INSTRUCTIONS:

Each SARA summer intern will work closely with a faculty mentor at one of the SARA universities. In addition to observing with the SARA 0.9-m telescope at Kitt Peak in Arizona, the summer activities will include a number of social events and excursions, as well as workshops on observational techniques, data reduction, current events in astronomy, proposal writing, job opportunities in astronomy, and scientific ethics. Participants will present their research results at a final workshop near the end of the summer, the proceedings of which will be published in the Journal of the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (JSARA, see www.jsara.org).

Students who have completed at least their freshman year in college and who will be registered as an undergraduate in the Fall term following the program are invited to apply (note: graduating seniors and more advanced students are not eligible). Applicants need not be majoring in Astronomy, though a demonstrated interest is essential. They also must be U.S. citizens (or permanent residents) in good academic standing and are expected to have adequate preparation in basic science and math courses. The ~10-week appointments will typically begin in late May and extend into early August, depending upon the participant's academic calendar and particular SARA host site. Each participant will receive a stipend of $4500 for the summer. In addition, all necessary lodging and travel expenses during the summer will be paid by SARA, including up to $500 round-trip travel between the student's home and SARA host institution.

Your application must include the following:

• A completed application form, which will include a short essay (250-750 words) describing your research interests and experience, career goals, and computing experience (you should write this before beginning to fill out the form).
• An emailed scan of an "official" transcript (we prefer this to a mailed transcript if possible). Note this will usually be a transcript that the school releases to you, so may be labeled 'unofficial'. What we don't want is several pages of cut-paste text from an online transcript. Please scan at about 100 dpi so the resulting image is a managable size. If you don't have a scanner, you may be able to take a digital photo if you light it well. Again, please keep the resulting image size to ~1000x1000 since they'll be viewed online. Please name the file Lastname_Firstname_tran.jpg (i.e., Doe_Jane_tran.jpg), where extensions might be .jpg, .gif, .pdf, etc.
• Two letters of recommendation from faculty familiar with your research (please request that these be sent via email, preferably as PDF attachments, but any format should be OK).

All application materials should be received by February 3, 2012.
Appointments will be announced beginning March 1, 2012.

NOTE: Applications that are not complete by the deadline may not be considered.

Send Inquiries, Applications, and Letters of Reference to:

Dr. Matt A. Wood
SARA REU Program Director
Dept. Physics & Space Sciences
Florida Institute of Technology
Melbourne, FL 32901-6975
Phone: 321-674-7207
FAX: 321-674-7482
email: wood 'at' fit.edu