For the third year in a row, students had the unparalleled opportunity to conduct high-level science research on campus and in labs around New York as part of Barnard's Summer Research Institute (SRI). This summer, 126 Barnard students (plus five students from additional colleges) studying a range of scientific topics had the opportunity to work with 60 mentors at Barnard, Columbia, CU Medical Center, NYS Psychiatric Institute, and several other local institutions.

See the collection of five videos above to learn about some of this year's research projects.

Among SRI's chief goals is to create a community of scientists. Participating students not only work collaboratively on research teams, but take part in events designed to get them talking to each other across disciplines—with physicists and biologists sharing research details over dinner, or chemists and environmental science majors chatting about their work after a lecture.

One key feature of SRI is that each student receives funding so that they can focus exclusively on their research without taking on extra jobs. The funding is secured through various sources including: Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, Con Edison, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Henry Luce Foundation and the Mellon Fund for Enhancing the Sciences at Barnard, as well as a number of anonymous donors.

To learn more about the Barnard Summer Research Institute visit the program’s website.