The MIT UROP program celebrates its 40th anniversary this month on October 29th! What's a UROP you ask? It's more than just another MIT acronym. It stands for Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. The program is designed to provide undergraduates the opportunity to contribute to vital and cutting-edge research during their studies at MIT as research assistants, via direct funding from the UROP office, sponsored funding from MIT departments, labs, and centers, or for credit. Amazingly, many students supplement their already large course load with hours working on research with MIT faculty and research staff.

The Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab has hired all of its MIT (plus 1 Wellesley and 1 Harvard) student game developers through MIT's UROP program. Since the lab began developing game prototypes in 2007, we have employed 46 undergraduate students each semester, IAP period, and summer (many of whom multiple times) to work on our games and research projects. In the lab today, 23 MIT undergrads are working on projects as UROPs (yes, acronyms at MIT can apply to people too!). Many of these students are new this semester and do not yet have a development credit to their name; this will change come December when we publish their work from the Fall. Some of the students graduating in 2010 will have worked with us through all four years of their undergraduate career!

I would like to express my thanks to both the MIT UROP Office for their work with providing research opportunities to MIT undergraduates and the 46 undergraduates who have worked with us these past three years. These students have been the heart and soul of the US Lab - serving as a valuable constant (of quality, of morale) as the lab transitions each year from Fall to IAP to Spring to the Summer program and to the next year.

Information about applying for a UROP with us and a list of our past and current UROPs are after the break!