A solar cell, an artificial ice floe and a battery that harnesses the heat of a laptop were among the original research projects presented by nine College Achievement Through Science Exploration (CAUSE) students Sept. 27 in the Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett LLP offices in Manhattan.

CAUSE, a joint venture of Cornell University Cooperative Extension (CUCE)-New York City and Henry Street Settlement (HSS), funded by the Teagle Foundation, "seeks to improve the college readiness skills of minority youth from low-income communities by combining environmental studies, research, field study and community service with intensive college preparatory services," said Jackie Davis-Manigaulte, CUCE-NYC senior extension associate who co-leads the program with Matthew Phifer, director of adolescent educational services at HSS. Marianne Krasny, professor and chair of the Department of Natural Resources in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is the project's principal investigator.

In addition to designing and conducting the independent research projects, participants were introduced to environmental science, alternative energy, the urban environment, scientific research and communication via 36 weekly sessions with an instructor and a three-week, three-credit environmental science college-level course in the Cornell Summer College program in Ithaca.

"Unlike a lot of other college prep programs, what makes this program really unique is that it's college-based," said Annie Bezbatchenko, a program associate from The Teagle Foundation.

In Ithaca, the CAUSE students got a taste of Cornell college life: They lived in Donlon Hall and met privately with Cornell faculty. For CAUSE student Natah Saylee, a senior at Progress High School in Brooklyn, these opportunities provided fodder for her research project -- she ended up modeling her research on environmental stewardship in adolescents on earlier work done by Nancy M. Wells, associate professor of design and environmental analysis in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell.

"The students really get a taste of being in a classroom with a faculty member who takes them very seriously," Bezbatchenko said, "who asks them questions and listens to what they have to say; and who really fosters all of those capacities like critical thinking and communication skills."

"We definitely learned a lot," said Alexander Torbov, a senior at the High School for Environmental Studies in Manhattan who researched solar and fuel cell technology. "Time management was one of the most important things with joining this program," he said. "Trying to hold an experiment while you are doing your other schoolwork was the key to the whole project."

Muhammad Junaid, a senior at Brooklyn Technical High School who researched the energy efficiency of wireless devices, said that his taste of Cornell's academic rigor came as a bit of a surprise. "The first time we were supposed to read 240 pages in one night I actually thought they were joking," he said.

As it has been for so many Cornellians, learning to thrive in a demanding environment is self-affirming. "I think first and foremost they get confidence [from CAUSE]," said David Garza, executive director of the Henry Street Settlement. "They get confidence and familiarity, and they get a realistic foundation for future dreams and achievement with success, that, without that kind of exposure and access -- whether it's just a trip to a school or the fact that they can live away at a school -- it reinforces that everything is possible. I think that is extremely important."

This confidence, said Katerina Shikoff, helped her son, Alexander Torbov, a great deal. "In the beginning Alexander hesitated," she said. "After the three weeks at Cornell, he became more ambitious, he believed a little bit more in himself. He is pushing more toward greater things in life."

And Cornell itself? "Actually," Shikoff added, "it is his first choice."

Claire Lambrecht '06 is a freelance writer in New York City.