Benefits

The Visiting Faculty Program (VFP) offers valuable benefits to participating faculty members and invited students, encompassing a 10-week summer research experience and financial support.

Program Term and Training

The core of the VFP is a 10-week collaborative research program during the summer.

  • Research Experience: Faculty and their invited students will engage in a research project under the guidance of a scientist at a DOE National Laboratory.
  • Faculty Development: Faculty members will build collaborative relationships with DOE research scientists, gain familiarity with DOE-sponsored research programs, explore scientific user facilities, and discover potential funding opportunities.
  • Student Enrichment: Students participate in a variety of enrichment activities, including:
    • Career professional development workshops (e.g., technical and scientific writing, poster/oral presentation skills).
    • Laboratory tours.
    • Scientific lectures and seminars.
  • Host Laboratory Contributions: Host laboratories may provide additional offerings such as lab tours, scientific lectures, seminars, and workshops on accessing DOE scientific user facilities.
  • Required Training: All necessary site-specific training will be provided by the host laboratories.

Financial and Travel Support

Detailed benefits vary by participant type:

For Participating Faculty:

  • Stipend: Faculty receive a weekly stipend of $1600 during their 10-week placement.
  • Travel Support:
    • Reimbursement for one round-trip domestic travel to the host laboratory is provided if your permanent address is more than 50 miles away.
    • Transportation expenses are reimbursed based on the most direct route.
    • Private Automobile Travel: Reimbursed at the current government rate, up to a maximum of $500.00, or the cost of the lowest commercial airfare, whichever is less.
    • Air Travel: Reimbursed at the cost of the lowest commercial airfare.
  • Housing Support:
    • Information about housing options will be provided before your arrival. Housing arrangements can vary by laboratory.
    • An allowance is available for faculty placed at host laboratories that cannot offer direct housing arrangements.

For Invited Undergraduate Student Participants:

  • Stipend: Undergraduate students receive a weekly stipend of $650 during their 10-week internship.
  • Travel Support:
    • Reimbursement for one round-trip domestic travel to the host laboratory is provided if your permanent address is more than 50 miles away.
    • Transportation expenses are reimbursed based on the most direct route.
    • Private Automobile Travel: Reimbursed at the current government rate, up to a maximum of $500.00, or the cost of the lowest commercial airfare, whichever is less.
    • Air Travel: Reimbursed at the cost of the lowest commercial airfare.
  • Housing Support:
    • Information about housing options will be provided before your arrival. Housing arrangements can vary by laboratory.
    • An allowance is available for students placed at host laboratories that cannot offer direct housing arrangements.

For Invited Graduate Student Participants:

  • Stipend: Participating graduate students are expected to receive financial support from their home academic institutions, consistent with their graduate appointments. The VFP does not provide an additional stipend for graduate students.
  • Travel Support:
    • Reimbursement for one round-trip domestic travel to the host laboratory is provided if your permanent address is more than 50 miles away.
    • Transportation expenses are reimbursed based on the most direct route.
    • Private Automobile Travel: Reimbursed at the current government rate, up to a maximum of $500.00, or the cost of the lowest commercial airfare, whichever is less.
    • Air Travel: Reimbursed at the cost of the lowest commercial airfare.
  • Housing Support:
    • Information about housing options will be provided before your arrival. Housing arrangements can vary by laboratory.
    • An allowance is available for students placed at host laboratories that cannot offer direct housing arrangements.