Summer Life at SBU

In addition to the breadth of activities research activities, we envision many other opportunities for
the REU students to network with each other, the faculty and other researchers at Stony Brook,  and students in other summer research programs. Stony Brook has a close and strong relationship with Brookhaven National Laboratory. We will take the students on a tour of the BNL campus, where they can see some of the experimental facilities up close. These types of tours are a great way to introduce students to the dynamics of large-scale research projects.

Throughout the course of the summer, we will schedule some “brown-bag lunch” talks with different faculty, where the students can learn about other research being done at Stony Brook in a relaxed environment where they can freely ask questions. The department has a telescope on the roof of a campus building and we will have an nighttime observing session led by one of the astronomers to give the students the experience of looking through a telescope.

All of our REU students will stay in dorms and mix with other students from the large number of summer research programs at Stony Brook. This will give them ample time for networking and self-organization of activities. On weekends, we will encourage the students to explore the area. We are close to New York City and there is a train station on campus that students can use to ride directly into Manhattan, giving easy access to museums, parks, and other cultural activities. Finally, our Department has a long tradition of Friday-afternoon socials. Each research group hosts the social one week, and the entire Department is invited. These are very well attended and will give the students a relaxed environment to interact with the other research groups at Stony Brook.