Students Find Summer Internships Through ISIP

Since its inception 18 years ago, the APS Industrial Summer Intern Program (ISIP) has helped over 260 U.S. college students secure summer employment in some of the country's best industrial laboratories, thus gaining valuable hands-on experience in that research environment. This year the program placed 12 students in positions at some of the nation's top industrial and national laboratories.

Established by the APS Committee on Education in 1978, ISIP provides an opportunity for qualified U.S. physics students to broaden their training by working in an industrial environment for 10 weeks during the summer. Interns receive salaries from their industrial employers. Interns and companies for the summer of 1996 are Peter Colarco, Alimenterics, Inc.; Kyle Downey, IBM/T.J. Watson Research Center; Benjamin Evans, IBM/T.J. Watson Research Center; Matthew Fulkerson, Lucent Technologies; Greg Hess, Michigan Tech University; Cory Hill, Exxon R&E; Brent Hoermann, Lucent Technologies; Melissa Johnson, Sandia National Laboratories; Katherine Rawlins, IBM Almaden Research Center; James Rittner, Michigan Tech University; Amanda VanderVenter, GE Medical Systems; and Dale Visser, Lucent Technologies.

The primary benefits of the ISIP program include exposure to industrial research and the opportunity to establish important contacts in industry. "In a number of colleges and universities, the faculty hasn't had much exposure to industrial science, and as a result their students aren't aware that interesting physics can be done in an industrial setting," said Israel Jacobs (General Electric R&D Center), who has served on the ISIP selection committee since the program began. The program also benefits the participating industrial laboratories. Interns often produce useful results that help advance a company's scientific program, and may return to industry after earning their Ph.D.s.

See the announcement on this page for the 1997 Industrial Summer Internship Program. Student application forms are available from college physics departments and from the APS. Undergraduates in their senior year and graduate students are eligible. The deadline for this year's program is 25 October 1996. Further information is available from the ISIP Administrator, APS, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844.