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{{news release|date=February 2012}}
{{Infobox non-profit {{Infobox non-profit
| name = Summer Science Program, Inc. | name = Summer Science Program, Inc.
Line 8: Line 9:
| location = ] and ] | location = ] and ]
| area_served = World | area_served = World
| mission = To operate a non-credit, research-based enrichment program for academically gifted high school students, designed to accelerate the intellectual and social development of tomorrow’s leaders, inspiring them to realize their individual potentials in the sciences and other professions.<ref></ref> | mission = To operate a non-credit, research-based enrichment program for academically gifted high school students, designed to accelerate the intellectual and social development of tomorrow’s leaders, inspiring them to realize their individual potentials in the sciences and other professions.
| focus = ] education | focus = ] education
| num_volunteers = c. 50 | num_volunteers = c. 50
Line 16: Line 17:
| homepage = http://www.summerscience.org/ | homepage = http://www.summerscience.org/
}} }}
'''The Summer Science Program''' (SSP) is an academic summer program for ] high school students. It is the sole project of the Summer Science Program, Inc., an educational non-profit organization.
'''The Summer Science Program''' (SSP) is an academic summer program where high school students experience college-level education and do research in ] by studying the orbits of ]s. The program was established in 1959 at ] in ], and now takes place at two locations: ] in ], and ] in ] (northwest of ]).<ref name=ColNews>{{cite news

The five to six-week curriculum is centered on a collaborative research project in ]. Students study ], ], ], ], and ] while working to take images of an ], measure its position, and calculate its ]. The program also includes many extracurricular activities, field trips (scientific and recreational), and guest lectures from working scientists and other professionals.<ref name=SkyTel />

All students go on to college, and most alumni eventually matriculate at ], ], ], ] and ] schools. Many later earn advanced degrees and positions of leadership in their chosen careers.<ref name=CPS />

Established in 1959 at ], the Summer Science Program now takes place at two locations, ] in ], and ] in ] (northwest of ]).<ref name=ColNews>{{cite news
|url=http://collegenews.org/campus-news/2010/summer-science-program-moves-to-westmont.html |url=http://collegenews.org/campus-news/2010/summer-science-program-moves-to-westmont.html
|title=Summer Science Program Moves to Westmont |title=Summer Science Program Moves to Westmont
Line 22: Line 29:
|newspaper=College News |newspaper=College News
|date=May 17, 2010 |date=May 17, 2010
}}</ref> The curriculum is very similar at the two campuses. The main curriculum is the same, but the individual academic directors can vary the curriculum at each campus somewhat.
}}</ref>


==Overview== ==History==
The Summer Science Program is a residential course with students staying at either the campus of ] in ] or the campus of ] in ]. The program at each campus serves 36 students with 8 staff. The curriculum is very similar at the two campuses, but the individual academic directors can vary the curriculum at each campus somewhat. The program also includes many extracurricular activities, field trips (scientific and recreational), and guest lectures from working scientists and other professionals.<ref name=SkyTel>{{cite web |url=http://www.summerscience.org/downloads/SkyTel.pdf |publisher=Sky & Telescope |last=Furutani |first=Tracy |title=Asteroids, Teenagers, and Real Science |year=2001 |month=March |accessdate=December 24, 2010 }}</ref> Guest speakers have included ], who has done pioneering work in quasars; the late ], a Nobel laureate in physics; ], magician and debunker of pseudoscience; ], founder of ]; and ], creator of the ] and ]. The Summer Science Program is one of the oldest programs of its kind in the world, and the only one managed and largely funded by its own alumni.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.summerscience.org/alumni/index.php |publisher=Summer Science Program |title=Summer Science Program Alumni |accessdate=December 24, 2010 }}</ref><ref name=SkyTel>{{cite web |url=http://www.summerscience.org/downloads/SkyTel.pdf |publisher=Sky & Telescope |last=Furutani |first=Tracy |title=Asteroids, Teenagers, and Real Science |year=2001 |month=March |accessdate=December 24, 2010 }}</ref>


In 1959, officials at Thacher and Caltech were concerned that the country's top high school students were not being adequately informed and inspired about careers in the physical sciences. They decided to create an intense summer program to challenge such students and inspire them with a taste of "real science." They received assistance from a number of leading California colleges, including Caltech, ], ], and ]. Financial support came from ].<ref name=FirstSSP /><ref name=SkyTel />
The students (broken into teams consisting of three students on each team) participate in a five to six-week curriculum where they attend daytime lectures on ], ], ], ], and ]. The other part of the course happens at night with hands-on work imaging the asteroids they are to study with telescopes made available by the program. From these images, students measure the asteroids' positions and calculate their ].


SSP was taught in its first year by Dr. Paul Routly. He continued with SSP until 1962. In 1960, Dr. ] joined the program for his first of more than 20 summers at SSP.<ref name=SkyTel />
Primarily juniors (rising seniors) who are taking calculus or pre-calculus are admitted, but a few sophomores are selected each year. Participants are chosen based on applications they submit. The cost for students (as of 2012) is $3,950 including room & board, some or all of which can be covered by further needs-based financial aid. The remainder of the costs of the Summer Science Program is funded by alumni contributions.<ref></ref>

The first year, SSP had 26 students. Less than two years after the launch of ] and the start of the ], excitement about astronomy was high. The students used data from the "''Russian ephemeris''" (''Ephemyeredi Mahlikh Planyet'') to find asteroids to photograph, measured the positions, and submitted the data to the ] at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Given the ] fervor, the students were excited to find that when they calculated the orbit of ], their data resulted in a significant correction to the Russian ephemeris.<ref name=FirstSSP>{{cite news
|newspaper=]
|title=Students Spot 350,000-Mile Russ Error
|url=http://www.summerscience.org/program/russerror.php
|date=1959
|accessdate=February 9, 2012
}}</ref>


In 1991, the National Academies' Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications observed that "All participants go on to college. About 37 percent of the pre-1985 graduates are now working in science and medicine, and 34 percent in engineering, mathematics, and computer science (including the ] of ])."<ref name=CPS>{{cite web In 1991, the National Academies' Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications observed that "All participants go on to college. About 37 percent of the pre-1985 graduates are now working in science and medicine, and 34 percent in engineering, mathematics, and computer science (including the ] of ])."<ref name=CPS>{{cite web
Line 39: Line 54:
}}</ref> }}</ref>


A significant threat to the continuation of SSP came in 1999. The Thacher School decided to make significant changes to its entire program, and SSP no longer fit. 1999 would be the last year the program was held at Thacher.<ref name=SkyTel />
==History==
In 1959, less than two years after the launch of ] marking the start of the ], officials at Thacher and Caltech were concerned that the country's top high school students were not being adequately informed and inspired about careers in the physical sciences. They decided to create an intense summer program to challenge such students and inspire them with a taste of "real science." They received assistance from a number of leading California colleges, including Caltech, ], ], and ]. Financial support came from ].<ref name=FirstSSP /><ref name=SkyTel />


A group of SSP alumni saved the program in the form of a new nonprofit corporation, Summer Science Program, Inc. They found funding, largely from the alumni community, and they found a new site for the program. Beginning in 2000, SSP was held at the Happy Valley School, located just across the Ojai Valley from The Thacher School. (In 2007, Happy Valley School was renamed ].)<ref name=SkyTel />
SSP was taught in its first year by Dr. Paul Routly. He continued with SSP until 1962. In 1960, Dr. ] joined the program for his first of more than 20 summers at SSP.<ref name=SkyTel />


The alumni rescue was so successful that they soon began looking to expand the program. In 2003 a second campus opened at New Mexico Tech in Socorro with the support of New Mexico Tech, ] and ] national laboratories, and others.<ref name=NMTpr />
The first year, SSP had 26 students. The students used data from the "''Russian ephemeris''" (''Ephemyeredi Mahlikh Planyet'') to find asteroids to photograph, measured the positions, and submitted the data to the ] at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The students were excited to find that when they calculated the orbit of ], their data resulted in a significant correction to the Russian ephemeris.<ref name=FirstSSP>{{cite news
|newspaper=]
|title=Students Spot 350,000-Mile Russ Error
|url=http://www.summerscience.org/program/russerror.php
|date=1959
|accessdate=February 9, 2012
}}</ref>


In 2010, the California campus moved to ] in ].
A significant threat to the continuation of SSP came in 1999. The Thacher School decided to make significant changes to its entire program, and SSP no longer fit. 1999 would be the last year the program was held at Thacher.<ref name=SkyTel /> A group of SSP alumni saved the program in the form of a new non-profit corporation, Summer Science Program, Inc. They found funding, largely from the alumni community; and they found a new site for the program. Beginning in 2000, SSP was held at the Happy Valley School, located just across the Ojai Valley from The Thacher School. In 2007, Happy Valley School was renamed ].<ref name=SkyTel />


The program now accepts 36 students each year at each campus.
With the alumni rescue complete, they soon began looking to expand the program. In 2003 a second campus opened at New Mexico Tech in Socorro with the support of New Mexico Tech, ] and ] national laboratories, and others.<ref name=NMTpr>{{cite web |url=http://www.nmt.edu/news/all-news/98-2003/2578-17june04g |title=New Mexico Tech News |publisher=New Mexico Tech |date=June 17, 2004 |accessdate=November 29, 2010 }}</ref> In 2010, the California campus moved to ] in ].


A ] once used by the famous astronomer ] at the ] was employed at the California campus.
In 2008, the small group of alumni who engineered the rescue of the program planned for new generations to take over. They converted Summer Science Program, Inc., from a non-profit corporation run by themselves into a membership organization. About 2000 alumni and former faculty and staff make up the membership. A Board of Trustees is elected by the members at an Annual Meeting that takes place each year in conjunction with one of the alumni reunions at each campus.

Distinguished guest speakers have included ], who has done pioneering work in quasars; the late ], a Nobel laureate in physics; ], magician and debunker of pseudoscience; ], founder of ]; and ], creator of the ] and ].

Primarily juniors (rising seniors) are admitted, but a few sophomores are selected each year. SSP 2010 enrolled 5 sophomores out of 62 applying, and 67 juniors out of 465 applying.


==Astronomical Work== ==Astronomical Work==
Line 64: Line 76:
Over the decades SSP students have done their orbit determination calculations on mechanical calculators (1960s), then electronic calculators (1970s), then "mini-computers" (1980s), then personal computers (1990s and 2000s). In recent years they write their orbit determination programs in the ], employing the ]. Over the decades SSP students have done their orbit determination calculations on mechanical calculators (1960s), then electronic calculators (1970s), then "mini-computers" (1980s), then personal computers (1990s and 2000s). In recent years they write their orbit determination programs in the ], employing the ].


==List of alumni== ==Notable alumni==
{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1"
The following is a list of notable alumni of the Summer Science Program.
|-
*] (1960) {{Citation needed|date=February 2012}} (1943 – 2002) Los Angeles County Superior Court judge
! scope="col" | Name
*] (1960) - (b. 1944) astronomer, telescope designer
! scope="col" | SSP Year
*] (1961) - (b. 1944) astronomer and author
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Noted for
*] (1962) - professor in the linguistics / researcher
|-
*] (1964) - (b. 1948) computer scientist
|{{sortname|nolink=1|Steven|Hillyard}}
*] (1966) - (b. 1950) founder of Lotus Development Corporation
|1959
*] (1966) - (b. 1949) mathematics professor at the University of Michigan
|Winner in 1999 of the Society for Psychophysiological Research's award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychophysiology,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Society for Psychophysiological Research |title=For Distinguished Contributions to Psychophysiology: Steven A. Hillyard |url=http://www.sprweb.org/articles/Naatanen00.pdf |date=October 9, 1999 }}</ref> known for his work on the electrophysiology of ].
*] (1970) - (b. 1954) professor, editor, and writer on quantitative investing
|-
*] (1973){{Citation needed|date=February 2012}} - Co-Founder and CEO of Extreme Networks
|{{sortname|nolink=1|Ken|Ouchi}}
*] (1975) - (b. 1958) Professor of Economics at Harvard University, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers 2003 to 2005
|1959
*] (1975) - director of the Space Policy Institute at the Elliott School of International Affairs
|Pioneer in ] storage systems <ref>{{cite web |publisher=Björn's 3D World |first=Miles |last=Cheatham |title=RAID: A Guide for All |url=http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=886 |date=March 8, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite patent
*] (1977) - astronomer, staff scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science
| country = US
*] (1977) - (b. 1961) businessman, political activist
| number = 4092732
| status = patent
| title = System for recovering data stored in failed memory unit
| gdate = 1978-05-30
| fdate = 1977-05-31
| inventor = Ouchi, Norman Ken
| invent1 = Ouchi, Norman Ken
| assign1 = International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY)
}}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|Jerold A.|Krieger|Jerold Krieger}}
|1960
|Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court; political activist<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |first=Myrna |last=Oliver |title=Judge Jerold Krieger, 58; Activist Helped Open Gay-Lesbian Temple |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2002/feb/20/local/me-krieger206 |date=February 20, 2002 }}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|Jerry|Nelson|Jerry Nelson (astronomer)}}<ref name=UTprint2005 />
|1960
|Co-winner in 2010 of the million dollar ] in Astrophysics for his work on segmented telescope design<ref>{{cite web |url=http://press.ucsc.edu/text.asp?pid=3853 |title=Astronomer Jerry Nelson wins prestigious Kavli Prize in Astrophysics |publisher=UC Santa Cruz |date=December 18, 2008 |accessdate=August 20, 2010 }}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|Ed|Krupp}}<ref name=ColNews />
|1961
|Director of the ]
|-
|{{sortname|Ronald|Kaplan}}
|1962
|Pioneer in computational linguistics; Chief Scientist and a Principal Researcher at the ] division of ]; Fellow of the ]
|-
|{{sortname|Robert|Tarjan}}
|1964
|Winner in 1986 of the ] for work on computer algorithms and data structures; co-inventor of both ]s and ]s; senior fellow at ]<ref name="Out_of_Their_Minds">{{cite book
| last = Shasha
| first = Dennis Elliott
| coauthors = Lazere, Cathy A.
| title = Out of Their Minds: The Lives and Discoveries of 15 Great Computer Scientists
| publisher = Copernicus/Springer
| origyear = 1995
| year = 1998
| isbn = 978-0387979922
| oclc = 32240355
| chapter = Robert E. Tarjan: In Search of Good Structure
| page = 102–119
}}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|Mitch|Kapor}}<ref name=ColNews />
|1966
|Co-founder of ], the ], and the ]; the first chair of the ]; former member of the Board of Trustees of SSP<ref name=UTprint2006>{{cite web |url=http://www.ssp.org/downloads/UT2006.pdf |format=pdf |title=The Universal Times |publisher=Summer Science Program |month=Fall |year=2006 |accessdate=November 29, 2010 }}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|Jeffrey|Lagarias}}
|1966
|Mathematician known for work on ] and the ]; fellow of the ]
|-
|{{sortname|nolink=1|Douglas|Richstone}}<ref name=NMTpr />
|1966
|Chair of Astronomy at the ];<ref name=NMTpr /> codiscoverer in 1992 of the ] in ]<ref>Kormendy, J. and Richstone, D. "Evidence for a supermassive black hole in NGC 3115", Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, vol. 393, no. 2, July 10, 1992, p. 559-578.</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|nolink=1|Norman|Finn}}
|1967
|] Fellow, who has contributed to the ] Working Group since 1996<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cisco.com/web/about/doing_business/open_source/stories/802.html |title=IEEE 802.1 |publisher=Cisco Systems |accessdate=December 11, 2010 }}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|nolink=1|Franklin|Antonio}}<ref name=UTFeb2010 />
|1969
|Co-founder of ]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.qualcomm.com/who_we_are/history.html |title=Qualcomm History |publisher=QUALCOMM Incorporated |accessdate=December 23, 2010 }}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|Robert D.|Arnott}}<ref name=UTFeb2010 />
|1970
|Founder of Research Affiliates; author
|-
|{{sortname|nolink=1|Timothy P.|Stratford}}
|1970
|Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs<ref>{{cite web |url=http://74.10.93.59/about-us/biographies-key-officials/timothy-p-stratford-austr |title=Timothy P. Stratford: Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs |publisher=United States Department of State |accessdate=November 12, 2010 }}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|Gordon|Stitt}}
|1973
|Co-founder and chairman of ]
|-
|{{sortname|nolink=1|Richard|Chuang}}
|1974
|Pioneer in the CG and digital effects industry; co-founder of ] and Cloudpic Global; member of the editorial board of the ]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jgt.akpeters.com/masthead/ |title=About the Journal - Editorial Board |publisher=] |year=2010 |accessdate=December 11, 2010 }}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|nolink=1|Ed|Bertschinger}}<ref name=ColNews />
|1975
|Head of the Physics Dept. at ]<ref name=SSP-MIT>{{cite web |url=http://www.summerscience.org/links/mit.php |title=SSP: Massachusetts Institute of Technology |publisher=Summer Science Program |year=2009 |accessdate=November 29, 2010 }}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|N. Gregory|Mankiw}}<ref name=NMTpr />
|1975
|Chairman of the ] under President ]<ref name=NMTpr>{{cite web |url=http://www.nmt.edu/news/all-news/98-2003/2578-17june04g |title=New Mexico Tech News |publisher=New Mexico Tech |date=June 17, 2004 |accessdate=November 29, 2010 }}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|Scott|Pace}}<ref name=UTprint2004>{{cite web |url=http://www.ssp.org/downloads/UT2004.pdf |format=pdf |title=The Universal Times |publisher=Summer Science Program |month=October |year=2004 |accessdate=November 29, 2010 }}</ref>
|1975
|Director of the ] at the ], ]; member of the Board of Trustees of SSP
|-
|{{sortname|nolink=1|Tad|Rivelle}}
|1976
|Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income at ] aka TCW,<ref name=Tad_Rivelle.aspx>{{cite web |url=https://www.tcw.com/About_TCW/Our_People/Bios/Tad_Rivelle.aspx | title = Tad Rivelle Biography | publisher = TCW |accessdate=July 1, 2011 }}</ref> member of the team that earned ]'s Fixed Income Manager of the Year for 2005<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/x14069.xml
|title=Tad Rivelle (’90) Named One of Morningstar’s Managers of the Year for 2005
|publisher=]
|date=January 10, 2006
}}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|R. Paul|Butler}}<ref name=UTprint2004 />
|1977
|] who searches for ]s; co-discoverer of more exoplanets than anyone else.
|-
|{{sortname|nolink=1|Rafe|Mazzeo}}
|1977
|Chair of the mathematics department at ];<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stanforddaily.com/2010/03/02/the-math-51-roadblock/ |title=The Math 51 roadblock |first=Caroline |last=Chen |publisher=The Stanford Daily |date=March 2, 2010 |accessdate=December 23, 2010 }}</ref><ref name=BIRS>{{cite web |url=http://www.birs.ca/about/governance/scientific-management/scientific-advisory-board/current-members#RafeMazzeo |title=Current Members of the Scientific Advisory Board |publisher=Banff International Research Station |year=2010 |accessdate=December 23, 2010 }}</ref> founder of the ]<ref name=BIRS />
|-
|{{sortname|Barrie|Trinkle}}<ref name=UTFeb2010 />
|1977
|Winner of the ] in 1973; former member of the Board of Trustees of SSP
|-
|{{sortname|Ron|Unz}}
|1977
|Founder of Wall Street Analytics; political activist; 1994 candidate for ]
|-
|{{sortname|nolink=1|Steve|Trainoff}}<ref name=UTFeb2010 />
|1979
|Elected fellow of the ] for contributions to the development of analytical instrumentation<ref name=UTFeb2010>{{cite web |url=http://www.ssp.org/alumni/UT_1002.php |title=The Universal Times |publisher=Summer Science Program |month=February |year=2010 |accessdate=November 29, 2010 }}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|nolink=1|Aaron|Goldin}}<ref name=UTprint2005 />
|2004
|Won the $100,000 grand prize at the 2004 ] in Math, Science and Technology<ref name=UTprint2005>{{cite web |url=http://www.ssp.org/downloads/UT2005.pdf |format=pdf |title=The Universal Times |publisher=Summer Science Program |month=Fall |year=2005 |accessdate=November 29, 2010 }}</ref>
|-
|{{sortname|nolink=1|Mary|Masterman}}<ref name=UTprint2010>{{cite web |url=http://www.ssp.org/downloads/UT2010.pdf |format=pdf |title=The Universal Times |publisher=Summer Science Program |month=October |year=2010 |accessdate=November 29, 2010 }}</ref>
|2005
|Won the $100,000 first prize at the 2007 ]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://download.intel.com/education/sts/winners_archive2007.pdf |title=Intel Science Talent Search |publisher=Intel |year=2007 |accessdate=December 14, 2010 }}</ref>; namesake of main belt asteroid ]
|-
|{{sortname|nolink=1|Erika|DeBenedictis}}<ref name=UTJun2010 />
|2008
|Won the $100,000 first prize at the 2010 ]<ref name=UTJun2010>{{cite web |url=http://www.ssp.org/alumni/UT_1005.php |title=The Universal Times |publisher=Summer Science Program |month=June|year=2010 |accessdate=November 29, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/2010/20100316edu.htm |title=Intel Science Talent Search 2010 Winners Announced |publisher=Intel |date=March 6, 2010 |accessdate=December 14, 2010 }}</ref>
|}


==References== ==References==

Revision as of 21:10, 5 March 2012

This article reads like a press release or a news article and may be largely based on routine coverage. Please help improve this article and add independent sources. (February 2012)
Summer Science Program, Inc.
The Summer Science Program
Founded1959
FounderThacher School and Caltech
Type501(c)(3) Educational Charity
Tax ID no. 94-3341965
FocusAstronomy education
Location
Area served World
Membersc. 2,000
Employees1 year-round, about 15 for six weeks
Volunteersc. 50
Websitehttp://www.summerscience.org/

The Summer Science Program (SSP) is an academic summer program for intellectually gifted high school students. It is the sole project of the Summer Science Program, Inc., an educational non-profit organization.

The five to six-week curriculum is centered on a collaborative research project in celestial mechanics. Students study astronomy, physics, spherical trigonometry, calculus, and software development while working to take images of an asteroid, measure its position, and calculate its orbit. The program also includes many extracurricular activities, field trips (scientific and recreational), and guest lectures from working scientists and other professionals.

All students go on to college, and most alumni eventually matriculate at Caltech, MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley and Ivy League schools. Many later earn advanced degrees and positions of leadership in their chosen careers.

Established in 1959 at The Thacher School, the Summer Science Program now takes place at two locations, New Mexico Tech in Socorro, New Mexico, and Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California (northwest of Los Angeles). The curriculum is very similar at the two campuses. The main curriculum is the same, but the individual academic directors can vary the curriculum at each campus somewhat.

History

The Summer Science Program is one of the oldest programs of its kind in the world, and the only one managed and largely funded by its own alumni.

In 1959, officials at Thacher and Caltech were concerned that the country's top high school students were not being adequately informed and inspired about careers in the physical sciences. They decided to create an intense summer program to challenge such students and inspire them with a taste of "real science." They received assistance from a number of leading California colleges, including Caltech, UCLA, Claremont Colleges, and Stanford. Financial support came from Hughes Aircraft.

SSP was taught in its first year by Dr. Paul Routly. He continued with SSP until 1962. In 1960, Dr. George Abell joined the program for his first of more than 20 summers at SSP.

The first year, SSP had 26 students. Less than two years after the launch of Sputnik 1 and the start of the Space Race, excitement about astronomy was high. The students used data from the "Russian ephemeris" (Ephemyeredi Mahlikh Planyet) to find asteroids to photograph, measured the positions, and submitted the data to the Minor Planet Center at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Given the Cold War fervor, the students were excited to find that when they calculated the orbit of 9 Metis, their data resulted in a significant correction to the Russian ephemeris.

In 1991, the National Academies' Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications observed that "All participants go on to college. About 37 percent of the pre-1985 graduates are now working in science and medicine, and 34 percent in engineering, mathematics, and computer science (including the founder of Lotus Development Corporation)."

A significant threat to the continuation of SSP came in 1999. The Thacher School decided to make significant changes to its entire program, and SSP no longer fit. 1999 would be the last year the program was held at Thacher.

A group of SSP alumni saved the program in the form of a new nonprofit corporation, Summer Science Program, Inc. They found funding, largely from the alumni community, and they found a new site for the program. Beginning in 2000, SSP was held at the Happy Valley School, located just across the Ojai Valley from The Thacher School. (In 2007, Happy Valley School was renamed Besant Hill School.)

The alumni rescue was so successful that they soon began looking to expand the program. In 2003 a second campus opened at New Mexico Tech in Socorro with the support of New Mexico Tech, Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories, and others.

In 2010, the California campus moved to Westmont College in Santa Barbara.

The program now accepts 36 students each year at each campus.

A measuring engine once used by the famous astronomer Edwin Hubble at the Mt. Wilson Observatory was employed at the California campus.

Distinguished guest speakers have included Maarten Schmidt, who has done pioneering work in quasars; the late Richard Feynman, a Nobel laureate in physics; James Randi, magician and debunker of pseudoscience; Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Development; and Paul MacCready, creator of the Gossamer Condor and Gossamer Albatross.

Primarily juniors (rising seniors) are admitted, but a few sophomores are selected each year. SSP 2010 enrolled 5 sophomores out of 62 applying, and 67 juniors out of 465 applying.

Astronomical Work

Example of an astrographic plate taken at SSP, in this case showing 39 Laetitia (circled in blue). Reference stars are also circled.

For the first 50 years of the program, students took photographic images of main-belt asteroids (between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter). Starting in 2009 students took digital images of (much fainter) near-earth asteroids (inside the orbit of Mars). The process of orbit determination is conceptually the same in both cases. First students take a series of images of asteroids. After identifying the asteroid, its position on the image relative to known stars is carefully calculated. That relative position is then used to determine the position of the asteroid in celestial coordinates (right ascension and declination) at the exact time the image was taken. The series of positions as the asteroid moves across the sky allows the student to fit an approximate orbit to the asteroid. The measured asteroid coordinates (not the calculated orbital elements) are submitted to the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Over the decades SSP students have done their orbit determination calculations on mechanical calculators (1960s), then electronic calculators (1970s), then "mini-computers" (1980s), then personal computers (1990s and 2000s). In recent years they write their orbit determination programs in the Python programming language, employing the Gaussian method.

Notable alumni

Name SSP Year Noted for
Steven Hillyard 1959 Winner in 1999 of the Society for Psychophysiological Research's award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychophysiology, known for his work on the electrophysiology of selective attention.
Ken Ouchi 1959 Pioneer in RAID storage systems
Jerold A. Krieger 1960 Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court; political activist
Jerry Nelson 1960 Co-winner in 2010 of the million dollar Kavli Prize in Astrophysics for his work on segmented telescope design
Ed Krupp 1961 Director of the Griffith Observatory
Ronald Kaplan 1962 Pioneer in computational linguistics; Chief Scientist and a Principal Researcher at the Powerset division of Microsoft Bing; Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery
Robert Tarjan 1964 Winner in 1986 of the Turing Award for work on computer algorithms and data structures; co-inventor of both splay trees and Fibonacci heaps; senior fellow at Hewlett-Packard
Mitch Kapor 1966 Co-founder of Lotus Development Corporation, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Open Source Applications Foundation; the first chair of the Mozilla Foundation; former member of the Board of Trustees of SSP
Jeffrey Lagarias 1966 Mathematician known for work on knots and the Riemann Hypothesis; fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Douglas Richstone 1966 Chair of Astronomy at the University of Michigan; codiscoverer in 1992 of the supermassive black hole in NGC 3115
Norman Finn 1967 Cisco Fellow, who has contributed to the IEEE 802.1 Working Group since 1996
Franklin Antonio 1969 Co-founder of Qualcomm
Robert D. Arnott 1970 Founder of Research Affiliates; author
Timothy P. Stratford 1970 Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs
Gordon Stitt 1973 Co-founder and chairman of Extreme Networks
Richard Chuang 1974 Pioneer in the CG and digital effects industry; co-founder of Pacific Data Images and Cloudpic Global; member of the editorial board of the journal of graphics, gpu, and game tools
Ed Bertschinger 1975 Head of the Physics Dept. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
N. Gregory Mankiw 1975 Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush
Scott Pace 1975 Director of the Space Policy Institute at the Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University; member of the Board of Trustees of SSP
Tad Rivelle 1976 Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income at Trust_Company_of_the_West aka TCW, member of the team that earned Morningstar,_Inc.'s Fixed Income Manager of the Year for 2005
R. Paul Butler 1977 Astronomer who searches for extrasolar planets; co-discoverer of more exoplanets than anyone else.
Rafe Mazzeo 1977 Chair of the mathematics department at Stanford University; founder of the Stanford University Math Camp
Barrie Trinkle 1977 Winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 1973; former member of the Board of Trustees of SSP
Ron Unz 1977 Founder of Wall Street Analytics; political activist; 1994 candidate for Governor of California
Steve Trainoff 1979 Elected fellow of the American Physical Society for contributions to the development of analytical instrumentation
Aaron Goldin 2004 Won the $100,000 grand prize at the 2004 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology
Mary Masterman 2005 Won the $100,000 first prize at the 2007 Intel Science Talent Search; namesake of main belt asteroid 21561 Masterman
Erika DeBenedictis 2008 Won the $100,000 first prize at the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search

References

  1. ^ Furutani, Tracy (2001). "Asteroids, Teenagers, and Real Science" (PDF). Sky & Telescope. Retrieved December 24, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Benefits to the Nation from Astronomy and Astrophysics". National Academies' Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Application. 1991. p. 303.
  3. ^ "Summer Science Program Moves to Westmont". College News. The Annapolis Group. May 17, 2010.
  4. "Summer Science Program Alumni". Summer Science Program. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
  5. ^ "Students Spot 350,000-Mile Russ Error". Star-Free Press. 1959. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  6. ^ "New Mexico Tech News". New Mexico Tech. June 17, 2004. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  7. "For Distinguished Contributions to Psychophysiology: Steven A. Hillyard" (PDF). Society for Psychophysiological Research. October 9, 1999.
  8. Cheatham, Miles (March 8, 2006). "RAID: A Guide for All". Björn's 3D World.
  9. US patent 4092732, Ouchi, Norman Ken, "System for recovering data stored in failed memory unit", issued 1978-05-30, assigned to International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY) 
  10. Oliver, Myrna (February 20, 2002). "Judge Jerold Krieger, 58; Activist Helped Open Gay-Lesbian Temple". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ "The Universal Times" (pdf). Summer Science Program. 2005. Retrieved November 29, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  12. "Astronomer Jerry Nelson wins prestigious Kavli Prize in Astrophysics". UC Santa Cruz. December 18, 2008. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  13. Shasha, Dennis Elliott (1998) . "Robert E. Tarjan: In Search of Good Structure". Out of Their Minds: The Lives and Discoveries of 15 Great Computer Scientists. Copernicus/Springer. p. 102–119. ISBN 978-0387979922. OCLC 32240355. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  14. "The Universal Times" (pdf). Summer Science Program. 2006. Retrieved November 29, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  15. Kormendy, J. and Richstone, D. "Evidence for a supermassive black hole in NGC 3115", Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, vol. 393, no. 2, July 10, 1992, p. 559-578.
  16. "IEEE 802.1". Cisco Systems. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  17. ^ "The Universal Times". Summer Science Program. 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  18. "Qualcomm History". QUALCOMM Incorporated. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  19. "Timothy P. Stratford: Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs". United States Department of State. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  20. "About the Journal - Editorial Board". journal of graphics, gpu, and game tools. 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  21. "SSP: Massachusetts Institute of Technology". Summer Science Program. 2009. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  22. ^ "The Universal Times" (pdf). Summer Science Program. 2004. Retrieved November 29, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  23. "Tad Rivelle Biography". TCW. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  24. "Tad Rivelle ('90) Named One of Morningstar's Managers of the Year for 2005". UCLA Anderson School of Management. January 10, 2006.
  25. Chen, Caroline (March 2, 2010). "The Math 51 roadblock". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  26. ^ "Current Members of the Scientific Advisory Board". Banff International Research Station. 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  27. "The Universal Times" (pdf). Summer Science Program. 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  28. "Intel Science Talent Search" (PDF). Intel. 2007. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  29. ^ "The Universal Times". Summer Science Program. 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  30. "Intel Science Talent Search 2010 Winners Announced". Intel. March 6, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2010.

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