Session 2

Instructor: John Blake

This summer, discover your inner Frank Lloyd Wright, your budding Frank Gehry, or your emerging I.M. Pei. The Beginning Design: Architecture + Interior Design course is a unique opportunity to peek into the lives of architects and designers. You will work in the design studios, be taught by Miami professors, and build from your own imagination. With a curriculum geared toward improving designs for creating competitive architecture and interior design portfolios, you will identify and examine several design topics. In multiple phases through a series of rigorous investigations and discoveries, you will practice fundamental design principles. The overriding emphasis will be placed on the "process" of design. Where might it start? How does it evolve? Learn to develop your own ideas and use them to drive the creation of space and form. At the end of the session, you will have an exhibition of works you've created as well as documentation and analysis to enhance your college admission application.

Instructor: Dr. Michelle Cosmah

Instructor: Jim Leonard

It's science. Not fiction. This summer, delve headfirst into the realms of engineering and computing by designing and building a computer-controlled robot. First, you'll learn how they communicate. Through the wires and steel runs a rich programming language that reads light sensors and controls drive motors. Next, you and your team will apply those concepts to the design of your own robotic vehicle. Your team will assemble it, program it, and test it. Then, your robot will face off in performing its task against the other teams' creations. The winner will be crowned. The universe might be saved by building a computer-controlled robot.

Instructor: Dr. Jim Friedman

The secret to success in life and business can be found in the entrepreneurial mindset. The entrepreneurship track of the Summer Scholars Program exposes students to the fun and excitement of bringing ideas to life. You will participate in interactive, hands-on projects where you will be exposed to what it takes to build companies, teams, and insight. Whatever your interests — building a small start-up company, creating a major corporation, driving meaningful social change, or working in creative fields — we will build ideas, form teams, and create the structure that builds success.

Instructor: Dr. Darren Cosgrove, Shawnieka Pope

Students will develop a strong foundational knowledge of basic theories used to understand family and family-like relationships. Students will explore various helping professions (e.g., family life education, youth/family extension specialists, social work, marriage and family therapy, child life specialists) which may include hearing from guest speakers working in each profession/area, visiting local agencies/organizations, demonstrations, role-plays, and community service/shadowing experiences. At the completion of the module, students will have identified which helping professions are of interest and set goals for their individual pathways to the professions.

Instructor: Dr. Rebekah Balish, Dr. Alan Strautman

What fuels the debate surrounding genetically modified organisms in the United States? Are the choices people make when buying food based on scientific facts? Pseudoscience? Fear? We’ll explore topics related to the genetic engineering and in particular food crops in the United States, and compare attitudes of Americans to those of people living in other parts of the world. We’ll use molecular biology techniques in the laboratory to identify and generate our own genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Instructor: Dr. John Forren

Should the U.S. Constitution be interpreted to protect flag burning? Should religious minorities be exempted from laws that burden spiritual practices? When (if ever) may government officials discriminate without violating the Constitution’s guarantee of "equal protection of the law"? Is the death penalty a violation of fundamental human rights — or a proper response by society to the problem of violent crime?

Using selected court opinions and other primary sources, you will explore the array of legal, philosophical, and political ideas that have informed American debates on these and other controversial issues throughout history. Through the use of various active-learning activities — including legislative simulations, debates, educational games, guided discussions, and mock trials — you will also learn about and practice the civic skills of dialogue, deliberation, persuasion, and accommodation that generations of Americans have used to resolve differences and solve problems in their communities.

NOTE: This module is hosted over both weeks from July 16-28. Grant funding from the Menard Family Center for Democracy may be available to admitted scholars.

Instructor: Dr. Jeb Card

We'll discover the subtle clues and sensational treasures of ancient peoples from the earliest depths of prehistory to the great empires of Egypt and the Inca. We will learn how humans colonized the world, adapted to changing environments, transformed the landscape, and built new technologies and social orders to face daunting challenges. In the process we’ll analyze real artifacts, participate in the 3-D scanning and printing of artifacts, try our hand at how archaeologists excavate a site, decipher ancient hieroglyphs, figure out how old ancient Egyptian tombs are, and explore the role of archaeology today.

Instructors: Dr. Amy Sullivan, Dr. Steve Sullivan

Nature is a fundamental part of every major. The raw materials for everything you own were either grown on or dug from the Earth. Your culture, neighborhood, family history, and even worldview have been influenced by nature. Your ancestors were naturalists. Yet, the skills of a naturalist are declining, even within the biological sciences. Students of any experience level or background are invited to join the Hefner Museum of Natural History team to get muddy, cut things up, smell the roses (and remove the invasive ones), and learn through firsthand experience the basic principles and theories of nature that make you who you are. This course is a literal walk in the park (among other things). It will be a good overview for the aspiring biologist but equally, it is designed to be useful and exciting for the non-biology student who has often wondered about nature but never had a guide.

Instructor: Dr. Imran Mirza

Just imagine a day of your life without computers and cell phones. Do you know this computer technology revolution began almost 70 years ago? During the last 70 years, we have been trying very hard to make computers faster and smaller. However, it is believed by 2040 we will be hitting the smallest size limits (no further miniaturization of computer chips will be possible). So what is the future of computers? It's Quantum Computing! Come and join a team of scientists this summer in the physics department at Miami to learn how future computers will be transferring, storing, and manipulating information using the tiniest particles of light and matter. This module will allow the summer scholars to learn the ABCs of quantum circuits and sharpen their quantitative analysis skills and experience to program a baby quantum computer. The future of computers is in our hands and it is fascinating! 

Program Director: Dr. Steven Conn

Who gets to be a citizen and who gets to decide? What are the rights of citizenship and what are its responsibilities? Is citizenship universal or is it culturally specific?  Most of all, what kind of citizen do you intend to be? By engaging with key texts from the ancient world, the Enlightenment, and the modern period, participants in the Student Citizens module will meet daily with Miami faculty for intensive, discussion-based seminars and work with Miami university student-tutors on reading and writing assignments related to these topics.

NOTE: This module is hosted over both weeks from July 16-28. Grant funding from the Teagle Foundation may be available to admitted scholars.

Instructor: Samantha Longworth

Are you thinking of studying design or art in college but you are nervous about your portfolio? Let us help! Studio Art - Portfolios that Punch is a college preparatory studio workshop that will allow you to improve your creative skills and construct a competitive art portfolio for college admission. Outcomes focus on drawing and a variety of 3D studio-production approaches while emphasizing evaluative portfolio criteria including design/composition, technical proficiency, color, presentation, and photographic representation.

Studio sessions consist of artist lectures, studio demonstrations, hands-on activities, outdoor drawing excursions, and critical analysis of work created as well as learning more about the work of professional artists via campus galleries and museums.

Instructors: Dr. Becky Crews, Elizabeth Troy

This summer, you have the opportunity to engage with faculty who teach coursework as part of the First Year Integrated Core in the Farmer School of Business. Learn about key workplace skills such as: collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creative thinking, computational thinking and coding, and ethical thinking. You will work with faculty and in groups to apply these skills to an interdisciplinary, final project. Get ready to engage in an immersive learning experience and start unpacking your business briefcase!