Summer Opportunities
A range of opportunities exist for our students over the summer...
Physics majors - the list of off-campus REU opportunitities is listed below.
The Physics Department does not typically offer any courses during Summer Session.
On-Campus Physics Research
Upper-class physics majors are invited to participate in summer research with a Stetson faculty mentor. Interested students should seek out the advice of the faculty about specific opportunities available. Summer is an excellent time to get involved in a more in-depth, intensive, and thorough research project, enhancing a student's Stetson experience. Any student interested in this is encouraged to apply for a Stetson Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Grant, as this grant will pay a stipend to the student and assist with some research expenses. However, receipt of a SURE grant is not required; the Physics Department is committed to supporting all student research. The faculty invite students to work on in depth projects over the summer break, and any interested upper class major interested in such a project should consult with various members of the faculty about their idea(s). And while we cannot pay summer stipends, we will assist with what ever equipment costs are a part of the research. Finally, although the curriculum is designed to allow students to complete their senior research projects during the academic year, many students decide to take on this major project during the more relaxed pace of summer. In doing so, they find fewer outside distractions and commitments imposing on their time, and they often report an enhanced research experience as a result. It should be noted that research supported by a SURE grant is not eligible to be a senior research project, but many SURE projects can be adapted and expanded to fit the senior research requirements.
Off-Campus Internships and Opportunities
For our upper class majors, there off-campus research possibilities abound.
One article published in Science Magazine gives some great tips for participating in a summer internship.
Most summer programs (and graduate schools) require letters of recommendation from your professors. Here are some tips to help you with the process so you get good faculty recommendations.
A great place to begin your search is at some of the professional organizations web sites, where lists are compiled every year. A few of these include:
- The National Science Foundation (NSF) web site - the NSF funds the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. Warning: the NSF does not update their subject lists as quickly as they add programs, so you'll find some info if you click on "physics" but you'll find a lot more if you search on "physics." They also have this link out there.
- NEW (Fall 2010) NSF announcement - applicable to our graduating seniors: "Since 1952 the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program has recognized and supported future leaders in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Each year the NSF awards over 2000 fellowships to outstanding students in these fields. To apply, go to www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/"
- The Department of Energy, which runs the national labs such as Oak Ridge and Lawrence Livermore.
- The Society of Physics Students
- You can find info from Science.gov at this link.
- And a site called PhDs.org has opportunities for undergraduates listed.
- NASA Undergraduate Student Research Program
- The Nucleus - Resources for undergraduate physics and astronomy students
- The Nucleus
Beginning during the fall semester, the Department receives information about a wide variety of programs (most, though not all, are REUs) for advanced undergraduate students. As they are received, flyers announcing these programs are posted along the walls in the Department, and the names and urls are posted here. Students should take note of the application deadlines, being sure to give their faculty plenty of time to write the required letters of recommendation. Also, all efforts are made to make sure that the following information is correct, but if you find a broken link, please feel free to contact us so we can make a correction.
Specific off-campus programs/opportunities we have received information about so far include:
Montana State University Department of Physics - REU
http://solar.physics.montana.edu/reu
MIRTH (Engineering Research Center for Mid-Infrared Technologies for Health and the Environment [MIRTHE])
http://www.mirthecenter.org
Yale university Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena - REU
http://www.crisp.yale.edu/index.php/REU_Program#REU_2012
apply: http://www.theleadershipalliance.org
University of Alabama at Birmingham - Experimental and Computational Materials - REU
http://www.phy.uab/research/reu.htm
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory - High-Energy-Density Physics Program
https://scholars.llnl.gov/
University of Washington, Seattle - Astrophysics, Atomic Physics, Biological Physics, Computational Physics, Condensed Matter, Cosmology, Nuclear Physics, Particle Physics, Physics Education - REU
http://www.int.washington.edu/REU
Northwestern University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) - REU
http://www.mrsec.northwestern.edu/educational_programs/reu.htm
West Virginia University - nanotechnology - REU
http://www.wvnano.wvu.edu/reu
Michelle.Richards-Babb@mail.wvu.edu
University of Nevada, Las Vegas - experimental condensed matter physics, high pressure science - REU
http://www.physics.unlv.edu/reu/
University of Michigan - astrophysics/cosmology; atomic, molecular, and optical physics; condensed matter theory and/or experiment; high energy theory and/or experiment; nonlinear dynamics/complex systems; nuclear physics; medical physics
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/physics/research/undergraduateopportunities/physicsreu
Nanoscale Science, Engineering & Technology - REU - assorted institutions
http://www.nnin.org/nnin_reu.html
University of Florida - materials physics in condensed matter physics and materials science; computer modeling and simulation - REU
http://www.phys.ufl.edu/reu
LeHigh University - REU
http://www.physics.lehigh.edu
University of Alabama at Birmingham - experimental and computational materials - REU
http://www.phy.uab.edu/research/reu.htm
University of Nebraska-Lincoln - bioengineering systems, biomedical engineering, chemistry, applied mathematics, nanomaterials and nanoscience, optics and laser physics, redox biology, virology - REU
http://www.unl.edu/summerprogram/
University of Oklahoma - astronomy and astrophysics; atomic, molecular, and chemical physics; high energy particle physics; condensed matter physics - REU
http://physics.ou.edu/reuhome/
reuphy@mail.nhn.ou.edu