Summer 2021

Update 2/24/21: We anticipate making our first program offers on March 10, very late afternoon central time. It is possible that our partner AI institute may make their offers before then. Regarding the March 10 date: this date is contingent upon the official award notification arriving at OU. At the moment we have an award recommendation from the NSF program officer and the award is being processed administratively. Second note on the date: many REU programs follow a standard acceptance deadline of March 15 so that students have their offers (if fortunate to have more than one) in hand before that date. Regarding projects available: several additional projects have been listed on the projects proposals page and a few more are still coming. After all slots are filled we will ask students to rank their top 5 choices and will do our best to make the best project matches according to ranking, student background, nature of the project, etc.

 

Here is the program flyer for 2021.

The 2021 application period is now closed.

 

Eligibility:

Applicants must be pursuing an undergraduate degree, graduating no sooner than December 2021*, and be U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents of the U.S.

*Students who are graduating from a 2-year degree program are eligible so long as they are moving to a 4-year degree program in the fall after their summer participation.

 

Program details:

The 2021 program will run from May 24 - July 30*. If the program is in-person, travel days will be Sunday, May 23, and Saturday, July 31.

• You receive a stipend: $6,000. These funds are distributed at the end of May, June, July, in proportion to how many weeks of the program occurred in that month. These funds are considered a scholarship / fellowship and could be taxable, depending on your overall tax situation.
• You also receive some subsistence: $600. This helps with food costs in first month.
• Travel to/from Norman: up to $600.
• National Conference Travel: up to $1,500.
• We provide housing: in modern, furnished campus apartments, usually Traditions Square. In that complex each student has a private, locking bedroom and their own sink in 4bed/2bath apartments. Other housing options are available when needed. Costs for certain situations could fall to the participant, such as costs related to housing for family members, because that is outside the scope of our funding.
• If the program is virtual, some funds from travel and housing will be provided to each student to help support their remote participation.

We will gather the project descriptions and put them online here: Project Proposals for 2021

*Students at schools on quarter systems will be accommodated.

 

 

 

About the 2021 Application:

It has 3 parts.

1. the application (link below, but read all of this before clicking on it!)
2. two references, preferably from professors in your major (or related) classes, who know you well
3. your college/university transcripts

Applications are due by 11:59pm CT, February 8, 2021.

 

Application items to prepare ahead of time:

• your essays
• a list of your work, internship, extra-curricular, care-taking, or other similar experience along with the responsibilities you had or skills you gained
• if you have a resume, this is information you may have on it; be prepared to copy it
• Example: Grocery Store Cashier: learned how to communicate effectively with a wide variety of customers, learned how to organize groceries appropriately into bags
• Example: Roller Derby Player: learned how to work as a group to accomplish goals, learned how to leverage others' strengths with my own for the better of the team, learned how to work with people at different skill levels
• Example: Care-taking: primary responsibility for my 14-year old sibling until parents were home, responsible for assuring that my sibling completed homework on time, responsible for driving my sibling to athletic/club/activities
• calcluate your in-major GPA
• identify your references, ask them if they are willing to write for you, and have their name, title, and work email address handy
• Give them the following link so they can prepare their letters: http://www.caps.ou.edu/reu/application-references.html

We strongly recommend that you prepare to write the essay questions by:

• taking a look at our new video (above),
• looking over past year's projects to get an idea of the range of research projects and how much you'd learn over the summer (e.g., go to each past year and click on either "Students & Mentors" or "Projects": 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, etc.)
• note that NONE of the projects involve storm chasing,
• and click around through the web sites of our partner organizations, and, as they are posted, the 2021 Project Descriptions to help you figure out what interests you the most.

These are the essays you'll be asked to submit. Work on them ahead of time so that you can copy-paste your well-thought essays into the form.

1. Impact You Wish to Have in Your Future Career: What interests or intrigues you most about the possibility of applying your background to career in weather or climate? [aim for about 250 words; the form will limit your answer to 2,000 characters]
   • Your answer might include the impact you wish to have on the science, yourself, your loved ones, or society in general.
2. Impact of Participation on Your Career Goals: Why do you want to participate in a research internship at the National Weather Center and its partner organizations? [aim for about 250 words; the form will limit your answer to 2,000 characters]
   • Research experiences can be helpful for many types of careers. This essay should be personal to you. How would participating in this program help prepare you for the careers you are currently considering?
3. Your Impact on Your Peers and the Scientific Community: The NWC REU aims to be an inclusive program dedicated to supporting and enhancing the diversity of future scientific communities. Please describe how you, based on your personal background and life experiences will contribute to this community during and after participation in this REU. [aim for about 250 words; the form will limit your answer to 2,000 characters]
   • Your experiences might include social, cultural, familial, educational, or other opportunities or challenges.

Be sure to read the FAQ section on essays.

*Note: Our partner organizations list has been built over the past 20-some years. In any one year the list is shorter, based on individual scientists' ability to mentor in that year.

 

 

Things to keep in mind:

• NSF requests that REU sites select at least half of their participants from schools where research opportunities are limited, and that includes 2-year colleges.
• University, college, and community college students interested in a weather-related research career are encouraged to apply.
• Aspiring science teachers are encouraged to apply.
• Applications from women and minorities are particularly encouraged.

 

Also of note: NSF funds many REUs, and you can apply to more than one. To find other programs, select one of the disciplinary areas (we're listed under Atmospheric Science) or search with keywords here: https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.jsp.

Here are a few programs that you would probably be interested in if you're interested in ours:

• Due February 15, 2021: William & Hobart Smith / Plymouth State University REU, Northeast Partnership for Atmospheric & Related Sciences (NEPARS): https://www.hws.edu/academics/nepars-reu/
• Due February 7, 2021: REU at Monterey Bay / California State University: https://csumb.edu/reu
• While nominally in ocean sciences, this REU has a few mentors at the Naval Postgraduate School, like Dr. Wendell Nuss, Dr. Tom Murphree and Dr. Haflidi Jonsson, who mentor students interested in atmospheric sciences. See: https://csumb.edu/reu/mentors-and-projects for more information on their research areas.
• Due February 12, 2021: The University of Utah, Research Experience in ALpine Meteorology (REALM): https://www.pathwaystoscience.org/programhub.aspx?sort=SUM-UUtah-REALM
• Postponed to summer 2022: The University of Alabama - Huntsville, Remote Sensing of Land-Atmosphere Systems: https://www.uah.edu/essc/internships/reu

You can find all the Atmospheric and Geospace Science REUs listed here.

 

Please check the FAQ before writing or calling!

Program Contacts: Alex Marmo, amarmo@ou.edu and Dr. Daphne LaDue, dzaras@ou.edu

All institutions of the National Weather Center and partner organizations are equal opportunity employers.