Information for Faculty Mentors

Thank you for considering becoming a WMF faculty mentor and thank you to all returning faculty mentors!

Complete the following survey to become a WMF mentor for the 2024 cohort. You will be asked information about your lab and potential student research projects so that we can update (or create) your laboratory web page.

Each year we place approximately 50 students in laboratories across Penn State and we are eager to do it again. This page outlines the program for faculty mentors and their associated responsibilities, and answers questions about the program. *We kindly ask that you forward this website to your colleagues, including those new to your department who may be interested in participating.

WMF Mentor Responsibilities

As a mentor we ask that you provide a positive and fulfilling research experience for the student(s) working in your research group. The student should be engaged in a meaningful research project and have data to collect that will address their research question(s).

Student internships are for 2 semesters (spring and fall semesters of one year) so please be ready to mentor your student for that duration of time. It is fine for the student to work primarily with a graduate student/post-doc, however we ask that you oversee that mentorship by regularly checking in and meeting with your WMF student, to ensure the student is on the right track.

Each mentor has a webpage that contains their contact information, research group info, and a description of the research project(s) that a student intern might become involved in.

Student time commitment and award

The WMF research internship program is competitive and selective. The award students receive ($700/semester) is an award and is not connected to the hours of effort involved in this authentic STEM engagement.

Each WISER/MURE/FURP cohort participates for 2 semesters (spring and fall of the same year). During this time, students should spend ~5 hours per week (on average) on all lab-related activities, including laboratory meetings, training, readings, and other associated research activities. We understand that this is not a significant amount of time, but the goal of the program is to introduce students to the process of doing research and spark their interest while not overwhelming them during what can be a tough first year.

Please take note: If faculty mentors want to hire WMF students to work in their labs for wage payroll beyond their PSGC-supported activities (i.e., beyond the ~5 hours/week required by the program, summers, or subsequent semesters), that is entirely up to the student and faculty. While the PSGC enthusiastically encourages faculty mentors to support and engage successful students in additional research experiences, the WMF research internship program does not provide student wage support.

Selection Process

Students apply to WMF through an online application system. In addition to grades, short answer responses, and personal info, students are asked to select three faculty mentors they are interested in working with after reviewing the WMF research opportunities website. In some cases laboratories are selected by a large number of applicants, while other labs may not be selected. If your laboratory is selected by an applicant then you will have the opportunity to review their application, interview the student (optional), and decided if this is someone you would like to work in your lab. This process is done online starting in early November and you will be emailed with directions on how to access the website to view student applications. Once faculty submit their applicant ratings, we review them along with the student rankings (and their application info) and place as many students as we can monetarily support in the most compatible labs. We notify all faculty of the student placements prior to notifying the students of their acceptance.

Student Laboratory Support

For participating faculty mentors, the NASA PA Space Grant Consortium will support allowable lab expenses up to $400 per student in a WMF lab that are directly related to a student research project. See below for examples of allowable and unallowable expenses.

- Examples of allowable expenses: lab supplies (chemicals, test tubes, pipettes, petri dishes,), building materials (parts to build a radio receiver), microscope parts (bulbs, lenses), field sampling materials, software licenses, laboratory or computer time, instrument time.
- Examples of unallowable expenses: foreign travel, equipment purchases, general office supplies (pencils, pens), human participation compensation, information technology systems (laptops, PCs, etc.), food/beverages for students/staff/faculty.

Faculty mentors are asked to have their financial liaison contact PSGC Operations Manager Susan Kertis (sko2@psu.edu or call 814-863-7688) for all questions related to funding and to receive a list of approved SIMBA GL accounts and information related to the appropriate general funds account to charge.

Potential issues

While the majority of the WMF student intern/faculty mentor pairings work out exceedingly well, there are a few cases each year where these relationships are difficult. If you are having issues with your student intern not responding to email, completing their 5 hours/week on research activities, or other general issues please reach out to us so that we may help.

WMF Research Symposium

We host a yearly WMF Research Symposium in November to highlight the wonderful work that the students complete over the course of their internship. This is a nice opportunity to guide your student in the art of creating a research poster/lightning talk (they will need some guidance) and how to succinctly explain their project. Please encourage your WMF student intern to attend and present! For more information on this symposium please see the menu item or click here.

Student Final Report

Student Achievements and Acknowledgements

Please keep us updated on student achievements as we would love to highlight them on our website! This includes meeting presentations, publications, and other achievements related to their PA Space Grant Internship. Email us at: spacegrant@psu.edu

To acknowledge student participation in the program please use the following language:

(Student participation between 2020 – 2024)
[Students name] undergraduate research internship was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Grant No. 80NSSC20M0097 issued through the Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium.