Armour College of Engineering Summer Armour R&D Program Request for Proposals

Armour College of Engineering (ACE) is pleased to announce the summer 2018 request for Armour R&D project proposals as part of the ACE Distinctive Education Initiative. The Summer 2018 Armour R&D program will run from Monday, May 21 through Saturday, July 28.

Armour R&D offers two project tracks: Program for Undergraduate Research Education (PURE) and Mentored INovation and Development (MIND).

PURE is a collaborative effort involving ACE faculty, the Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (WISER), the Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science and Engineering, and the Institute for Food Safety and Health (IFSH). Students selected to participate in this program will have an opportunity to work with an ACE faculty mentor on a fundamental engineering research project, gain valuable research experience, and receive a stipend.

MIND is an expansion of PURE to bring discovery to practice. MIND focuses on the development and implementation of technology to address contemporary challenges improving and impacting mankind and the environment. This program is about the development of technology based on research findings, rather than the execution of basic research. We encourage faculty and students to participate in this program to explore new applications of ongoing research and/or work towards the utilization of innovative technology.

Participation in these activities will be recognized in a student’s Engineering Portfolio. Research and development activities should be focused on one of the Illinois Tech Engineering Themes: Water, Energy, Health and Security.

Summer 2018 Options
Financial support for those participating in Armour R&D is $11 per hour, with a maximum of $4,400 for the summer. The application should specify whether the project is full-time at 20 or 40 hours per week. The project description should be consistent with that level of effort.

Requirements
Students participating in these programs must fulfill the following requirements:

  • Attend a mandatory introductory meeting
  • Prepare a final report that describes results from the research. The report is due the last day of the research period (July 28).
  • Participate in specific expos in which students present a poster of their research findings:
    • Summer Armour R&D Expo on Thursday, July 12, 2018
    • Fifth Annual Armour R&D Expo to be held on a date TBD in April 2019
    • Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium (CAURS) to be held in April 2019

Please note that any future Armour R&D awards are contingent on your adherence to these requirements.

Application Process
Please note that this program is competitive in nature and not all applications may be funded. There is a two semester limit for each student eligible for funding under this program. For student/faculty teams that have previously received funding, matching funds from the research laboratory may be required. A well-written application is critical to achieve acceptance into this program. Click the below button to begin your online application.

Start Online Application

Important Dates
Armour R&D applications will be accepted from March 12 through Thursday, April 5 at 5 p.m. CT. Applications received outside of this application window will not be considered for the summer 2018 session.
Award decisions will be announced by Friday, April 13. Student/faculty teams should be prepared to begin to use the funds on May 21. Funds that are not spent before the end of the summer term will no longer be available.