/noti ... 9-060.html (just announced)
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06027/nsf06027.jsp (add-on to a specific type of existing grant, so not all profs would be eligible)

and a few that you could apply to (unfortunately, probably not this summer due to deadlines and age requirements):

http://education.cnsi.ucsb.edu/ar.html
http://www.rockefeller.edu/outreach/
http://www.cee.org/programs/rsi
http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/bef ... _programs/
http://nano.berkeley.edu/educational/sharp.html
http://www.cpet.ufl.edu/SSTP/Description.html
http://oso.stanford.edu/program_detail.php?id=32

I encourage you to search for similar programs so that you're somewhat prepared if you propose summer lab work to a professor. That might sound scary, but a lot of them would be happy to mentor a young person with such a strong interest in science, and (shhh) they also get major bonus points with funding agencies for doing 'outreach' like this. *Definitely* mention that you've made it to ISEF, as that will be important to establish your credibility, esp. as a freshman.

Best wishes, and I'd be excited to hear how this works out for you!

Amanda

Wow thanks!