“The MINT scholar program encompasses a student internship program which is basically made up of international graduate students, undergraduate students and high school students,” Su Gupta, associate professor of metallurgical and materials engineering, said. “We have students from all over, including Germany and China.”
Besides the undergraduate and graduate students involved in this program, high school students from around the country are involved as well, Gupta said.
“This year, there are about 12 high school students involved,” she said. “They have to fill out an application showing their interest in the program, and they are chosen based on their grade point averages and interests in research.”
The program is a way to kickstart high school students’ interest in science and engineering while giving them a chance to see their field of study, she said.
“The program really benefits UA by giving us a chance to see and find the brightest and best students from all around the country,” Gupta said. “We have been working on various projects this summer, and one of the things we did was move the Microfabrication Facility from its old home in the Bevill Building to its new building in the NERC.”
During the summer, the MINT program also travels and allows the students to explore science in a more hands-on way.
“They have gone on many different field trips during this summer program including a trip to NASA in Huntsville, Alabama, and a trip to Toyota in Mississippi,” Gupta said.
Gupta, one of 11 advisors, is working with a group of five graduate students, one postdoctoral student, six undergraduate students and one high school student this summer.
One of the senior graduate students in Gupta’s group, Ben Clark, has been working in the MINT program since 2011.
Clark said what he really likes about the program is all the research experience opportunities he had as an undergraduate student, but being a graduate student in the program has its perks.
“When I was an undergraduate student, mainly what I did was run the equipment. I would operate different tools and just try to learn what I could,” Clark said. “Now, as a graduate student though, besides doing all of that, I now have the chance to get to know all the details behind it all.”
Iyana Gray, a senior at Hillcrest High School, was involved in the program this summer.
“I was more curious about the program. I had never done research before, and I thought doing this program would allow me to get an edge on college and things like that,” Gray said.
Gray said this summer she was able to research thermal electric material and all their applications.
“It’s really interesting to see the things that we use in our everyday lives are actually pretty complex, and this is something I never really knew before this program,” Gray said.
Overall, the MINT program not only unites different kinds of students, but also gives experience for a future in science and technology, Clark said.
“Even if I was to win the lottery and never have to work again, I would still do this,” Clark said.
