Gannon University has extended until June 20 the deadline to apply for the University’s Regional Summer School of Excellence program.

The Regional Summer School of Excellence is designed for high school sophomores and juniors who excel in the sciences and are interested in a unique and hands-on summer learning opportunity. The program is free and open to students in Erie, Warren, and Crawford counties.

The program offers two weeks of intensive study in the life sciences and environmental health as students work both in Gannon’s laboratory facilities and aboard the University’s research vessel, the Environaut, on Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay.

The program will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. the weeks of July 6-10 and July 13-17. Its goals include:

• To allow students interested in the sciences to participate in a challenging and fun learning experience.
• To allow students to experience college-level laboratory and research projects.
• To better acquaint students with career opportunities in chemistry, engineering, biological sciences, mathematics, medicine, toxicology, and public health.
• To expose students to life science applications in the fields of medicine, public health, epidemiology, toxicology, environmental health, zoology, ecology, limnology, histology, analytical chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, physics, and embryology.
• To introduce students to standard methods used in studying and researching environmental science, environmental health, and related issues, including ecological sampling techniques, water chemistry, lake pollution and population dynamics, air pollution, acid rain, and eutrophication.
• To educate students on how technology, engineering, chemistry, and biological science each play a role in understanding environmental issues.

Participating students are eligible for Gannon scholarships.

Sponsors of the program are Gannon University, the Northwest Tri-County Intermediate Unit, and the Pennsylvania Governor’s Schools of Excellence.

For more information on the program, or to request an application, contact Stan Zagorski, program director and faculty consultant, Gannon biology department, at 814-871-7641, or the Northwest Tri-County Intermediate Unit at 814-734-5610.