FYI ...
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Wanted to share this in case students would find it of interest.
It is from the group that run the firewall'd machines I used with
the Cybersecurity class.
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Summer 2026 Student Opportunities: USC-ISI REUs and
SPHERE Internships
Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2026 01:59:38 +0000
From: David Balenson
<bale...@isi.edu>
To: David Balenson
<bale...@isi.edu>
CC: David Balenson
<bale...@isi.edu>, SPHERE Apply
<ap...@sphere-project.net>
Dear colleague, I am writing to share three student opportunities
available this summer through the USC Information Sciences
Institute (USC-ISI) and the SPHERE research infrastructure. These
include a USC-ISI Research Experience for Undergraduates
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Dear colleague,
I am writing to share three student opportunities available this
summer through the USC Information Sciences Institute (USC-ISI)
and the SPHERE research infrastructure. These include a USC-ISI
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, as well as
two SPHERE-focused opportunities: SPHERE in-person summer
internships and SPHERE virtual REE internships.
We would greatly appreciate it if you would share these
opportunities with your colleagues and students. Information about
each program, including eligibility and application details, is
provided below. Additional details about the SPHERE summer
internships are included in the attached posters.
Collectively, these programs offer students the opportunity to
join a vibrant community of students, faculty, and researchers at
USC-ISI and partner institutions. While the REU program spans a
broad range of research areas at USC-ISI, the SPHERE internships
focus specifically on contributing to the development of a
national-scale cybersecurity and privacy research infrastructure.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or would
like additional information.
Thank you,
David Balenson
Interim Director, Networking and Cybersecurity Division
Community Outreach Director, SPHERE Research Infrastructure
USC Information Sciences Institute
*RESEARCH EXPERIENCE FOR UNDERGRADUATES (REU)*
Are you looking for a great research experience and a vibrant
social life? USC Information Sciences Institute (USC-ISI) offers
an REU summer program for research-oriented undergraduate
students. Participants engage in research spanning multiple themes
under the umbrella of Safe and Reliable AI and the Internet.
Students work with USC faculty and USC-ISI researchers to explore
emerging research questions in cybersecurity, networking,
communications, quantum computing, AI/ML, and social networks. The
program also includes professional development seminars and social
activities. The program runs for ten weeks, from June 1 to August
7.
*
*
*Deadline*: Applications are due by February 8.
*Eligibility*: freshmen, sophomores, and juniors during the
2025–2026 academic year.
*More information and application details* are available at
https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Freu.isi.edu%2F&data=05%7C02%7Chui.chen%40brooklyn.cuny.edu%7C173e1d9d0f794e3ee33908de5e89a58a%7C6f60f0b35f064e099715989dba8cc7d8%7C0%7C0%7C639052142494521699%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=y5DlJoIDYlfdcXDgcgvbNJcoZlu9ercMXWC5tZyRn98%3D&reserved=0
<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2F%2Freu.isi.edu__%3B!!ErzdRKFLcPwBYQ!QMB0q-Jlsrcpi9QJJFnwO8eic0rZnRLowJAA5u137idf_8QsYj0VDiDv2sEMGYZ38vAYZI5tjRNYl2oiTIJjb_eI_IQ%24&data=05%7C02%7Chui.chen%40brooklyn.cuny.edu%7C173e1d9d0f794e3ee33908de5e89a58a%7C6f60f0b35f064e099715989dba8cc7d8%7C0%7C0%7C639052142494587320%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Mxp0mK%2BBl3ykqPVXopiI10x%2BC5dO9XqSxgLHRWhyrlY%3D&reserved=0>.
*Questions* may be sent to
mirk...@isi.edu.
*
*
*SPHERE IN-PERSON SUMMER INTERNSHIPS*
Are you interested in contributing to the development of a
national-scale cybersecurity and privacy research infrastructure?
SPHERE offers in-person summer internships for undergraduate and
graduate students seeking a hands-on blend of research and
development experience. Interns work alongside experienced
engineers and researchers to build and deploy features that
support a broad and growing community of SPHERE users. Internships
are hosted at USC Information Sciences Institute (Los Angeles),
Northeastern University (Boston), and University of Utah (Salt
Lake City). The program runs for eight weeks, from June 1 to July
24.
*Deadline*: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, with
preference given to applications received by March 1.
*Eligibility*: current undergraduate or graduate students. See the
attached posters for additional details.
*Apply* at
https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforms.gle%2FSWEJCFmgP7GpGta7A&data=05%7C02%7Chui.chen%40brooklyn.cuny.edu%7C173e1d9d0f794e3ee33908de5e89a58a%7C6f60f0b35f064e099715989dba8cc7d8%7C0%7C0%7C639052142494621563%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=aNIkRlaM2b9sv52auzhn7ktmjyLjGDwnvWnJmMzU6m8%3D&reserved=0
<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2F%2Fforms.gle%2FSWEJCFmgP7GpGta7A__%3B!!ErzdRKFLcPwBYQ!QMB0q-Jlsrcpi9QJJFnwO8eic0rZnRLowJAA5u137idf_8QsYj0VDiDv2sEMGYZ38vAYZI5tjRNYl2oiTIJjt7T8xWk%24&data=05%7C02%7Chui.chen%40brooklyn.cuny.edu%7C173e1d9d0f794e3ee33908de5e89a58a%7C6f60f0b35f064e099715989dba8cc7d8%7C0%7C0%7C639052142494642581%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=NTqRHziFuHDaiXhizso37poMwvoVgNsDIyt8mq4%2BACQ%3D&reserved=0>.
*More information* is available at
https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsphere-project.net%2Fcollaborate%2F&data=05%7C02%7Chui.chen%40brooklyn.cuny.edu%7C173e1d9d0f794e3ee33908de5e89a58a%7C6f60f0b35f064e099715989dba8cc7d8%7C0%7C0%7C639052142494661983%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=jZIgyg5%2Bg0nU2nRrVwC7XSIAlnUeIV4052dYBwd49gc%3D&reserved=0
<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2F%2Fsphere-project.net%2Fcollaborate%2F__%3B!!ErzdRKFLcPwBYQ!QMB0q-Jlsrcpi9QJJFnwO8eic0rZnRLowJAA5u137idf_8QsYj0VDiDv2sEMGYZ38vAYZI5tjRNYl2oiTIJjqcYi_CA%24&data=05%7C02%7Chui.chen%40brooklyn.cuny.edu%7C173e1d9d0f794e3ee33908de5e89a58a%7C6f60f0b35f064e099715989dba8cc7d8%7C0%7C0%7C639052142494681743%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=9AUO2EZuZwCbyvmSp5MKKMrKwg4XLNkwsi%2B5x1CrkO8%3D&reserved=0>
and click on “Student Internships”.
*Questions* may be sent to
ap...@sphere-project.net.
*
*
*SPHERE VIRTUAL REE INTERNSHIPS*
Are you interested in advancing reproducible cybersecurity and
privacy research? SPHERE offers virtual internships for graduate
students focused on porting Representative Experimentation
Environments (REEs to SPHERE. Interns work closely with SPHERE
engineers and researchers to make experimental environments easier
to reuse, extend, and evaluate by the broader research community.
Participants may port their own REEs or work on porting selected
existing REEs that have been contributed to SPHERE. These
internships emphasize practical experience with research
artifacts, experimentation workflows, and infrastructure that
supports transparent and repeatable research results. Internships
typically run eight to twelve weeks and are conducted remotely.
*Deadline*: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. To be
considered for a summer internship, applications must be received
by April 15.
*Eligibility*: current graduate students.
*Apply* at
https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforms.gle%2FjDaczB55Jvk6BQXv5&data=05%7C02%7Chui.chen%40brooklyn.cuny.edu%7C173e1d9d0f794e3ee33908de5e89a58a%7C6f60f0b35f064e099715989dba8cc7d8%7C0%7C0%7C639052142494710051%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=TuK7jH2xF7eO3l4qHSkx4nt1PGiVvhHobBv6uTT5F9U%3D&reserved=0
<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2F%2Fforms.gle%2FjDaczB55Jvk6BQXv5__%3B!!ErzdRKFLcPwBYQ!QMB0q-Jlsrcpi9QJJFnwO8eic0rZnRLowJAA5u137idf_8QsYj0VDiDv2sEMGYZ38vAYZI5tjRNYl2oiTIJjyU5vZNw%24&data=05%7C02%7Chui.chen%40brooklyn.cuny.edu%7C173e1d9d0f794e3ee33908de5e89a58a%7C6f60f0b35f064e099715989dba8cc7d8%7C0%7C0%7C639052142494731240%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ny%2FktiacB4JDn7VpBLA5jMAbagDytLGY1NDDbPo8kMU%3D&reserved=0>.
*More information* is available at
https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsphere-project.net%2Fcollaborate%2F&data=05%7C02%7Chui.chen%40brooklyn.cuny.edu%7C173e1d9d0f794e3ee33908de5e89a58a%7C6f60f0b35f064e099715989dba8cc7d8%7C0%7C0%7C639052142494751474%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=75tQTXzXnMMBUMMlwJDl4N8%2BGp5nl8hFnWX9DkQHw2Q%3D&reserved=0
<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2F%2Fsphere-project.net%2Fcollaborate%2F__%3B!!ErzdRKFLcPwBYQ!QMB0q-Jlsrcpi9QJJFnwO8eic0rZnRLowJAA5u137idf_8QsYj0VDiDv2sEMGYZ38vAYZI5tjRNYl2oiTIJjqcYi_CA%24&data=05%7C02%7Chui.chen%40brooklyn.cuny.edu%7C173e1d9d0f794e3ee33908de5e89a58a%7C6f60f0b35f064e099715989dba8cc7d8%7C0%7C0%7C639052142494770187%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=blw5B72ASrtqiJIvj%2F0Xfi2msSgksj%2BN0NMXGhwEm5A%3D&reserved=0>
and click on “Call for REEs”.
*Questions* may be sent to
ap...@sphere-project.net.