High school students experiment with science at U.

A group of high school juniors and seniors on campus this summer are taking courses that would probably make most University students jealous; there are no exams or grades, and only reading is required. The students are participating in the Hughes Scho - lars summer sessions, which began this week. The students began meeting in January with after-school lectures and laboratory sessions held once a week. David Reibstein, a biochemist and Assistant Director of the College of General Studies, runs the Hughes Scholars program, which was created only two years ago. This program runs through the second semester of students' junior year and continues with a two week summer session, a fall semester in the senior year, and a research position the following summer. The summer session for seniors began Monday and lasts for two weeks. "It gives them a chance to do lab work that they couldn't do in school," Reibstein said. 20 students out of the 36 who applied were selected for the summer program. Seven students, having com - pleted the previous semesters, are working with Uni - versity faculty in the biology department, the Institute for Environmental Medicine and the Veterinary school. These students are matched up with faculty "mentors" according to their field of interest. Diana Pancu, one of the courses' teaching assistants, stressed the difficulty and value of the Hughes Scholars program. "I don't think they understand everything that they're taught," she said. "They are learning things that I learned junior year of college. If they can understand the handouts, they should get an undergraduate degree in biochemistry." Pancu, who is attending medical school in the fall, added that "I wish I had done something like this in high school." In the two-week summer session students go to lec - tures in the morning and practice experiments in the afternoon. This summer they are transferring genes from one strain of bacteria to another. "This is the kind of research that they will be doing in college or as a career," said Dina Markowitz, a bioch - emist who is teaching the laboratory experiment. How - ever, the program is unlike school because the students do not have to pass any exams. They are only required to read the lab before they arrive each day. "No one is pushing them to do this," said Pancu. "[The students] are very inquisitive. It's scary to hear how many good questions they ask." Having worked at other science programs, Marko - witz said these scholars are much more focused on learning. "Other kids just want to play around," she said. "At this program, they are serious and interested in doing the experiments." "One of our objectives is to raise the sights for the kids," Reibstein said of the programs goals. "They can do better, but they don't know it." 'This is the kind of research they will be doing in college or as a ca - reer.' Diana Markowitz Biochemist

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