NYC High School Students to Present Original Research 6/6 at AMNH

Join more than 50 Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP) participants, ages 17 to 18, as they present their outstanding original scientific research during a special graduation ceremony at the American Museum of Natural History. These young scientists, from high schools across New York City, are concluding their final year of a two-year program that offers a unique opportunity to work with Museum scientists on an array of independent research projects. As part of the ceremony, graduating SRMP students will be presenting the results of their research.

The students have been working in laboratories across the Museum, including at the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, the Departments of Anthropology, Astrophysics, Ornithology, and Paleontology. Their research reflects a wide range of interests:

· studying invertebrates (crabs, shrimp, starfish) caught off Long Island's North Shore

· identifying diseases affecting the wild puma populations in the Teton region of Wyoming, especially feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)

· discovering ancient ants and termites preserved in 50-million-year-old amber

· using computer models to analyze whether long-lived vortices in accretion discs around newborn stars may function as incubators of forming planets

· classifying amphibians and reptiles collected in Vietnam

The poster session, starting at 5 pm, will be followed by presentations in the Kaufmann Theater at 6 pm.

It all takes place on Thursday, June 6, 2012 in the School Group Area, first floor at the American Museum of Natural History. Become a fan of the Museum on Facebook at facebook.com/naturalhistory, or visit twitter.com/AMNH to follow us on Twitter.