<aside> 📌 We are always striving to improve and increase student involvement with faculty through research, so please keep an eye out for updates. Exploring the boundaries of knowledge is for everybody, and we strongly encourage our majors of all backgrounds to connect to our research community. Below we give some tips on how you can do that. For more comprehensive information in the meantime, please visit the Research Opportunities, Scholarships, and Funding webpage on the main UC Berkeley Physics website and check in with your physics advisor, GSIs, and professors if you have any questions.

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Basic Tips for Finding Research

• In fall 2020, the Physics Department launched its first semesterly Physics Undergraduate Research Fair virtually, on the gather.town platform. Physics faculty shared about their research and available research positions, and then students had the chance to visit virtual office hours to inquire further. After the event, students could apply to available research positions via a GoogleForm application that was sent to all research fair participants.

📌 Our Spring 2021 Physics Undergraduate Research Fair will take place on Wednesday, January 20th from 4 to 6 p.m. on the gather.town platform. More information will be emailed to physics majors and intended majors in January. Plan to attend this event if you're interested in learning more about spring 2021 research opportunities.

• If you don't have any research experience, the student-led Physics/Astro ULAB program is a great place to start. Applications are available on a yearly basis before each fall semester. If admitted to the program, you would learn basic research skills through a DeCal course and be paired with an undergraduate mentor to conduct your own research project of interest.
• The Physics Department's Pi2 program is another way to connect to our research community, with new summer research projects advertised every year.
• Two physics students, Nishant Mishra and Shaunak Modak, created the schematic below in fall 2020 to help students organize their priorities and preparation for finding physics research. Their outline is best used in conjunction with the detailed descriptions of programs found on the Research, Opportunities, Scholarships, and Funding webpage on the main UC Berkeley Physics website.

How?

1. Find a Project/Advisor (Note: Physics faculty bios are organized by faculty's area of research here.)
   1. Methods
      1. Summer: See main website for summer research opportunities.
      2. Semester: Attend the semesterly Physics Undergraduate Research Fair to learn about physics research opportunities available each semester. See main website for additional semesterly research opportunities.
   2. Ideas when looking for an advisor
      1. Group Size
      2. Taken a class in the field
      3. Have a skill that matches up well (circuits, basic programming, etc.)
   3. Apply to a program or submit application through Physics Department after research fair
      1. Note: With SULI/BLUR, funding and advisor are decided by program.
2. Funding:
   1. Some projects are directly funded by your professor/research group - especially if it’s over the summer, ask them directly about it! Increasingly, opportunities advertised through the Physics Undergraduate Research Fair will be funded.
   2. Some projects will require you to find your own funding:
      1. Summer: Lots of options; see list on **main website.**
      2. Semester:
         1. BPURS (~$500 per semester; application emailed to physics majors at the beginning of each semester. Apply for both semesters if you want funding for both semesters.)
         2. Work-Study (Financial eligibility, ~$1000-$5000)

Overwhelmed? To-do:

1. Do background research and decide (approximately) what you want to work on
2. Go to research fair
3. Find project
4. Find funding

• This "How to Find Research" document includes compiled tips and updates from advisors, faculty, and students about how to find research in the Physics Department. Note that it's an evolving document, since the majority, if not all, of physics research opportunities will eventually be posted through the Physics Undergraduate Research Fair as processes are streamlined.
• The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarships (OURS) "Finding Faculty Mentors" page also has a lot of helpful tips about how to identify a faculty mentor and best communicate with them via email.