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BigDataX: from theory to practice in Big Data computing at eXtreme scales
REU: Research Experience for Undergraduate students Program 
Summer 2018 at Illinois Institute of Technology and University of Chicago in Chicago Illinois
http://datasys.cs.iit.edu/grants/BigDataX/2018/index.html 
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The BigDataX program is a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site in Chicago 
Illinois. The program has six mentors at two institutions, the Illinois Institute of Technology and 
University of Chicago, with a variety of complementing expertise from theory to programming 
languages distributed systems, and databases; more information on potential projects can be found 
http://datasys.cs.iit.edu/grants/BigDataX/2018/index.html#Projects. More information can be found 
at the general BigDataX site at http://datasys.cs.iit.edu/grants/BigDataX/index.html. For more 
details about the summer activities, see the BigDataX Overview at 
http://datasys.cs.iit.edu/grants/BigDataX/bigdatax.pdf.To apply to the program, see the online 
application (deadline March 9th, 2018) at 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfcX43FFOtP9FUEIobh4yA3zsiLu-Zj3o2pgWlgDjqzqaRN2w/viewform
For eligibility requirements, see http://datasys.cs.iit.edu/grants/BigDataX/2018/index.html#Eligibility.
For more information, send email to bigdatax@datasys.cs.iit.edu.

REU Mentors:
* Ioan Raicu (IIT) 
* Gruia Calinescu (IIT) 
* Kyle Hale (IIT)
* Justin Wozniak (UChicago)
* Aaron J. Elmore (UChicago) 
* Kyle Chard (UChicago) 

Project Areas:
* Big Data Systems
* Data Management and Analytics
* Operating Systems and Computer Architecture
* Parallel Programming Systems
* Databases
* Theory of Big Data

Eligibility Requirements:
* Undergraduate student in Mathematics, Computer Science, or Engineering at a US institution
* US citizen or permanent resident on or before May 29th, 2018
* Minimum GPA 3.0
* 2 recommendation forms (must be received by March 9th, 2018); details about this form will 
be emailed out directly to recommenders after your applications has been submitted

Important Dates:
* Application deadline: March 9th, 2018
* Recommendation forms deadline: March 9th, 2018
* Notification of decision: March 20th, 2018
* Program starts: May 29th, 2018
* Program ends: August 3rd, 2018

Program Highlights:
* Spend 10 weeks immersed in research on Big Data at either Illinois Institute of Technology or University of Chicago
* Work on large scale distributed systems (e.g. Amazon AWS Cloud, Chameleon Cloud, XSEDE Grid, Theta Supercomputer)
* Prepare for graduate school
* Publish papers and attend international conferences
* Spend the summer in one of the greatest cities in the world, Chicago Illinois
* Finances (per summer):
  * $5000 stipend (taxable as income)
  * $500 relocation allowance for travel to and from the BigDataX site (minimum of 50 miles away)
  * $500 travel funds to attend conference (e.g. IEEE/ACM Supercomputing/SC 2018) 
  * Housing and meal plan included on the IIT campus paid directly to IIT housing (a $2200 value)

Online Application:
To apply to the program, please submit your complete online application by the March 9th 2018 deadline at 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfcX43FFOtP9FUEIobh4yA3zsiLu-Zj3o2pgWlgDjqzqaRN2w/viewform
For any questions, please send email to bigdatax@datasys.cs.iit.edu.