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The 10th Annual Mentor Assistance Program (MAP) Showcase was held last month at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), part of the School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences (SCIDS) at UC San Diego. The program enabled more than 50 San Diego high school students to participate in year-round research projects with dedicated mentors throughout the UC San Diego campus.

“The students’ projects featured an array of disciplines ranging from chemistry and physics to medicine and engineering,” said SDSC Education Manager Ange Mason, the program’s leader.

The eight-month program concluded with the MAP Finale, where participants presented their work in one-minute lightning talks. “The presentations gave the students a chance to practice public speaking – in addition to sharing their research topics and accomplishments during the program.”

Mason said that one of the main objectives of the MAP activities is to encourage students to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers.

“The program was really valuable to me and enhanced my senior year of high school,” said Sneha Lele, a student at Torrey Pines High School. “We were able to show our work to more than 100 community members at the MAP Finale through our lightning talks and poster session – these were both great experiences for me.”

Mason said that the program is set to begin its 11th year of operation this fall and will include more than 10 UC San Diego mentors across multiple STEM fields.