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SLAC/INFN Summer Exchange Program for 2013

The US Department of Energy and the Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare of Italy announce a Summer Exchange Program for 2013 to promote the exchange of students in science and engineering between the two countries to work on projects that will further their experience in the areas of science and technology studied at the laboratories.

We anticipate that three (3) positions will be available at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) in the Directorate for Particle and Particle Astrophysics PPA.  SLAC is one of the world’s leading laboratories in the areas of elementary particle physics and particle astrophysics.   It has experimental and accelerator facilities covering many areas of physics, engineering, and computing.   Students in these areas are sought for this program in order to foster international collaboration for future scientific research on these topics.

Candidates must have begun at the time of application at least the third year in an undergraduate curriculum in physics, engineering or computing studies in an Italian university and wish to join a team at SLAC for a period of 2 months between June 17th and September 30th, 2013.   Selected students must obtain their bachelor's degree, or equivalent (e.g. Laurea Triennale), before starting work at SLAC.

There are several opportunities to participate in the analysis of data from two large SLAC-based experiments:  the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (FGST, formerly GLAST) studies high-energy cosmic gamma rays in the 5 MeV to 100 GeV range;  and BaBar studies the properties of B mesons produced in electron-positron collisions, especially the violation of charge-parity symmetry.   Additional opportunities are available on the development of new experiments, including the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), the upgrade of the ATLAS detector, and the next generations of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) and Enriched Xenon Observatory (EXO).  See the PPA home page for a full description of SLAC's program.

In addition to joining an experimental team, students may also attend the SLAC Summer Institute, Journeys Through the Frontier: Planning for Future Facilities, held 8-19 July, 2013.  See the SLAC Summer Institute site for program details.

Compensation is $3,300/month for 2 months at SLAC, plus an allowance of up to $1,200 for travel to and from SLAC, and registration fees for the SLAC Summer Institute.  Assistance in obtaining a visa will also be provided.

Students must hold an appropriate visa to work in the US, normally a short-term J-1 visa.  Currently, the processing time to obtain a required DS-2019 document from Stanford University is 2-3 weeks and consulate/embassy processing time ranges from 2 weeks to 4 months.

To apply, send (or email) a letter explaining your interests in physics, engineering or computer science along with a Curriculum Vitae (see the CV Template) and/or resume with your education and work experience.  Please include all science and mathematics courses, with marks.   The deadline for applications is 13 May 2013.  Results will be announced soon thereafter.

Please send to:

Dr. David R. Muller
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, MS 62
2575 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, CA   94025
U.S.A.
mailto:muller@slac.stanford.edu

If selected to participate in the program, the following must be provided to our International Services Office:

1. a completed DS-2019 application form (For the form, contact International Services Office)
2. a Curriculum Vitae
3. a copy of the passport bio page(s) (includes birth date, passport number and expiration date)
4. home address (required for the SEVIS database)
5. address and telephone number where to send the DS-2019 document via Federal Express when it is ready.

You'll also need to check with your local embassy/consulate for complete details and requirements.

Last modified: Monday, 15 April 2013