FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:             Linda Joy
Sept. 23, 1994                     (301) 975-4403

                                   TN-5990

              SURF'S UP IN NIST PHYSICS LAB; SUMMER STUDENTS

        CAN CATCH A WAVE, TRAP AN ATOM OR BUILD A BETTER DOSIMETER


     Undergraduates and graduating college seniors in science and
engineering are invited to apply for 1995 summer research
fellowships in physics at the National Institute of Standards and
Technology.

     The SURF, or Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
program, awards fellowships to about 20 students each summer for
10 to 12 weeks of research in diverse areas of the NIST Physics
Laboratory.  The program was designed to encourage female and
minority science students to pursue advanced degrees in science
or engineering.

     "It was an idea that we hoped would address some of the
issues of lack of diversity in the physics work force," says SURF
program coordinator David King.  In 1993, its first year, the
SURF program gave fellowships to 20 students from seven
universities with large women and minority enrollments.  This
year 20 students from 11 universities received awards.

     Since the program's start, approximately half of the
40 fellowship recipients have been women.  Each summer about
40 percent of the students have been African American, and about
40 percent have been Hispanic.

     "Given the significant lack of diversity in the present
physics work force, we will aggressively seek out competitive
students from under-represented groups or persons with
disabilities," King says.

     "The overall goal is to create a more diverse pool of young
talent in the physical sciences, predominantly physics, that may
ultimately join the work force," says Katharine Gebbie, director
of the NIST Physics Laboratory.  "We believe that giving them a
hands-on experience working with our top scientists may stimulate
them to pursue graduate research in physics and that ultimately
they may be more interested in careers in science and engineering
than they might have been without this experience."

     During their stay at NIST, SURF students are paired with
research advisers throughout the NIST Physics Laboratory based on
the students' background and interests.  Students work with NIST
researchers on projects from radiation biophysics to solar
radiometry.  For example, some projects explored measuring
molecular forces with optical tweezers, using sucrose as a
radiation dosimeter, and measuring changes in ultraviolet
radiation from the sun at ground level.

     The program also includes about one week of study before
reporting to NIST in Gaithersburg, Md., an opportunity to give a
seminar about the SURF research experience and participation in a
scientific conference.

     Each SURF fellowship includes a $3,600 stipend as well as
housing and transportation.  The program, supported in part by
the Physics Division of the National Science Foundation through
its Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program, encourages
participation of minorities and women but is open to all
undergraduate U.S. citizens interested in a career in physics. 
NIST and participating colleges also share costs of the SURF
program.

     SURF recipients say the experience gives them an
appreciation of the breadth of career options available in
physics.  "You don't have to just narrow your career to teaching
if you don't want to because there are many other alternatives,
like working in a place like this which I think is very
interesting and very challenging," says Olga Batista, a 1993 SURF
student from Universidad del Turabo in Puerto Rico.

     "Science is a thing you have to live and see," says Maria
Elisa Garcia, a 1993 SURF student from the University of Puerto
Rico.  "It's not only the things you read in books; you have to
live it.  It's a real thing."

     Students receive SURF awards through nominations from their
college or university.  Each school may nominate two candidates
plus one alternate.  Applicants must submit one signed original
and two copies of their proposal along with the federal Grant
Application Standard Form 424.  Applications should be submitted
to David King, NIST Physics Laboratory, B266 Physics Building,
Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001, and must be received by Feb. 1,
1995.

     For more information on the SURF program, contact 
David King at the above address or phone: (301) 975-2369, 
fax: (301) 975-3038, email: king@enh.nist.gov (via Internet).

     As a non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department's
Technology Administration, NIST promotes U.S. economic growth by
working with industry to develop and apply technology,
measurements and standards.

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