The Anvil Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is part of the Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) CI-XP student program. The programs purpose is to provide work opportunities and real workplace experience that enhances student’s education through the development of professional skills, responsibilities, habits, attitudes, self-confidence, and self-development.
RCAC is seeking students for REU paid internships for an 11 week onsite summer REU program.
This program aims at developing the next generation workforce in advanced computing and cyberinfrastructure technologies. It offers students from diverse backgrounds, the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to build and support advanced research computing systems and scientific applications. As part of RCAC's decade long successful student apprentice program, the REU students will learn by doing, working on the National Science Foundation funded Anvil system in a team environment and mentored by cyberinfrastructure professionals.
Open to undergraduate students from all backgrounds and undergraduate programs within and beyond Purdue.
Each student will present their work to Purdue staff, faculty, students, collaborators, and researchers at the end of the program. Students may present at a national conference as part of the program. This onsite program at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana runs from May through August.
Application Requirements
- Applicants must be a U.S. Citizen, U.S. National, or permanent resident of the U.S.
- Applicants must be currently enrolled in a U.S. undergraduate program and continuing past Summer 2025 (e.g., into Fall 2025).
- Applicants must be able to work onsite for the entirety of the REU program (May 26 – August 8, 2025).
Questions? Email us at anvil@purdue.edu.
REU Projects Page
Projects - Summer 2025
In each research project students will work closely with professional RCAC staff members. The projects will be in a wide variety of areas, including data analytics and visualization, high performance computing (HPC), software development, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Visit the REU projects page to see previous years' projects and additional details on requirements and project focus for this year's projects.
Project #1: Smart Data Solutions: Building a Data Warehouse and Sensor-Driven System for Sustainable Data Centers
See the REU Projects Page for more detail
Project #2: AnvilOps: Streamlined Container Builder with GitOps Integration
See the REU Projects Page for more detail
Project #3: Empowering Research: Easy-to-Use Bioinformatics Workflow Templates
See the REU Projects Page for more detail
Project #4: Revolutionizing Documentation with AI: NLP and Large Language Models for Automated Solutions
See the REU Projects Page for more detail
Program Highlights
Stipend, Housing, & OTHER BENEFITS
The REU projects span an 11-week period from May through August. The eight undergraduate students will work 40 hours per week on-site at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana for the duration of the program.
Students receive the following benefits as part of the REU program exceeding a value of $14,000:
- A stipend of $680/week, equivalent to $17/hr (value of nearly $7,500)
- Furnished housing at a University Residence Hall (value of nearly $2,500)
- A year long membership with ACM computing society (value exceeding $100)
- Purdue Graduate School application fee waiver (value of $60)
- Travel costs to attend a conference such as Super Computing 24 or PEARC 25 (value exceeding $3,500)
- Travel costs to and from your home location to West Lafayette at the begining and end of the REU program.
Social/Networking Activities
Student Presentations And/Or Poster Sessions
The REU students will make presentations on their work. At the end of the program, we have a symposium at which time each student gives a presentation with a poster or recorded slide deck to which other students, Anvil staff, RCAC staff, and key people from across and outside of the University are invited. These talks will describe the project the REU undertook, outcomes, and plans or suggestions for the future.
Conferences & Publications
In recent years many students from Purdue have given presentations at HPC and/or research conferences (e.g. Super Computing (SC) or PEARC). We encourage the REU students to present their work at these and other undergraduate conferences, and provide funding to support this. Additionally, many of our students publish papers in collaboration with their mentors on the projects they have completed.
Ongoing research
Where possible, students are encouraged to continue work on their projects after the end of the formal program. This is accomplished through visits to Purdue, virtual collaboration, and work at the student's home institution. Funding maybe available to sponsor these activities.
Nondiscrimination Policy Statement
Purdue University prohibits discrimination against any member of the University community on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, genetic information, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, or status as a veteran. The University will conduct its programs, services and activities consistent with applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and orders and in conformance with the procedures and limitations as set forth in Purdue’s Equal Opportunity, Equal Access and Affirmative Action policy which provides specific contractual rights and remedies. Additionally, the University promotes the full realization of equal employment opportunity for women, minorities, persons with disabilities and veterans through its affirmative action program. View a more complete statement of Purdue's policies of equal access and equal opportunity. If you have any questions or concerns regarding these policies, please contact the Office of the Vice President for Ethics and Compliance at vpec@purdue.edu or 765-494-5830.
Anvil is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2005632.