Why Participate? | The Program | Where Are They Now? | Requirements | Application
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. | |
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 | |
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. | |
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. | |
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. | |
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. |
$4,000 stipend for 10
weeks on campus On-campus housing provided Travel expenses to and from the University of Toledo provided Schedule: 1 June 2015 - 7 August 2015 (different schedules possible if necessary) Deadline: 28 February 2015 for full consideration. However, applications will be considered up until 25 April 2015, 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 2009 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 U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Be an undergraduate student in an accredited
program at a college or university.
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