Professional Research Experience Program (PREP)

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces that the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) is soliciting applications for financial assistance from accredited colleges and universities to enable those institutions to provide laboratory experiences and financial assistance to undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral associates at the NIST, Boulder Laboratories in Boulder, Colorado. In Boulder, NIST carries out programs in five laboratories – Electronics and Electrical Laboratory (EEEL), Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory (CSTL), Physics Laboratory (PL), Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory (MSEL), and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). The objectives of the PREP are to encourage the growth and progress of science and engineering in the United States by providing research opportunities for students and post-doctoral associates, enabling them to collaborate with internationally known NIST scientists, exposing them to cutting-edge research. The PREP will promote students’ pursuit of degrees in science and engineering, and post-doctoral associates’ professional development in science and engineering. The NIST PREP Coordinator and NIST scientists will coordinate with appropriate department chairs, outreach coordinators, and directors of multi-disciplinary academic organizations to identify students and programs that would benefit from the PREP experience. Applicants must be able to ensure the availability of students for on site collaborative research experiences at the NIST Laboratories in Boulder, Colorado, concurrent with their university studies. Any participating student must also be enrolled in an academic program acceptable to both the sponsoring institution and NIST.