MITRE's Student Program and Summer Research in the Nanosystems Group

The MITRE Student Program is a unique, nationally renowned summer educational experience for outstanding high school students and college undergraduates. It offers students technical positions working on problems involving the application of advanced science and engineering to innovative problems of national importance. Since 1989, the program has motivated several hundred students to continue their studies in science and engineering and to go on to become technical professionals. Each summer the program brings between twenty to forty exceptional young people to the MITRE Corporation's campus in Northern Virginia. There, they work for eight to twelve weeks in paid positions in fields such as economics, computer science, systems engineering, biology, chemistry, physics, and nanotechnology.

A key element of the program is the one-on-one mentorship by members of MITRE's skilled technical staff. Each student works on a technical problem that has the potential for real-world impact and benefit to the nation. They often see the results of their technical projects featured in the national news. Students also benefit by publishing the results of their work in major scientific journals and even obtaining patents on their inventions. A number of students have gone on to win honors based upon their research at MITRE. These honors include prizes in local and national science contests, as well as undergraduate scholarships and prestigious graduate fellowships.

Frequently, their summer experience at MITRE motivates them to return in successive summers. Some go on to make their adult careers at MITRE. However, the ultimate goal of MITRE's Student Program is to see its "graduates" go out into the wider world and benefit the entire nation. Over the years, a large number of graduates have joined the faculty and staff of major universities and corporations across the nation. Several are well on their way to becoming national leaders in their technical specialties and a few have gone on to start successful businesses.

One particularly successful component of the larger student program is the student mentorship effort conducted in MITRE's Nanosystems Group. In the Nanosystems Group, students work as members of small teams, receiving continuous mentorship over the course of the summer. Students have explored and made significant contributions both to the principles and key applications of nanotechnology. Often, students have returned for several summers to continue making progress on their projects, which are not necessarily finished within one summer. A significant number of former members of the group are now leaders in nanotechnology and related technical fields.

If you would like more information about MITRE's student program, please use the Contact Us form to inquire further.

To see current student members of the Nanosystems Group, please see the Nanosystems Group Staff page.