I'll agree that the current objective statement is pretty useless. I assume that you're applying to High Pressure Laboratories, in which case they already know that you're seeking a summer research position with them. If you're going to include an objective statement for an internship (which isn't really necessary), it should give general information about the field you want to go into, not the specific company/position you're applying for.
The research experience section should be reworked completely. As of right now, it's completely redundant and wastes a ton of space. You could do what sunzt suggested. I would recommend putting them all under the heading, "Laboratory for Electrical and Advanced Propulsion, Purdue University." I would change the text to something like the following:
- Authored software to automate data analysis to evaluate and resolve thruster design flaws
- Designed, constructed, and validated thrust stand for plasma thrusters
- Developed master curve for electrostatic fins for thrust stand resulting in authorship of paper for [name of conference]
I would leave out details that you're unlikely to need at an internship, like machining, CAD, and so on. If this isn't implied by "designed and constructed," then they will ask in an interview how you designed and constructed so you can tell them. Leave obvious questions for them to ask during an interview and it'll make things easier for you. Also, spell out RF. Abbreviations are a bad idea, even if you're 99% sure that the reader will know what they mean. I read RF and immediately think radio frequency, but any ambiguity can be bad here. These guys are looking for a way to toss your resume, and if they don't understand what you've done, they will toss it. I also don't know what a thrust stand is, though I can probably guess. I'm also not an aerospace engineer, so the terminology you use in fluid mechanics is obviously different than mine.
You'll notice I also reversed the order of your accomplishments at this position. The previous method was simply too confusing for anyone reading straight through the resume.
This should also free up quite a bit of space and allow you to expand your other experience. Even if it's seemingly unrelated, previous jobs can be very helpful when applying for an interim research position. I got one of mine because of my experience as a construction worker.
edit: wtf... I went through all the trouble to include bullets in the code, then they don't appear in the forum. :frown: