About Us

Our Mission Statement

The Summit Institute for Young Scholars is dedicated to fostering intellectual curiosity and unlocking the academic potential of highly motivated and exceptionally talented high school students. Our mission is to cultivate an enriching environment that empowers young scholars to excel in advanced research, innovation, and academic excellence. Additionally, we instill a strong sense of ethical responsibility in research practices, emphasizing integrity, honesty, and respect for intellectual property throughout the entire research process.

The Summit Institute for Young Scholars is committed to empowering the next generation of scholars. Our goal is to foster their ability to make lasting contributions to their respective fields and positively impact the world.

Our Commitment to You

At the heart of our mission is a commitment to ethical research practices, emphasizing integrity, honesty, and respect for intellectual property. By instilling these values, we prepare students to approach their work with responsibility and professionalism.

Our ultimate goal is to inspire and equip the next generation of scholars to make meaningful contributions to their respective fields and create a positive, lasting impact on the world.

Featured Mentors

The Summit Institute for Young Scholars takes great pride in introducing its distinguished mentors.

Douglas Walker, Ph. D

Advisor and Senior mentor

Dr. Walker is an Associate Professor in the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health at Emory University and adjunct Assistant Professor at Utrecht University. Before joining Emory University, Dr. Walker was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York. He is an environmental engineer and analytical chemist with training in metabolomics and developing EWAS (exposome-wide association study) methodologies for environmental health and precision medicine research.

Courtney Sato, Ph. D

Advisor and Senior mentor

Dr. Sato is an interdisciplinary scholar of twentieth-century US intellectual and cultural history, Asian American Studies, and critical race and gender studies. She holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University and an M.Phil in Modern South Asian Studies from the University of Cambridge. She was a Global American Studies Postdoctoral Fellow at the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History at Harvard University. In the Fall of 2021, she joined Tufts University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora.

Timothy Carapella, Ph. D

Advisor and Senior mentor

Dr. Carapella has a Ph.D. in History and has over ten years of academic teaching experience. He is a Professor in the History department at Binghamton University (SUNY) and an expert in research related to topics such as Europe, America, the United Kingdom, Russia, and the World.

Jason Matos, Ph. D

Senior mentor

Dr. Matos is a postdoctoral researcher at MIT's Whitehead Institute and has studied many scientific problems in fields such as plant natural product biosynthesis, the structure and function of proteins, and the physics of amyloid oligomerization. In addition to publishing in scientific journals, he has published blog posts and articles in Terpenes & Testing magazine.

Hannah Rogers, Ph. D

Senior mentor

Hannah Star Rogers received her Ph.D. at Cornell University on the intersection of art and science and her MFA in poetry from Columbia University. Her monograph Art, Science, and the Politics of Knowledge will appear in MIT Press in 2022. She is also the lead editor for the Routledge Handbook of Art, Science, and Technology Studies (2021).She has taught writing at Columbia University, Strathclyde University, and the University of Virginia.

Peter Sokalski, Ph. D

Senior Mentor

Dr. Sokalski holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. His diverse research portfolio encompasses Energy Systems, Heat Transfer, Semiconductors, Quantum Physics, Micro-/Nano-Scale Devices, Optics, Electronics, Magnetic Materials, Material Science, Applied Physics, and Fluid Mechanics.

Christopher Scanlan

Mentor

Christopher Scanlan is a writer and writing coach who formerly directed the writing programs and the National Writer’s Workshops at Poynter where he taught for 15 years. He is an award-winning former journalist who has authored or edited a dozen books. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NPR. He publishes a newsletter and blog, Chip’s Writing Lessons, and is a regular contributor to Nieman Storyboard. He received a Master's degree in Journalism from Columbia University.

Julia Honoroff

Mentor

Julia is a lecturer in the Human Development and Social Policy Department in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. With a strong focus on developmental science and social policy analysis, Julia seeks to address questions related to how the early care and education space can contribute to the larger ecosystem of family support systems, and can better address individual and community needs to improve health, human capital, and overall family well-being.

Sihyun Lee

Mentor

Sihyun is a Ph.D. student at New York University studying Cryptography, supervised by Marshall Ball. Sihyun received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Columbia University. He was also an AI developer for BigCare and CJ OliveNetworks.