Director's Office

Summer SURF! Information Page

Summer News

Welcome SURF students! Every year, SURF participants creatively suggest and organize events over the summer. The program has funding available to support such events. If you have any ideas and would like to help organize something, please contact Katie Lipp (x4296) in Bass 112. You can also contact her if you want to send out a email to all 140+ SURF participants. During past years, events have included:

• Weekly lunch meeting for all
  
• Summer BBQ
• Invited speakers
• Faculty presentation or panel discussions
• Excursions
• Movie night, theatre night
• Etc ...

If You Get Hurt .... !

1. Smith College Health Services is closed for medical treatment during the summer
2. For medical emergencies on campus dial 800 from a campus phone (413-585-2490 from a cell); give your location and the nature of the emergency
3. For off-campus medical emergencies dial 911
4. If you have a lab-related injury or chemical exposure, dial 800 as soon as possible after receiving first aid (413-585-2490 from a cell); give your location and the nature of the emergency
5. If you have an illness or injury that is NOT life-threatening and NOT work related (for example, you badly twisted an ankle while playing volleyball) go to the ER at Cooley Dickinson Hospital; Public Safety is available to take you (call 2490) but please understand there may be a wait if they are dealing with other more urgent issues. They are unable to transport to local physicians' offices; taxi service may be found in the Yellow Pages.
   

Important Practical Info for Summer Students at the Clark Science Center

Program Background, Application, Guidelines

Here are two other pages with information about summer research programs: Smith SURF! Application page and Summer Research Opportunities Beyond Smith College.

Timeline for the Summer

February 24 - Application deadline

March - Announcement of awards (most applicants will hear before Spring Break).

May 16 - Deadline for return of Acceptance Form and Direct Deposit form

Early June - Scholarship is paid out

July - College Summer SURF! Event (Lab Crawl)

July 15 - If you have HHMI supplies funding, this is the last day to place orders in the Stockroom

August 22 - Deadline for submittal of SURE survey ( http://web.grinnell.edu/sureiii/student_info.html )

August 22 - Deadline for submittal of Research Abstract (see below)

Stipend Payments

If you already have Direct Deposit set up with Smith College, your stipend payment will be directly deposited into your bank account (if needed, download a Direct Deposit Authorization form; it has to be submitted 2 weeks in advance). Otherwise, it will be mailed to the address you listed on your application form. If your campus box is no longer active, the check will be mailed to your last known home mailing address.

Supply Funds

If you have been informed that you have a supply budget, you can find help on the page with Purchasing Tips.

5-College Summer SURF! Event - The Lab Crawl

Sometime in July, you are strongly encouraged to participate in lab crawl co-organized with 5-Colleges.

Research Abstract Submission

As part of the terms of your Fellowship, it is required that you submit an abstract at the end of the summer with your research results, nominally one page plus picture/diagram(s). The abstracts are collected in a booklet published every fall giving an overview of summer research activities at Smith College. This booklet receives a fairly broad distribution to agencies that provide funding for your fellowships, faculty members, prospective students and their families, and college administrators. Your abstract should follow standard journal format and include an introduction, methods, results, and discussion. The introduction and discussion should be used to indicate that your work was both a technical and scholarly endeavor. Please indicate in your abstract if you have had opportunity to present your research (e.g. to other students, external event or conference), if you have any plans to present your work, or your work will continue into the 2012-13 academic year as a special studies or honors project. Your abstract should be reviewed by your advisor prior to submission.

You can find important formatting guidance in this Abstract Formatting Guide that includes a sample abstract. Please include a picture or diagram in your abstract, if at all possible. Submit abstract (plus picture or diagrams as separate files) by e-mail to Daryl Jett in Ford 255 (djett@smith.edu).

• It is ok to co-author an abstract if you have collaborated with another student on the same research project
• Readers are probably mostly interested in what you learned over the summer, less about what you did.

SURE Survey

Over the summer there will be information here about completing the SURE survey as required in the award of summer fellowship awards.

Awards or Recognition?

Do you receive any awards or recognition related to your research or school work? If so, please email us a short description.
The funding organizations love to hear about how you do in the future too, so we would appreciate a note about any awards or recognition you might receive later. Don't forget to let us know when you get that Nobel prize!

Presented or Published?

Have you presented your work in front of a group or traveled to academic events related to your summer research? Please email a short description.

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