Research Institutes
Stanford is home to over 100 research institutes and centers that may have energy research opportunities depending on your interests. Stanford University's Precourt Institute for Energy concentrates the talents of the university on energy research and education, from basic science and technology to policy and business.
Precourt’s Research Areas page shares energy-related research at Stanford by topic. Precourt's Research Centers might have additional opportunities for you to explore, which includes all of our initiatives like Bits & Watts, Natural Gas, Storage X, and the new Hydrogen Initiative.
Energy Researchers and Research Groups
The Precourt Institute for Energy has a robust database of energy researchers across departments and research areas at Stanford. You can access this database and find faculty by department and energy research area. There are also research groups across Stanford that you can learn more about. For instance, the Stanford School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences has Research Groups that spans Energy Resources Engineering, Earth System Science, and more.
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
SLAC is one of 17 Department of Energy Labs. Many threads of SLAC research come together in the quest for clean, sustainable energy sources. There are several SLAC research opportunities to engage with as a student, including the SLAC Summer Internsip Program and the DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program (SCGSR).
Research Programs
You can get involved with energy research at Stanford through various research programs, assistantships, and internships.
For undergraduate students:
- The Precourt Institute for Energy's Summer Undergraduate Program on Energy Research (SUPER) provides undergraduate students with opportunities to work on faculty-mentored, individualized energy research during the summer.
- The Woods Institute for the Environment’s Mentoring Undergraduates in Interdisciplinary Research (MUIR) program provides stipends to full-time Stanford undergraduate students to conduct interdisciplinary environmental research for 10 weeks during the summer.
- The Stanford Earth Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SESUR) is a 10-week summer research program for Stanford undergraduates from any area of study who want to learn more about environmental science and the planet we live on.
- ReNUWIt’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) provides students with paid summer research internships. Stanford University is one of ReNUWIt's partner institutions.
- Other programs funded by the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education (VPUE). Many Stanford departments and programs sponsor an undergraduate research program that provides financial support for students to work with Stanford professors on faculty-designed research projects.
For graduate and doctoral students:
- The TomKat Center's Graduate Fellowships provide two years of funding (stipend, tuition, and other research expenses) for Stanford doctoral students performing translational research for sustainable energy or other sustainability challenges.
- Fellowships funded by the Vice Provost of Graduate Education, such as the the Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellowship (SIGF) Program and the Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE) Doctoral Fellowship Program.