SURF Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships Guidelines and Application Procedures SURF 97 Application Deadline: Monday, March 3, 1997, 5:00 P.M. Complete Application must include: SURF 97 Application, completed and signed Project Proposal written by student Mentor Recommendation Form Three Recommendations from members of the Caltech/JPL community Three Recommendations from members of the applicant s university. At least two recommendations must be from faculty members. Official Transcript Please mail or FAX the Information for Mentors and Mentor Recommendation Form to your mentor, along with a xerox copy of Pages 1 & 2 of this completed application, when you first contact your mentor. Eligibility: To be eligible, students must be continuing undergraduates and have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5. Students must complete the third uarter or second semester at their college or university and must not be on medical leave or under any disciplinary sanction.. Important Dates SURF 97 SURF Office: Room 137 Beckman Institute Application Deadline... March 3 Mail Code 139-74 SURFs Awarded... April 1
Phone: (818) 395-2885 SURF Program Begins... June 16 E-Mail: surf@starbase1.caltech.edu SURF Summer Seminar Day... August 19 FAX: (818) 449-9649 SURF Ends... August 22 URL: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~surf/ SURF Seminar Day...October 18 Carolyn Merkel, Director Susan Clark Carol Casey
SURF 97 Deadline for applications: Monday, March 3, 1997, 5:00 P.M. Name: Application Page 1 (Please Print) Last Name First Name Middle Initial Preferred Name Class (circle one): FR SO JR SR If Senior, expected date of graduation Name of College or University: Major: GPA: Address during spring term: Permanent Address: (Home Address) Street Number Zip City State Phone: Work Phone: E-mail Address: Social Security # I am a citizen or national of the United States I am a citizen of If you are not a citizen of the United States, Visa Type Visa Expiration Date Name of Country The following information is optional and will be used only for statistical purposes. Completion of this data will not affect your application for a SURF: Please check SEX ETHNICITY appropriate Female American Indian/Alaskan Black
boxes: Male Asian Hispanic White Mentor s Name: Have you participated in SURF before? When? Previous SURF mentor(s): Summary of courses in major: Work Experience (include research experience): Skills or experience which would be helpful in a research project in this field (i.e., programming, photography, building euipment or models, etc.): Extracurricular activities, awards and honors, hobbies, interests, etc. (You may include awards and honors received while you were attending high school): How does your proposed project relate to your professional goals? Other pertinent information you would like the committee to consider: Please list the names, addresses, and phone numbers of three people from your institution from whom you will reuest references. At least two of the references must be faculty members. Send a Recommendation Form to these people with the reuest that they return letters of recommendation to the SURF Office by Monday, March 3, 1997. Date of Reuest Date of Reuest
Date of Reuest All of the information I have provided on this form is true and complete to the best of my knowledge. Signature Date
SURF 97 Research Proposal Deadline for Applications: Monday, March 3, 1997, 5:00 P.M. Name of Applicant: Last Name First Name Middle Initial Title of Project: Mentor s Name: Your proposal must include a clear, complete description of your project. It should be as technical and specific as you can make it. Describe your method of inuiry and the expected outcome. Discuss the relationship of your project to the research of your mentor. The proposal must be written by the student. You may pick up a copy of Guidelines for SURF Proposals in the SURF Office or access them on the Web at http:// www.cco.caltech.edu/~surf/html/guidelines_for_proposals.html.
SURF 97 Information for Mentors Important Dates SURF 97: March 3 April 1 June 16 August 19 August 22 October 18 Application Deadline SURFs Awarded SURF Program Begins SURF Summer Seminar Day SURF Ends SURF Seminar Day Who May Serve as a SURF Mentor? All Caltech faculty members including research, teaching, and visiting faculty, the professional staff, faculty associates, and members of the JPL technical staff may serve as mentors. Caltech students may also arrange a SURF project with a faculty member at another college or university. A Caltech faculty member must serve as co-mentor for students doing a SURF off campus. The Role of a SURF Mentor: The mentor coaches the student through the proposal writing as well as through the research during the summer. It is important that the student have primary responsibility for his/her own project, usually part of the on-going research in the mentor s laboratory. Although collaboration between student and mentor will vary with the nature of the student s project, mentoring a SURF student reuires the following: Consult with the student on the design of the project and review a draft of the student s proposal. The mentor may not write the proposal; this is the student s responsibility. Complete the Mentor Recommendation Form and submit it directly to the SURF Office by the application deadline: March 3, 1997. Oversee the student s work on the project and consult at appropriate intervals. If the mentor will be away, he or she should designate a colleague to supervise the student. Sign the bi-weekly reports which the student must submit in exchange for his/her paychecks. Mentors must authorize someone to sign the reports in their absence. Mentors should use the bi-weekly reports as an opportunity to discuss research progress, problems, etc. Students should use the reports to practice technical writing skills. Collaborate with the student in writing the abstract and final report. The student will not receive his/her final paycheck until the technical paper is submitted. The paper must be submitted no later than SURF Seminar Day. If the student continues work on the project during the academic year, he or she should submit a draft report, approved by the mentor, by the deadline. A final report describing additional work or results may be submitted later for the SURF archives. If the mentor will be away when the final report is due, he/she should authorize a colleague to approve the report. Students may take vacation time during the summer with the approval of the mentor; however, students must complete the 10 weeks by the beginning of instruction in fall term, 1997. Help the student prepare for the oral presentation on SURF Seminar Day (October 18, 1997). This oral report is a reuirement of the SURF program. Students appreciate the support demonstrated by mentors attendance at Seminar Day. Contact the SURF Office if administrative problems arise. SURF Stipends: The 1997 SURF stipend will be $4,000. Non-Caltech Students: SURF has extremely limited funding for non-caltech students; mentors will usually have to bear the full cost of the stipend
for these students. However, the Institute has benefited from the participation in SURF by students from other universities; several have returned for graduate work; a few have become upper-class transfers. For more complete information, please contact the SURF Office e-mail: surf@starbase1.caltech.edu M/C 139-74 (818) 395-2885 FAX: (818) 449-9649
SURF 97 Mentor Recommendation Form Note to Mentors: The student should have given you a photocopy of Pages 1 & 2 of the Application with background information to help to you evaluate his/her potential for carrying out this project. You are encouraged to contact the references listed on the Application (please contact the SURF Office if you would like copies of the written recommendations) and to talk with previous SURF mentors. Name of Applicant: Last First Middle Initial Mentors: Please list your name and Academic or Technical Title as it should appear in SURF Annual Report: Name : Title: Mentor s Division: Mail Code: Telephone: E-Mail: Have you had sufficient contact with the student to communicate the substance of the project and evaluate his/her capability to perform the work: sufficient insufficient How well suited is the applicant for the proposed research in terms of: Enthusiasm for the work high low Preparatory course work high low Skills or abilities, etc. high low Background knowledge high low Rate your enthusiasm for working on this project with this student: high low If you have multiple applicants, rank this student against other applicants for this SURF: Your overall evaluation of applicant (please use extra sheets if necessary): I agree to supervise the applicant in the proposed research and to arrange for payment of all research expenses. I plan to be at campus or JPL at least six of the ten weeks. I have designated the following person to supervise the student when I am away and to sign the student s bi-weekly and final report if I am absent when the reports are due: The following person will have responsibility for supervision of the SURF student: graduate student post-doctoral scholar other Caltech Mentors Only: Can you support half of the student s stipend ($2000)? Account #. Signature Date:
Please retur eturn to the SURF Office by March3, 1997 Room 137 Beckman Institute Mail Code 139-74
SURF 97 Recommendation Form Name of Applicant: Reference Submitted by: The SURF Administrative Committee would appreciate your opinion concerning the applicant named above who is applying for a SURF. All recommendations are confidential, however, your comments will be available to the student s mentor. How long have you known the applicant and in what capacity? What are your personal impressions of the applicant s (1) scholarship; (2) personality; (3) drive and enthusiasm, (4) curiosity and creativity. Please return to: SURF Office California Institute of Technology Mail Code 139-74 Pasadena, CA 91125 by March 3, 1997