USC Viterbi and Amazon Announce Joint Summer Research Program for Undergraduates

USC Viterbi Staff | February 8, 2022 

8-Week, Residency Program is Open to Undergraduate Students Throughout the U.S.

Images of Amazon's Seattle, Washington, campus, (JORDAN STEAD / Amazon)

Images of Amazon’s Seattle, Washington, campus, (JORDAN STEAD / Amazon)

The USC Viterbi School of Engineering and Amazon have joined forces to support engineering students who are seeking to get hands-on learning in labs while tackling some of the world’s most fascinating technical challenges. Amazon will sponsor 30 undergraduate students for an 8-week campus residency at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering in Los Angeles in Summer 2022 and in Summer 2023.

Undergraduate students, who are sophomore or juniors majoring in engineering, math, computer science, or physics across the United States, and have some background and/or interest in artificial intelligence are eligible to apply (while the program’s focus is on undergraduate students from backgrounds that are historically underrepresented in STEM, the program is open to all students). Selected topics available for exploration may include fighting wildfires with drones, use of robots in space, biomaterials and optics for healthcare applications, AI for sensing and driverless cars, or data science to help hospitals optimize blood supply.

This summer residency, named the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (“SURE”),
involves mentorship from USC Viterbi faculty and a focused training in the skills required for growth in either academic or industry contexts, including lab research techniques, technical presentations, and the writing of scientific abstracts. In addition, students will also participate in dedicated networking and professional/career development events.

This is the second of two programs to support scholarships and student development that USC Viterbi has collaborated with Amazon in the last two years.

“Amazon is one of the largest employers of USC Viterbi alumni. We are honored that they have chosen to collaborate with us on the key goal to ensure that all students have the opportunity to work on leading-edge research, particularly research that is focusing on solving some of the world’s greatest challenges.” said Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs Kelly Goulis.

“Amazon is delighted to expand our collaboration with USC through the creation of the USC-Amazon SURE program. SURE will provide undergraduate STEM students from underrepresented backgrounds the opportunity to receive mentorship from USC faculty and Amazon scientists and gain the skills to be future science and engineering leaders,” said Prem Natarajan, Vice president of natural understanding, Alexa AI.

Participating students will also receive a weekly stipend. The program begins the second week in June and applications are being accepted now. Please see the following program website for more information: https://viterbigradadmission.usc.edu/amazon-sure/

Published on February 8th, 2022

Last updated on November 27th, 2024

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