Summer Research Opportunities

Every year many 1st, 2nd and 3rd year physics students enhance their education by spending a summer working as a student research assistant. The list of our current summer students below may give you an idea of the widespread opportunities that exist both in experimental and theoretical work. 

Students who are interested in working in the physics department over the summer should check out our faculty members and their research fields and then contact a potential supervisor directly. Supervisors will give project descriptions to students who may be interested in working for them, and will be available to students who want to come and discuss their research. 

Note: Applications for NSERC USRA (Natural Science and Engineering Research Council Undergraduate Student Assistantships) have to be submitted in early February. These provide a significant amount of funding for students of high academic standing. Applicants must find a supervisor and fill out NSERC form 202. To find a supervisor, just contact physics faculty members directly and ask for research opportunities in their group. You should start this process already in November or December. Detailed information on how to apply can be found on NSERC' USRA web page.

If you’re a 3rd year Honours student, it’s common to perform Honours thesis research in the summer after your 3rd year with the person who would become your thesis supervisor. Even most Advanced Major projects are based on summer research. 

The process of determining who is hired, and who works with whom, is a friendly one. Often everyone who wants to work is hired on with someone (although sometimes 1st year students without NSERC USRAs are not hired). Priority for hiring is given to 3rd year Honours students and students with NSERC USRAs, 3rd year students, and students with previous experience. In all cases, priority will be given to students who have shown interest and aptitude in physics. 

Our Summer Research Students 

In 2025, the following physics students work on a research project:

• Madelyn Shaw (1st year science) works with Nafisa Tasneem on High Energy Particle Physics
• Natalie Starratt (1st year engineering) works with Carl Adams on structure and diffusion in edible oils
• Cohen Benoit (1st year Science) works with Peter Marzlin on atom interferometery
• Mo Alawami (2nd year science) works with Peter Marzlin on relativistic particles
• Matthew Whitehead (3rd year science) works with Peter Marzlin on quantum technology
• KJ Lawrence (3rd year science) works with Hossain Ahmed on scintillators
• Keely Ralf (4th year Science) works with Peter Poole on phase transitions
• Lydia Taylor (4th year Science) works with Robert van den Hoogen on cosmology

Previous summer research students