Marvel Research Program

At the Marvel Research Program, we offer high school students an opportunity to explore the exciting field of data science and AI. Our program is fully remote and is designed for all high school students, including rising freshmen and even recent graduates.

Applications for the Summer 2024 cohort are open now!

Apply Here See Programs See Past Papers & Students






Why Research?



Set yourself apart from others by conducting novel research on/using ML and AI!

Your GPA, SAT/ACT, extracurriculars, and essays all matter to your college applications, but nothing makes a student stand out more than research they conducted themselves. Research can be used not only on their record/resume for apps, but as part of their essays to provide schools with a better idea of who the student is.


Proven to improve how you look on your college applications!

A significant number of high school applicants to top tier schools engage in some form of research, whether through independent projects, internships, or collaborations with universities or professionals. This is because it can demonstrate a commitment to learning, a passion for a particular subject, and the ability to engage in the research project independently.


Direct access to insight from PhD and graduate-level students, as well as university staff seminars!

The staff that created and run the Marvel Research Program are all university-level students/graduates, with some in PhD or graduate programs as well. Students in our research program will have access to office hours with them as well as periodic seminars by professors in the field!


Why MRP?

> We are as unobtrusive as possible during the semester because we know that APs and other classes and extracurriculars are there, and we know that being balanced is of utmost importance for students.

> We provide customized care to each student that is in our program by evaluating each student’s strengths and interests, unlike other programs which tend to be cookie-cutter and standardized.

> We look at the forefront of research topics through the eyes of current PhD and graduate students, and prioritize the student’s personal interests and passions while guiding them through utilizing CS tools for their research.


Keep scrolling to view our catalog of courses!


Programs

Research Program in Computer Science: Theory or Applied Code

Instructor(s): Shreya Kochar, Aneesha Sreerama, Andrew Wang

The research program teaches students how to design research questions and implement projects to answer them. Students will work on projects that integrate data science with other fields such as biology, economics, social sciences, political science, or any other field of interest. The program also includes college planning workshops and guest lectures by Columbia professors. By participating in this program, students will create publish-worthy, novel projects.

Guest lectures TBD - past lecturers include Columbia professors and college admissions counselors

Prerequisites: Basic data science knowledge; experience in Python programming is a plus!

View Course Details
See Past Papers & Students


Introduction to Python & AI

Instructor(s): Andrew Wang

This course provides an overview of the field of data science, encompassing data cleaning, analysis, visualization, and modeling. Students will acquire the skills to utilize the popular programming language Python to explore and analyze data sets. The course underscores the significance of critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, offering hands-on exposure to real-world data sets. Upon course completion, students will possess a fundamental grasp of data science and will be well-prepared for further academic pursuits or professional endeavors in the field.

Prerequisites: None!

View Course Details


About Us

The Marvel Research Program (MRP) is a computer science research-focused organization, though we offer instructional courses in fundamental CS subjects as well. We offer high school students an opportunity to explore topics they are passionate about while guiding them in conducting research in those fields using CS tools, often involving the use of machine learning (ML) or artificial intelligence (AI). Our program is fully remote and is designed for all high school students, including rising freshmen and recent high school graduates. Though we are based in the US and mainly operate on a nationwide basis, we also consider international applicants as well. ALL CLASSES OPERATE ON PST (Pacific Standard Time).

Our Team

Shreya Kochar - she/her
Partner

Shreya is an Mission San Jose High School ‘19 graduate who is currently doing her masters at Columbia University while also working full-time as a software engineer at Microsoft in NYC. She graduated from Wellesley College with her bachelors in CS in May 2022, and also currently works at Columbia as a Admissions Student Ambassador. Her focus areas include natural language processing, cybersecurity, privacy, and machine learning.

She is also currently an Associate Editor at the Journal of Emerging Investigators, a peer-reviewed research journal focused on high school student papers!

Aneesha Sreerama - she/her
Partner

Aneesha is an Mission San Jose High School ‘19 graduate and graduated December 2022 from Northeastern University with a degree in Data Science. She worked as an ML Operations Intern at Amazon & Wayfair and is now currently working as a Data Engineer at Amazon. Her focus areas include machine learning, software engineering, and data analytics.

Andrew Wang - he/him
Partner

Andrew is an Mission San Jose High School ‘19 graduate and graduated '23 from Stony Brook University with a Technological Systems Management degree. He interned at the Broadstreet Institute as a Data Analyst and is currently working part time as a Marketing Manager at Success Koach. His focus areas include UI/UX, web development, and business/marketing strategies.

He is also currently an Associate Editor at the Journal of Emerging Investigators, a peer-reviewed research journal focused on high school student papers!

Anirudh Sreerama - he/him
Instructor

Anirudh is an Mission San Jose High School ‘22 graduate currently attending UC Berkeley and double majoring in Computer Science & Applied Mathematics focusing in Computational Biology. He is an AIME qualifier, current competitive programmer, and has tutored high school math and competitive math to high schoolers.

He is currently a TA for the CS61B Data Structures course at UC Berkeley.

Caroline Anderson - she/her
Instructor

Caroline earned her B.S. in Genomics and Chemistry from Duke University in May 2022. There she published research on how human genetic variation regulates Salmonella infection outcome, She is currently working on her Microbiology Ph.D. at MIT where her research centers on cell profiling to understand host responses to bacterial infection. She has taught courses on ethical implications of biomedical research and led workshops in organic chemistry. Her focus areas include host pathogen interaction, genetic engineering, and immunology.

Chaucer Langbert - she/they
Instructor

Chaucer is currently doing their PhD at the University of Arizona in Planetary Science. They graduated from Wellesley College with a bachelors in Astrophysics in May 2023. They focus on modeling exoplanet atmospheric processes with Python.

FAQ


All of our courses, including the research program, are fully remote. They will be delivered over call (i.e. Zoom or Google Meet) and all class content will be in a Google Classroom. Communication may also be sent through our organization email.




We aim to have students who complete the program end with a publish-worthy research paper, and will be given a certificate of participation. A given student's paper is not guaranteed to be published, though that is the goal.




In the research program, we will guide students in conducting novel research on a topic of their choosing, utilizing computer science concepts and tools to gather their data. This work is interdisciplinary in nature and as such has greater potential to stand out.




We offer need-based financial aid for all of our courses, which is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Verification is required for us to determine if you are eligible for a package. Whether a student needs financial aid does NOT affect our decision for whether you may attend a given course.




Of course! We want to support your student as much as possible - please just let us know what your schedule is, and we will do our best to work out separate calls to keep them on track. There will also be office hours available with the instructors of each course respectively. However, we would like to note that there is a limit to how much we can accomodate deviations from the class schedule, especially for our research program.




Only the Intro to Python & Data Science course does not have any prerequisites - the rest of our courses have a few. Please refer to their info cards above for specifics.




No, they do not need to have already come up with an idea for their research. We will spend the beginning of the research program helping students choose a topic and verifying that every student's choice, whether already chosen before the program or not, has the potential to become a full-fledged paper.




A student in the research program can expect anywhere from 6-8 hours worth of work per week, in our 12 week session. This number may be higher or lower depending on the topic chosen, but the program is intended to be intensive and may ramp up in workload near the end. The instructors are here to provide guidance and advice on how to approach gathering the research, and the work ultimately rests on the student to be seen through.




If you are worried that there will be conditions in the future, or now, that will prevent you from being able to take our courses (i.e. cost payment issues, extreme schedule deviations, etc.), then please do not hesitate to contact us. We will try our best to work out a plan with you.



* If your question was not answered above, or if you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at admin@marvelprogram.com

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