SURF, or the Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship program at R-MC, has been established to provide students at the college, with a chance to do ten weeks of full-time, original research during the summer months. The SURF program was established in the summer of 1995 with just two students and one mentor, and in the past seven years it has grown to 30 or more students working for 10-15 mentors.
Being a student in SURF doesn't mean that you repeat somebody else's work or do an experiment that you find in a book. It means that you're on the cutting edge of research, performing original work that might be done by a master's or doctoral student at other universities. Students are engaged with their research, planning their own schedules, making novel discoveries, and presenting the results of their work at both national and international conferences all over the globe. You can read about some of the conferences our students have presented at recently here.
In addition to presenting at national and international conferences, SURF students participate in many other academic activities. A seminar series runs throughout the summer, and allows students and faculty to learn about interesting areas which may be outside of their particular area of concentration. At the end of the summer, the SURF program culminates in the SURF Symposium, where participants present a 15 minute talk about their summer activities to an audience of their peers. The SURF symposium also includes banquet dinner and a speech by a world-reknowned keynote speaker. Past Keynote speakers have included John Luke, Jr., president and CEO of Westvaco Corp. Biographies of past SURF speakers can be found here.
Although they may seem quite studious and hardwork, SURF students also know how to have fun. Many leisuretime activities are planned throughout the summer. Past activities have included lunchtime basketball games, trips to local amusement parks, whitewater rafting, picnics, trips to movies, a dinner at a local Mystery Dinner Theater, and evening volleyball matches.
Finally, in addition to all of the fun and hardwork, students also receive a summer stipend. In addition, they are housed for free in campus townhomes and most of the fun activities of the summer are free (or heavily subsidized by the school).
For more information about SURF, contact it's directors, Dr. Serge Schreiner and Dr. Kelly Lambert.