SURF: Announcements of Opportunity

Below are Announcements of Opportunity posted by Caltech faculty and JPL technical staff for the SURF program. Additional AOs for the Amgen Scholars program can be found here.

Students pursuing opportunities at JPL must be U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents.

Each AO indicates whether or not it is open to non-Caltech students. If an AO is NOT open to non-Caltech students, please DO NOT contact the mentor.

Announcements of Opportunity are posted as they are received. Please check back regularly for new AO submissions! Remember: This is just one way that you can go about identifying a suitable project and/or mentor.

Announcements for external summer programs are listed here.

The requested research listing (ID 657) is no longer available.

Project Title Disciplines Mentor  Posted 
Systematically exploring new worlds around other stars with NESSI    Astronomy/Astrophysics, Planetary Science Pieter Deroo (JPL)  19-Feb-14
USC ICT Research Experiences for Undergraduates    Computer Science, psychology, art/animation, interactive media, linguistics, and communications David Krum  19-Feb-14
Planets from the Mergers of Dead Stars    Astrophysics, Planetary Science Anthony Piro  17-Feb-14
Archival and Analysis of Sea Ice Thickness in the Arctic Ocean Based on On-Ice In Situ Historical Measurements    Earth Science, Oceanography Benjamin Holt (JPL)  17-Feb-14
Calibrating the Near-Infrared Luminosity of Type Ia Supernovae    Astrophysics, Mathematics Christopher Burns  13-Feb-14
Sensor Degradation at Railroad Valley, NV    Physics/Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering Robert Rosenberg (JPL)  11-Feb-14
Projects Involving the Use of NMR to Study Conformational Analysis    Chemistry John Roberts  10-Feb-14
Synthesis and electrochemical characterization of A-site nonstoichiometric strontium-doped lanthanum manganites for solar-driven thermochemical fuel production    Materials Science, Chemistry Sossina Haile  06-Feb-14
Mars Science: Thermal modeling, spectroscopy, and geologic mapping    Planetary Science, Remote Sensing Bethany Ehlmann  05-Feb-14
MSL Surface Sampling and Science downlink tools and system test support    Mechanical Engineering, Physics Ryan Kinnett (JPL)  05-Feb-14
Structure prediction of Neuropeptide Y2 and Y4 receptors    Chemistry, Computer Science Ravinder Abrol  04-Feb-14
Signal Analysis Tools for Deep Space Communications    Electrical Engineering, Computer Science Meera Srinivasan (JPL)  03-Feb-14
High Rate Signal Generator for Deep Space Receiver Verification     Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering Arby Argueta (JPL)  03-Feb-14
Mars Analog Mineralogy with Time-resolved Laser Raman Spectroscopy    Physics/Applied Physics, Planetary Science Jordana Blacksberg (JPL)  03-Feb-14
Intelligent Controller on Embedded System for Fourier Transform Spectrometer    Electrical Engineering Didier Keymeulen (JPL)  03-Feb-14
Seasons on Titan     Planetary Science, Physics/Applied Physics Bonnie Buratti (JPL)  31-Jan-14
Video Streaming over Disrupted Links    Computer Science, Information Systems/Technology Jordan Torgerson (JPL)  31-Jan-14
The Hydrological Cycle and Climate Change    Applied and Computational Mathematics, Physics Yuk Yung  29-Jan-14
Chemical synthesis and physical characterization of oxide ceramics as candidate cathodes for solid oxide fuel cells    Materials Science, Chemistry Sossina Haile  28-Jan-14
Mobile Data Analysis for Mars Operations    Computer Science, Information Systems/Technology Mark Powell (JPL)  27-Jan-14
Automation of Data Analysis for Thermochemical Fuel Production    Computer Science, Materials Science Sossina Haile  27-Jan-14
Building a Virtual Caltech     Astrophysics, Scientific collaboration, education, data visualization George Djorgovski  23-Jan-14
Immersive and Collaborative 3D Scientific Data Visualization     Astrophysics, Data visualization, "big data" George Djorgovski  23-Jan-14
Mapping Faultzones with HyTES    Geological/Geophysical Engineering, Earth Science Simon Hook (JPL)  21-Jan-14
Convex optimization for machine learning with structural constraints    Applied and Computational Mathematics, Computer Science Brendan Ames  17-Jan-14
Data analysis of the Gattini-South Pole UV Experiment    Astrophysics, Computer Science Anna Moore  16-Jan-14
Advanced radiation assurance methods    Electrical Engineering, Physics/Applied Physics Leif Scheick (JPL)  15-Jan-14
High-resolution relative sea-level history on the Sunda Shelf, Southeast Asia, over the past 7000 years    Environmental Science and Engineering, Geology Aron Meltzner  15-Jan-14
Natural Robot Control Interfaces Using Wearable Bio-Sensors    Computer Science, Electrical Engineering Michael Wolf (JPL)  14-Jan-14
Solar System and Exo-planet Mission Illustrations and models    Computer Science, Computer Graphics Eric de Jong (JPL)  14-Jan-14
3D Museum and Planetarium Dome Movies    Computer Science, Computer Graphics Eric de Jong (JPL)  14-Jan-14
High-Speed Internet Protocol Service Software Development for Laser Communications    Computer Science, Telecommunications John Segui (JPL)  14-Jan-14
Modelling of a solar cell array    Physics/Applied Physics, Computer Science Jonathan Grandidier (JPL)  13-Jan-14
3D Modeling and Visualization of the Solar Wind and Coronal Mass Ejections     Astronomy/Astrophysics, Solar Physics Paulett Liewer (JPL)  13-Jan-14
Big Data Software Development in Oceanographic and Climate Science for PO.DAAC    Computer Science, Information Systems/Technology George Chang (JPL)  13-Jan-14
ISAAC - FPGA-based Instrument Computing/Control Platform    Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Information Systems/Technology Yutao He (JPL)  13-Jan-14
A Novel Eigenvector-Based Analysis of Brain Dynamics    Bioengineering, Computer Science Shinsuke Shimojo  13-Jan-14
Model-based systems engineering (MBSE) applied to ground systems software and information architecture standards    Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Systems Engineering Michela Munoz Fernandez (JPL)  13-Jan-14
Looking for Unusual Astronomical Objects    Astrophysics, Computer Science Ashish Mahabal  11-Jan-14
Better Classification Through Statistical Measures    Astrophysics, Statistics Ashish Mahabal  11-Jan-14
Information Storage, Retrieval, and Analysis    Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics Shuki Bruck  10-Jan-14
Astrobiogeochemistry    Earth Science, Astrobiology Kenneth Williford (JPL)  09-Jan-14
3D Real-Time Simulator    Computer Science, Mathematics Eric de Jong (JPL)  09-Jan-14
Assembly and Testing of a Large Deployable Structure for the Space-based Imaging of Exoplanets    Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering P Douglas Lisman (JPL)  09-Jan-14
Structure Prediction of Intestinal Fatty Acid Receptors    Chemistry, Computational Biology Ravinder Abrol  09-Jan-14
Inversion of physical model for vegetation remote sensing    Mathematics, Applied Physics Marco Lavalle (JPL)  08-Jan-14
Development of SuperSpec, an On-Chip Spectrometer for Millimeter-Wave Astrophysics    Astrophysics, Electrical Engineering Charles Bradford  08-Jan-14
European Renaissance or Enlightenment    English, History Kristine Haugen  08-Jan-14
Hyperspectral Instrument Testing and Evaluation    Physics/Applied Physics, Earth Science William Johnson (JPL)  08-Jan-14
Extreme Radiation testing of the CIRIS spectrometer for Icy Worlds    Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering Daniel Berisford (JPL)  08-Jan-14
In-flight calibration of sensors at Railroad Valley, NV (OCO-2 support)    Earth Science, Computer Science Florian Schwandner (JPL)  08-Jan-14
CO2 jet cleaning of Mars Sample Return critical hardware surfaces    Physics/Applied Physics, Chemistry Shirley Chung (JPL)  08-Jan-14
Operating Robots via Web Applications    Computer Science, Electrical Engineering Recaredo Torres (JPL)  08-Jan-14
Structure Prediction of Intestinal Bitter Taste Receptors    Chemistry, Computational Biology Ravinder Abrol  08-Jan-14
Searching for characteristic timescales in the variable sky    Astrophysics, Computer Science Matthew Graham  06-Jan-14
Diurnal variations of temperature and aerosol in the martian atmosphere derived from Mars Climate Sounder special observations    Planetary Science, Computer Science Armin Kleinboehl (JPL)  05-Jan-14
Stereo vision based tree mapping with micro air vehicles    Computer Science, Environmental Science Roland Brockers (JPL)  03-Jan-14
Satellite and GPS Applications to Earth Science: Extreme Precipitation, Storm Surge and Groundwater    Earth Science, Environmental Science Duane Waliser (JPL)  03-Jan-14
New Opportunities for Measuring, Modeling and Predicting Weather and Climate Variability    Earth Science, Atmosphere, Ocean, Climate Duane Waliser (JPL)  03-Jan-14
Improvement and Application of Genetic Algorithm to Create Sounding Selection for OCO-2 flight system    Computer Science, Machine Learning Lukas Mandrake (JPL)  03-Jan-14
Autonomy for an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV)    Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Michael Wolf (JPL)  30-Dec-13
Young Star Demographics by Database    Astrophysics, Data Mining Lynne Hillenbrand  23-Dec-13
Laser Interferometry for Precision Metrology    Physics/Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering Glenn de Vine (JPL)  20-Dec-13
Radiative Transfer Modeling of Galaxies    Astrophysics Barry Madore  20-Dec-13
The Predicted Ensemble of 3 Dimensional Structures for All Human Olfactory Receptors    Chemistry, Computer Science William Goddard III  19-Dec-13
Supercritical CO2 Organic Extraction Efficiency Study    Chemistry/Chemical Engineering Fang Zhong (JPL)  19-Dec-13
Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detector Development for Deep-Space Optical Communication    Physics/Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering Matthew Shaw (JPL)  18-Dec-13
Quantum Photonic Integrated Circuits with Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detectors    Physics/Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering Matthew Shaw (JPL)  18-Dec-13
Polychromator: Photonic Technology Development to Facilitate Optogenetic Research    Applied Physics, Bioengineering Michael Roukes  17-Dec-13
Constraining fundamental physics with ground and spaced based observations    Astronomy/Astrophysics, Physics/Applied Physics Jason Rhodes (JPL)  16-Dec-13
Reduction and analysis of data on thermal emission from Saturn    Planetary Science, Computer Science Glenn Orton (JPL)  16-Dec-13
Reduction and analysis of reflected sunlight from Jupiter    Planetary Science, Computer Science Glenn Orton (JPL)  16-Dec-13
Analysis of Mid-Infrared Observations of Jupiter    Planetary Science, Computer Science Glenn Orton (JPL)  16-Dec-13
Dynamics of the Atmospheres of Outer Planets and Titan    Planetary Science, Computer Science Andrew Friedson (JPL)  16-Dec-13
Origins of Stars and Planets    Astronomy/Astrophysics, Computer Science Neal Turner (JPL)  16-Dec-13
STRONG GRAVITATIONAL LENSING INSIGHTS INTO THE PARTICLE NATURE OF DARK MATTER     Astronomy/Astrophysics, Physics/Applied Physics Leonidas Moustakas (JPL)  16-Dec-13
Data Visualization Opportunities    Computer Science Hillary Mushkin  13-Dec-13
Machine Learning for Vegetation Remote Sensing    Computer Science, Earth Science Maxim Neumann (JPL)  12-Dec-13
Insect-Sized Mobile Robots    Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering Aaron Parness (JPL)  11-Dec-13
Various Projects Concerned with Molecular Biology of Sea Urchin Development    Biology Eric Davidson  10-Dec-13
Design and Testing of Sample Container and Sealing Techniques for Mars Sample Return    Mechanical Engineering, Physics/Applied Physics Paulo Younse (JPL)  09-Dec-13
Frogonomics: Do Amphibian Frogs (Xenopus laevis) with Basal Ganglia and No Neocortex Make Simple Economic Choices Like Humans and Other Species Do?    Biology, Economics Colin Camerer  07-Dec-13
Space Environment Modeling    Astronomy/Astrophysics, Planetary Science Henry Garrett (JPL)  05-Dec-13
Integrating Auto-Focus on Single Molecule Fluorescent Microscopes    Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Long Cai  04-Dec-13
Automatic classification of geologic surfaces in rover imagery    Computer Science, Mathematics David Thompson (JPL)  04-Dec-13
Microorganisms Residing on Mars-Based Spacecraft: Characterization and Understanding the Potential for Survival under Mars-Simulated Conditions     Biology/Bioengineering, Microbiology, Molecular Biology James Benardini (JPL)  04-Dec-13
Cloud Enabled Distributed Data Processing Software for Earth Science    Computer Science, Computer Engineering David Knight (JPL)  03-Dec-13
Cloud Workflow Processing    Computer Science Brett George (JPL)  03-Dec-13
Multisensory Temporal Perception     Neuroscience, Biology Shinsuke Shimojo  02-Dec-13
Using NASA Data for Climate Model Assessment and Improvement    Earth Science, Computer Science Jonathan Jiang (JPL)  01-Dec-13
Modelling the Reionization of the Universe to Constrain the Nature of Dark Matter    Astrophysics Andrew Benson  26-Nov-13
Space Mission Sequencing Software    Computer Science Paul Wolgast (JPL)  24-Nov-13
Mars Data Analysis    Planetary Science, Earth Science Matthew Golombek (JPL)  24-Nov-13
Mathematical Logic     Mathematics Alexander Kechris  23-Nov-13
Object Representation in Rodents    Biology Doris Tsao  22-Nov-13