Columbia University Department of Earth and
Environmental Sciences
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia
University
Sponsored by NSF
Ocean Sciences REU Sites Program
Summer
Internship Program for Undergraduates (May31st-August 9th, 2011)
Themes: Analyzing Global Databases
The Lamont-Doherty
Summer Intern Program offers the chance to experience scientific research as an
undergraduate. The program is open to US
citizens or permanent residents who have completed their junior or
sophomore year in college with majors in earth science, environmental science,
chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics, or engineering. Neither graduating seniors nor international students are eligible for
this internship. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.
Applicants should have
an interest in conducting research in the Earth or ocean sciences. Two previous
Earth- or ocean-science courses are desirable if they are available to the
student. All students are required to have at least one year of calculus.
Students choosing research in geochemistry and chemical oceanography are
required to have at least two semesters of college-level chemistry. Students
choosing research in marine biology are required to have at least two semesters
of college-level biology. Students choosing research in geophysics should have
at least three semesters of college-level physics.
The Marine Geoscience Data System group at Lamont provides a freely-available tool called GeoMapApp
that allows the exploration and visualization of global data sets
(www.geomapapp.org). With GeoMapApp, users can create
custom maps and grids, import their own data sets and grids, and explore and
visualize a wide range of global data sets. These include a multi-resolutional
digital elevation model of the oceans and continents; plate tectonic
information; undersea feature names; shipboard topography, gravity and magnetics data; earthquake catalogues; deep sea core data;
Alvin submersible photos around hydrothermal vents; rock sample geochemistry;
satellite-derived gravity and geoid grids; seismic
reflection profiles, and more. GeoMapApp is written in Java and works on any type of
computer. All interns will be instructed in the use of GeoMapApp
during the second week of the intern program. Interns will be encouraged to use
GeoMapApp during their research projects, as well as
after they have returned to their undergraduate institutions. However, both the student and the
supervisor will design the research program, and therefore individual projects
may contain variable amounts of data collection and data analysis.
The following members
of the Lamont research staff will act as research mentors:
Helga do
Rosario Gomes and Joaquim Goes.
Expertise: Remote Sensing, Biological Oceanography, Climate Sciences, Ocean Biogeochemistry. Current
Research: Response of Phytoplankton Communities to Changing Ice Dynamics in the
Sub-polar Bering Sea.
Abel Guihou
and Jerry McManus. Expertise: Paleoclimate,
Geochemistry. Current Research: Do Changes in Marine
Sediment Composition Impact Reconstructions of Past Changes in Ocean
Circulation?
Andrew Juhl
and Greg OÕMullan. Expertise: Biological Oceanography, Aquatic
Ecology, Eutrophication, Water Quality, Microbiology. Current Research: Quantifying
Persistence of Pathogenic Bacteria in Sediments as a Function of Organic Matter
Concentration.
David McGee and Gisela Winckler. Expertise:
Paleoclimatology,
Paleoceanography, Isotope Geochemistry. Current Research: Reconstructing
Hydrological Changes in North Africa over the Last 15,000 Years using Marine
Sediments.
Zohra
Mokeddem and Jerry McManus. Expertise:
Paleoclimate, Sedimentology,
Isotope Geochemistry. Current Research: Did Increasing Millennial Climate
Variability Herald the End of the Very Warm Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 9c
~335,000 – 330,000 Years before Present?
Ajit
Subramaniam. Expertise: Biological Oceanography, Remote Sensing. Current Research: Understanding the Fate and Consequences of the
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
Jessica
Tierney and Peter deMenocal. Expertise: Paleoclimate and Organic
Geochemistry. Current Research: Reconstructing Tropical Climate Change with ÒMolecular
PaleoclimatologyÓ.
Dallas Abbott.
Expertise: Impact Ejecta, Tsunami Deposits, Marine Geology and Geophysics. Current Research: Did a Tsunami Generated by an Oceanic Impact Produce a Major Unconformity
in the Hudson River? Was There An Impact into the North Sea Around 539 A.D.?
STIPEND: Students will
receive a stipend of $5000 for this 10-week program. In addition, the student
will receive free, air-conditioned housing at Columbia University in the City
of New York. (Local students who are accepted to the program and who prefer to
live at home will receive an additional $1000.) Students will also receive free
bus transportation between the Columbia campus and Lamont. Students who are
traveling to New York for this internship from more than 200 miles away will be
reimbursed for a round-trip supersaver fare.
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
Application form must be submitted by March
15, 2011.
There is an online application form. It is posted at: http://webapp.ldeo.columbia.edu/interns
The online application form asks for the following files:
-Resume with
description of computer skills (if any).
-A statement of
interest. This statement can include a description of a particular research
project that the student wishes to undertake or it can be a more general
statement of the three areas of current research that interest the student
most. We recognize that students with no prior research experience may have
difficulty formulating a research project and we will not penalize students who
do not submit a detailed project description. The goal of our program is to
teach students about the research process and we encourage students with no
prior research experience to apply. The student should also include a statement
of the characteristics of a good scientist.
-letters
of recommendation
In addition to the
online application form, send the following material by regular mail (NOT
email):
-Official college transcript(s);
The transcript(s) must
be mailed on or before March 15, 2011.
Mail
to: Dr.
Dallas Abbott
Summer Internship Program
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Palisades, New York 10964
Email:
dallas@ldeo.columbia.edu
For more information,
look at our web page: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/education/programs/summer-internship/intern-program-faqs.
Decisions for all but the waiting list will be made on or before April 15,
2011. The National Science
Foundation is funding this program for the summer of 2011. Every year the research projects and
advisors change. Please look for the yearly posting of new projects on the
first of February.