Mun Choi challenges more than 100 young scientists, STARS graduates at UMSL

UMSL Daily

UM System President Mun Choi was the challenge speaker for the 2017 STARS Program Confirmation Ceremony July 21 at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center on campus. (Photos by Marisol Ramirez)
University of Missouri System President Mun Choi visited St. Louis on Friday for a celebration of gifted young minds as 96 high school students and six undergraduate research associates graduated from the 2017 Students and Teachers as Research Scientists summer program at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.
Choi was the featured speaker for the confirmation ceremony on campus. His address pointed to past generational feats – sending a man to the moon, creating the artificial heart, launching the World Wide Web – and challenged the graduates to be as curious, creative, ambitious and civic-minded as their parents and grandparents had been before them.
“Your generation will need to not only match, but dramatically extend the contributions from those who came before you,” said Choi, who cited sustainable energy, climate change and affordable health care as some of the immediate issues facing their generation. “We need your talents, creativity and innovation to help address these and other major problems that confront us. We’re counting on you. Are you ready?”
The event included a ceremonial robing of the graduating science researchers and handshakes from STARS Program Director Ken Mares, former director Chuck Granger and UM System President Mun Choi.
Thanks to the STARS program, they may be one step closer to pursuing careers of such discovery and importance after six weeks of intensive, collegiate science research.
STARS pairs academically talented high school rising seniors and new undergraduate students with more than 60 local scientists in the fields of biology, chemistry, computer science, earth science, engineering, environmental science, mathematics, medicine, physics and psychology.
The mentors are top researchers from Confluence Discovery Technologies, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis University, Washington University in St. Louis ...

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