PREP: Professional Research Experience Program
A collobaration of research and education between Colorado School of Mines (Mines) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
The Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) is a cooperative partnership between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Colorado School of Mines (Mines), designed to provide high-value laboratory and professional experience as well as financial benefits to Mines PREP Associate – students, postdocs, researchers and faculty.
NIST-Boulder is one of the world’s top laboratories in physics, especially in quantum science and engineering. Labs participating in NIST PREP at Mines include but are not limited to: Physical Measurement Laboratory, the Communications Technology Laboratory, the Material Measurement Laboratory, and the Information Technology Laboratory.
The goal of NIST PREP at Mines is to foster research opportunities that facilitate collaboration between NIST and Mines, to help provide students and career scientists with excellent training, and ensure the hands-on research experience for students at NIST is robust, diverse, and connected.
Mines NIST PREP aims to create a community of students, faculty and researchers between the two institutions.
The program is intended to assure continued growth and progress of a highly skilled STEM workforce in Colorado and the United States.
Graduate students receive tuition, fees and insurance coverage, a monthly stipend and travel costs associated with the program. Undergraduate students receive a highly competitive hourly wage. PREP Post-docs and Fellows receive competitive financial incentives commiserate with experience.
PREP associates typically work within one of these departments at Mines: electrical engineering, computer science, materials science, metallurgical and materials engineering, physics, quantum engineering
Program requirements:
- Students must be enrolled full-time in a program toward an applicable degree and in good academic standing, with a 3.000 GPA or higher
- Student applicants should have a Mines faculty reference for the specific NIST PREP position.
- Desired qualifications include research publications/conference presentations, technical work experience, and computer programming/software expertise.
- PREP researchers are expected to take part in workshops or other activities designed to support their professional and educational goals provided at the PREP institution.
For questions, please contact us at nistprep@mines.edu
Want to get involved?
Mines faculty – Check out NIST’s Projects/Programs listing.
NIST sponsors – Interested in sponsoring a PREP project? Search for potential Mines faculty partners and research groups here: Research by Department – Colorado School of Mines. Inquire with the NIST PREP program coordinator to get started, via email PREPboulder@nist.gov.
The minimum length allowed for a Mines graduate research assistant appointment is one full academic year. NIST PREP undergraduate appointments should be a minimum of one academic semester.
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Professional Development for PREP
As part of the latest round of funding of NIST PREP, Mines has included professional career planning to the program. All PREP associates should complete a professional development plan for their long-term career goals, as well as have opportunities to discuss their technical performance with their supervisors.
Professional Development Process and Forms:
- Download forms. Discuss with your NIST Sponsor and Mines faculty advisor.
- Obtain Performance Evaluation and have form completed.
- Once evaluation is completed, obtain appropriate signatures (electronic is fine) and submit the Performance Rating form only, to the NIST PREP Coordinator.
- Ratings should be done once in the spring and once in the fall semester.
- Associates should re-visit their professional goals on a regular basis, with their advisors. However, the performance rating form is all that is required to submit to the Mines NIST PREP program.
- Individual Development Plan downloadable form
- Performance Rating forms: grad student form, undergraduate student form, or postdoctoral fellow/research faculty form.
NIST PREP and the CHIPS Metrology Program
To address gaps in the semiconductor ecosystem, the CHIPS for America program is investing in four overlapping entities, all of which include some aspect of workforce training. These entities include the National Semiconductor Technology Center, the Metrology Program (NIST), the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program and (up to 3) Manufacturing USA institutes.
NIST has been selected as the bureau within the Department of Congress to implement and house these new units.
The Metrology Program Grand Challenges include over $109M in funding to 29 approved research projects. Current projects are helping to develop new measurement instruments, measurement methods, and measurement-informed models and simulations for advanced microelectronics design and manufacturing. Additional projects will be selected.
Researcher Associates – Accepting Applications on a Rolling Basis
• NIST is seeking several full-time Researcher Associates for the CHIPS R&D Metrology Program.
• Researcher Associates will be a full-time physical scientists ZP-III position with a salary range of $76,860 – $119,760 per year
• Boulder, CO and Gaithersburg, MD duty stations
• Visit nist.gov/chips/current-chips-job-openings, to see the rolling announcement.• Qualified candidates should send their cover letter and resume to researchjobs@chips.gov with the subject line “CHIPS R&D Metrology Researcher Associate – [Full Name].”
Mines NIST PREP Contacts:
Mines NIST PREP Program Email, nistprep@mines.edu
Program Manager, Kelly Hummel, khummel@mines.edu
Program Director, Prof. Ryan Richards, rrichard@mines.edu
Program Outreach Coordinator, Dr. Christian Beren, cberen@mines.edu