The application period for the 2015 student educational outreach program Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science (GEMS) at Aberdeen Proving Ground is open through March 15.

GEMS is an Army-sponsored summer STEM enrichment program for middle and high school students driven by the overarching mission to interest young people in STEM careers early enough in their education so they have time to attain the appropriate academic training.

GEMS at APG offers three program levels: GEMS I, GEMS II and GEMS III.

GEMS I: Open to rising fifth, sixth and seventh-grade students, the program will focus on a range of lab practices in the use of biomedical instrumentation and analysis of biological data including chromatography, DNA analysis, toxicology, genetics, neuro-anatomy and microscopy.

GEMS II: Open to rising seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth-grade students, the program will focus on laboratory experiences from synthesis to fabrication to instrumentation and analysis. The program will include sessions on chemistry, environmental, physics, engineering, computer science, robotics, non- destructive evaluation and others.

GEMS III: Open to rising eleventh and twelfth-grade students, the program offers older students the opportunity to further explore more specific fields. Two GEMS III sessions will be held this summer: one focusing on computer science and the other focusing on power and energy.

GEMS at APG is a collaborative effort between several Research and Development, and Test and Evaluation organizations on post, including the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, the Army Test and Evaluation Command, the Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense.

Applications are also being accepted for near-peer mentors, who are college students in STEM fields, and resource teachers who are licensed K-12 educators to provide instruction and mentorship to the program participants.

The registration portal for student participants, near-peer mentors and resource teachers is available here.