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High School Students: Become an Expert

Why Do It

Minutes of your time can make a huge difference in improving science literacy in our community.
Many teachers are swamped, too busy even to consider encouraging their students to participate in local science fairs. Yet our society relies more on science every day, and science fairs are a great way for students to become more knowledgeable about how the world around them works.

You can help to fill the gap by joining our team of smart, enterprising Experts.

Earn Credit for Community Service & Add Distinction to Your College Application
Top colleges are using leadership and volunteer service as key factors to distinguish among applications -- the Science Buddies program provides you with both. Demonstrate how you apply your science knowledge beyond a transcript or a standardized test by mentoring someone new to the sciences.

The Science Buddies program offers college-bound high school students a convenient, fun, and meaningful opportunity for performing community service. The program also offers you the option of having a long-term leadership role that can span several years.

Interact with Talented Science Professionals
In addition to top high school science students, many talented science professionals serve as Experts. Not only do they work with high school Experts to respond to Investigators' inquiries, but they are also available to answer your questions about your own independent research, colleges, or careers in science.

Past Experts include:

* business executives * consultants * engineers of all kinds

* environmentalists * forensic scientists * graduate students

* health professionals * patent attorneys * plant specialists

* research scientists * technical writers * university faculty

Qualify for Science Buddies Scholarships and Awards
Science Buddies is offering ten $300 college scholarships to "Outstanding" High School Experts. Throughout the course of the Science Buddies Ask an Expert programs, we will be following the progress of each team. Experts who show true leadership qualities will qualify for the $300 scholarships. To qualify, "Outstanding" Experts must distinguish themselves in the following ways:

Responsive: Promptly reply to messages from teammates and review Investigator assignments within 24 hours or less.
Problem Solver: Repeatedly offer clear advice and workable solutions to questions from the Investigator.
Encouraging: Successfully lead the Investigator through the project timeline ensuring that they stay on schedule and complete the required assignments. The Investigator must submit all assignments by the date of their Science Fair.
Consistent: Maintain the quality of their support and responsiveness for the duration of the program.
Informative: Draw from their science knowledge and fair experience as they review Investigator assignments and offer feedback to help the Investigator improve the quality of their project.

How You Can Help

We need Experts who enjoy science and helping students completing a science fair projects:

In the Ask an Expert Forum you work with a team of science and technology professionals to handle questions posed in a traditional online bulletin board. It will take about half as much time (about 1/2 hour per week) as our Classroom Scientists Program, but you won't have the same opportunity to get to know the students you help. In most cases, you'll answer a student's question, accept his or her thanks, and move on to another student.

Here's What Past High School Students Have Said About Science Buddies

"[Science Buddies] gives you the chance to share what you have learned with someone who hasn't learned it yet. It feels as if you are helping this person along in their education."
— Melyssa, 17

"I learned the valid points of working with a team to help finish a project and I really enjoyed working with my buddy."
— Hillary, 16

"I had a great experience learning how to teach and help out younger kids. It was also fun to take part in a science fair project again since I haven't done one since 7th grade."
— Dan, 16

More About the Ask an Expert Program

Ask an Expert is an online bulletin board that offers personalized help to answer anyone and everyone's science fair questions: Ask an Expert. Experts usually login to the online discussion board to respond to inquiries on one scheduled day per week. Additional program highlights include:

Experts from many different fields, as well as staff members, are available to tackle questions that an individual Expert cannot field by him or herself
Experts may check in and post replies to students at a convenient time on your scheduled day(s)
The time commitment is flexible depending on your availability.
Our website and staff provide resources to aid Experts in answering student questions

The Ask an Expert Program is a great volunteer opportunity for those who may not be available for the entire period from November to mid-March, or for Experts who are simply looking for more flexibility in a volunteer opportunity. Expert participation is scheduled on a weekly basis so that the time commitment is approximately 1/2 hour per week during the science fair season (most traffic falls between November and March).

Work Alongside World Class Scientists and Engineers

Our adult volunteers come from diverse ethnic and professional backgrounds. They are a source of great inspiration for the students we serve. Our team of volunteers has included:

Professors, research scientists, and graduate students from top universities such as MIT, Princeton, Stanford, UC Berkeley, and UCSF
A scientist who holds a PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford and was on the team that developed the Pegasus rocket
A theoretical and computational physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory whose recent work deals with the design and use of HIGH POWER LASERS
An expert in tropical ecology and conservation who studies among other things the effects of oil spills on tropical birds
A retired engineer who worked on the Apollo Moon Program and programmed simulators for the F16 fighter plane
Someone on the team that designed pressure sensors for NASA's Mars Probe
A researcher who was involved with the discovery of the earliest HIV Protease Inhibitor drugs (AIDS drugs)
Forensics experts who work for state crime labs
Scientists and engineers from AMD, Bio-Rad Labs, Intel, Seagate, Symantec, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and many more high-tech companies and labs...

Requirements

Grade 9 - 12
Regular email & Internet access
Minimum of one high school science class if you have previously participated in a science fair
Or, mininum of 2 high school science classes if no previous science fair experience
Strong science and math grades
Must successfully complete the online orientation process

How to Apply

Applications are Web-based only. Unfortunately, other formats (e.g. email, fax, print) cannot be accepted.
Please set aside 15 minutes to complete this application in one sitting. (Tip: Review the entire application before filling it out.)
Immediately after you have submitted your application, you will see a "Thank You" page confirming that Science Buddies has received your application. If you do not see the "Thank You" page, your application did not go through and you will need to submit it again. A confirmation email will also be sent to your preferred email address.
If you have any questions, contact Staff at scibuddy@sciencebuddies.org.

Thank you!

New Volunteers: Click here to sign up.

Returning Volunteers: Click here to enroll.

* business executives	* consultants	* engineers of all kinds
* environmentalists	* forensic scientists	* graduate students
* health professionals	* patent attorneys	* plant specialists
* research scientists	* technical writers	* university faculty