The Center for Nonlinear Studies (CNLS) is now accepting requests for co-sponsorship of students for the 2021 student summer program. This call closes February 7, 2021. Selections will be announced by Feb 19, 2021.

CNLS is requesting applications for financial co-sponsorship of talented graduate and undergraduate students to conduct research in the Center’s focus areas. Students will be mentored and co-sponsored by LANL staff scientists.

Due to COVID restrictions, this year’s program will be conducted remotely. Students will work from home or their home institutions. All accepted students must be in the USA for the duration of the program. Mentors should be committed and have a plan for how to mentor students in this remote mode.

The number of selected students will be determined in accordance with budgetary limitations. We anticipate accepting ~15 students. Please note that CNLS is unable co-share costs with universities, regardless of our funding participation. Selected students and mentors will be notified promptly after the application deadline.

The CNLS Summer Student Program (SSP) is part of the LANL Summer Student Program. Most CNLS summer students are hired as employees through the LANL SSP process. Student visitor status will be determined on a case-by-case basis. All hiring requests must be reviewed and approved by the Laboratory administration.

CNLS summer students are mostly in the Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) category, although CNLS has awarded Undergraduate Research Student (UGS) and High School positions in the past as well. The summer program appointments are for a maximum of 13 weeks. The appointments usually start in the months of May and June and end in the months of July through September.

The mentoring of students can be a highly rewarding experience and CNLS offers a unique environment to provide students with what may be their first research experience. Mentors will work closely with the students and construct a realistic research plan (even if that plan may require adjustment later). We recommend that the student be an employee of the group in which the host works. If the student is a Foreign National and if, especially, the student is a citizen of a sensitive country, sufficient time has to be given for the processing of the paperwork, in particular the DOE Request (FVTS). Foreign national student visitors must have a visa and employment authorization from the organization sponsoring their visa, usually in their US university. Please keep in mind that LANL cannot sponsor a student visa.

Further Resources

We recommend that prospective student mentors visit the following CNLS webpage, which has more information on the CNLS student program.

For procedural questions, please contact cnlsoffice@lanl.gov. For specific questions on the selection mechanism, please contact Angel E. Garcia, CNLS Center Director (agarcia@lanl.gov) or Enrique Batista, CNLS Deputy Director (erb@lanl.gov).