The academic year has come to a close, but 39 students from Rhode Island’s institutions of higher education will continue their learning and discovery with the Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program.

Students earn their fellowship awards through a competitive application process and spend 10 weeks engaged in full-time, independent research projects in the laboratory of a faculty mentor.

The summer research experience — a collaboration between Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR and Rhode Island IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence — provides opportunities for a deeper involvement in the science while advancing technical and cognitive skills.

“I’m excited to see the work these students accomplish over the summer,” said Jim Lemire, RI NSF EPSCoR coordinator for undergraduate research. “For some of them, it will be their first true foray into scientific investigation. For others, they will be advancing previous work. But, for all of them, this summer promises to bring unexpected challenges, great successes, and, most importantly, an opportunity to be scientists.”

Click on this link — SURF 2015 — to read about the students and their research projects.

Since 2007, Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR has supported 215 SURF fellows under the mentorship of 76 different faculty members at our partner institutions.

In addition to the research experience, the SURF program also provides workshops on leadership and communication skills. Students wrap up their work with a poster conference that showcases their accomplishments.

All students complete the Responsible Conduct of Research module through the CITI program and deliver a certificate of completion to the EPSCoR office.