Our website is currently under construction. We appreciate your patience during this time.

Summer High School Research Program


The Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) at the University of Rochester holds an annual summer research program for Rochester-area high school students who have just completed their junior year. The eight-week program provides an exceptional opportunity for highly motivated students to experience scientific research in a realistic environment. Students who are accepted into the program are assigned to a research project and supervised by a staff scientist or engineer at the Laboratory. These projects form an integral part of the research program of the Laboratory and are related to the Laboratory’s 60-beam OMEGA laser, one of the world’s most powerful fusion lasers, and the OMEGA EP laser, completed in 2008.

At the end of the program, the students present the results of their projects at a symposium in the Laboratory. The students also produce written project reports. The students work 40-hour weeks and are paid. The program is a commuter program and no provision is made for student housing during the summer.

Only students currently in their junior year are eligible. To apply, a student must submit a letter indicating his/her desire to take part in the program and fill out an application form. The student must also submit a short essay describing his/her interest in science and technology and his/her future goals. As supporting material, the student must submit a copy of his/her transcript and a letter of recommendation from a science or math teacher. Several applicants are interviewed before the final selection is made. Selections are announced by the beginning of May. Students must be available to start on the first day of the program.

Project summaries and symposium abstracts from the most recent program are available along with previous years’ project reports. Application information for each year’s program is made available in the middle of January.


Four images of students in the Summer High School Research Program

Application


The 2024 Summer High School Research Program will begin on the 8th of July and end on the 30th of August 2024. As in the previous two years, it will be an in-person program.

The student’s application form, letter, essay, transcript and most recent report card, and recommendation must be mailed to Dr. R. Stephen Craxton, University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics, 250 East River Road, Rochester NY 14623 or hand-delivered to the LLE Reception desk by a strict deadline of 5:00pm on Monday, March 11, 2024.

Questions regarding the program may be addressed to , the Program Coordinator, at (585) 275-6414 or to , the Program Director, at (585) 275-5467.




Project Reports



Promotional Materials