Student Challenge Awards

In partnership with Earthwatch, the Foundation offers students gifted in the arts and humanities an opportunity to spend two intensive weeks during the summer at a scientific research station. The aim is to excite the students' imagination, expand their potential, and stimulate their curiosity about science and technology. Recent research sites include the Los Alamos National Observatory in New Mexico, the Skagit River Basin in Washington, and the Churchill Northern Studies Center in Manitoba, Canada, among others. At present the only national program operated by the Foundation, the Challenge Awards are initiated by nominations from high school teachers and guidance counselors throughout the country.

Please visit the Earthwatch Institute for additional information about this program.

The goals of the Earthwatch Student Challenge Awards are:

To identify high-school students throughout the U.S. who are creatively talented, and send them off to work with professional research scientists
To immerse students in high-level science as it's actually practiced, beyond anything they would encounter in their high-school classroom
To give the students a "gee-whiz" experience

To support these programmatic goals, Durfee is committed:

To have a wide range of scientific fields represented
To continuously improve the roster of scientists and research projects involved in the program