Monday, June 27, 2011

High school juniors and seniors from across North Carolina will explore the lives of Civil War soldiers, search for sea life and enjoy a war of the robots as part of the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Summer Ventures in Science and Mathematics (SVSM) June 26-July 23. The month-long academic program, funded by the state of N.C., is cost-free to academically talented students who plan to pursue a career in math and science.

SVSM students will gain the full college experience as they live on campus while being educated by UNC Wilmington faculty in the areas of math, science and technology. Students will ultimately design and implement their own college-level interactive research projects. Students from 27 counties representing 40 high schools will attend the program at UNCW.

Media are invited to capture students building projects and conducting experiments on local beaches, Civil War sites and labs by request.

"We want to incubate interest that high school students have in math and science," said Karen Shafer, director of the UNCW Science and Mathematics Education Center. "We want to develop the student's interest so they can be the next leaders in the field."

The statewide program, administered by the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, has been held each summer since 1987. More than 1,400 students applied for the coveted 320 spots available for the programs, which are held on UNC campuses.

Students will be divided into four groups: archaeology of the Cape Fear, molecular genetics of marine organisms, coastal geology and computer applications in physics.

Archaeological excavations will take place July 1-15 at the Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson historical site. Students will be completing field investigations on the Civil War encampment area at the fort. The coastal geology group will be held on Masonboro Island, where students will be conducting field and laboratory studies using geological techniques throughout July.

An exciting addition to the program this year is Robot Wars, a weekend activity in which students will be placed in teams of three and will be challenged to modify a basic robot and craft a computer program for it. The teams will complete an obstacle course with the robots and the computer programs they have created. Robot Wars will be held Saturday, July 2 in Watson School of Education from 10 a.m.-noon.

Media Contact:
Emily Jones, media relations assistant, 910.962.3171 or jonesel@uncw.edu