Princeton Summer Research Labs
For High School, Middle School, and Home School Students
About
Summer Research Labs is the summer edition of our Princeton Labs program. Real mentorship, real rigor, arranged into 8 weeks. Students meet twice a week and work independently between sessions: reading, experiments, coding, data collection, writing.
Mixed labs within each group. Students can work on different projects across any of our five labs. Open to new and existing students. Middle school, high school, and homeschool. No prior research experience required for most labs.
For full details on how our labs work, expectations, and what makes them unique, see the Princeton Labs page.
Hybrid Flexibility
Sessions are held in person at the SoTS Princeton location. We strongly encourage attending in person. Students can also join remotely on days they are traveling while the rest of the group is in person. Some sessions may be fully on Zoom.
Schedule
July to August 2026. 8 weeks, 2 sessions per week, 16 sessions per group total. The date range allows buffer for cancellations (July 4th, travel).
Group A
Monday / Thursday
4:30 to 6:00 PM
Up to 5 students
Group B
Tuesday / Friday
4:30 to 6:00 PM
Up to 5 students
Available Labs
Physics Tournament
Mentor: Sergey Samsonau
Prepare for IYPT (International Young Physicists' Tournament). Investigate open-ended physics problems - build apparatus, develop theory, run simulations, defend conclusions. Target: Team USA selection for Auckland 2027.
Science of Seeing
Mentor: Sergey Samsonau
The natural science of seeing, for students who make or study art. Build optical instruments, measure light, color, and surface, and test how a real artwork differs from its photograph. Stand on published optics, color, and vision science and ask the next question about how an image is formed, made, and seen.
Sound and Human
Mentor: Sergey Samsonau
Acoustics and psychoacoustics for students who play or sing. Measure resonances and spectra, model strings and membranes, build simple instruments, run blind listening tests. Start from published work and ask the next question about how sound is made, shaped, or heard.
AI Meets Science
Mentor: Sergey Samsonau
Evaluate AI tools in scientific contexts. Test claims about AI-powered research assistants, literature search, code generation, data analysis. Publish findings on what works and what doesn't.
Planet Impact
Mentor: Sergey Samsonau
Environmental research with competition pathway. Water quality, ecosystem health, pollution. Featured competition: Stockholm Junior Water Prize ($10K scholarship + Stockholm trip for US winner).
Science of Video Games
Mentor: Sergey Samsonau
Research games as systems - engagement vs addiction, monetization ethics, player psychology. Massive industry with almost no researchers. Survey design, data analysis, scientific methodology.
Certificate
Students who complete the summer semester in good standing, attend at least 75% of scheduled sessions (with at least 50% attended in person), and demonstrate satisfactory progress (at the lab director's discretion) are eligible to receive a Certificate of Research Training. Enrollment or participation alone does not guarantee a certificate.
View sample certificate →Research Cycle and Beyond
The summer program is designed for a full research cycle: from formulating an original question through data collection, analysis, and presentation. How far a student gets depends on their effort and capacity.
Students who enjoy research and want to take their project deeper can continue with our free Personal AI Research Mentor software (researchmentor.ai) or enroll in our Fall and Spring semester labs. When results are ready, students can publish in our peer-reviewed journal, write for our magazine, present at the SoTS Science Conference for Teenagers, or find other ways to communicate their research through external venues. All of this builds your research profile.
Lab enrollment automatically qualifies students for SoTS membership for the duration of the program, including the ability to submit materials for their research profile.
What about college admissions?
Harvard's admissions reading procedures name “original scholarship” among the characteristics of their highest-rated applicants. See public records details →
Enrollment
In-person
- 2 sessions per week, 1- to 1.5 hours eachin person
- Summer 2026: July to August (8 weeks, 16 sessions)with occasional online flexibility
- Up to 5 students per group
- Tuition sent by invoice on request
- Two extra weeks built in for rescheduling flexibility
Hybrid
- 2 sessions per week, 1- to 1.5 hours eachover Zoom + 2 required in-person visits
- Summer 2026: July to August (8 weeks, 16 sessions)including 2 required in-person visits
- Up to 5 students per group
- Tuition sent by invoice on request
- Prerequisite: record of research activity (details)
Space is limited. Two groups available (Group A and Group B).
Gift certificates available.
Looking for a meaningful gift? Select "Yes" for gift certificate option in the enrollment form.