Nevada Summer Engineering Academy
The College of Engineering offers a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, the Nevada Summer Engineering Academy, designed for rising sophomores. The academy runs July 27-31, 2026. It takes place on the University of Nevada, Reno campus, and has two focus areas:
- Nanofabrication
- Robotics
Nanofabrication experience
Our Nanofabrication Lab is housed in the Class 1,000 Davidson Foundation Cleanroom on the first floor of the William Pennington Engineering Building (WPEB). The cleanroom provides 2,937 square feet of filtered space for faculty and industry research as well as workforce development. The multiuser Nanofabrication Lab offers lithography, deposition, etch and metrology to support research and pilot production of semiconductor, photonic and quantum devices.
The nanofabrication experience will help students
- learn how semiconductor, photonic and quantum devices are manufactured, and
- gain hands-on experience in front-end, back-end, design and test processes
Robotics experience
Academy participants will learn how real robotic systems are put together — from software and electronics to mechanical components — and how engineers use applied math (such as algebra, geometry and basic modeling) to reason about motion, sensors and system behavior in the real world.
The robotics experience will help students
- Explore a range of robotics applications, including autonomous systems, robotics in the environment, assistive technologies and intelligent machines
- Build a technical vocabulary around robotics, gaining the confidence to engage in internships, upper-division coursework and team-based projects
Award information
- $500 stipend for one week
- On-campus housing provided for five days
- Food allowance at Pack Place dining hall
- Lunch provided each day during the academy
Eligibility
- U.S. citizenship or permanent residency is required.
- Applicants must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate program at the University of Nevada, Reno. The target applicant is a student who has completed their freshman year and is a rising sophomore.
Apply
- We invite applicants from all engineering disciplines to apply!
- Application deadline: 5 p.m. March 16, 2026
- Apply online: Nevada Summer Engineering Academy application.
Academy goals, advisors and other information
The goals of the academy are to
- extend the frontiers of knowledge through research that converges new technologies and ideas from widely diverse disciplines; and
- engage undergraduate rising sophomores in cutting-edge research, fostering their ability to solve challenging problems.
Faculty advisors are from the College’s Computer Science & Engineering Department and the Electrical & Biomedical Engineering Department. Academy research will be supported by experienced graduate students who will help mentor the program participants.
The Nevada Summer Engineering Academy is supported by a grant from the Nevada TechHub.
Contact
Julie McMillin
College of Engineering
Differential Fees, Scholarship & International Exchange