Summer Institute

Summer Institute logo

What is the Summer Institute?

SI is the Ohio Supercomputer Center's two-week residential program where gifted high school students learn through project-based, hands-on experiences. Working in small teams, students use OSC's supercomputers to solve complex science and engineering problems, catch hackers using network forensics, study the spread of the bird flu, design computer games and more.

Teachers: Download our camp flyer to post in your classroom!

Who is eligible to apply?

Ohio residents currently in their freshman, sophomore or junior years of high school.

Two students working in front of a computer

Program Details

2023 Dates

Sunday, June 11, 2023 to Friday, June 23, 2023

Location

Ohio Supercomputer Center
1224 Kinnear Road
Columbus, Ohio 43212

Application Deadline

April 16, 2023
We will begin notifying accepted students in early May 2023.
Space is limited. Submitting an application does not guarantee acceptance into the program.

Cost

$526 per attendee

The fee covers housing, meals and program tuition, including laboratory visits, insurance, chaperones, social activities and equipment costs. Please note that the costs of the program are highly subsidized from other funding sources (i.e. it costs OSC significantly more to provide these programs that what attendees are charged).  In effect, all attendees are receiving scholarships for the program and hence individual, personalized scholarships are not available.

Projects

Attendees will work in small teams on diverse and challenging research projects. Teams are comprised of a project leader (staff member who created and designed the project) and up to four students. Learn about past projects.

Schedule

An overview schedule for Summer Institute. For more detail, visit the tentative schedule.
Day Activities
Sunday Welcome presentation / overview; Dorm Check-in
Monday OSC Overview; Introduce Projects; Hands-on UNIX
Tuesday Interface Tour Lab; Intro to Python; Team Building
Wednesday Field Trip: MRI Center; Project Training
Thursday Project Training; Field Trip: CAR
Friday Field Trip: SOCC; Parents pick up students
Saturday Off day
Sunday Dorm Check-in
Monday Lab/Animations; Talk: Cyber-Security
Tuesday Lab; Group Photos
Wednesday Lab/Animations; Tour: Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center
Thursday Lab/Presentation Development
Friday Lab/Presentation Development; Closing Ceremony

Contact Information

(614) 688-8300 or si-contact@osc.edu

students

Program Impact

Alumni Survey Results

A recent survey revealed that over 82% of SI alumni pursued a higher education degree in science or engineering. Several of the colleges they went on to attend included:

  • California Institute of Technology
  • Case Western Reserve University
  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • John Hopkins University
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • The Ohio State University
  • Yale University

 

 

 

Testimonials

“Everyone was really nice, students and teachers. Using a supercomputer for the first time was a really cool experience, and it was just overall really fun and interesting.”
“I came to the institute thinking that most people were going to be intoverted nerds like myself, but I was completely surprised after the first few days. The kids around me were exceedingly nice, outgoing, and intelligent at the same time, which made me love the program even more.”
“I think this camp was a lot of fun though, and it was 100% worth it.”
“SI gave me a chance to experience a higher level of research. All of these experiences have really opened my mind to a lot of educational opportunities. Thank you for making this camp amazing!”

 

Read about SI 2022 and the camp's overall impact on students' futures.

SI 2022 Recap Video