The Association of Young Scientists and Innovators launched the first Summer Coding Institute with a member orientation meeting on May 24th. The Summer Coding Institute is AYSI's response to the global coronavirus pandemic, enabling students 6th-8th grade to learn the fundamentals of programming and artificial intelligence. 

AYSI's Summer Coding Institute aims to provide students with a unique opportunity to explore cutting edge topics in computer science and artificial intelligence - conducted on a virtual platform. Our vision is to empower young students not just with technical skills but also with the mindset of “innovating for impact." The program teaches the fundamentals of programming and artificial intelligence to students and pushes them to consider how they can apply knowledge to community problems. 

The AYSI Summer Coding Institute kicked off with an information session on April 25th with around 240 registrants. Since then nearly 220 students are now fully enrolled in the 8-week program. Additionally, AYSI has granted 21 financial aid scholarships to registered members, granting them full and free access to the program's resources. AYSI's goal is to bring AI education to everyone, breaking the barrier between those who can learn and those who can't. Through sponsors AYSI is aiming to grant scholarships to all students in need, opening the program up to everyone. 

​Powering the program at its roots is a group of devoted sponsors. AYSI is delighted to take on Ams AG, the ACP Foundation, and the CAST Association as sponsors and supporters to the program and AI education as a whole. The Summer Coding Institute also includes lectures taught by MIT, Caltech, Columbia, Stanford, and UT students. The program also includes guest lecturers from the Mark Cuban Foundation. 

The officers at AYSI are extremely grateful for the support and quick growth of the 2020 Summer Coding Insitute, hoping to teach students how to turn ideas into products with computer science.

On February 22, AYSI student and mentors competed at the annual Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair capturing 25% of the 1st Places (Advancing to the Texas State Science and Engineering Fair) and 38% of the Grand Prizes (Advancing to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair).
AYSI students also received recognition from a variety of special award sponsors and corporations.

GRAND PRIZE (ADVANCING TO ISEF)
Life Sciences - John Rho (with partner Govardhan Poondi)
Life Sciences Runner-Up - Rachel Mammen 
Physical Sciences Runner-Up ​- Alay Shah 

FIRST PLACE  (ADVANCING TO TXSEF)
Robotics and Intelligent Machines - Kevin Meng 
Physics & Astronomy - Derek Qin 
Computational Biology & Bioinformatics - John Rho 
Plant Sciences - Rachel Mammen 
Translational Medicine - Alay Shah 

SECOND PLACE  (ADVANCING TO TXSEF)
Biomedical Engineering - Andrei Spiride
Chemistry - Nicholas Zhong 
​Biochemistry - Lillian Ye 

THIRD PLACE  (ADVANCING TO TXSEF)
Computational Biology & Bioinformatics - Rithvik Ganesh
Embedded Systems - Arnold Venter

HONORABLE MENTION
Earth & Environmental Systems - Ethan Zhao 
Earth & Environmental Systems - Kevin Su (Junior Division)
Biomedical Engineering - Justin Rho & Sean Jannati 
Behavioral Sciences  - William Yan 

SPECIAL AWARDS 
Kevin Meng - U.S. Air Force - Certificate of Achievement
John Rho - Acoustical Society of America - Outstanding Senior Acoustic Project
Arnold Venter - Terracon, Inc. - Engineering Excellence Award, Senior Div. 3rd Place Individual
Derek Qin - Office of Naval Research - Naval Science Award, Senior Division, ​U.S. Air Force - Certificate of Achievement
Ethan Zhao - DFW Chapter of Hazardous Materials Managers - Honorable Mention

Next, AYSI members will prepare for the upcoming State and International Science Fairs. First, second, and third places will move on to the State Science Fair on March 27 & 28. 
Congratulations to All !!!

On February 9th, AYSI hosted its first-ever mock competition to prepare for the upcoming Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair (DRSEF). Winners of DRSEF advance onto the state competition in March, and grand prize winners are eligible to compete at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in May. 

John and Alay served as the fair's judges, providing feedback based on the actual rubric used by judges at the regional fair. Students brought their boards and research binders to present their projects, and they were coached on presentation skills by our mentor team.

With competitions creeping up around the corner, AYSI switched gears from lectures to discussions and  gathered around to practice elevator pitches together. It was great to hear from everyone about their research. Mentors gave feedback following each speech and worked on refining content, organization, and presentation aspects. Building confidence was key for many people. Don't be afraid to show the culmination of all your hard work these past few months! 

Members got to further refine their elevator pitches in mock interviews and many have started to put together binders, abstracts, and other presentation materials. Looking forward to seeing everyone's boards and presentations and remember to practice, practice, practice!

We are proud to announce that 6 members and/or mentors have been named as TJSHS Finalists! They will be competing in College Station, TX in two weeks. Wish them luck!

Alay Shah:  Behavioral/Medicine
Ellen Sun: Behavioral/Medicine
Lillian Ye: Biochemistry/Microbiology
Andrei Spiride: Engineering
Ethan Zhao: Environmental Science
Nicholas Zhong: Physics/Earth & Space

As members began to wrap up experimentation, AYSI dove into presentation tactics and interview tips in last week's meeting. Mentors also conducted mock interviews with students. Future meetings will dedicate more time towards refining students' elevator speeches, enhancing vocal projection, and fine-tuning interview techniques.

To those who unfortunately did not move on from school competition: do not worry! We are incredibly proud of the work you've done, and you should be too. There are plenty of other competitions to submit your projects to - for this, please see our FAQ page. Also consider starting your new projects! Research and engineering are processes that take time; it's never too early to get started on new ideas. Let us know what you come up with!

Our meeting regarding refining research and creating presentations was a success! AYSI members experienced a full-featured lesson and mentorship session on taking their research to the next level with data and statistics methods. They also learned how to create effective visual and oral presentations for the upcoming competition season. The AYSI team is very excited to see these students shine in the science fairs looming up on the horizon. Future meetings will dedicate more time towards refining students' presentations and conducting mock interviews to prepare them for rigorous competitions.

Congratulations to all AYSI members who took home prizes from TJAS this past week! We are glad to report that all members who attended placed! Below are the results from competition:
​
Alay Shah: 3rd Place in Medicine/Behavioral Sciences
Andrei Spiride: 2nd Place in General Engineering
​Ethan Zhao: 3rd Place in General Engineering
John Rho: 2nd Place in Medicine/Behavioral Sciences
Kevin Meng: 2nd Place in Computer Science/Math I
Rachel Mammen: 2nd Place in Botany/Zoology

We're so proud of you all!

Congratulations to Ethan Zhao and the team of Ellen Sun and Jean Ye for taking home 1st and 2nd prizes, respectively, at the National CAST-USA YEC Competition this weekend! Way to make AYSI proud!