Women in Science High School Career Day at Brookhaven Lab

April 11, 2007

UPTON, NY - Forty female students from four Suffolk County high schools - Comsewogue in Port Jefferson Station, Earl L. Vandermuelen in Port Jefferson, Mount Sinai, and Riverhead - in addition to several students from John A. Coleman Catholic High School in Hurley, NY, and the Wheatley School in Old Westbury, NY, recently learned first-hand about careers in science and related fields from female researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory. Coordinated by Brookhaven Women in Science (BWIS) and funded by Brookhaven Science Associates, high school career days are held at the Laboratory to inspire young women to think about careers in science.

Most of the students who participated in this year's career day are members of Women in Science and Engineering, a BOCES enrichment program designed to challenge high school women who show academic promise or interest in math or science. They participated in a panel discussion given by women employees at Brookhaven who specialize in physics research, environmental science, science writing, and patent law.

The students also toured the National Synchrotron Light Source, where researchers use x-rays, ultraviolet light and infrared light to probe materials as diverse as computer chips and viruses, and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, Brookhaven's world-class accelerator where physicists investigate the properties of matter as they existed just microseconds after the Big Bang. They also visited the Laboratory's Science Learning Center, where they enjoyed interactive exhibits.

Picture of female students enlarge

BWIS board members Gail Donoghue (left) and Stephanie LaMontagne McKeon accompany girls who won Brookhaven Lab-sponsored souvenirs in a raffle held at the career day luncheon: (from left) Andrea Spano, Mount Sinai High School; Leah Libresco, Wheatley School; and Marguerite Jones and Julia Monk, both from Earl L. Vandermuelen High School. (Click on image to download a high-resolution version.)

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