NIST Gaithersburg Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Grant

The SURF programs will provide an opportunity for the NIST laboratories and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to join in a partnership to encourage outstanding undergraduate students to pursue careers in science and engineering. The programs will provide research opportunities for students to work with internationally-known NIST scientists, to expose them to cutting-edge research and promote the pursuit of graduate degrees in science and engineering.

The SURF NIST Gaithersburg Program Directors will work with appropriate department chairs, outreach coordinators, and directors of multi-disciplinary academic organizations to identify outstanding undergraduates (including graduating seniors) who would benefit from off-campus summer research in a world-class scientific environment.

The objectives of the SURF Programs are to build a mutually beneficial relationship between the student, the institution, and NIST. NIST’s mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. NIST embodies a science culture, developed from a large and well-equipped research staff that enthusiastically blends programs that address the immediate needs of industry with longer-term research that anticipates future needs. This occurs in few other places and enables the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Lab (EEEL), Manufacturing Engineering Lab (MEL), Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), Chemical Science and Technology Lab (CSTL), Physics Lab (PL), Materials Science and Engineering Lab (MSEL)/NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR), Building and Fire Research Lab (BFRL), and Information Technology Lab (ITL) to offer unique research and training opportunities for undergraduates, providing them a research-rich environment and exposure to state of the art equipment.