Computer science students are getting involved in high-level research projects in the beginning of their college careers thanks to an innovative program at UC San Diego. The Early Research Scholars Program teams students up with professors who have ongoing research projects. Students get guidance from a centralized mentoring team, which helps them with the basic skills needed to conduct research, so their professors can focus on the details of each project. Students conduct research on everything from autonomous cars, to the microbiome, to software verification. The program has been such a success, it is expanding to multiple universities, with plans to keep it growing. (#34691)