LIGO SURF
LIGO SURF supports undergraduates in physics, astronomy, and engineering through research in detector development, gravitational physics, and data analysis to advance gravitational-wave astronomy.
Funder: California Institute of Technology
Due Dates: November 1, 2026 (2027 application opens) | March 1, 2027 (Application and recommendations) | April 1, 2027 (Award notification)
Funding Amounts: Ten-week summer research fellowship
Summary: LIGO SURF supports undergraduate research in gravitational-wave astronomy, detector development, and related physics and engineering.
Key Information: Fellows must conduct research in person, commit to the full ten weeks, and take no courses or other jobs.
Description
Caltech’s LIGO Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships program invites undergraduates in physics, astronomy, and engineering to contribute to the development of gravitational-wave astronomy. Students work with faculty, senior scientists, and engineers, receiving individual guidance while contributing to LIGO’s research and development program. The summer program is funded in part through the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.
Research opportunities include gravitational physics and astrophysics, metrology, optics, lasers, mechanical systems, controls, and electronics. Projects span detector development, modeling and analysis, operations, observing, and data analysis. Research takes place at Caltech or the LIGO observatories in Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana. Caltech’s Student-Faculty Programs Office provides administrative support, and students on campus join a larger community of undergraduate researchers.
