Virtual Summer Undergraduate Research

2021 Dates: Tuesday, June 1 - Friday, July 23, 2021

Application Deadline: Friday, March 19, 2021

Our Center offers undergraduate students outside of UT - Knoxville the chance to perform in-depth research with faculty in a virtual setting. Students will work on various research topics that investigate:

• power systems
• alternative energy sources
• cyber security & smart grid
• energy storage
• control and communication
• power transmission
• large data analytics and visualization
• distributed and collaborative visualization
• power market structures
• fault resiliency through robust collaboration among local controllers

Each student will customize their own research based on personal interests by working closely with faculty and graduate students throughout an eight week virtual summer program.

The program will culminate with a poster presentation to faculty, graduate students and fellow researchers to highlight each individual's work.

To view past REU projects, visit the CURENT Education website - http://education.curent.utk.edu/undergrad/reu-projects/

Program Details:

Our REU program runs eight weeks from early June to late July.  Each student earns approximately $4,160 for 8 weeks of research.

To apply to the Summer REU Program, you must:

1) Be a sophomore, junior or non-graduating senior student at an accredited college or university in the United States.

2) Have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA.

3) Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the U.S.

4) Be able to devote 35-40 hours per week to the program from 9am through 5pm M-F.

5) Not take classes or hold other employment during the REU period.

6) Attend all required programs, seminars, lectures, etc. each week on Zoom.

Diversity

The Center is committed to promoting diversity within science and engineering. We especially encourage women, students from underrepresented groups (African American, Native American, Hispanic/Latinx, Pacific Islander), and students with disabilities.

Application Requirements:

To apply for CURENT's Summer REU program, you will need to submit:

• Online application
• Unofficial college transcript
• Two letters of recommendation from faculty advisers. 
• While we would prefer individuals who know your academic potential, we recognize that internship supervisors have insight into your abilities (please do not submit both letters from supervisors). Letters must be on official letterhead.
• 2-page personal statement explaining background, research interests & career goals as they are related to CURENT's research areas.

Note: Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents enrolled in full-time accredited undergraduate institutions.  We are sorry that we cannot accept foreign applicants at this time.

Why Come to CURENT?

• One of the Largest and Top Power Engineering Programs in the Country
• Learn about the roles that an Engineering Research Center has with National Research Labs, Industry Associations, Private Industry Research, and Research Universities.
• Introduce yourself to a graduate school styled research program that encourages all REU students to apply for CURENT and DOE Fellowships for graduate study.
• CURENT Assistantships - $30,000 annually
• DOE Fellowship - $30,000 annually