Florida Polytechnic University senior Esteban Segarra is headed to Gaithersburg, Maryland, this summer where he’ll spend 11 weeks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) working to improve the way robots interact with humans.
Segarra, who is a computer engineering major from Davenport, Florida, is one of less than 200 students across the nation to receive a 2018 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) at the NIST. He will work at the organization’s Engineering Lab and will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with NIST scientists and engineers on projects related to robotics and artificial intelligence.
“It’s very exciting and rewarding,” said Segarra. “This opportunity is something I didn’t expect, and it’s something that’s very important to take part in. It will be a completely different experience and perspective.”
During this first three years at Florida Poly, Segarra has continually challenged himself. Whether he’s busy serving as a laboratory research assistant, publishing and presenting on research with his faculty mentor, Dr. Bradford Towle Jr., or pitching ideas for research grants, Segarra is making the most of his undergraduate experience.
Students selected to the NIST program are determined based on a review of both the student and university portions of the application. Awardees receive a stipend, housing and travel allotment – which are provided in the form of a federal grant from NIST to the university.
NIST is one of the nation’s premier research institutions for the physical and engineering sciences and provides a strong interface between government, industry, and academia. For the past 25 years, the SURF program at NIST has provided students from across the nation the opportunity to gain valuable, hands-on experience, working with cutting-edge technology in one of the world’s leading research organizations.