Opportunities
1) PhD student positions
| Topics: | Nanomaterials, Spider Silk, Graphene, Nanocomposites, AFM |
| Preferred Majors: | Physics, Materials Science, Chemistry, Engineering, Biology |
| Start Date: | Fall (Spring admission possible also) |
| Application Deadline: | Friday, 1st Friday in Febuary, 5:00pm EST |
| Application Details: | http://www.wm.edu/as/appliedscience/graduateprogram/admission/index.php |
2) Undergraduate Research Projects
We always have research opportunities for outstanding and motivated undergraduate students from the Chemistry, Physics, and Biology departments. Research topics are in the areas Nanomaterials, Spider Silk, Boron Nitride Nanotubes, Graphene, Nanocomposites, AFM, data analysis, and more.
In the past, students from these departments have completed honors and senior theses in our research group. Many of these undergraduates went on to some of the best Ph.D. programs in science and engineering in the country, including Harvard, Cornell, Berkeley, Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, U Wisconsin, to name a few (see our page of previous group members).
William & Mary undergrads in our lab co-authored several highly-cited publications in high-impact journals. These factors can make a significant difference to a successful application to a top Ph.D. program. Undergraduate research in our laboratory is an ideal way to find out whether going for a Ph.D. is what you want, as undergraduates in our lab perform research side-by-side with Ph.D. students, often sharing similar responsibilities and working on independent projects.
The above listed advantages come at the price that a relatively significant commitment of time and energy is required. Working side-by-side with Ph.D. students in our lab on cutting-edge projects is challenging, and spending an entire afternoon per week in our lab during the semester is the minimum, but will in most cases not suffice. Because getting up to speed on our projects usually takes considerable time already, we are particularly interested to work with students who are a few semesters away from graduation, so that they extend their stay if they like the work. It is also strongly recommended that students spend at least one summer in our laboratory. These summer internships are usually paid — we either help students to prepare successful applications for summer scholarships, or we fund student through our own research grants.
To Apply: Please send a current transcript and CV to schniepp@wm.edu to find out more! Admission into the research group is competitive.
3) High School Students
We have research opportunities for High School students in the laboratory. There is currently an ongoing Summer program for students from Jamestown Highschool, Warrhill Highschool, and Lafayette Highschool from the James City County Williamsburg school system. Programs for students from other schools can be arranged.
