Letter to High School Students In New York and On Long Island:

I am reaching out to high school students, high school science teachers, and guidance counselors near New York City. On November 7, we will be hosting Cosmic Pathways NYC II at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY.  https://cosmicpathways.org/cp2026/

The registration and abstract deadline are October 7!

This event has been specifically designed for high school students who are thinking about careers in STEM.  Fliers for the event are linked below, please hang them up at your school. I will be hand delivering a bunch this week. If you want your physical flier delivered please reach out at mwright@adelphi.edu.

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 learned about careers in particle physics?

Learn about Career Possibilities for STEM Majors in College: Meet with representatives from colleges and universities 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 on the website.

Meet Brad Conrad, Ph.D.: Cosmic Pathways NYC’s Keynote speaker is Dr. Brad Conrad.  He is amazing.  He is the education and Workforce Development Manager at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Office of Advanced Manufacturing (OAM).  He basically knows where all of the amazing high-tech jobs are.  And is super funny and amazing.  He is one of the nicest people in the world. 

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!

Thank you

Matthew Wright, Ph.D.

Co-Chair of Cosmic Pathways

Adelphi University Physics Chair                                                                 

Vice Chair of the Forum on Education at the American Physical Society

And here is a flier for the NYC conference:

https://cosmicpathways.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/CP2026_SaveTheDate_8.5×11.pdf