PCCM Presents P.U.M.A. – A Real University Science Experience for At-risk Students at GEAR Up

Building on success of the Princeton University Materials Academy (P.U.M.A.), on February 6, 2004 Princeton Center for Complex Materials (PCCM) Outreach Director Dr. Dan Steinberg, along with Chris Ritter from Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (PPPL), Don Davis of Mercer County Community College and Pete Gange, a Middlesex high school teacher, were invited to give a presentation to the GEAR Up conference - a national program dedicated to improving education for minorities in NJ. As part of the theme “Inspiring Students to Achieve: Innovative Strategies for Educators,” the P.U.M.A. program was featured as a shining example of a successful program for encouraging minority and low-income students to consider science for a career field.

Dr. Steinberg, Ms. Ritter, Mr. Davis and Mr. Gange presented “The Princeton University Material Academy (P.U.M.A.) – A Real University Science Experience for At-risk Students” to demonstrate how such a unique and valuable program is implemented. Dr. Steinberg and Mr. Gange spoke about the development of a curriculum and the challenges presented when conducting such a large program with so many faculty and university students to help. Don Davis spoke about Mercer Community Colleges program Upward Bound from which many of the P.U.M.A. students were recruited. Chris Ritter spoke on outreach programs at PPPL and on the Upward Bound students’ 2 summers spent at PPPL’s Academy in 2001 and 2002. These students made a smooth transition to P.U.M.A. in 2003.

The P.U.M.A. program is part of an on-going program in which the development of these Upward Bound students is closely followed through the program and beyond into their college years and their careers in whichever field they choose. The P.U.M.A. students themselves presented their hands-on demonstrations with Pete and Dan to show what they had learned in the Academy.

The talk and demonstration were so well received that PCCM’s outreach office is still receiving inquiries about replicating the program in other schools. Several teachers and school administrators were in attendance at the GEAR Up conference, and all of them were full of praise for the P.U.M.A. program. Hopefully, P.U.M.A. will serve as a model, not only for future PCCM outreach programs, but also for those of schools across the state.

 

This page was updated on 9/30/04 by Shannon Swilley and Dan Steinberg; any comments should be sent to sswilley@princeton.edu