Research Experience for Teachers

July 8 - August 16, 2013 at the University of Minnesota

Apply Now! Application Deadline Friday, March 1, 2013

David Brown at work in the Biological Physics lab.

The Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program is a six-week summer research program that supports the active engagement of K-12 physical sciences teachers by involving them in cutting-edge physics research and helping them translate their research experiences and new knowledge into classroom activities. The goal is to help build ongoing collaborative partnerships between K-12 teachers and the University's research community.

Program participants will work at the University's Twin Cities campus for six weeks in the physics research area of their choice. There are also positions available at the Soudan Underground Laboratory for those living near Tower, Minnesota. All participants receive a stipend for the six-week program that is based upon their academic year base salary.

Among the career development program activities are weekly physics seminars offered in conjunction with the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, a session on ethics in scientific research, and a weekly seminar with the Physics Education research group to discuss issues directly applicable to teaching. An annual highlight is an optional field trip to the Soudan Underground Laboratory in northern Minnesota, the site of two ongoing physics experiments, MINOS and CDMS.

RET offers physics and physical science teachers:

• Hands-on experience in physics research techniques
• Information about cutting-edge experiments in physics
• A stipend equal to six weeks of base teaching salary
• Academic year follow-up

Teachers selected for the program will be matched with faculty and research programs that most closely correspond to their interests. Previous participants have conducted research in:

• Biophysics
• Condensed Matter Physics
• High Energy Particle Physics
• Physics Education
• Space Physics
• Astrophysics and Cosmology

The 2013 program begins on Monday, July 8, 2013 and ends on Friday, August 16, 2013. The application deadline is March 1, 2013. Candidate selection will begin immediately thereafter and continue until all available positions are filled.

Please click here to go to the application page.

Sponsored jointly by the National Science Foundation and the University of Minnesota.