Category: Programs for Freshman

Summer Reads For Engineering Students (And Their Parents)

Posted on by reufinder in Community College Students, Programs for Freshman

Starting College this year? I’ve compiled a short summer reading list that you’ll find useful whether you are beginning college this fall as a freshmen or planning to transfer from a community college.

#1 Studying Engineering by Raymond Landis

Literally the “go to” text book for engineering orientation courses. I love this book for many reasons. Not only does this book introduce you to the various branches of engineering, this book also gives a practical glimpse into the study skills needed to be a successful engineering major covering everything from time management techniques to having a growth mindset. Aside from being a guidebook on the engineering profession the book also gives students a mechanism to explore their individual learning styles. One of my favorite lines that I often use with my own students is “No Deposit, No Return.”

#2 Learn to Program by Chris Pine

I especially like this book for students who have not yet taken a coding class. Why? Because it teaches you the art of programming while emphasizing the process not just the end result. Even if you have zero programming experience Chris Pine does an outstanding job that even a newbie can follow. I’ve seen many students read this book over the summer and have a great understanding of the art of programming and the tips and tricks to save time, work more efficiently and be bug free.

#3 Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell

So you know how to code but do you know how to survive the technical interview? If the only thing standing between you and your dream job/internship is a whiteboard then this is a must read! It’s the “true Hollywood story” version of behind the scenes interviews from companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and several other tech titans. Aside from helping you ace the technical interview the book also gives tips on salary negotiations and declining offers.

#4 CLiftonstrengths for Students by Gallup

This book is not specific to engineers but it is an amazing resource to help students understand their individual strengths. Developed by the Gallup organization this book includes the Strengthsfinder access code that allows students to recognize their top signature themes. By understanding one’s signature themes and learning to recognize the strengths that others bring, students can maximize their college experiences and optimize team projects. A growing number of engineering programs have adopted the strengths based curriculum so why not get a head start on recognizing your own individual strengths this summer.

#5 The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

I can almost guarantee that next fall when you go into your professors’ offices you’ll find copies of Covey’s iconic book proudly displayed on their bookshelves. Engineers will love the usage of Venn diagrams. I’d recommend a hard copy not an e-book because you’ll want to highlight things in this book.

For Parents

The Naked Roomate: For Parents Only by Harlen Cohen
There are many books available that give college freshman tips on surviving their first semester. However, few are written specifically for the new college parent.  Packaged as a lighthearted “how to” guide for parents The Naked Roommate does a good job in preparing parents for their first year as a college parent. Whether the student is going across the country or attending the local community college, parents will find the first hand testimonies from college freshman throughout the book useful.

One of the book’s highlights is its chapter on the role that technology plays in family communication.  Weekly long distance phone calls to mom and dad have been replaced by Skype sessions. Letters home are now sent via text message or emailed through Facebook.  If parents choose to “friend” their kids on Facebook they are encouraged to use the site as a means of catching up with their kids, not catching them in wrongdoings. Having one’s kid add them as a friend on Facebook is a privilege not a right. Therefore, parents who chose to add their freshman kids on the social media site should do so sans judgments even if they are curious about what’s inside those red plastic cups in all those photos…  This is where college advisors and career counselors can intervene by reminding college students about the importance of managing their online personas.

The book emphasizes the important role that parents play in ensuring that students fully engage themselves in the college experience.  First generation parents are encouraged to investigate resources available to their first generation college students as research has shown that these students are less likely to participate in enrichment activities such as internships or study abroad.  However, once the semester begins, parents should detach with love and resist the temptation to try and instantly fix everything. For instance, each time the freshman is checking in with their parents to vent about their roommate, express homesickness, or ask for help, the less time they’re communicating with campus resources such as counselors or academic advisors.   Helicopter parents are gently reminded that it’s never ever ok to contact their kid’s professors and how FERPA laws change once your child turns eighteen.   I would recommend this book to advisors because of the range of topics that the book addresses.  This book leaves no stone unturned when it comes to addressing serious topics, including topics such as what to do if your child is arrested and coming out in college.  Advisors will appreciate the author’s willingness to bring up real life situations and not simply rely on surface talking points such as how to do laundry or how to use a credit card.  The Naked Roomate is a good resource for those designing parent orientations.

Computing for Change Competition – All Majors & No Citizenship Restrictions

Posted on by reufinder in Programs for Freshman, Programs for Juniors, Programs for Juniors & Seniors, Programs for Sophomores

Computing4Change is a competition for students from diverse backgrounds in all majors interested in creating positive change in their communities while simultaneously enhancing their data analysis skills.  

Levels: Freshmen, Sophomore, Juniors, and Non-Graduating Seniors
Citizenship Requirements: There are no Citizenship Requirements, however, students must be enrolled in a school in the US at the time of the program
Minimum GPA: 2.5   If selected students must be available for the SC19 student program (https://sc19.supercomputing.org/) that will be held in  Denver Nov 16-22, 2019.

Deadline to Apply:  May 17, 2019 
Apply
To learn more about the program please visit
https://www.sighpc.org/for-our-community/computing4change

Programs for Freshman

Posted on by reufinder in Programs for Freshman

Arizona State University

The QESST Engineering Research Center offers undergraduates the opportunity to participate in solar energy research. Through work on the pilot line, students will:

  • Have access to state-of-the-art facilities and gain experience directly relevant to industry, giving them the opportunity to demonstrate the commercial impact and relevance of their
    ideas by guiding them through the steps required to bring new ideas to commercialization;
  • Bridge the gap between the typical “research” devices and commercial solar cells, allowing fabrication and analysis of technologies on commercial-size devices and commercial equipment;
  • Work in a facility that allows new equipment or processes to be analyzed and assessed jointly with industry. Students will play a key role in this process.
  • Partner with a local student participating in the Fulton Schools’ Solar Energy Research program.

Levels: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors & Non-Graduating Seniors
Minimum GPA: Not Specified
Citizenship Requirements: US Citizens & Permanent Residents
Deadline to Apply: March 1, 2020
Apply

AUBURN University

Warm-Water Aquatic Ecology
“This REU Site is a novel, collaborative effort involving Auburn University faculty mentors specializing in diverse but complementary disciplines, including community ecology, fisheries management, aquaculture, evolution, limnology, molecular biology,  microbiology, invasive species, fish behavior, outreach, physiology, parasitology, and conservation.  Together these disciplines provide the education basis for undergraduate students to learn about techniques and tools to study aquatic communities, specifically warm-water systems such as reservoirs, farm ponds, streams, and brackish estuaries.  The primary objectives of this project include exposing participants to different scientific hypotheses, research techniques, and ecological habitats and conditions in an engaging, interdisciplinary atmosphere that fosters a strong interest in aquatic sciences by the next generation of water experts. ”  

Levels:  freshman, sophomores, junior, and senior graduating no earlier than September 2020.  
Minimum GPA: Not Specified
citizenship Requirements: US Citizens & Permanent Residents

Although not financially supported by our REU Site, we are also open to including a few strongly motivated and self-funded international students in our REU Site research and professional development activities.  

This program strongly encourages applications for those  traditionally under-represented groups in biology (i.e., African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, students with disabilities, first generation college students, and U.S. veterans) as well as students from institutions with limited research opportunities (e.g., community colleges) or students in financial need to apply.  

February 1, 2020 
Apply

University of arkansas

The Separations & Commercialization REU program at the University of Arkansas will offer research experiences in laboratories that are working towards the goals of improving separation efficiency and reducing separation processing costs to a diverse group of undergraduate students. Participants will interact with faculty and graduate students to plan and execute a 10-week research project. A unique component of this REU program is the commercialization assessment training (CAT) series that will prepare them to think about the potential commercialization of traditional hypothesis-driven research early in the process. Participants will have the opportunity to interact with industry leaders in the separation field through the CAT series, industrial mentorships, as well as industrial site visits locally and in Texas.

Levels: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors
Citizenship Requirements: US Citizens
Minimum GPA: Not Specified
Deadline to Apply: February 14, 2020
Apply

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

PHYSICS RESEARCH EXPERIENCE FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Selected undergraduate students perform frontier research for 10 weeks during the summer of 2020 on experimental and theoretical projects in one of their chosen research areas: Nano-materials and Condensed Matter, Photonics, Lasers, and Quantum Optics, Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysics. Additional activities include social events jointly with other REU’s, field trips to industrial labs, seminars on ethics, use of a research library, and technical writing and research presentations.

Levels: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors
Citizenship Requirements: US Citizens & Permanent Residents
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Deadline to Apply: February 15, 2020
Apply

Boston University, Florida International University, University of Michigan

NSF Engineering Research Center in Cellular Metamaterials

CELL-MET offers research opportunities for students outside of our three main institutions (FIU, BU, and UM) through summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) opportunities. Participants work at all three institutions during the summer for up to 10 weeks of independent research related to the ERC.

Levels: Freshmen, sophomores, juniors and community college students 
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Citizenship Requirements: U.S. citizens and permanent residents
Deadline to Apply:
Apply

Brandeis University

cal state monterey bay

Spend 10 weeks in beautiful Monterey working on independent research under the supervision of a research mentor in projects related to Oceanography, Marine Biology and Ecology, Ocean Engineering, or Marine Geology.

Levels: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, Non-graduating Seniors
MInimum GPA: Not Specified
Citizenship Requirements: US CItizens & Permanent Residents
Deadline to Apply: February 1, 2020
Apply

Clemson University REU

The Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program in biophysics is funded by the National Science Foundation to support ten highly qualified students to undertake interdisciplinary, supervised research projects at Clemson University, for a period of 10 weeks each summer.  Student must be majoring in natural science (biological or physical science) or engineering.

Levels: Rising Sophomores, Juniors, and non-graduating Seniors
Minimum GPA: 3.2 
Citizenship Requirements: US Citizens & Permanent Residents
Deadline to Apply: February 15, 2020
Apply

Carnegie Mellon

Carnegie Mellon’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Software Engineering (REUSE) program is an opportunity for undergraduate students to spend a summer working with some of the world’s leading Software Engineering faculty researchers. A number of projects are available in diverse areas which may include automated bug repair, mining software repositories, green computing, requirements engineering, program analysis, programming languages, and usable programming tools. Accepted students will work closely with CMU faculty and researchers on research problems with the potential for publication and significant impact on the future practice of software engineering.

The program is interested in promoting research opportunities for students traditionally underrepresented in computer science, and for first- and second-year undergraduate students. Neither research experience nor advanced coursework in computer science or software engineering is required.

Levels: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and non-graduating Seniors
Minimum GPA: Not Specified
Citizenship Requirements: US Citizens & Permanent Residents
Deadline to Apply: February 1, 2020
Apply

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute

The Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute hosts the Injury Science Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, a 10-week paid summer research internship opportunity for undergraduate students. CIRP is a leading multidisciplinary center engaged in collaborative cross-discipline research implementing real-world applications.

Students must be interested in pursuing a PhD

Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and non-graduating Seniors
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Citizenship Requirements: US Citizens & PErmanent Residents
Deadline to Apply: January 15, 2020​
Apply​

Columbia University

The Biostatistics Epidemiology Summer Training Diversity Program (BEST) was established to expand and diversify the behavioral and biomedical sciences’ workforce by introducing undergraduates from underrepresented populations to biostatistics and cardiovascular and pulmonary disease research. Students representing racial and ethnic minority groups, disadvantaged backgrounds, and students with disabilities join the Department of Biostatistics at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health’s for eight weeks of research, training, academic and career planning, and social activities around New York City. All applicants must have completed one semester of college level calculus.

Levels: Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors & Non-Graduating Seniors
Minimum GPA: Not Specified
Citizenship Requirements: US Citizens & Permanent Residents
Deadline: March 1, 2020
Apply

Georgia Institute of Technology

Founded in 1992 by Dr. Gary May, a former Dean of the Georgia Tech College of Engineering, the Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering/Sciences (S.U.R.E.) program is committed to increasing the number of qualified students who are traditionally under-represented in STEM fields. These include but are not limited to students from racial/ethnic minority groups, women, or first generation college students. 

Levels: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors
Minimum GPA: 2.75
Citizenship Requirements:  U.S. Citizen or permanent residents only
Deadline to Apply: February 28, 2020
Apply


harvard university

Harvard has 7 REU programs that are coordinated through the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Students spend their summers working with faculty. The program provides professional development activities designed to foster interest in graduate school and careers in research.  

Levels: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and SeniorsMinimum GPA: Not specifiedCitizenship Requirements: 5 of Harvard’s programs require that candidates be US Citizens or Permanent Resident’s.  However the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the Rowland Institute at Harvard will accept international students. 

International students are encouraged to visit this link to verify their eligibility.
http://www.hio.harvard.edu/visa-types

Deadline to Apply: February 15, 2020
Apply

us department of energy

NASA

NASA/Cal Tech Jet Propulsion Lab

NASA

Program Description: NASA Internships are competitive awards to support educational opportunities that provide unique NASA-related research and operational experiences for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, as well as educators. These opportunities serve students by integrating interns with career professionals emphasizing mentor-directed, degree-related tasks, while contributing to the operation of a NASA facility or the advancement of NASA’s missions.

Levels: Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Citizenship Requirements: US Citizens & Permanent Residents
Deadline: Rolling Deadlines
Apply

Northeastern University

Site Name: Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Northeastern University

Program Description: This NSF-REU program offers interdisciplinary research opportunities in Biochemistry, Organic, Physical, Computational, and Analytical Chemistry laboratories with an overarching focus on the theme of Catalysis. Students will do research in a nurturing and vibrant academic setting and spend a summer enjoying all what the city of Boston has to offer.

Students will be paired with a Northeastern Chemistry faculty mentor and a graduate student mentor based on their stated research interests. These mentors will guide the student as they immerse themselves in full-time laboratory research over 10 weeks. Participants will attend research seminars presented by program faculty and invited speakers; academic and professional skills development workshops and panel discussions on topics such as research ethics, literature searching, graduate school; social activities and events with other members of the chemistry department or with students from other summer research programs at Northeastern; and field trips to pharmaceutical & biotech companies, or other research institutes in the Boston area. The REU program will conclude with a research symposium where students will orally present their research findings to the wider chemistry community.
Applications are encouraged from students who are first generation college students, women, and students underrepresented in STEM. Students should be majoring in chemistry, biochemistry, or other related disciplines

Levels: Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, and non-graduating seniors
Minimum GPA: Not specified
Citizenship Requirements: US Citizens & Permanent Residents
Deadline:  March 16, 2020
Apply

stanford university

STANFORD’S SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN GEOSCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PROGRAM (SURGE) 

SURGE provides undergraduates from a U.S. institution the opportunity to gain mentored research experience at Stanford University in the geosciences and engineering during the eight-week period of June 19, 2020 to August 15, 2020.  

The program encourages applicants from students who are seeking a formal research experience for the first time to participate. The underlying philosophy of SURGE is to train students by creating a supportive and rigorous work environment. We set high expectations for our scholars: to prepare them for a potential career in the field of geoscience and engineering, and to ensure that they get the most from their stay at Stanford. Each SURGE scholar is matched with a faculty member from the School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences and has the opportunity to work in a research group or laboratory.

Citizenship Requirements:
Levels: Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors and Recent Graduates.
Citizenship Requirements: U.S. citizen, a permanent resident, or an international student enrolled in a U.S. undergraduate institution
Minimum GPA: Not specified
Deadline to Apply: Check Website
Apply

university of buffalo

The Environmental Engineering Solutions for Pollution Prevention (EESPP) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at the University at Buffalo (UB) is a 10-week summer program. EESPP-REU builds upon the past ERIE-REU program by promoting air and water pollution projects that are relevant to not only Western New York, but across the globe.

Projects focus on laboratory and/or field experimentation in three themed areas:

Pollutant Identification and Measurement
Pollutant Source Control
Environmental Remediation

Participants are paired with a faculty research mentor to conduct transformative air and/or water pollution research. Weekly group meetings of the REU cohort foster student-to-student communication via workshops and networking opportunities. A Research Symposium, as well as support for post-REU conference presentations and publications, provides students opportunities to hone their communication skills

Levels: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and non-graduating Seniors
Citizenship Requirements: US Citizens & Permanent Residents
Minimum GPA: Not specified
Deadline to Apply: Late January, however, this program has a rolling admissions so apply early
Apply

University of California at San Diego

UC San Diego REU in Biomaterials

The Jacobs School of Engineering (JSOE) at UC San Diego hosts a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) summer program in Biomaterials. The objectives of the program are to train undergraduates in basic research through challenging biomaterial-related engineering projects performed with research mentors from engineering departments across JSOE. Research areas include tissue engineering and 3D printing, bio-inspired biomaterials, biomaterial-stem cell interaction, nanoparticles and drug delivery.

Levels: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors & Non-Graduating Seniors 
Citizenship Requirements: US Citizens & Permanent Residents
Deadline to Apply: February 15, 2020
Apply

UC San Diego Designing for Safety & Safety by Design

Program Description: The overarching goal of this NSF REU Site is to immerse students in a meaningful and highly interdisciplinary research environment within the structural engineering domain and to teach them that design does not end with construction. Instead, designing for safety embodies: quantifying potential load conditions, damage mechanics, and uncertainties; monitoring for anomalies during operations; processing this information through cyber-modeling via digital surrogates; and translating the information to actionable knowledge for improving current and future system designs. This REU Site will recruit and train 12 diverse U.S. scholars for eight weeks each summer, recruited from across the nation with emphasis on broadening the participation of underrepresented minority, women, and economically-disadvantaged students, to conduct research alongside six professors and their graduate students.

Levels: freshman, sophomores, juniors, and non graduating seniors
Minimum GPA: 3.3
Citizenship Requirements: US Citizens & Permanent Residents
Deadline: January 15, 2020
Apply

UC San Diego Summer Training Academy for Research Success (STARS)

The University of California at San Diego Summer Training Academy for Research Success (STARS) program is an eight week summer research academy for community college students, undergraduate students, recent college graduates, and masters students. STARS offers student participants a rigorous research opportunity with esteemed UC San Diego faculty, informative transfer and graduate school preparation workshops, and educational, cultural, and social activities in sunny San Diego.

Levels: Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and non-graduating seniors
Minimum GPA: Not Specified
Citizenship Requirements: AB 540 or DACA students are eligible or US Citizens or Permanent Residents.
Deadline: January 30, 2020
Apply

Cal Poly Pomona

Cal Poly Pomona’s Big Data Security and Privacy Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program engages undergraduate students in big data security and privacy research, particularly on genomic data privacy, secure multiparty cloud computation and hybrid data center security. This program provides students with an immersive research environment and we teach students research skills through training sessions, hands-on experiments and interactions with experienced researchers. The interdisciplinary nature of this site exposes students to different perspectives of big data security, from theory to application. The faculty members have exceptional expertise in cybersecurity research enabling them to provide high quality REU activities in all three components.

Students have opportunities to explore the state of the art in big data analytics, medical data security, privacy preserving techniques,  security of machine learning models, and software defined network security. Students will learn a variety of practical skills in various computing environments, such as CUDA for general-purpose GPU programing, and a student-run data center. The program is looking for Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Computer Engineering and other related majors.

Levels: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and non-graduating Seniors
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Citizenship Requirements: US Citizens & Permanent Residents
Deadline to Apply: February 3, 2020
Apply

cal state monterey bay

Spend 10 weeks in beautiful Monterey working on independent research under the supervision of a research mentor in projects related to Oceanography, Marine Biology and Ecology, Ocean Engineering, or Marine Geology.

Levels: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, Non-graduating Seniors
MInimum GPA: Not Specified
Citizenship Requirements: US CItizens & Permanent Residents
Deadline to Apply: February 1, 2020
Apply

university of southern california

This NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program will support ten highly motivated and talented undergraduate students to conduct independent but guided research that focuses on Coastal Ocean Processes during an intensive 10-week program at the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island, CA. 

The program will provide students with hands-on research experience, training in laboratory and field methodologies, introductory lectures and special seminars in oceanography and marine science, academic and career advisement, professional development workshops, group activities and field trips to explore Catalina Island’s unique ecosystems.This program will be especially beneficial for undergraduate students with a strong interest in pursuing graduate school or a career in marine science and research​.​

​​Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors , & Seniors​​Citizenship Status: US Citizens & Permanent Residents​​Minimum GPA: 3.25
Deadline to Apply: February 14, 2020
Apply

University of Texas at Austin

The Cyberinfrastructure (CI) Research for Social Change Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at Texas Advanced Computing Center is actively engaging 10 undergraduate students each summer for nine-weeks in solving real-world problems of national relevance, teaching them to not only be critical thinkers, but to be creative and reflective as well.

Students gain skills in advanced programming and problem solving and use the CI to conduct cutting-edge research in engineering, science, and computational medicine. Research projects emphasize advanced computing as a tool to power discoveries that will impact social change for future generations.

Levels: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors & Non-Graduating Seniors
Minimum GPA: Not Specified
Citizenship Requirements: US Citizens & Permanent Residents

Deadline to Apply: March 1, 2020
Apply

The Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP)

Summer Health Professions Education Program with sites including Howard, UCLA, and the University of Washington

The Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) is a free summer enrichment program focused on improving access to information and resources for college students interested in the health professions. SHPEP’s goal is to strengthen the academic proficiency and career development of students underrepresented in the health professions and prepare them for a successful application and matriculation to health professions schools.

Levels: Freshman and sophomores
Minimum GPA: 2.5
Citizenship Requirements: an individual granted deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) status by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services OR a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident
Deadline: February 5, 2020 (Application opens November 1st).
Apply