PHILADELPHIA — On October 4-6, 2012, the inaugural Ivy Plus Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Symposium & Workshop for Diverse Scholars will take place at the University of Pennsylvania. The conference targets students participating in the Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program, Mellon-Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, Minority Access to Research Careers, and Minority Biomedical Research Support (RISE) Program. Other interested students are also encouraged to apply.

This two-day symposium features a keynote address by Valerie Petit Wilson, deputy division director for graduate education at the National Science Foundation, and more than a dozen panel sessions with faculty from the nation's leading universities.

The Ivy Plus STEM Symposium & Workshops for Diverse Scholars is a strategic opportunity for undergraduates interested in advanced training in STEM fields to:

-Gain insight into interdisciplinary science and how research fields are overlapping in complementary ways to solve new problems

-Learn how a PhD in a STEM field can open doors and be leveraged for exciting career opportunities

-Meet faculty and hear directly from them about their research in emerging fields

-Present work to faculty, graduate students, and post-docs in a poster session

-Attend workshops with admissions representatives and learn more about how to pursue a research education at some of the nation’s leading research institutions

Representatives from Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Stanford University, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania and Yale University will be present.

“This is a unique opportunity for your top students to have one-on-one interactions with faculty and admissions directors across Ivy League schools,” says Renee Moore, assistant Professor of Biostatistics at Penn Medicine and a former Mellon-Mays Fellow.  “The Symposium gives students an opportunity to showcase their research and forge relationships that may lead to graduate school opportunities.”

For more information, visit http://www.IvyPlusSymposium.com.