EME Summer Research Internship Program

Research Internship Guidelines

Program dates

Program will run for 8 weeks, from June 6 – August 1, 2022
There will be a concluding poster session from 1:00-4:00 p.m. on the afternoon of August 1, 2022.

Student eligibility and application process

Current Penn State students 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 the EME graduate program.
Participants must be eligible to work during the summer according to their visa type and 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.
Applications will be reviewed by a faculty committee and ranked.
Applications for the 2022 program are particularly encouraged from sophomore and junior undergraduate students enrolled or planning to enroll in an EME major, especially 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, or those who are interested in applying to our graduate program.

Student support and responsibilities

Interns will be paid $5,000 over the duration of the eight-week program.
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.
Participants will spend approximately 40 hours per week working on a research project under the supervision of research mentors. As the program is a full-time commitment, participants are not permitted to have a large course load during the program. Any students choosing to also take classes during the program weeks must have approvals of their project faculty and program staff.
All interns are required to complete PSU online training in Responsible Conduct of Research before beginning summer work.
Students must attend all scheduled EME Summer Research Internship Orientation sessions.
Interns are required to attend and participate in weekly EME Summer Research Program meetings and team building activities and the concluding poster session.
In addition, we will also attempt to coordinate professional development activities with those in other organized REUs within the college of Earth and Mineral Sciences and Engineering. Interns will be required to participate in these activities.
If interns work remotely on any component of the program, all computer equipment required to perform tasks would be the responsibility of the intern and their faculty mentor. The department will not commit funds to the purchase of any computer equipment.

Faculty support and responsibilities

Faculty mentors 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 mentors must be available to meet with the student on or before May 23, so that the student has a work plan for the internship to begin on June 6. Faculty must also make every attempt to attend the final poster presentation and help the student prepare for the same.
Faculty mentors 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 April 20.
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 April 27.
Department Head will review and make decisions by May 2; faculty and student participants will be notified by May 6.
Mandatory internship program Orientation Session will be scheduled during the weeks of May 16 and May 23.
Program runs June 6 to August 1.
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 August 1 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 bright undergraduate students to increase their professional skills, prepare them for experiences they might encounter after graduation, and attract them to a graduate career in energy and mineral sciences and engineering.
Provides a means to better engage Commonwealth Campus students interested in EME majors.
This program provides opportunities to engage high quality undergraduate students both in the department and in other colleges/universities and get them thinking about EME 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

Apply Now!

View Past Summer Research Internship Showcases