Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program

The CNST encourages undergraduate science and engineering majors interested in nanotechnology to participate in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program at NIST.  This program offers the opportunity for a student to spend 11 weeks during the summer performing hands-on research under the mentorship of a CNST scientist in CNST’s world-class laboratories, including the NanoFab and its cleanroom. See the CNST SURF Alumni page for information on past participants and their projects.

 

CNST research is currently focused in the following three areas: 

• Future Electronics.  In support of continued growth in the electronics industry beyond complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, the CNST is developing new methods to create and characterize devices, architectures, and interconnects for graphene, nanophotonic, nanoplasmonic, spintronic, and other future electronics.
  
  
• Nanofabrication and Nanomanufacturing.  The Center is advancing the state of the art in nanomanufacturing by developing measurement and fabrication tools for both lithographic ("top-down") and directed assembly ("bottom-up") approaches.
  
  
• Energy Storage, Transport, and Conversion.  This program is creating new methods for elucidating light-matter interaction, charge and energy transfer processes, catalytic activity and interfacial structure in energy-related devices. 
  
  

The other NIST Laboratories also participate in this program. When applying, in addition to selecting the CNST, the applicant must indicate a second choice from the among the other participating laboratories.  (The application may be considered by any of the laboratories, with preference given to the two listed choices.)  

This paid fellowship includes travel and housing allowances, and is open to U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents.  Note that applications must be submitted by the school; e.g., by a faculty member or other appropriate administrative staff.  Visit the NIST SURF program homepage for detailed information and eligibility requirements.