Society of Teen Scientists launched in November 2025. The organization is new, but the expertise behind it is not.
Dr. Samsonau has spent over a decade in research education: training 100+ students at NYU, building and directing research labs at one of the top US high schools, and publishing peer-reviewed work on research methodology. Our advisors each bring decades of experience from institutions like Thomas Jefferson High School and Princeton Plasma Physics Lab.
We built SoTS to bring this methodology beyond a single school or university program.
Early members get to influence how SoTS develops and participate in a unique organization that aims to achieve something never attempted before.
And if we're honest, this is how science works. You form a hypothesis, evaluate the evidence, and if it has a high chance of success, you go for it. There's never 100% certainty. That's not a bug. That's what makes it exciting.
Real scientific research always requires someone willing to take a path no one has taken before. That's the mindset we cultivate here.
Ready for this mindset? If yes, join us.
Real Research means working on authentic questions: unsolved, doable with available resources, and worth solving.
Not exercises with known answers. Not projects designed just to teach a concept. Not questions no one actually cares about.
We push for rigor and curiosity. We help students find questions that fascinate them AND matter beyond the classroom. Students formulate their own questions, design approaches, collect and analyze data, and present findings. The answers are unknown and may not exist. There's no guarantee of success.
The result might confirm a hypothesis, disprove it, or open new questions. That's how science actually works.
We have built a research process specifically designed for middle school, high school, and homeschool students.
Research shows authentic research experience builds:
These skills transfer everywhere: college, career, life. They're also the skills AI can't replace. See what skills you'll develop →
And when a hypothesis isn't confirmed? Your progress is still tracked by your Research Profile, capturing questions pursued, skills built, and lessons learned. Real science values rigorous work, not just positive results.
SoTS is a research organization, not a tutoring company. We don't help students with homework, test prep, or catching up on school material.
That said, some students searching for a physics tutor may actually want something tutoring doesn't provide: genuine depth. If you took physics and felt it moved too fast or stayed too shallow, and you want to actually understand what's going on rather than just get through the next test, the SoTS Physics Lyceum might be what you're looking for.
The Lyceum is built around the Deep Physics methodology: reasoning from first principles, not memorizing formulas. Students derive results, build intuition, and own the physics. Hard problems that don't yield easily. No answer keys, no shortcuts. The kind of productive struggle that develops real understanding.
Students who develop this foundation will find AP Physics or competition problems more approachable, but that's a side effect, not the goal. The goal is learning to think through hard problems, which is also the foundation for research.
The Lyceum runs year-round in Princeton across three semesters (fall, spring, summer), with tracks for both high school and middle school students.
Similar, with an important difference. We're not tied to official definitions or district requirements.
The SoTS Physics Lyceum teaches physics using the Deep Physics methodology, which follows the renowned physics-mathematics school tradition: a methodology with deep historical roots, systematized in the 1960s, that produced Nobel laureates, Fields Medalists, and researchers who now work worldwide. Genuine depth. Serious problems. Peers who want to think hard.
Open to talented students ready for real challenge in physics.
We provide publication pathways, not guaranteed papers.
Programs that guarantee publications often steer students toward safe, formulaic projects where the goal becomes producing a paper, not doing real science. We take a different approach.
At SoTS, we teach research methodology: how to ask good questions, design approaches, collect and analyze data, handle failure, and communicate findings. Some projects lead to publication. Some lead to negative results that are just as valuable for your development. Some open new questions worth pursuing further.
We offer two publication venues: Proceedings of SoTS (peer-reviewed research journal) and World of Teen Science (popular science writing). Members can submit their work, and it goes through real editorial review. The work has to earn it.
What you build along the way is a Research Profile that documents genuine capability, regardless of whether a particular project reaches publication.
We do this indirectly, in our own way.
Science fairs are often structured around adult research norms: poster presentations, polished deliverables, confirmed hypotheses. Many also require registering a project plan before you even begin your research. Traditional prep programs focus on optimizing for those criteria: coaching poster layout, rehearsing presentations, choosing "safe" projects with guaranteed results.
We teach research methodology. The goal is learning to think like a scientist. Fairs are one possible venue to share your work, not the purpose of doing it.
Our students, if they choose to participate, may arrive at competitions with original research they truly own. They can explain their work clearly because they actually understand it. They can answer tough questions because they genuinely wrestled with the problem.
What we offer is the foundation to do research worth presenting. Where you take it is up to you.
We offer short courses in Applied Statistics with R and Applied Machine Learning with Python as part of our Research Skills program. These are 4-week courses that teach practical tools professional scientists use every day.
The focus is on applying these methods to real research, not abstract theory. Students learn to analyze their own data, find patterns, build models, and interpret results. All courses integrate GenAI as a knowledge partner, teaching students to use it effectively for understanding concepts, writing code, and solving problems.
These courses work well on their own or as preparation for summer research programs, science fairs, or SoTS Labs.
Every Research Skills course integrates GenAI as a knowledge partner. We teach students to use AI tools effectively for understanding concepts, writing code, interpreting results, and solving problems they couldn't tackle alone.
This isn't a standalone "prompt engineering" course. It's learning to work with AI the way scientists actually do: as a collaborator that accelerates your thinking without replacing it.
Our AI Research Mentor is a purpose-built research guidance system. It's designed to elevate student thinking, not do the work for them.
Indirectly, yes. We don't write essays or strategize applications, and we're not college consultants. What we do is give you genuine research experience worth writing about.
Your Research Profile documents questions you pursued, skills you built, and what you learned, including from projects that didn't work out. Colleges increasingly value demonstrated initiative, and a profile showing authentic research development tells that story clearly.
For one specific data point: Harvard's admissions reading procedures, made public in the SFFA vs. Harvard court record, explicitly name “original scholarship” as a characteristic of their highest-rated applicants. See public records details →
Our read: if admission to schools like Harvard is a priority for you and you're genuinely curious about science, doing authentic research and building a record of it is a natural fit. Every SoTS member gets a Research Profile that builds a track record of their work; SoTS Research Labs participants may also earn a Certificate of Research Training.
Students who do real research can talk about their work with depth. That comes through in essays, interviews, and wherever else it matters.
Our bigger goal goes beyond applications. Students who arrive at college already knowing how to do research (how to ask good questions, design approaches, handle failure) use those four years far more deeply. Readiness for advanced coursework, the ability to go deep once you're there, and research skills that transfer to any career. That's what we're preparing you for.
Yes. Our Summer Research Labs run June through August, in-person in Princeton or hybrid for students anywhere. Small groups, twice-weekly sessions, direct mentorship from Dr. Sergey Samsonau, and a Certificate of Research Training. AI, physics, environmental science, and social science labs.
Year-round, SoTS also offers Research Labs, SoTS Physics Lyceum, Deep Physics, and Research Skills courses.
For high school students, the SoTS Physics Lyceum: High School runs year-round across three semesters: fall, spring, and summer. Summer courses still meet twice a week, but in 3-hour combined theory + seminar sessions, compressing a full semester into the break.
For middle school students, Physics Lyceum: Middle School runs as two paired semester courses in fall and spring (Mechanics & Thermodynamics, and Electricity, Magnetism & Optics), plus four single-topic two-week camps in summer (Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Electricity & Magnetism, Optics). See the middle school page for current pricing.
Both tracks offer genuine intellectual challenge and real depth: serious problem-solving, not lectures. Led by Dr. Sergey Samsonau (PhD in Physics).
Students who complete a SoTS Research Lab semester (spring, fall, or summer) can earn a Certificate of Research Training. It states that the student received training in authentic research, conducted an original project, and completed a semester-long program under professional mentorship.
The certificate is not automatic. Earning it requires (1) completing the program in good standing, (2) attending at least 75% of scheduled sessions, with at least 50% attended in person for summer semesters (which include some online sessions), and (3) demonstrating satisfactory progress, as judged by the Lab Director. Research is individualized, so there is no fixed rubric; the Lab Director assesses the student's overall work, including engagement, quality, and responsiveness to guidance. Accommodations may be granted for documented extenuating circumstances. See Terms §3.13 for full details.
Yes. We offer two weekly formats plus a year-long residency:
In-person: weekly meetings in Princeton, NJ, open to anyone who can come each week.
Hybrid: same weekly meetings held over Zoom, plus half-day in-person visits in Princeton (3 per Spring or Fall semester, 2 per Summer). Open to students who have already shown they can keep up with weekly research on their own; see Princeton Research Labs for what we look for.
Research Lab: International Format. A year-long delivery format with a two-week opening in Princeton, weekly Zoom across the year, and a one-week closing the following summer. All five Research Skills Courses included; one annual price. See Research Lab: International Format.
Same labs, same mentors, same research cycle. The difference is where the weekly meetings happen and how often students come to Princeton.
In-person: weekly 1 to 1.5 hour meetings in Princeton, NJ. Open to any student who can come each week.
Hybrid: the same weekly meetings, held over Zoom, plus half-day in-person visits in Princeton. There are 3 visits per Spring or Fall semester (start, middle, end), and 2 per Summer semester (start, end). Hybrid is for students who have already demonstrated consistent weekly self-directed research.
Both formats are priced the same per semester. See Princeton Research Labs for current pricing.
Research Labs are based in Princeton, NJ. If you can't come every week, our Hybrid format lets you attend weekly meetings over Zoom plus 2–3 half-day in-person visits per semester.
For a year-long, bundled commitment, our Research Lab: International Format packages a two-week opening in Princeton, weekly Zoom across the year, and a one-week closing the following summer.
If none of those is a fit, you can start a research club in your area. Build your own community and bring real research to where you are. Two tracks: SoTS Club Network (with access to club leaders discussion group) and the Research Leadership Program (structured development with certification).
The outcome is capability and mindset. Publications and awards are things you might get. Capability and mindset are something you become.
Students who develop real research skills can talk about their work with depth and confidence. That shows up in college interviews, coursework, careers, and anywhere else clear thinking matters.
Readiness for advanced coursework at whatever college you end up at. The ability to go deep once you're there. Research skills that transfer to any career. Some students skip college and go straight to work. These skills matter there too.
SoTS is built on a principle: give talented minds resources and freedom to think freely. Is there evidence this works?
The Institute for Advanced Study, founded in Princeton in 1930, is the strongest evidence for professional scientists. Free the best minds from teaching loads, grant applications, and committees. Let them think. The result: breakthrough contributions from Einstein, von Neumann, Gödel, Wigderson (the only person to win both the Abel Prize and the Turing Award), dozens of Nobel Laureates and Fields Medalists.
The strongest evidence for teenagers comes from the Soviet physics-mathematics schools designed by scientists like Kolmogorov and Kapitsa in the 1960s: a separate track where talented students combined theory, problem-solving, and real research. That tradition produced generations of Nobel laureates, Fields Medalists, and the scientists and engineers behind much of modern technology. Adaptation to American soil has demonstrated excellence at PRISMS and NYU.
SoTS provides teenagers a path similar to that once offered to professional scientists.