Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies: ISN
The Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN) is an interdepartmental research center at MIT, composed of faculty members from many departments including Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Bio-Engineering, Physics & Mathematics. Established in 2002 by a five-year, $50 million contract from the U.S. Army, the ISN’s research mission is to use nanotechnology to dramatically improve the protection and survivability of soldiers.
In addition to potential UROP positions working on one of the 35 different research projects currently underway at the ISN, there are also opportunities to work with our Research Engineers who support multiple projects across many fields and are responsible for the $6M of equipment located in our 40,000 sqft of space in the ISN facility at 500 tech sq.
If you are interested in a UROP at the ISN, you can find out about potential opportunities in two ways.
1) Look through the list of current research projects underway right now within the ISN. http://web.mit.edu/isn/research/researchprojects.html. If you are interested in a specific project, contact the professor leading this project (the Principal Investigator) directly to inquire about a possible UROP position. Please note, not all projects have UROP openings or funding to support a UROP, therefore, after consulting with a faculty supervisor each student should submit a proposal with cover sheet to the UROP coordinator as soon as possible.
2) Contact one of the following ISN Researchers to learn more about their areas of interest and current research projects to see if you may be able to work with them on a project. Please note the ISN has limited funding for UROP support, therefore, after consulting with an ISN Researcher each student should submit an application to the UROP coordinator as soon as possible.
Additional requirements for an ISN UROP
All UROPs supported with ISN funding must be administered through the ISN. UROP students will be required to submit a final report on their work to the ISN’s UROP coordinator at the end of each semester. In addition, UROP students may be asked to give a brief presentation about their work during ISN UROP day. ISN UROP day occurs semi-annually and is an opportunity for ISN UROP students to present their research to other ISN UROPs as well as Faculty and other researchers. Students will compete for prizes for their work including best project and best presentation.
UROPs wanting access to the ISN offices and labs will need to follow a standard ISN procedure available by e-mailing Josh Freedman, joshf@mit.edu. Lab access is only granted after a student has taken and passed the EHS MIT required training. A desk in ISN student office space may be available to UROPs on a case-by-case basis.
Please contact the ISN UROP Coordinator, Josh Freedman joshf@mit.edu, x3-5694 with any questions related to a UROP at the ISN.
Research Descriptions
Below are a couple of ISN research profiles. See the faculty listings on the ISN site for complete details on current faculty research through ISN.
- Dr. Steven Kooi, Research Engineer, skooi@mit.edu, 4-6416
- Areas of interest: Time resolved ultrafast laser spectroscopy; Interference/holographic lithography to produce 3D structured materials; Developing new analytical techniques to characterize nanomaterials; High resolution electron and ion spectroscopy.
- Kurt Keville, Research Specialist, SDC Coordinator,kkeville@mit.edu, 4-6422
- Areas of interest: High performance computer clusters, Novel testing methods for rapid prototyping, Testing protocols and regiment.
