STEM Internships

This is the time of year to search and apply for internships. Some are due in December while others are due as late as February.

Applications due Jan. 10, 2013 for internships at Department of Energy. Many sites are available including Argonne. http://science.energy.gov/wdts/cci/ When you submit an application and selected specific sites you'd like to serve as an intern, identify individuals at those sites and contact them directly to let them know of your interest in obtaining an internship there. This will help put your application on the top of the pile.

Internship for Department of Homeland Security
Announcement: http://www.orau.gov/dhseducation/about/files/HS-STEMflier2012.pdf
Main website for this internship: http://www.orau.gov/dhseducation/index.html

The National Science Foundations (NSF) funds numerous Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) grants. Below is a list of REUs in Illinois. If you are willing to travel, for a complete list of research experiences for undergraduates funded by the NSF: http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.cfm?unitid=10006 or go here to search by subject http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.cfm

• Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign http://www.scs.illinois.edu/reu/
• Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology at University of Chicago http://mgcb.bsd.uchicago.edu/reu/
• Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO http://luc.edu/chemistry/reu.shtml
• Zoology and Geology at Field Museum of Natural History http://fieldmuseum.org/about/c-r-research-experiences-undergraduates-reu
• Plant Science and Conservation at Chicago Botanic Garden http://www.cbgreu.org/
• School of Computing at DePaul University http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/research/vc/medix/index.htm
• Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University http://www.nu-nsec.org/REU.htm
• Bioengineering Education Research at Northwestern University http://ber-reu.northwestern.edu/
• Electrical & Computer Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology "Summer Engineering Research Experiences in Hybrid Electric and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles" Contact: Ali Emadi at 312-567-8940 or emadi@iit.edu.
• Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering at University of Illinois at Chicago "REU Site in Novel Advanced Materials and Processing with Applications in Engineering" Contact: Christos G. Takoudis at 312-355-0859 or takoudis@uic.edu.
• Chemical Engineering at University of Illinois at Chicago "Novel Processes and Materials in Bioengineeering and Biomedical Engineering" Contact: Andreas A. Linninger at 312-413-7743 or Linninge@uic.edu. See 2012 flyer: http://cwruchemistry.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/flyer12reuchicago.pdf
• Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science at Illinios Institute of Technology http://www.iitdiabetes.org/reu/
• Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at University of Chicago http://mrsec.uchicago.edu/education/reu-program
• Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at Northwestern University http://www.mrsec.northwestern.edu/content/educational_programs/reu.htm
• Chemistry at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale http://www.chem.siu.edu/undergrad/reu.htm
• Department of Physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign http://physics.illinois.edu/undergrad/reu/
• Physics at University of Chicago http://physics.uchicago.edu/research/undergraduate/reu.html
• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology  at Northern Illinois University on "Operation ETank: Moving Toward a Sustainable World" http://niu.edu/reu/

Those of you who wish to stay much closer to Oakton, STEM200 courses provide research (and design) project experience which culminates in an All STEM Students Gathering at which STEM200 students present their findings. For a list of projects and mentors, see: http://www.oakton.edu/academics/special_programs/stem/opportunities/student_opportunities/stem_courses.php

Oakton's BIO240/CHM240 are excellent courses to teach you how to be a good researcher including literature review, identifying a research topic, designing the research around the topic, conducting research, collecting and analyzing data, and presenting findings. Students who successfully complete this course may have an opportunity to participate in a summer internship at a four-year school or research institutions. Past researchers who have employed interns from BIO240/CHM240 reported that they preferred to hire students who have completed this course at Oakton than others without this experience. Currently BIO240/CHM240 topic focuses on the invasive buckthorn shrub. Contact Michael Carr at mcarr@oakton.edu for more information.

Oakton's Internship Program for enrolled students offer a variety of positions and different times of the year as well as varying lengths of experience. The minimum requirement for being classified as enrolled is to be registered for a credit or non-credit class. More information and application are available at: http://www.oakton.edu/audience_nav/current_students/internship/index.php