In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 National Youth Science Camp (NYSCamp) will be an entirely virtual experience!
One hundred thirty delegates have been selected to attend the 2021 NYSCamp from across the United States and twelve Western Hemisphere nations. In a one time increase of international delegates, because of the virtual nature of the camp, we will be welcoming a total of 50 international delegates from Argentina, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The National Youth Science Foundation continues to pursue its mission to inspire lifelong engagement and ethical leadership in STEM fields, and we desire to honor delegates for their talents and accomplishments, provide them opportunities to build relationships, and challenge them in inspiring ways. The virtual camp will include a world-class lecture series, directed studies, seminars, cabin meetings, and special virtual concerts along with other surprise events. Delegates will also be encouraged to disconnect, spend time with family and friends, and safely explore the outdoors in their home communities over the weekends at camp.
Speakers and presenters have been selected from among prestigious and up-and-coming STEM professionals who are making a difference in their fields of study and are changing the world for good. At Camp we’ll explore scientific epistemologies; the vastness of space and the oceans; the microcosms of microbes and CRISPR; statistical analysis; the powerful potential of technology; electrical grids; cutting-edge neuroscience research; communicating science; and the varied possibilities of shaping STEM policy. Delegates will have many opportunities to interact and connect with one another in interactive sessions with our speakers and presenters. Even though we can’t gather in the mountains of West Virginia, the 2021 Virtual National Youth Science Camp will be an engaging, exciting, and unforgettable experience!
Public Delegate Yearbook
Lecture Series
| Date | Lecturer | Title |
| June 28 | Shiva Rajagopal Embedded Software Engineer Google Fitbit | Martha Wehrle Opening Lecture: Computers are Stupid (and Science Camp Saves the World) |
| June 29 | Katie Inderbitzen, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher | “What’s Underneath the Underneath?” Exploring the deep seafloor and subseafloor |
| June 30 | David Lengyel, PhD Former Chief Risk Officer NASA Human Exploration & Operations Mission Directorate | The Columbia Accident: Risk Management, Decision Making, and Organizational Lessons Learned |
| July 1 | Scott Boyle, PhD Vice President of Business and Corporate Development Forma Therapeutics | Science the S#!T out of your career |
| July 2 | Kennan Salinero, PhD Executive Director ReImagine Science | Science – Where is the Wilderness? |
| July 5 | Hershel “Woody” Williams Medal of Honor Recipient, WWII, USMC (Ret.) & Chairman Emeritus The Woody Williams Foundation | Freedom Demands Service and Sacrifice |
| July 6 | Enrique Lin Shiao, PhD Postdoctoral Research Fellow Doudna Lab at the University of California Berkeley | From making DNA smileys to improving CRISPR applications |
| July 7 | Eric Macbeth Project Director Freeport LNG | Electrical Grids for the 21st Century |
| July 8 | Kara Tinker, PhD Research Scientist National Energy Technology Laboratory | Run the World (Microbes): Technologies, Applications, and Emerging Research in Microbial Ecology |
| July 9 | Alyson Wilson, PhD Associate Vice Chancellor for National Security and Special Research Initiatives Office of Research and Innovation, North Carolina State University | Data, Statistics, and Big Science |
| July 12 | Michelle Amos Former Systems Engineer NASA, Kennedy Space Center | NASA Engineering to Benefit Life on Earth |
| July 13 | Alison Barker, PhD Group Leader Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany | Notes from underground: Lessons in cooperation and communication from the naked mole-rat |
| July 14 | Josh Shiode, PhD Federal Affairs Director Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) | AAAS Science Policy Panel Discussion |
| July 15 | Radha Ganesan & Lydia Franco Assistant Professors of Practice Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science | Communication is Key! |
| July 16 | David Hackleman, PhD Retired Linus Pauling Chair of Chemical Engineering Oregon State University | How to have fun at a company inventing things needed on a schedule |
| July 19 | Karla-Louise Herpoldt, PhD Scientist Seagen | Avoid Boring People.* Live lessons Learnt in the Laboratory |
| July 20 | Emily Serazin Boston Consulting Group | Getting Vaccines Around the World |
Press About National Youth Science Camp
National Youth Science Camp Will Stay Virtual This Year WVMetroNews
Shiva Rajagopal to Speak at the 2021 National Youth Science Camp’s Martha Wehrle Opening Lecture NYSF
National Youth Science Camp kicks off another virtual program due to COVID-19 WVMetroNews July 5, 2021
National Youth Science Camp welcomes 59th delegation virtually NYSF July 14, 2021
Sponsors
This year’s delegation included an unprecedented one-time increase to fifty international delegates made possible by a generous contribution and cooperation from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). The camp was also made possible through generous contributions from the State of West Virginia, Northrup Grumman, the Martha Gaines and Russell Wehrle Memorial Foundation, the Daywood Foundation, and NYSCamp alumni and friends.
