Why Participate? | The Program | Where Are They Now? | Requirements | Application
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Our program provides each student with an exciting opportunity to do cutting-edge research. Possible areas of research include astronomy/astrophysics, atomic physics, biological/Health/Medical physics, condensed matter physics, materials science, and plasma physics. Students may work on computational, experimental or theoretical problems. |
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Our students work directly with faculty members on their research problem. The faculty member provides background information about the area in which the student is working as well as detailed guidance about how to work on the student’s individual problem. This regular contact with the faculty is very valuable. Unlike other programs in which REU students rarely see the faculty and only work with a postdoctoral research associate or a graduate student, our program places a high value on the personal interactions of the REU students with the faculty. The link below will direct you to thumbnail sketches of the research interests of our faculty. Faculty Research Profiles |
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The opportunity to work on the research frontier while still an undergraduate student is unique. The work is challenging, but the rewards are tremendous. You will be working on your own project in the field of your choice. You will be the first person to work on this problem and your results will be of interest to the entire scientific community. |
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There can be no greater thrill for a scientist than to discover something new. Our students have this opportunity and many have contributed new and fundamental knowledge to the world of science. Many of our students publish their findings in the refereed literature. Many of them also present their research at a professional meeting. The students have the opportunity to discuss their research with the scientists working in their area. They also learn many new things at such meetings. It is an exciting experience to learn that one can participate in the highest level discussions about their chosen area. |
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Another benefit of such interactions is that the student gets to meet the "big shots" of their chosen scientific area. Making contacts with these people is exciting and invigorating! Such contacts are also very useful, particularly when one is trying to decide which graduate school to attend. |
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Undergraduate
research is a very useful experience since it teaches
you how to ask the right questions. This
is an enormously important skill and, like riding a bicycle, can only
be learned
by doing. The regular classroom
courses which every student takes provide an excellent education to
understand
the framework of scientific knowledge. However,
these courses teach you how to generate the right answer, they don't
teach you
how to ask the right question. |
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 $4,000 stipend for
10 weeks on campus On-campus housing
provided Travel expenses to
and from the University of Toledo provided Schedule: 01 June
2009 - 07 August 2009 (different schedules possible if necessary)
Deadline: 28 February 2009 for full consideration. However, applications will be considered up until 25 April 2009, depending on the availability of funds and openings. |
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Our students are fully
engaged in research at the "frontier of knowledge".
On the basis of their stated interests, students are
managed to faculty members working in those areas.
At the beginning of the program, there is usually a period
of time in which the student learns the background information relevant
to her research. This usually consists of
reading books and research articles as well as discussions with the
faculty mentor. Once the student has
become familiar with the basics in the field, the student studies the
details of her problem. Usually, this
means mastering the techniques to be used in working on the problem. These techniques depend on the nature of the
work. A student working on a computational
problem would learn the relevant computational techniques.
A student working on an experimental problem would learn
the details of performing the experiments. A
student working on a theoretical problem would study the details of the
theory. |
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Our program is not
just all work. Students are housed in
suites in one of our newer dormitories. A
sense of camaraderie is encouraged by housing the students close
together. There are a number of social
activities in the Metropolitan Toledo area available to the students. One high point of the summer is always the
trip to Cedar Park, a nearby amusement park which specializes in roller
coasters. Students have a great time
studying conservation of energy! The Toledo Museum of Art has a world
renowned collection, surprising considering the size of Toledo. The Toledo Zoo has a number of interesting
exhibits, including the world's only hippoquarium.
There is also an active night life in the city as well as
many coffee houses. |
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The exact projects
available each summer changes as the interests of the faculty and
students evolve. In order to get an idea
of the kinds of projects which are available, click on the links below
to direct you to the Abstracts of Summers 2001 through 2006 research
projects: (Note
that these files are pdf files.)
Summer
2001 projects Summer
2002 projects Summer
2003 projects Summer
2004 projects |
Our former student participants have had a very successful rate of admission to the premier graduate and professional schools in the nation. Click on the link below to see this list:
Graduate and professional schools
Be a student interested in physics or astronomy.
Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Be an undergraduate student in an accredited program at
a
college or university.
Fill out our online application
form.
Have an official transcript sent from your home institution.
Have two letters of recommendation sent to our program.
Please have your letters of recommendation and official transcripts sent to:
Asistant Prof. Richard Irving, UT/REU Program Director
Department of Physics & Astronomy, Mail Stop 111
2801 West Bancroft Street
University of Toledo
Toledo, OH 43606