EME Summer Research Internship Program

Research Internship Guidelines

Program dates

Program will run for 10 weeks, from May 17 – July 26, 2021.
Start date and end dates may be adjusted on a case-by-case basis by agreement with the faculty supervisor and student assistant, as long as the duration of the work performed equals 10.0 weeks.
There will be a concluding poster session from 1:00-4:00 p.m. on the afternoon of July 26.

Student eligibility and application process

Current Penn State student should be enrolled in or showing a major preference for one of the EME majors
- Energy Business and Finance
- Energy Engineering
- Environmental Systems Engineering
- Mining Engineering
- Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering
- Energy and Sustainability Policy
Juniors at other universities and colleges must be in a related major with the intention of applying to our EME graduate program.
Participants must be eligible to work during the summer in terms of residence status.
Students will apply for entry into the program. The application form will include GPA information, planned date of graduation, and a short paragraph on research interests and objectives for the internship, as well as the name and contact information for a faculty reference who is familar with you and your studies.
Applications will be reviewed by a faculty committee and ranked.
Application for the 2021 program are encouraged from sophomore and junior undergraduate students enrolled or planning to enroll in an EME major, particularly those at Penn State Commonwealth Campuses who would benefit from working with faculty at University Park to explore or cement their interest in EME majors. We also encourage application from students at other campuses who are interested in applying to our graduate program.

Student support and responsibilities

Interns will be hired as “research assistants” and paid as wage payroll employees for the ten weeks of the program. The hourly rate will be $11.67/hr for up to 25 hours a week. The total amount for the 10-week period would be $2,917. Additional support from a faculty member at the same hourly rate may be available up to a maximum of 40 hours per week.
Non-PSU students from other universities participating in NSF REU programs, or programs supported by their home universities or governments (e.g., Brazilian Mobility students or students from Indian universities with internship requirements and programs) are eligible to participate in the EME Summer Research Program but are not eligible to receive funding from EME.
Other non-PSU students who are not participating in NSF REU programs or sponsored by their home universities or governments are eligible to apply.
Students are expected to be engaged for up to 40 hours a week on their research project during the 10-week Summer Research Program period. Student interns will be expected to maintain work hours each day Monday through Friday.
All interns are required to complete PSU online training in Responsible Conduct of Research before beginning summer work.
Students must attend EME Summer Research Assistant Orientation.
Interns are required to attend and participate in the weekly EME Summer Research Program meetings and team building activities and the concluding poster session.
In addition, we will also attempt to coordinate the program activities with those in organized REUs within the college of Earth and Mineral Sciences and Engineering. Interns will be required to participate in these activities.
It is presumed that student interns would have to work remotely due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Any computer equipment required to perform tasks during this internship would be the responsibility of the intern and their faculty supervisor. The department will not commit funds to the purchase of any computer equipment.

Faculty support and responsibilities

Faculty supervisors are expected to be available to meet at least weekly, in-person (or via real-time online video conferencing platform, e.g. Zoom), with participating students. Faculty supervisors will be responsible for Workday time approval for the students supervised.
Faculty supervisors must be available to meet with the student on or before May 3, so that the student has a work plan for the internship to begin on May 17. Faculty must also make every attempt to attend the final poster presentation and help the student prepare for the same.
Faculty supervisors are strongly encouraged to have all participating students working with another student on their assigned project. This could be another summer student, e.g., two students on one project, or a PhD student that the summer student is assisting.

Program timeline

Applications material will be due by March 19.
Applications will be reviewed and ranked and the top applications will be circulated among the faculty. Faculty will indicate their top 2-3 students by March 31.
Department Head will review and make decisions by April 12; faculty and student participants will be notified shortly thereafter.
Mandatory internship program Orientation Session will be scheduled during the week of April 19.
Orientation Session II will be held the week of May 10.
Program runs May 17 to July 26, 2021.
There will be weekly meetings and team building activities with all summer research students during the summer, and a summer research poster session will be held on July 26 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. All participating students are required to present a poster on their summer work during the poster session. There will also be webinars that will be organized on topics such as Energy and Environmental Ethics, Topics in Energy Transition, etc. Attendance in these activities is required.

Goals

Provide opportunities for EME BS students, increasing their professional skills and preparing them for experiences they might encounter after graduation.
Enable faculty to advance on some specific tasks, or to develop preliminary data.
This program provides opportunities to engage high quality non-PSU undergraduate students and get them thinking about EME@PSU for graduate studies.
Potentially expands MS and PhD applicant pool.
Increase energy level in department over the summer.

John and Willie Leone Family

Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering

EME Summer Research Internship Program

Research Internship Guidelines

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View Past Summer Research Internship Showcases