July 19 through August 7, 2009

Dear CSSI Students and Families,

It is a real pleasure to welcome you to the Carleton Summer Science Institute. From the early conceptual stages to the final assembly of faculty, courses, and research opportunities, this program has given us the opportunity to think hard about what we do in our disciplines and why. That is, we asked ourselves the question: what are the most important ideas our particular discipline offers society? The result is three, one-week courses from a neuroscientist, behavioral biologist, and geoscientist that will introduce you to a few key concepts in our fields.

Our hope is that you will find these fields as exhilarating as we do and become better acquainted with how science works. We strongly believe the best way to learn science is by doing it. To help you along with doing science, you will work with Carleton undergraduate research assistants and a faculty member pursuing a research question you help define. Thankfully, we have excellent research facilities and instrumentation that will allow you to ask a wide range of questions and collect your own data. By the end of the program, you will have the opportunity to present your results to your peers, parents, and Carleton community at the Carleton Summer Science Symposium. This will be a great opportunity to recognize your hard work, but also a time of celebration in a collegial atmosphere.

Please join us in this inaugural year of the Carleton Summer Science Institute. We have put together an exciting, fun, and hopefully rewarding three weeks of course work and research meant to challenge your assumptions in a rich, non-threatening intellectual environment.

Sincerely yours,

Cameron Davidson
Associate Professor of Geology and Director of the Carleton Summer Science Institute

Credit Information:

We provide a written evaluation of each student’s participation soon after the completion of the program. Six Carleton credit hours (which are equivalent to approximately three college semester hours) are awarded to participants who successfully complete the program. (**This credit does not count toward Carleton's Mathematics and Natural Sciences requirement.**)

Carleton College has long upheld a tradition of providing equal opportunity to all people. The following nondiscrimination statement is stipulated in the Minnesota State Statutes: As required by state and federal law, Carleton College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, status with regard to public assistance, age, or disability in the providing employment or in its educational programs and activities.