The idea of the program is that a student will (ideally) be accepted after the freshman year on the basis of grade point average (normally at least 3.0) and faculty recommendations. While, of course, renewal of the appointment the following summers must be conditional on the continuing agreement of both the program directors and the student, the normal duration of the program is expected to be three summers, with arrangements for feedback and continued contact during the school year. We believe that this arrangement has benefits both for our program and in the student's general undergraduate experience. While it may be possible for students at different points in their academic careers to participate in the program, promising returning students, and students who have just completed their freshman year and intend to continue for more than one summer will be given preference.
For each student the first summer includes an evaluation of the student's readiness for research and which areas should be developed in order for the student to be effective within the research group. On average a student will spend about 50 hours per week in program-realated activities. About half the student's time the first summer is normally in supplementary academic work in statistics, electrical circuits, high energy or nuclear physics, computer applications, or mathematical techniques (as examples of skills or areas which may not be sufficiently covered in the normal freshman curriculum to allow a student to step directly into research work). AS the student becomes more mature, the fraction of supplementary work would be decreased, and more of the time would be on the research work. By the last summer we would expect the work to be almost entirely research, and for the student to become a solid contributor in some area of the group's work. Besides the research and academic components, we ask all students to help in tutoring and mentoring other, more junior students.
The stipend is based on pay rates for University of Pittsburgh undergraduates, and ranges from approximately $2600 for the ten week period for students finishing their freshman year to about $3100/month for students finishing their junior year. In addition, in cases of need some help with transportation between the student's home or institution and Pittsburgh is available. Room and board in the University residence halls are provided in exchange for the mentoring and tutoring activities.
The application should include a personal data form, a statement of interests, and a transcript including grade point average. Letters of nomination from two faculty who know the student's work well are also required. The student's application and (separately) the faculty letters and transcript should be sent to: Professor Julia Thompson, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (e-mail jth@vms.cis.pitt.edu, phone (412) 624-9060, FAX (412) 624-9163). Our expected term for the research experience is approximately June 1, 2000 through August 10, 2000, for a total of 10 weeks. We hope to begin selection of participants in early February and to notify the first selected participants by mid-March. Selection will continue until the program is filled.