Apply by April 1 for OARDC High School, Undergrad Science Internship

WOOSTER, Ohio — The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster is again offering summer research internships to area high-school juniors and seniors and undergraduate students interested in exploring careers in scientific fields.

The application deadline for the 2010 OARDC Research Internship Program (ORIP) has been extended until April 1. Applications are available at http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/orip/secondary.asp?id=222.

This year’s program will run from June 7-Aug. 13. ORIP is tailored specifically to enhance the interest of local students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The internships will teach critical thinking skills through rigorous laboratory and field research experience, seminars, group discussion sessions, and symposia.

The research arm of Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, OARDC (http://oardc.osu.edu) is the largest and most comprehensive facility of its kind in the United States.

Research training areas include biological, physical, computer and social sciences, as well as engineering and technology. Interns will work with nationally and internationally recognized OARDC scientists, who are involved in a wide variety of research programs in areas such as environmental studies, biofuels, molecular and cellular biology, entomology, and animal and plant diseases.

Selected scholars will be required to work a minimum of 30 hours per week, but daily hours will be flexible. They will receive a stipend for their work ($2,400 to $3,000 for the 10-week period depending on grade level and experience) and certificates upon successful completion of the program.

For more information, contact ORIP director and entomology professor Parwinder Grewal at (330) 263-3963 or grewal.4@osu.edu.

ORIP is one way OARDC is answering the state of Ohio’s call for bold action to bolster the teaching of STEM disciplines in K-12 schools — a move seen as crucial for the Buckeye state to attract and retain 21st-century businesses as well as to create and sustain high-skill, high-wage jobs.

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