Letter to High School Students In and Near Chicago:
I am reaching out to high school students, high school science teachers, and guidance counselors within 150 miles of Chicago. On October 17, we will be hosting Cosmic Pathways Chicago at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois. To register, click here — the deadline is coming up soon!
This event has been specifically designed for high school students who are thinking about careers in STEM. Fliers for the event are attached at the bottom of the page, print them out and hang them up at your school.
Do you love math, science, and/or engineering? Are you considering going to college and majoring in STEM? If so, Cosmic Pathways is the conference for you. The focus of the event will be the physical sciences, but there is so much overlap with the broader science and engineering community that everyone interested in STEM will have an amazing day and learn things that will help them build their careers.
Network with Successful STEM Professionals: Come meet and network with professionals who have gone on to have amazing careers and are eager to connect with high school and college students. There will be speakers, workshops, and events led by physical scientists who have gone on to excel in banking, engineering, physics, and mathematics.
Take a Career Workshop: Have you ever wanted to take a workshop on scientific computing from Wolfram? (They are the ones that make Wolfram-Alpha.) Or what about taking a mentoring workshop from an elite scientist from Argonne National Laboratory? There are going to be plenty more.
Learn about Career Possibilities for STEM Majors in College: Meet with representatives from colleges and universities from across the Chicago area to learn about how to get started in college or graduate school.
Showcase Your Robot Club or Research Project: If you would like to showcase the amazing work you and your robotics team are up to, we would love to set up an area for your team. All students can also present their research as a talk or a poster. This is a great opportunity to showcase what amazing things your school is doing. If you want a table, please reach out to me at mwright@adelphi.edu. For research projects, please submit your abstract here by mid-September.
Meet a Physics Legend — Dr. Rhett Allain: One of my favorite physicists will be at Cosmic Pathways Chicago as our keynote speaker. His day job is being a professor. He also writes for Wired magazine, is a social media star (whatever that means), has consulted for Hollywood, and is the author of multiple books. The best part is he’s super nice and a great guy.
Learn how an Airport Works – Did you know that Lewis University has its own functioning airport? Interested in careers in Aviation and STEM. Come to Cosmic Pathways and meet both sides!
It’s all free — yes, even the food! We’re able to make registration, the events, and the tables free because of generous donations from the National Science Foundation. Cosmic Pathways is supported by the National Science Foundation and the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) under grant no. 2325980 and ACCA (Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area).
High school students have it tough — figuring out the next career step isn’t easy. If you get it right, you can land yourself an amazing career. But it’s risky. There is a lot that can happen. It is a big unknown. One of our goals at Cosmic Pathways is to create a place where STEM-bound students can come together and have honest conversations about college (and beyond), careers, and science. You will meet new, amazing people and have a ton of STEM fun!
If you are not in the Chicago vicinity, you may be interested in attending Cosmic Pathways New York City on November 7, or working with our team to host Cosmic Pathways in your corner of the country/world.
Thank you
Matthew Wright, Ph.D.
Co-Chair of Cosmic Pathways
Vice Chair of the Forum on Education at the American Physical Society
Here is short flier in pdf form:
https://cosmicpathways.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/COSMIC-PATHWAYS-one-pager-1.pdf
And here is another flier for Chicago:
https://cosmicpathways.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/CPChicago2026_Flyer_2026.pdf
And here is a flier for the NYC conference:
https://cosmicpathways.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/CP2026_SaveTheDate_8.5×11.pdf
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