Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program

Program Overview

Rice faculty have long recognized the educational benefits of undergraduate participation in cutting-edge research. For many years the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering has offered an undergraduate research course (CHBE 500) in which sophomores, juniors, and seniors work with faculty to solve challenging research problems.

In addition, many of our students get exposed to research by participating in summer "Research Experience for Undergraduates" (REU) programs run at Rice or other universities.

However, admission to the various REU programs is quite competitive and generally requires strong performance in engineering classes or prior research experience. As a result, we have seen over the years that engineering freshmen or sophomores have little success gaining access to these programs. Of course these same students also have difficulty finding meaningful technical employment after only one or two years of college. As a result, some of our most promising engineering students spend their summer engaged in activities totally unrelated to engineering or science.

In order to address this problem, our department has established a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program that targets talented freshmen and sophomore students majoring (or intending to major) in chemical engineering. The primary objective of this program are to:

• introduce students to the wide range of research opportunities within our department,
• provide exposure to research and laboratory training at the earliest opportunity; and
• enhance the students' written and oral communication skills.

The 10-week summer program typically starts in early June and continues through mid-August. Each fellowship carries a stipend of $4,000 and a $500 allowance for materials and supplies.

How to Apply

The following materials should be submitted to the CHBE department (AL B216) by April 1 of every year.

1. Resume and current transcript.
2. Statement of the intended research project that has been discussed and approved by a CHBE faculty member who will be the student's mentor.
3. Two letters of recommendation: one from a current or former professor, and a second from the identified CHBE faculty mentor.

For additional information, please contact the CHBE department or any CHBE faculty member.

CHEMICAL & BIOMOLECULAR ENGINEERING DEPT. MS-362
Rice University PO Box 1892 Houston, Texas 77251-1892	E-mail: chbe@rice.edu	Phone: (713) 348-4902 FAX:(713) 348-5478