Application Information

Mineral Physics Institute Summer Scholars

About The Program
Supported by a Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) grant through NSF, the Mineral Physics Institute sponsors scholarships for selected undergraduates to work at Stony Brook in a 10-week summer program of intense research. From the time of its inception in 1992 through 2007, 112 students from a variety of undergraduate major fields of study at institutions across the United States have completed individual research projects in this "Summer Scholars" program. The diversity of scientists at the Mineral Physics Institute enables us to offer exciting projects to all student participants. (For examples of recent projects see our web site at www.mpi.stonybrook.edu/SummerScholars). Each student has the opportunity to work in our state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities including the National Synchrotron Light Source at nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory. Past students’ projects have led them to use more distant research facilities such as the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory and others overseas. During the ten-week program, students conduct individual result-oriented projects. Their experiences cover most of the fundamental elements of academic research including reporting of the results to other scientists. The student-advisor relationship in the summer program is modeled after the relationship between the graduate students and their advisors in our affiliate, the Department of Geosciences at Stony Brook University. Thus, students are given individual projects and a good deal of independence and responsibility. At the same time, the advisors are always available for consultation and guidance. In the first weeks of the program, the advisors spend time training the students on technique and safety. During the following weeks, the students and advisors have almost daily contact in the laboratories. When not working in the laboratories, group housing in the Stony Brook residence halls and extracurricular activities provide for an excellent social experience as well. Extracurricular activities have included behind the scenes visits to: the American Museum of Natural History, the FBI, the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institute, and the Smithsonian Institution. Other activities have included exploration of the upper Carmans River by canoe or kayak, fishing excursions on Long Island Sound, attending a New York Yankees or Mets game and a camping field trip to the Adirondacks.

Financial Support
Student participants receive a $3,800 stipend, travel allowance (up to $600) and paid housing on the University campus.

Prerequisites
To be eligible for this program, undergraduate students must be either U.S. citizens or permanent residents and have completed 60 academic credits or at least one half (1/2) of the total credits required for graduation. Students who will graduate prior to the start of the Summer Scholars Program are not eligible. Additionally, potential participants must have an interest in a research career in Earth Sciences, Physics or Chemistry.

Some Student Comments from the Exit Survey

A beautiful program. I would recommend it highly, and I also commend everyone I worked with. Thanks, it was a great summer.
This was, without a doubt, the best summer experience I have had thus far.
Everyone involved was really great. I made many friends and hope to be in touch with them.
Future goals?... Grad school, maybe at SUNYSB. Like the field I'm in right now and my research helped me focus my interests.
I wasn't a lab assistant. I liked my project. It was well defined. I just started working with the help of my advisor. I found the aspect I wanted to work on. I learned so much. I learned a lot of new skills.
My project was definitely well defined and I definitely got a lot of independent work, thought, and experience.
Regular meetings were mandatory, so everyone within the group was always on pace with what everyone else was doing. This was helpful because the group meetings served as an exchange of critique and ideas. Guidance and support were always there for me.