Pioneers of STEM
High School Summit
2026
October 17, 2026
11:00 AM-3:00 PM EST
Virtual Event
About This Summit
This summit celebrates all types of STEM learning:
- Independent research or lab projects
- Summer internships or programs
- Skill-building experiences (coding, engineering, data science, etc.)
- Unfinished or in-progress projects
By creating a supportive space, we hope to:
- Build confidence in public speaking and presentation skills
- Encourage peer-to-peer learning and inspiration
- Connect high schoolers with faculty and mentors in STEM fields
Founder and Organizer
Lale Devany, The Academy for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering, Morris Hills High School
Advisory Board
Our advisory board includes faculty and professionals who support student-led STEM initiatives. They provide guidance during planning, assist with outreach, and will be present at the event to give feedback and encouragement.
- Dr. Andrea Lee, Department of Chemistry, Drew University
- Dr. Valerie Feng, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Drew University
- Dr. Murat Cevher, Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
- Dr. Paola DiMarzio, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Stevens Institute of Technology
- Dr. Xiaokan Zhang, Department of Cardiology, Columbia University Medical Center
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Anton Oliynyk, Department of Chemistry, Hunter College, City University of New York
Title: High-school and freshman college student involvement in cutting-edge research: machine-learning prediction of functional materials with experimental validation
Bio: Anton Oliynyk received a PhD degree from University of Alberta (Canada) in 2016 in the field of inorganic chemistry, with a focus on data science. At that time, machine-learning as a method for materials discovery was just emerging. Dr. Oliynyk did postdoctoral studies at University of Houston, before returning back to Canada as a research associate. At Hunter College CUNY, Dr. Oliynyk started in 2023, where he continues to discover novel solid state materials. Over a decade of work with machine-learning methods, Dr. Oliynyk discovered over 450 novel compounds, and materials with distinct magnetic, transport, and mechanical properties. Currently, the group focuses on the development of novel nuclear materials.
