Attention all New Mexico girls: Apply for a free summer physics camp!

Women scientists and engineers at Los Alamos National Laboratory teach New Mexico students at the free Summer Physics Camp for Young Women

March 7, 2022

New Mexico middle- and high-school girls are encouraged to apply for a free, two-week, virtual Summer Physics Camp for Young Women, taught primarily by the women scientists and engineers of Los Alamos National Laboratory, June 6-17, 2022.

The application deadline is April 3, 2022.

Campers will receive materials for conducting hands-on experiments and group projects at home while attending virtual presentations and demonstrations. Previous camps have covered topics such as the Mars Perseverance Rover’s OrganiCam, led by R&D Laser Engineer Adriana Reyes-Newell, and the biophysics of DNA pattern formation, led by Karissa Sanbonmatsu, whose team achieved the first-ever billion-atom gene simulation via the Lab’s Trinity supercomputer. The 2022 camp will include sessions on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and alternative energy.

Presenters include approximately 90 scientists, engineers and other professionals from the Laboratory, 75% of whom are women. Approximately 35 campers will be selected for the 2022 camp.

Camp sessions also cover professional-development skills such as resumes, interviews, college opportunities in New Mexico, professional societies, internships and careers at the Laboratory. Not only is the camp free, but campers receive a paid stipend upon completion. In 2021 16 campers from past years secured internships at the Laboratory.

Eligibility requirements:

  • Middle- and high-school girls living in northern New Mexico, central New Mexico or tribal communities
  • Completion of Algebra 1 or higher-level math class.
  • Commitment to two full weeks of participation.

Students should give themselves time to secure a letter of recommendation and school transcripts for the application. Note: Acceptance is not based on GPA.

Apply here.

For more information, email  lanl-physics-camp@lanl.gov or contact Josefina Salazar at (505) 695-4030. You can find more details about the camp here.

LA-UR-22-21972