The Howard Hughes Medical Institute awarded Prof. Irving Epstein (CHEM) a $600,000 grant to broaden the Science Posse program, a scholarship program that encourages New York City high-school students to pursue the sciences in college, according to a May 20 University press release. The program will expand to admit more Posse scholars and develop community outreach programs. Epstein said in an interview with the Justice that the first uses of the new funding will be to "strengthen the Science Posse at Brandeis, bring in more Science Posse students and also to help other schools who are interested in starting Science Posses."

Epstein created the Science Posse program four years ago with funding from a "highly-competitive million-dollar grant" from HHMI, according to the press release.

"The funding started four years ago, but there was a year of planning and there was a year of recruitment and training," Epstein said in an interview with the Justice.

The first 10 Science Posse scholars, chosen out of a pool of candidates in New York City, were admitted two years ago and are now in their sophomore year at Brandeis.

Science Posse scholars complete a two-week intensive "Science Boot Camp" before their first semester and are required to enroll in introductory science and math courses in their first year of study at Brandeis, according to the Posse website.

Expanding the Science Posse program also entails the creation of two outreach programs to the Waltham community in which Posse scholars would work alongside other Brandeis students to mentor high school and elementary school students, according to Epstein.

One of the outreach initiatives involves the aid of Let's Get Ready, a Boston-based organization that empowers students to go to college.

The press release states that Brandeis students will be connected to Boston-area and Waltham youth through college preparatory mentoring with the help of some Science Posse scholars, a Saturday morning science lecture and discussion series by Brandeis faculty and internships.

The Science Posse program will also work to create a version of the United States Biology Olympiad, originally a Biology competition for high school students. The outreach program will instead target Boston- and Waltham-area middle school students. Brandeis professors and students will develop examination materials and laboratory exercises appropriate for a middle school biology competition, and the top 50 schools will advance to the "finals" at Brandeis, according to the press release.

To apply for the funding, Epstein said in an interview with the Justice that he had to "describe what we had done with the first four years of HHMI support," explaining that the goals of "improv[ing] 'General Chemistry' and implementing the first Science Posse program in the country" had been achieved since the project's creation.

In the press release, Epstein noted that minority enrollment in introductory science courses has increased as a result of the Posse program, and several Science Posse students have become campus leaders.

Usman Hameedi '12, one of the first students to be accepted into the Science Posse program, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that he would like to see the increase in funding provide Science Posse students with more internship opportunities.

"By having internships that truly test our knowledge, we can show that we are much more than our grades. In addition, these internships can help future Science Posse students develop a passion for the sciences in a way that a textbook could never accomplish," he wrote.