Program Overview

SUNFEST, or the Summer Undergraduate Fellowship in Sensor Technologies, is a unique program that provides talented undergraduate students with hands-on research during the summer in the area of sensor technologies.

This program provides:

• Summer research experience with a stipend of $6,000
• On-campus housing is provided at no or minimal cost
• Partial travel support for non-Penn students
• Opportunity to work on an interesting interdisciplinary topic
• Work under the mentorship of a faculty member and a graduate student
• Participate in workshops on how to give effective presentations, how to write technical reports, how to apply for graduate school
• Learn about ethics in engineering and science

Each year an average of 10 students, ending their freshman, sophomore or junior year of college, are selected from various universities nationwide based on their academic record and attitude towards research. The program is open to students in engineering and the physical sciences.

The purpose of this program is to expose the students to real, in-depth research in the area of sensor technology and to motivate them to go on to graduate school. This program is sponsored by the National Science Foundation as a REU Site (Research Experience for Undergraduates) and the Center for Sensor Technologies at the University of Pennsylvania.