Strategic University Partnership
JPL and Cornell
Mark Campbell
Jonathan Lunine
November 8, 2013: JPL and Cornell sign MOU to make Cornell the
13th SURP member
http://surp.jpl.nasa.gov
Doing Research with JPL
• JPL provides a number of opportunities to encourage and facilitate
collaborations with the academic community, with the emphasis on
identifying and nurturing grass-roots research collaborations.
• A precursor to many of these opportunities is establishing a connection
with a JPL researcher and developing the genesis of a new collaboration,
or plans to enhance an existing one.
• This can be followed by an application for seed funding to take the first
steps in a joint effort, or in some cases a proposal to an external agency
for funding (for larger proposals, JPL can sometimes provide “Bid and
Proposal” funds).
• The various funding opportunities are initiated by a JPL researcher, who
can respond to proposal calls throughout the year.
Students and Research at JPL
• A key part of JPL’s interaction with academia involves
engaging students in research. This is done via the
awards above, and also via internships.
• JPL hosts around 700 interns per year in for both
summer and year-round internships, and including both
undergraduate and graduate students.
• Proposals for Spring internships are accepted starting in
the fall, with due dates dependent on the program
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/internships/
JPL-Cornell joint courses
• JPL researchers can be funded under SURP to come to
Cornell.
• Expectation is that these visits will be not only for
research, but also joint teaching of courses.
Ways to make Cornell’s SURP a success
• Be discerning about what is and is not a suitable
opportunity for partnering under SURP:
– Know JPL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
– Know SURP http://surp.jpl.nasa.gov
• Recognize that, even though we are now in a
special group, access to funds is still competitive
• SURP efforts work best where students are
involved, through visits, joint courses, recruitment
Jonathan Lunine informed of your
SURP-related efforts so that we can
track the total Cornell SURP-related
efforts.
Jonathan Lunine jil45
Mark Campbell mc288
Neil Murphy at JPL.
<Neil.Murphy@jpl.nasa.gov>