Michael Weiss, the Cowan-Blum Professor of Cancer Research and professor of biochemistry and medicine, was elected to the national Board of Trustees of the Summer Science Program and to the national Board of Trustees of the Presidential Scholars Foundation.
The National Science Foundation began the Summer Science Program in 1958 as an intense immersion in physics and astronomy for gifted high school students after their junior years. The program was operated under the auspices of Caltech, Pomona College and Harvey Mudd for many decades in Ojai, Calif. The program boasts a distinguished roster of alumni and alumnae.
Now held on two campuses, in Boulder, Colo. and in Socorro, N.M., the program hosts 30 to 35 students per campus for a six-week program.
The Summer Science Program plans to expand to a third site with a new curriculum in biochemistry or molecular genetics. Weiss has been a member of this curriculum planning committee.
The Presidential Scholars began in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to recognize 100 to 120 graduating high-school seniors. The 1965-1995 program recognized one young woman and one young man from each state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The program was expanded in 1979 by President Carter to embrace Scholars in the Arts. President Barack Obama plans to add an additional focus in community service.
The students are feted for four days in Washington, D.C., in June with visits to the White House, the State Department, and other key sites; the Scholars in the Arts perform at the JFK Center.
The president greets each student and his or her family. The Presidential Scholars Foundation is a non-governmental foundation to harness the multi-generational alumni pool for special projects and continuing societal engagement.