Frontiers in Science
Summer Research Experience for Undergraduate Students
Program, May 26 – Aug 1, 2025
University of Houston - Rice University - Northeastern University - University of Wisconsin at Madison
- Information Session: For UH students, a meeting will be held Feb 13, 2025, 12–1 p.m. in Science and Research 1, Rm 634. Food will be provided. Dates and times for information sessions at some other sites will be posted here when available.
- Priority Deadline: February 28, 2025. An initial review of applicants will begin March 1, and some interviews may occur the first week in March. International students are encouraged to apply by the priority deadline, due to the additional paperwork required.
- Final Application Deadline: March 17, 2025. Applications will not be considered after this point. Interviews will occur at the end of March.
Frontiers in Science (FIS) Program
The Frontiers in Science Program is intended to introduce students from all STEM disciplines and academic levels to the beauty and fun of scholarly pursuits in natural and physical science research, and to engage future faculty in interdisciplinary and multi-institutional research activities.
To maintain the excellence of our student cohorts, the Frontiers in Science Program seeks to recruit and select a diverse student group to illustrate our commitment to equity, inclusion, and social justice. In so doing, we offer our students not only the opportunity to learn about varied disciplines but to engage with diverse perspectives and ways of knowing and learning.
Students selected for the program will participate in cutting-edge scientific research in the field of theoretical biological physics during a 10-week program with the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, housed at Rice University in Houston, TX, Northeastern University in Boston, MA, or University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI.
Prospective Research Faculty Participants
Participants will be paired with a graduate student or postdoctoral mentor from a research group at the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics. Representative groups include:
- José Onuchic, Ph.D., Department of Physics, Rice University
- Peter Wolynes, Ph.D., Department of Chemistry, Rice University
- Greg Morrison, Ph.D., Department of Physics, University of Houston
- Herbie Levine, Ph.D., Department of Physics, Northeastern University
- Paul Whitford, Ph.D., Department of Physics, Northeastern University
- Elebeoba May, Ph.D., Wisconsin Institute of Discovery, University of Madison at Wisconsin
You can find a list of previous mentors here. The list of mentors for 2025 will be available in February.
A Physical Sciences Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program
The Frontiers in Science REU program provides students with extensive hands-on training in many physical and biological research methods within a research group at the University of Houston, Rice University (in Houston, TX), Northeastern University (in Boston, MA), or University of Wisconsin (in Madison, WI).
Travel support will be provided to students leaving their hometown, and no student will be required to travel to a different city unless they are interested in doing so. International students traveling to Boston may need to complete additional paperwork related to their visa.
This research experience is intended to be an in-person collaboration with regular interaction between students and mentors. Some components of the program may be held virtually to permit interactions between Houston and the other sites, but the scientific work is planned to be in-person for the interactions between mentors and mentees.
Information Session Video
Watch the video from the information session held on Feb 13, 2024. An updated video will be posted after the in-person meeting.
Internship Stipends
Interns will receive a $5,000 stipend for the summer program and are expected to perform at least 300 hours of research. Please be aware the $5,000 is taxable as regular income. Students from the Houston area may have the opportunity to work at Northeastern University in Boston or University of Wisconsin in Madison and will be provided transportation costs and on-campus housing for the full 10-week period if they are selected to travel to Boston or Madison (in addition to the stipend provided to all participants).
No participant will be required to travel to another city if it is not feasible for them for any reason. Each intern’s particular working schedule will be determined by their mentor, but all are expected to be in-person regularly during the program.
In order to ensure the potential for success, FIS interns are not permitted to also take summer courses, be employed in another job during normal work hours, or be enrolled in another internship or undergraduate research opportunity.
Eligibility
Applicants must be currently enrolled as a student at one of the following institutions:
- Bunker Hill Community College
- Houston Community College
- Lone Star Community College
- Prairie View A&M University
- Texas Southern University
- Roxbury Community College
- Sam Houston State University
- University of Houston (UH)
- UH-Clear Lake
- UH-Downtown
Undergraduate students from Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, or other related departments are welcome to apply. No prior experience with Biological Physics is required. Postgraduates are not eligible for participation in the program.
Many projects are related to computational biophysics, and applicants with limited programming experience may be asked to take a free online course in programming before the REU begins and join an in-person workshop before the beginning of the program.
The Frontiers in Science Program does not permit discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, race, religious creed, color, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, marital status, age, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Persons of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
How To Apply
To apply, please complete the form at the “Apply Here” button below. In addition to a few individual and demographic questions, you should include a single PDF containing the following items:
- Current Resume
- Course list of all Science (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.), Computer Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics courses completed with a passing grade to-date (or currently enrolled in). Letter grades are not required, just list the science courses you have passed or expect to pass this semester.
- Statement of Research Interest (minimum of one page, maximum of three) that describes and explains your current academic and professional aspirations.
Applicants under consideration will be invited to join an online interview with a faculty advisor and program mentor. During the interview, you will not be asked technical questions, but may be asked about your scientific background or academic experiences, your research interests, and logistical questions.
Application Evaluation Process
Your application will be evaluated based on equal weight using the rubric below. It is useful to consider:
- is the applicant likely to succeed in this research program, based on their coursework and statement,
- is the applicant motivated to learn new things and committed to working hard to accomplish their goals based on their statement, and
- is the applicant likely to benefit from this program for their future career goals based on their statement?
An initial review of applications will begin after the Priority Deadline of Feb 28, 2025. Highly qualified candidates may be interviewed in the first week of March 2025. The Final Deadline for applying is Friday, March 17, 2025. We expect multiple applicants submitting by this deadline will be interviewed the following week. Initial offers for the program will be sent on or before April 1.
For Additional Program Information
Please contact Dr. Greg Morrison at gcmorrison@uh.edu or 713-743-9344.