Vertically integrated program brings together researchers across fields, experience levels

Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Eric Toberer contributed to this article about how Mines undergraduate students involved in VIPER, Vertically Integrated Projects for Experiential Research, the experience is markedly different from other research opportunities. Most of those opportunities are paid research fellowships, where students work for a stipend or as part of work-study for a semester or one academic year. VIPER instead awards academic credit and projects are longer-term, with students able to engage in them over several years.   February 2, 2026.