San Diego State University is looking for 30 teenagers from Hoover High School to help conduct summer research alongside scientists in the diverse ecosystem of Mexico's Sea of Cortez.

The program is funded by $1.6 million in grants awarded the university to bolster science and math teaching at schools with low scores on standardized tests and high numbers of students from low-income families.

The field-research program is open only to students at Hoover High in City Heights. San Diego State science professors are recruiting high-achieving students for an intensive 17-week program that involves spending part of their summer living and working at a research station on the Sea of Cortez.

"Summer excursions and camps have been a staple of affluent kids for decades. It's about time kids in urban areas get a chance," said Ian Pumpian, a San Diego State faculty member.

He directs the City Heights Educational Collaborative, which works closely with the inner-city schools, including Hoover.

The grants were announced last week by the California Postsecondary Education Commission.

The larger of the two, $890,000, goes to a math-education program that links SDSU with the San Diego Unified School District to help 38 mathematics teachers better reach their students.

"One of the difficulties in low-performing schools is that the teachers change every year. They come. They don't stay. They transfer out. They're working on emergency credentials. We're hoping to build some expertise and professional community," said Susan Nickerson, an assistant math professor at SDSU, who helped create the program.