GCSU’s summer science transports high schoolers to higher realms of space

I t's not a program for loafers or the faint of heart. This one comes with complicated formulas filled with symbols, letters, numbers and shapes. It requires knowledge of Newton's laws, Maxwell's equations and Einstein's relativity.

To the casual person walking by-it may all seem like Greek.

But to 36 high school students participating in Georgia College & State University's inaugural astrophysics summer program with SSP International-it's pure celestial heaven.

Pranav Avadhanam of Cupertino, California, center, works on an equation. Pranav Avadhanam, a rising senior at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, California, is good at math and AP Physics. But he admitted the formulas he's learning at Georgia College are fresh territory.

Recently, Avadhanam found himself at the board drawing equations for Lagrangian mechanics in Newton's law and explaining his solution to the class.

He'd been exposed to the concept only 10 minutes earlier.

"It was a struggle for me at first," Avadhanam said, "especially the astronomy and advanced physics. It's a challenge, and I'm a little foggy on it. But the professors are extremely patient and very supportive and, of course, knowledgeable."

Avadhanam would like to work in a STEM-related field someday. Being a part of the SSP program at Georgia College is a big step in that direction.

"For me, the biggest part of SSP is rapidly accumulating new information," he said. "Learning to learn is the biggest thing. Picking up difficult math concepts on the fly is an important skill."

Georgia College is one of three new schools in partnership this summer with SSP, which has provided stimulating and extensive science research opportunities for motivated high school students since 1959. Currently, there are 12 Summer Science Programs at eight U.S. universities focusing on astrophysics, biochemistry, genomic or synthetic chemistry.

The 5 1/2-week residency program at Georgia College began June 16 and runs through July 24. Participants come from 15 states, a U.S. territory and four nations: California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington, as well as the Northern Mariana Islands, Turkey, Brazil, Ukraine and China.

GCSU Associate Professor of Physcs Dr. Hasitha Mahabaduge is an instructor for SSP this summer.

They're receiving challenging instruction in astrophysics, including hands-on training on the university's Pohl Observatory 24-inch telescope to detect orbits of near-earth asteroids. Their coursework includes calculus, calculus-based physics, astronomy and relativity, which they use to determine things like orbital motion and photometric measurements.

It's challenging, but teens who get into SSP's summer programs are bright enough to handle the work. Only about 10% who apply get in.

"This is a competitive program with a small portion of applicants accepted, based on essays and academic prerequisites," said Dr. Donovan Domingue, astronomy professor and academic director of SSP at Georgia College.

"SSP is an environment where we expect participants will be very collaborative and help each other through difficult material when lecturers and teaching assistants are busy," he said. "This group is very curious and engaged. They arrived with a tremendous amount of talent and knowledge."

SSP particpants use GCSU's 24-inch telecshop in Pohl Observatory. Participants are so passionate about science, Domingue said, they avoid sleep in their excitement to talk with one another. Some have even suggested ways to improve operation of the university's telescope.

Dr. Hasitha Mahabaduge, associate professor of physics and one of three SSP instructors this summer at Georgia College, said some coursework is senior-level college material. The work is hard, but he said students are motivated to learn and help each other.

That is what SSP looks for in applicants-excitement about science but also intellectual curiosity. The program is an opportunity for high school students to finetune skills in data collecting and interpretation, critical thinking and teamwork. SSP especially looks for students who have overcome obstacles in life and show perseverance.

"SSP is not only a rigorous academic program," Mahabaduge said. "Participants learn to collaborate with each other in an environment where there is no competition. I believe they are not only growing academically but socially as well."

Viktoriia Voitiuk is from Kiev, Ukraine. Viktoriia Voitiuk from Kiev, Ukraine, felt well-prepared to meet the rigors of Georgia College's SSP program. She participated in international science programs as a Ukrainian team member. This summer, she applied to SSP on the advice of a friend.

"He said you will never experience something like this, you need to apply to this program," Voitiuk said. "I applied. I got accepted. I was so excited."

This experience is important, because Voitiuk wants to be an astrophysicist. She's grateful for the stipend SSP provides to support students who would otherwise miss out on the opportunity, because they have to work summer jobs for money.

Voitiuk worked with an observatory telescope at her boarding school in Ukraine. But she's doing more detailed work at Georgia College. She thinks it's cool the final project merges linear algebra, variable calculus and physics.

"I didn't expect so much. It's like tension but in a positive way," Voitiuk said. "Like you need to work, work, work and a little bit of time for relaxation. But it's good, because if you work, you're also learning so much new." Andrew Bukowski of Naperville, Illinois. Andrew Bukowski, a rising senior at Naperville Central High School in Illinois, said he likes the computational nature of astrophysics and how the discipline mixes computer and data science.

He studied hard in school to become good at math and physics, so he felt more prepared than some to handle the SSP workload.

"It's new for a lot of people, but we actually got into multivariable calculus in school," Bukowski said. "Some people feel lost because they've never been exposed to stuff like that. It can get confusing, but we help each other out. We don't want anyone to be behind."

Guest lecturer Dr. Hodari-Sadiki James from Agnes Scott College. Like all participants, Bukowski selected astrophysics as his summer topic. He was happy to see the variety of programs Georgia College offers. The dining hall food is good, and he enjoys free time playing ping-pong and volleyball, swimming and hanging out downtown.

The group also enjoyed a recent guest lecture by Dr. Hodari-Sadiki James, assistant professor of astronomy at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. James spoke about binary star planets.

Bukowski's really looking forward to the final project. Participants were put in groups of three, each assigned a particular asteroid. Groups rotate turns at the observatory telescope, searching the night skies and taking pictures of their asteroid.

They'll determine things like coordinates and brightness, logging information into a computer database.

Darnell Clarke from Lawrenceville, Georgia, left, works with his team to solve an astrophysics problem.

Darnell Clarke is the only participant from Georgia. He's a rising senior at Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville and likes to use math for robotics. Someday, he'd like to be an aerospace engineer.

Clarke looked for a summer program that would help him accomplish more than "sitting around during the summer." He wanted something more engaging with opportunity to grow.

"I really like the SSP program so far," Clarke said. "It's definitely taken me a lot farther than I would've gone without it. I like this form of learning."

He has a small telescope in his room at home to look at stars. Clarke had never used an observatory telescope before. He's excited about the asteroid project and using newfound knowledge to interpret data and determine where his group's asteroid will be 120,000 years from now.

SSP at Georgia College helped him realize astrophysics is the right career choice.

"This is my most immersive experience with astronomy and physics," Clarke said. "So, it's definitely a good thing to be here. I like having to really work my mind to figure out something that actually matters."

"Sometimes in school you learn all this math and think, 'Oh, I'm never going to use this.' But here," Clarke said, "you're learning math that actually applies to the research you're doing. It's really eye-opening."

A group looks at images of space on computers in the university's observatory.

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