Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering (SURE)

The Center for Human Modeling and Simulation (HMS), housed in the SIG Center for Computer Graphics, is an exciting place to investigate computer graphics modeling and animation techniques for embodied agents, virtual humans, and crowds. Major foci involve developing behavior-based animation of human movement, especially for gesture, gait, and facial expression, constructing a parameterized action representation for real-time simulation and animation, and understanding the relationship between human movement, natural language, and communication. As a research assistant, you will work side by side with faculty, talented graduate students, and visitors from other universities. You will apply what you've been learning in school in a very direct way. Not only that, but you'll learn the day-to-day operations of working with a team and developing experience and relationships to help you further your career.
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This is an intensive hands-on summer program to introduce undergraduate students to the principles and techniques of computational neuroscience. The summer program will be directed by Dr. Vijay Balasubramanian of the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Joshua Jacobs of Drexel University, in collaboration with Neuroscience faculty from Penn and allied institutions. An initial short course will introduce students to the basic methods of using computational techniques to model and analyze neuronal activity. After the course, students will conduct research in a Penn laboratory under faculty supervision. Lectures and chalk talks will continue throughout the summer during the Summer Seminar Series, and participants present their research at a Symposium at the close of the program. The goal of the program is to foster training that integrates experimental and theoretical approaches to understanding neural function. All undergraduates with an interest in Computational Neuroscience are encouraged to apply. Students seeking an introduction to more quantitative approaches and greater exposure to Neuroscience are encouraged to apply, regardless of background. All currently enrolled students are eligible for our Summer Program, including currently enrolled seniors and international students. Housing is available, if needed, on the Penn campus. A $4,000 stipend will be provided to all participants for living expenses, including housing.
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Join a vibrant, collaborative environment, uniquely equipped to face research and development challenges of the fast-growing robotics industry.  The General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab is an inter-disciplinary research center, focused on fundamental research in robotics, vision, perception, control, automation and learning Pioneering GRASP researchers are building autonomous vehicles and robots, developing self-configuring humanoids, and making robot swarms a reality. As an undergraduate researcher you will work with faculty and doctoral students on a specific research topic be it in perception, machine learning, control, planning, haptics, mobility, and manipulation. 
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Each year, the cognitive science community at Penn brings together the best and the brightest undergraduate students from around the world to learn about the growing fields of cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience. The Institute for Research in Cognitive Science (IRCS) fosters the development of a science of the human mind through the interaction of investigators from the disciplines of Linguistics, Mathematical Logic, Philosophy, Psychology, Computer Science, and Neuroscience. IRCS' programs directly impact such technologies as graphics and animation, robotics and computer vision, spoken and written natural language interfaces, machine translation, information extraction systems, software development, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and bioinformatics.

As a participant in our two-week summer workshop for undergraduates, you will hear lectures from distinguished researchers in the fields of cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience, participate in labs and lab tours involving some of the latest technologies and research methods, and participate in panel discussions on the future of cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience. For a limited number of students, there is also an opportunity to extend the 2-week workshop experience to a summer-long paid research experience opportunity in a Penn research lab. Students who are interested in the extended summer research opportunity should indicate that on their workshop application.

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The Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) provides state-of-the-art Shared Experimental Facilities, which play a vital role in MRSEC research and in promoting collaborations & outreach to the materials community. LRSM is the intellectual focal point of materials research at Penn. It hosts the Materials Research Science & Engineering Center (MRSEC), which consists of five Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs) plus selected seed projects.  As a MRSEC REU Fellow, you will work for 10 weeks with a faculty member on an independent research project. During the program a team of nine faculty members will present weekly lectures on some aspect of materials research and, during the final week, each student is required to make a presentation of his/her research to the other students and interested faculty. Each must also submit a final report and a prize is given for the best paper.
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Thanks to a generous gift by Angus Littlejohn, the School of Engineering is able to offer Summer Research Opportunities to Penn Engineering Students. The program is open to rising, sophomores , juniors and seniors.

The program intends to provide students the opportunity to get involved in hands-on engineering research under the supervision of a faculty member. Topics of research include all areas covered by the departments in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. The students will receive a stipend of $5,000 for a 10 week period.

Students are encouraged to seek out a faculty member who is willing to act as the research advisor. A letter of support from the potential mentor is required as part of the application process. The application is done online and should include a one page describing the relevance of the proposed work, a rough plan, expected outcome, your prior experience (if any) and why you are qualified to do this work. Apply Now

The future of electronics, biomedical, and energy technologies will be determined by research advances in the interdisciplinary fields of nano-biotechnology.  The Nano/Bio Interface Center at Penn supports a summer research experience for undergraduates that will prepare you for that future.  Research experiences are organized around themes like molecular motion, opto-electronic function of biomolecules, and single molecule probes.  This program is appropriates for engineering students and students majoring chemistry, physics and biology.  Additional professional development experience includes writing and presentation skills along with exploring cross-cultural issues. (NOTE: For 2011, NBIC is taking only non-Penn undergraduates for the summer REU. Penn undergraduates are encouraged to apply for the international summer research program in Grenoble, France)
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The National Science Foundation/Greater Philadelphia Region/Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Undergraduate Research Program is in its 16th year and is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Penn Engineering. This program is a nationwide coalition striving to increase the enrollment, retention and graduation rate of underrepresented student in science, technology, mathematics (STEM) Baccalaureate degree programs, in an effort to increase the matriculation of undergraduate AMP Scholars in graduate academic studies for M.S., M.S.E., Ph.D., and M.D./Ph.D. degrees for careers in academia or industry both in the United States and globally.
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Penn Center for Bioinformatics (PCBi) is the central hub for bioinformatics and computational biology research at the University of Pennsylvania. Founded in 1997, the Center brings together faculty and researchers from across the university, housing laboratories and facilitating collaboration among diverse scientific disciplines. While PCBI represents the research wing of Penn bioinformatics, Penn computational biologists also provide services to external labs, mentorship for graduate training, and continuing education workshops and seminars, creating an interdepartmental home for ongoing research and next-generation science.  As a research assistant, you will conduct cutting-edge computational biology research in a leading laboratory here at Penn.
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The Penn Center for Energy Innovation (Pennergy) brings together world-class researchers to solve scientific and technological problems enabling the efficient use of current energy sources, the practical use of more sustainable energy, and the facile conversion of energy to different forms. The Center researchers and educators integrate and share their knowledge through energy research, educational, and outreach activities that impact researchers, students, and our community. In the next few decades, our society will have to find new energy sources, convert them in less harmful and more efficient ways, and increase the world energy budget significantly. Be part of the scientific and engineering research that can lead the way to solutions for a better world. As a research assistant, you will learn, and contribute to research developing next generation's solar energy materials that are low-cost, and optimized to capture and convert the energy of our sun.
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The "Genomics Era" came to its own in 2003 with the sequencing of the human genome, which is the molecular code that makes up our DNA.  The ability to sequence genomes, with increasingly powerful technologies, has completely altered many areas in the biomedical sciences as researchers are able to better understand how these molecules function in normal and diseased cells.  Genomics also provides new tools, questions, and insights for other important societal issues like agriculture and world food supplies, alternative energy sources, and the understanding of historical and current biodiversity.  The Penn Genome Frontiers Institute (PGFI) is a university-wide institute dedicated to the advancement of the interdisciplinary field of genomics research.

As a Research Assistant, you will have the opportunity to contribute to an on-going genomics project in which you will learn laboratory and/or computational techniques and be exposed to broader scientific methodologies.  PGFI has faculty members from diverse departments such as microbiology, biostatistics, pharmacology, and veterinary medicine and will match student interests to available projects within PGFI-affiliated labs.  Joining a genomics lab for the summer will help you develop a foundation in research – and an entrée into one of the most dynamic disciplines in the sciences.
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For Penn Undergraduates Only: There is a summer program with research within the PGFI Educational Facility, rather than placement in faculty laboratories; Deadline March 9, 2012. See the PGFI Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Program for more information.

As computers and communication bandwidth become faster and cheaper, computing and communication capabilities are increasingly embedded in objects and structures in our physical environment.  The mission of Penn Research in Embedded Computing and Integrated Systems Engineering (PRECISE) is to develop and integrate theory, methods, tools, and systems support for education, research, and implementation of cyber-physical systems.  This center will ensure a steady supply of well-prepared engineers, equipped with the skills necessary to develop the cyber-physical systems (CPS) of the future.  Comprised of researchers from the departments of Computer and Information Science and Electrical and Systems Engineering, the center also collaborates closely with researchers in Robotics, Bioengineering, the School of Medicine, and Wharton.  As a research assistant, you will learn about medical-device interoperability, medical-device network interface, GUI for medical devices, trust management for collaborative environment, modeling and analysis, assurance cases, virtualization, automotive control networks, energy-efficient building automation, wireless sensor networks and real-time parallel computing.
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The need to analyze and make effective use of the vast amounts of data has made Machine Learning indispensable in many fields of science, medicine and engineering, as well as technology powering modern high-tech industry. Machine Learning addresses the fundamental problems of extracting models and patterns from data. PRiML's focus is on both theoretical and applied aspects of machine learning, especially dealing with fundamental challenges of large scale learning: high dimensionality, very large datasets, limited supervision, adversarial settings, structured outcome spaces.  As a research assistant, you will get involved in research with faculty mentors early in your career.  You will work with a faculty member and a graduate student mentor throughout the summer with the goal of producing an identifiable research result. 
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Summer UNdergraduate Fellowship Sensor Technologies (SUNFEST) is a unique program that provides talented undergraduate students with hands-on research during the summer in the area of sensor technologies.  The program is open to students in engineering and the physical sciences. Areas of Research include Micro and Nano Electromechanical Structures and Sensors, Nanotechnology and materials for Sensors, Robotics and Control oriented projects, Wireless Sensor.  As a research assistant, you will be exposed to  real, in-depth research in the area of sensor technology under the mentorship of a faculty member.
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