10 U.S.C. § 4143 — Research and development laboratories: contracts for services of university students

(a) Subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose, the Secretary of Defense may procure by contract under the authority of this section the temporary or intermittent services of students at institutions of higher learning for the purpose of providing technical support at defense research and development laboratories. Such contracts may be made directly with such students or with nonprofit organizations employing such students. (b) Students providing services under a contract made under subsection (a) must be considered to be employees for the purposes of chapter 81 of title 5, relating to compensation for work injuries, and to be employees of the government for the purposes of chapter 171 of title 28, relating to tort claims. Such students who are not otherwise employed by the Federal Government must not be considered to be Federal employees for any other purpose. (c) The Secretary of Defense must prescribe regulations to carry out this section. Such regulations must include definitions for the purposes of this section of the terms “student”, “institution of higher learning”, and “nonprofit organization”.