Research Hosts in the U.S.

Nakatani RIES Japanese Fellows – Potential Research Hosts in the U.S.

All participants will be placed into a science or engineering research lab at Rice University under the advisement of a U.S. host professor. Each student will be assigned a U.S. graduate student research mentor. Once selected as participants, students will be assigned specific research host labs by Prof. Junichiro Kono and research projects will be developed in consultation with the Rice University host professor. Host lab placements are typically confirmed by late July.

Rice University host labs are selected for:

  1. Their willingness to mentor a young undergraduate student,
  2. For contributions to cutting-edge science & engineering research, and
  3. A desire to increase the international diversity and intercultural competencies of their group members by providing them with an opportunity to work with visiting undergraduate researchers from Japan.

Research Goals
The goals of the research internship are to:

  1. Provide students with hands-on experience with cutting-edge science & engineering research;
  2. Enhance students technical and research skill sets;
  3. Enable students to collaborate in an international research experience;
  4. Enhance students inter-cultural communication & English language skills;
  5. Encourage students to pursue future graduate study and research.

Research Academic Departments, Faculty, and Research Groups at Rice University

To determine which professors/labs you are most interested in working with, applicants must do research utilizing the Rice University website.  Each academic department and/or professor at Rice designs and maintains their own individual website, so they will all look different.  Typically, the most helpful information will be found at:

  1. Review Academic Department/Center Websites: Click on links below to learn more about academic departments in the School of Engineering and School of Natural Sciences at Rice University.  Key sections to explore may include:
    1. About –> Chair’s Message or Overview
    2. Research –> Focus Areas or Concentrations
    3. People –> Faculty –> List of Professors in the Department
  2. Review Faculty Lists in Department/Center: Next, learn more about the individual faculty members in the department. To do this go to:
    1. People –> Faculty
    2. Click on the professor’s name to see their profile (if applicable).
    3. Next, click on the name of their research lab/group to go to their individual lab/group website (if applicable).
  3. Review Faculty Research Lab/Group Websites: Finally, review the research lab/group websites for the faculty member/s you are curious about. These will all look different but, typically, the pages helpful to review include:
    • Research Overview/Focus: Usually provides a general overview of research topics/themes in that lab.
    • Publications: Look at the publications page to access recent papers. It may be helpful to read the abstracts of 1 – 3 recent papers to learn about their current research projects.
    • People:  Look at the people page to see how small/large the lab is currently.
  4. Do not contact professors yet! Just review the websites below to learn more and select your list of 1 – 3 potential host labs/professors you are interested in working with at Rice University.  If selected as a participant, Prof. Junichiro Kono will talk with you about the labs you are interested in working in and talk with the Rice University professor directly on your behalf.  You should not contact any lab or professor individually during the application process.

Rice University School of Engineering and School of Natural Sciences*

* Students cannot apply for placement into the School of Architecture.  Architecture is a separate school/faculty at Rice University and does not participate in the Nakatani RIES Fellowship.  Architecture students may find potential host labs in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and/or Mechanical Engineering if they are interested in structural engineering. Architecture students can also review our Other Related Programs page information on other opportunities they may be eligible to apply for. 

Japanese Student Experience at Rice University
Applicants are also strongly encouraged to review the website profiles of Japanese students who have previously conducted research at Rice University. By clicking on the individual student name, you can learn more about their research experience at Rice University and may be able to download a PDF copy of their final research poster if this has been approved for publication.

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