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Caltech Mentors | Co-Mentors | JPL
Mentors | Mentoring Tips
Who May Serve as a MURF Mentor?
All Caltech faculty members including research, teaching, and visiting faculty,
the professional staff, faculty associates, and members of the JPL technical
staff may serve as mentors.
The Role of a MURF Mentor
The primary role of the mentor is to serve as the senior partner in a collaboration
with the student. It is important that the student be offered—and
eventually accept—intellectual responsibility for his/her own project,
but for most students the project will be the first research experience, so
the mentor must be a teacher and a coach and a partner.
The primary responsibilities of the mentor are to prepare for the student’s
arrival and to help the student meet all of the requirements of the program
under which the student is registered; however, there are a number of specific
responsibilities that each mentor will have in preparing for the project and
in guiding the student through it during the summer:
- Consult with the MURF student on the planning of the
project and review a draft of the student's project plan. Note that the
project plan should be the student’s product; the mentor may not write it, but may and
should provide advice and guidance during its preparation.
- Notify
the Student-Faculty Programs Office of the name of the co-mentor, if applicable.
- Mentor must be aware of the date of arrival of the
student and make relevant preparations, including providing a place for the
student to sit, a computer, and a telephone.
- During the first week after the
student’s arrival,
the student will be required to attend a Safety Orientation Meeting. Following
the meeting, the mentor or laboratory safety officer must review with the
student the Workplace Specific Safety Orientation Checklist for SURF/MURF
students and, with the student, sign the form. The student must return the signed
form to the Student-Faculty Programs Office.
- During the summer, the
mentor and/or co-mentor oversees the student's work on the project and
consults at regular and appropriate intervals.
- Sign the progress reports
and abstract which the student must submit throughout the summer. Mentors
must authorize someone to sign the reports in their absence. Mentors should
use the progress reports as an opportunity to discuss research progress,
problems, etc. Students should use the reports to practice technical writing
skills.
- Collaborate with the student in writing the final
report. The paper must be submitted electronically by the 4th Friday in September.
Mentors will receive a prompt from the SFP Online system to approve the paper
online. November 1 is the deadline for approved final reports.
- Help the student prepare for the oral presentation,
normally given during the 3rd week in August or on the 3rd Saturday in October.
An oral report is a requirement for all MURF students.
- Mentors/co-mentors
are invited to introduce the student at the oral presentation. We encourage
lab groups to attend the presentation to support and encourage the student!
- Contact
the Student-Faculty Programs Office [Email us at sfp@caltech.edu or
call 626.395.2885] if administrative problems arise.
MURF Compensation
MURF students receive $600/week and are paid in two equal installments on the
first business day of July and August.
Vacation Requests
Students may take vacation time during the summer with the approval of the
mentor; however, students must complete all 10 weeks of the program by the 4th
Friday in September.
Click here for Tips on Mentoring.
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