2012 SES Summer Undergraduate Research Program

The School of Earth Sciences will be offering approximately 25 Stanford students stipends of up to $5600 to conduct research over the summer of 2012. Funding priority goes to current and prospective students in any of the departments and programs within the School of Earth Sciences who have not yet received departmental funding. We are primarily interested in funding freshmen and sophomores, though juniors and seniors in their first research experience will be considered. Students who wish to conduct Honors research should apply for a Major Grant directly from Undergraduate Advising and Research.

Students may apply to work with any faculty member in the School of Earth Sciences, which includes the departments of Energy Resources Engineering, Environmental Earth System Science, Geophysics, and Geological and Environmental Sciences. Faculty in the Earth Systems Program who have an appointment in the School of Earth Sciences are also eligible to serve as advisors. You can browse through Potential Projects, or browse all faculty and their research interests. If you are interested in working with someone you see there, you can contact him or her directly.

How to Apply

In order to apply, you will fill out a short application form and submit a project proposal. The deadline for submission is 5:00 pm on Monday, March 5, 2012. You will develop the project proposal with a faculty member (and likely a graduate student as well) who will act as your advisor(s). Your proposed faculty research advisor must approve your application: once you submit it online, he or she will receive an email notification asking for approval. Apply now.

The proposal

Your proposal should not exceed 5 pages total, and must include:

• Basic information: The title of your proposed project, your name, class, and major, and the name(s) of your primary faculty advisor and grad student advisor, if applicable.
• A description of the proposed project: This section should comprise the bulk of your proposal. What is the broad question you will be addressing? How exactly will you address it? What are the objectives of the research? What methods will you use?
• A tentative work plan: When will you do the work you’ve proposed? When do you plan to be in the field? If you need to collect/prepare samples for lab analysis, when will you work in the lab? This section should not be written in paragraph form - a bulleted list or table is preferred
• A tentative budget:Please format this as a table. The maximum allowable stipend is $5600, which breaks down to $560 per 40-hour week for 10 weeks (you may apply for any portion thereof). In addition, you may request up to $400 in laboratory analysis, equipment, or other expenses. The total budget may not exceed $6000.

Proposals are due by 5:00 pm, Monday, March 5. You and your advisor will be notified of funding prior to spring break.

If you are accepted…

Students who participate in the 2012 Summer Undergraduate Research Program are required to:

• Enroll in EarthSci 100 Research Preparation (1 unit) during spring quarter. The course includes several activities to help you create a successful summer research experience. Optionally, you may enroll in directed reading or research units with your advisor.
• Attend a weekly lunch seminar series during the summer (when on campus), which will include lectures by faculty and workshops on poster-making and oral presentations.
• Participate in SURPS in the following fall or spring quarter by submitting an abstract and presenting a poster.
• Participate in a School of Earth Sciences undergraduate symposium in the fall or spring by giving a short oral presentation about your work.
• Complete program evaluations at the mid-point and end of your research.

Questions?

For additional information, pleae contact Richard Nevle, Undergraduate Program Director, at (650) 724-0984 or rnevle@stanford.edu