The Institute for Software-Integrated Systems is a professional research organization at the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering (located just off campus on Nashville's Music Row) and is engaged in various educational activities focusing on software-reliant systems that are networked, computational, and physical. At the core of our work are systems science and engineering foundations, such as the fundamentals of composition in heterogeneous systems, tools for agile software and systems engineering, assured system integration, model-integrated computing, quality-of-service (QoS)-enabled networking and middleware, and virtualization. In addition to advancing the frontiers of science and engineering, moreover, our research has profound impacts on many domains, ranging from health care to education to transportation, defense, cyber-security, and the environment. 

The success of ISIS has solidified Vanderbilt’s position as a premiere research institution. Our success has also had broader implications: by recruiting and training the best faculty, staff, and students in the fields of cyber-physical systems, distributed real-time and embedded middleware, intelligent learning environments, model-integrated computing, software engineering, and trustworthy computing, we are cultivating a high-technology cluster ecosystem in Middle Tennessee and beyond. The role of IT in engineering practice has greatly influenced innovation, and ISIS has been a key part of that radical transformation. 

The Institute for Software-Integrated Systems' Summer Internship Program offers paid, in-person summer internship opportunities to current undergraduate and graduate students from both Vanderbilt and other universities. The Institute interns participate in a variety of projects that offer students challenging and engaging experiences. The internship duration is 10 weeks in the summer May 28, 2024 – August 2, 2024. While the structure of each project is different, the internships provide:

• Opportunities to gain real world experience in applied research in advanced technical fields
• Experience with electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science research
• Chances to work with premier universities, research labs, and industry partners
• Competitive Stipends
   

ELIGIBILITY

• MUST be a current undergraduate or graduate student at an accredited institution
• Have completed at least one year of college by the starting period of the internship
• MUST be currently enrolled at a University (cannot be graduating at the time of application)
• (Preferred) Have an undergraduate cumulative minimum GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale
• Be 18 years or older prior to the start of the internship
• Must physically reside in the Nashville area for the duration of the program for in-person work   
   

APPLICATION PROCESS

• Applicants review VU-ISIS research areas and project descriptions as listed on the project descriptions page and indicate preferences in their application for working with a particular PI/research area
• PIs review applications and offers are extended (it is REALLY important to mention if you want to work with a PI/project as preference is given to those who do)
• Applicants accept or decline the offer
• Selected applicants work with the VU-ISIS administrative team to complete the intake webform and other onboarding tasks   
   

IMPORTANT DATES

The 2024 dates are listed below to give you a general idea of the timeline:

Applications Open: January 12th, 2024   
Virtual Open House: February 21st, 2024   
Application deadline: March 3rd, 2024 by 11:59pm CT
Latest notification of acceptance decisions: March 25th, 2024   
Student decision deadline: April 1st, 2024   
Intake forms due: April 5th, 2024   
Program Dates: May 28, 2024 – August 2, 2024

Please contact isis.internships@vanderbilt.edu for questions regarding the application and application deadline for the 2024 program.

Below is a listing of prior years project descriptions. We ask that you look through each of the below to determine which areas of research might most interest you. You will have opportunity to indicate preferences to us in your application, which are noted to all PIs reviewing your application. This process helps to ensure that you are selected for a project and/or PI who most closely fit your given interests for the summer research experience. Unfortunately, this year a list of PIs or projects hiring for Summer 2024 will not be available at the time of application. 
 

2024 Projects

• Analytics and data tools for the world’s largest vehicle trajectory datasets (I-24 MOTION)
• Compositional DSLs for Enhancing Software
• Cyber Agents for Security Testing and Learning Environments (CASTLE)
• Cyber-Physical Systems Virtual Organization
• Cybersecurity in Industrial Networks
• Human Activity Tracking using Multimodal Data and Deep Learning Algorithms
• Physics constraints guided Deep Learning Architectures for Tracking Performance of Cyber Physical Systems 
• Understanding Human Error in Software Vulnerabilities  

2023 Projects

• Cognitive Processes for Programming
• Compositional DSLs for Enhancing Software
• Cyber Physical Systems Virtual Organization
• Data-centric Robustness for Machine Learning
• Data-driven Analysis of Equity and Fairness in Public Transit
• Infrastructure for Computing the Biome
• Heterogeneous Simulation Integration for Analyzing Critical Infrastructures
• Multimodal Analytics Pipeline to student Learners’ Problem solving Behaviors
• Studying Reinforcement Learning-Based Algorithms for Fault-Tolerant Control 
• Transit System Optimizer
• Transportation testbeds for automated vehicles and traffic control

2022 Projects

• Compositional DSLs for Enhancing Software
• CPS Multi-Domain Modeling via Digital Twins
• Cyber-Physical Systems Virtual Organization
• Data-driven Analysis of Equity and Fairness in Public Transit
• Driver-Assistance Feature Exploration
• Enabling Decentralized Computation Markets using Distributed Ledgers
• Improving Community and Neighborhood Safety Through Open Data Collection
• Multimodal Analytics Pipeline to student Learners’ Problem solving Behaviors
• Neural Network and Machine Learning Verification
• StatResp – A toolchain for statistical methods in emergency response management
• Studying Reinforcement Learning-Based Algorithms for Fault-Tolerant Control
• Tools for Assured Autonomy

2021 Projects

• High Performance CPS Co-simulations
• StatResp – A toolchain for statistical methods in emergency response management
• Data-driven Analysis of Equity and Fairness in Public Transit

2020 Projects

• CPS Network Simulation with Variable Fidelity
• Cyber-Physical Systems Virtual Organization
• Cybersecurity AI, and Autonomous Systems Research 
• Data Science for Micro-Mobility
• Innovative Illustrations of Climate Change in the Classroom 
• Neural Network and Machine Learning Verification
• Tools for Assured Autonomy
• Traffic Control with Connected and Autonomous Vehicles