Center for Materials for Information Technology
High School Internship Program
The Center for Materials for Information Technology at the University of Alabama invites high school sophomores and juniors to apply for a summer research internship in nanoscience and engineering. The students will join the nanoscience and engineering research team and do basic research on either new materials for high density information storage, new catalysts for energy storage and conversion, or nanomedicine. The Center for Materials for Information Technology is one of the world’s leading centers of expertise in materials and processes used in information storage devices. Faculty from chemistry, physics, mathematics, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and metallurgical and materials engineering form multidisciplinary research teams to solve fundamental materials science problems that allow the information storage industry to continue to make data storage devices (magnetic hard disk drives, magnetic tape, MRAM) with higher data storage capacity at lower cost. Our students find rewarding careers as scientists and engineers in the high tech information storage industry.
We invite high school sophomores and juniors who are highly motivated toward a career in research in science and engineering. This will be a full time summer job beginning on June 1 and ending on July 31st, 2009. The students will be paid a stipend of $2,600 and may take one week off for vacation or other summer commitments.
The interns will be trained in safe laboratory practice and educated in the scientific principles underlying the research. The interns will join a team consisting of faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students from chemistry, chemical engineering, metallurgy and physics. The team will also include the other high school interns. Each intern will have their own project and be provided with the support structure (supervision, training and teammates) to allow them to accomplish their project goals by the end of the summer. It is expected that the students will complete a body of work sufficient to have a competitive entry for the local and national science fair competitions. In the past, one of our interns have selected as a semifinalist in the Siemens-Westinghouse Science Fair competition and another won the West Alabama Science Fair and traveled to Phoenix to participate in the Intel Science and Engineering Fair.
If you are curious about nanoscience and engineering and committed to a career in research, we invite you to apply. There are a limited number of positions and they will be awarded to the most qualified candidates. Preference will be given to those who have taken advanced science and math courses, such as A.P. Chemistry, A. P. Physics or A. P. Calculus. We will begin screening applications on March 31, 2009.
The University of Alabama is an equal opportunity employers and particularly invites applications from women and minorities.
Application (PDF Download and Print)
Please sumit your application, a copy of your high school transcript and arrange to have three letters of reference sent to:
Martin G. Bakker, Education and Outreach Coordinator
Center for Materials for Information Technology
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0209