A. Summer Undergraduate Environmental Internship at CDC
CDC invites qualified applicants to apply for a ten week summer program in
Environmental Public Health at the National Center for Environmental Health
/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (NCEH/ATSDR) in Atlanta,
Georgia. This is a full time summer opportunity for rising collegiate
juniors and seniors to get real-world experience in Environmental Public
Health activities at the federal level. Students will assist with projects
and be paired with mentors to gain experience in the fascinating field of
Environmental Public Health. Students that are majoring in Environmental
Sciences/Studies or related fields are encouraged to visit our website at
Deadline for application: March 4, 2008
Program dates: June 4 -August 8, 2008
Program Development Office
770-488-0593 or 404-498-0643
B. The Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC) at Columbia
Summer Ecosystem Experiences for Undergraduates (SEE-U); study-abroad
courses that provide undergraduate students of all majors with a global
understanding of ecology and environmental sustainability.
SEE-U offers summer field ecosystem courses in Brazil (São Paulo), the
Dominican Republic (Punta Cana), the Virgin Islands (St. John), and New York
(Black Rock Forest), for undergraduate students of all majors.
The SEE-U program is unique program designed to expose students to
ecological fieldwork in unique and interesting natural settings. The
"real-world" laboratories of tropical, temperate and endangered ecosystems
allow for a first hand knowledge and understanding that could be elusive in
the more "traditional classroom." SEE-U faculty members also engage students
to think about the broader implications of the experience to issues of
biodiversity, climate change, and sustainability.
As one student put it... On this program you don't only learn about ecology.
You also learn about a new country, about yourself, and you bond with your
classmates and instructors in a way that is impossible to do in a formal
Upon completion of the program, students receive six undergraduate credits
from Columbia University. Credits can also be applied toward the Skills
In addition to projects done on a team basis, students also work on
individual projects. For more explanation of the curriculum, you can go to
to the website of Dr. Tim Kittel, who is the faculty for the Brazil SEE-U
Our application deadline is February 15th, 2008. You can apply online at
Fellowship is available on a case-to-case basis.
I cordially invite you to attend our Open House scheduled for Thursday,
February 7th at 6:00PM. We are located in New York City on the Columbia
University Campus at 116th Street & Broadway, 10th Floor Schermerhorn
I realize this e-mail may reach many of you across the country and coming to
New York City may not be feasible for you. Please feel free to get in touch
with us, however, as the SEE-U program is open to students across the
Thank you for your part in building our environmental legacy.
C. Internship with the Earth Institute Director’s Office and the Center for
Global Health and Economic Development
The Director’s Office and the Center for Global Health and Economic
Development (CGHED) at the Earth Institute require one intern to work
approximately 10 hours a week during the Spring 2008 semester. The intern
will assist with administrative needs of Dr Joanna Rubinstein, who serves as
Chief of Staff to Dr Jeffrey Sachs & Director of the CGHED. The work will
include helping to maintain contact databases, assisting with communication,
prepare materials for meetings, do periodic research and summarizing of
information, et al. It would also be ideal if the intern has experience
building websites so that he/she may work a new site for the CGHED.
Compensation: $12-15/hr, commensurate with experience
To apply, please send a your cover letter and resume to Katherine Florio at
D. Paid Internship at The City University of New York Office of
Environmental, Health, Safety and Risk Management
A paid internship is being offered through the Office of Environmental,
Health, Safety and Risk Management at The City University of New York. The
intern will participate in policy development and implementation, strategic
planning, and regulatory compliance. The intern will have the opportunity
to attend lectures, conferences and seminars related to the Office of EHSRM.
The Office seeks an individual who takes initiative, pays attention to
detail, has a strong ability to multitask and has good interpersonal skills.
Interested applicants should send their resume and cover letter to Sheryce
E. Please see below a list of Spring 2008 Intern and Research Assistant
positions at the Earth Institute and its various centers and programs.
Research Assistantships are open to undergraduates only; internships are
open to all Columbia students. Instructions for applying are below.
I. Internship Opportunities
1. Internship at the Center for International Earth Science Information
2. Internship with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Borehole Research
3. Internship with the Earth Institute
4. Internship with the Urban Design Lab
5. Internship with the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
6. Internship with the Tropical Agriculture and Rural Environment Program
7. Internship with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory - Geochemistry
8. Internship with the Center for International Earth Science Information
II. Research Assistantship Opportunities
1. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory – Marine Geology & Geophysics
2. Center for International Earth Science Information Network Research
3. Earth Institute Research Assistantship
4. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory - Geochemistry Research Assistantship
5. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Research Assistantship
6. Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy
7. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory – Geochemistry
8. Urban Design Lab Research Assistantship
9. Earth and Environmental Engineering Research Assistantship
10. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory – Ocean & Climate Physics Research
11. Barnard Research Assistantship
12. Earth and Environmental Engineering Research Assistantship
***FOR INTERNSHIPS: please submit a resume and cover letter to Betsy
submit a resume, cover letter, and writing sample to Betsy Ness-Edelstein at
would like more information. THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR ALL
POSITIONS IS MONDAY, JANUARY 28.
I. Internship Opportunities
1. INTERNSHIP WITH THE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL EARTH SCIENCE
PROJECT: Poverty mapping work
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: In a World-Bank funded project,
CIESIN compiled a state of the art dataset of georeferenced sub-national
poverty and inequality measures. These data, which are produced as poverty
maps in over fifty developing countries, are used in a variety of
applications, including: a) identification of priority areas of intervention
(poverty alleviation, disaster response, etc.; b) monitoring and evaluation
of poverty; and c) spatial analysis of correlates/determinants of poverty.
Additionally, these data are being used at Columbia by Earth Institute
researchers, Urban Planning Geographic Information Systems (GIS) courses,
and as part of educational programs sponsored at the Earth Institute
(Poverty Mapping Workshop). The intern will be responsible for helping to
expand the collection to keep it alive and relevant. CIESIN recently
identified a suite of new poverty mapping datasets, including maps for
Brazil, Mexico and India, which are of signif
icant interest to the scientific research community. The intern will be
helping with the processing (documentation, compilation, mapping, and online
deployment) of these datasets. CIESIN is most interested in students with an
academic background in Development Economics and Quantitative Analysis, and
familiarity of poverty measurement issues. Working knowledge of Excel for
data cleaning, documentation, and compilation is needed. Familiarity with
ArcGIS 9.x and Spatial Analysis is a plus
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit resume and cover letter to Betsy Ness-Edelstein at
2. INTERNSHIP WITH THE LAMONT-DOHERTY EARTH OBSERVATORY/ BOREHOLE
PROJECT: Borehole Loggin Instruments
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The engineering team of the LDEO
Borehole Research Group is developing and enhancing its fleet of borehole
logging instruments. These tools are used in the acquisition of in-situ
measurements to study sediment and physical property changes in a variety of
marine and terrestrial environments. Such geophysical proxies are critical
to understand the history of Earth’s past climatic and oceanographic
changes. Potential Projects Include:
- Reengineering the surface-downhole communications system to improve data
- Reengineering the toolstring communications system to support multi-tool
communications Description of anticipated intern tasks:
- Java or C++ programming of embedded microcontroller modules
- Integration of RS-485/-232 communication systems
- Labview application development
Experience developing in Java or C++, and an interest in learning J2ME or
CLDP embedded device programming. Some real-world software development
experience, not just coursework. Undergraduate or Graduate student in
Computer Science or Engineering is preferred. Candidate must commit to 15
hours per week, with at least one weekly visit to the LDEO campus. Free
shuttle service is provided from Morningside campus.
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit resume and cover letter to Betsy Ness-Edelstein at
3. INTERNSHIP WITH THE EARTH INSTITUTE
PROJECT: Groundwater economy in Andhra Pradesh, India
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: This intern will work on a
project entitled “The Groundwater Economy in Andhra Pradesh, India – An
Inquiry into the Efficiency and Sustainability of Irrigated Agricultural
Production.” The Earth Institute is initiating a comprehensive project with
the aim of understanding the dynamics of groundwater use in India as a
whole. The Earth Institute is seeking a graduate student with a keen
interest in the subject with data analysis skills (statistics, spread sheet
techniques, and programming skills [preferably Matlab, R and WinBugs]). The
student should be very comfortable with computers and programming. The first
stage of the work will be to help analyze data and to help recognize trends
and patterns by statistical analysis. There is the potential, in later
stages, to become involved with the field work itself and to help analyze
the results of surveys that will be running in the area in the coming
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit resume and cover letter to Betsy Ness-Edelstein at
4. INTERNSHIP WITH THE URBAN DESIGN LAB
PROJECT: Support of Director
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The UDL is the organizational
mechanism used by the Earth Institute to connect hundreds of the
University’s experts and dedicated students to communities in New York City
and elsewhere to conduct projects for community-based and other stakeholder
organizations attempting to shape development in their home neighborhoods.
The Urban Design Lab is seeking a student to assist the Director and
Associate Director with the coordination of the day-to-day activities of the
Urban Design Lab and provide research support to Lab projects or other
activities. The student needs to work independently with minimum
supervision; attend meetings; draft and distribute meeting notes; process
expense reports, equipment or service requests, and other administrative
paperwork; coordinate meetings per schedules of attendees, reserve meeting
rooms; compose correspondence; assist in the preparation of grant proposals;
perform research or literature searches on s
ubjects relevant to UDL projects or proposed projects; develop abstracts;
draft briefs; assist with the Lab’s community-based projects; other duties
as assigned. Candidate should posses excellent interpersonal, analytical,
and writing skills and be PC-proficient.
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit resume and cover letter to Betsy Ness-Edelstein at
5. INTERNSHIP WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
PROJECT: Reconstruction of the African Humid Period
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The intern will work with
Graduate Student Ben Constanza and Peter deMenocal on several new sediment
cores that collected off the west coast of Africa this summer. These cores
were collected in a N-S transect to investigate the latitudinal range of a
dramatic change in North Africa that occurred between 10,000 – 5,000 years
ago when climate was much warmer and wetter. The modern day Saharan desert
was, at that time, a humid, well-watered region with numerous large lakes
and abundant wetland fauna. The intern will also prepare and analyze
sediment for X-ray fluorescence analyses which will monitor concentrations
of Fe, Ti, Mg, Mn, U, Th, Sr, Rb, and Ba. These elemental concentrations
will be used to quantify the amount of African wind-blown dust that is
preserved in these offshore sediments as a proxy for African aridity
changes. The successful candidates will be familiar with Excel, sediment
weighing, sampling packing, and careful m!
easure measurement after training.
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit resume and cover letter to Betsy Ness-Edelstein at
6. INTERNSHIP WITH THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ENVIRONMENT
PROJECT: Millennium Villages Project
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The Tropical Agriculture and
Rural Environment Program is seeking a graduate student to work on the
Millennium Villages Project. The intern will conduct research on
international education programs and best practices, create training
programs with the Education Coordinator, analyze data from the Millennium
Villages sites, and otherwise support the Education Coordinator.
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit resume and cover letter to Betsy Ness-Edelstein at
7. INTERNSHIP WITH THE LAMONT-DOHERTY EARTH OBSERVATORY - GEOCHEMISTRY
PROJECT: Water mass distribution in the South Atlantic Ocean during the last
glacial maximum as inferred from the neodymium isotope ratio in marine
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The student will be involved in
all aspects of data collection for the project. Specific tasks will include
sampling of deep-sea sediment cores at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Core Repository, sample preparation, including particle size separation,
carbonate leaching, as well as assisting the project leader in
chromatographic isolation of Nd and Sr, and isotope analysis on a mass
spectrometer. The student will gain profound insight into all aspects of the
analytical and scientific work, particularly sedimentological and isotope
techniques and the use of isotopes as a tool for the reconstruction of past
ocean circulation changes.
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit resume and cover letter to Betsy Ness-Edelstein at
8. INTERNSHIP WITH THE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL EARTH SCIENCE
PROJECT: Development of Information Network for Hudson River Watershed
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: CIESIN is seeking an
undergraduate or graduate student with basic computer skills and a
familiarity with environment and socioeconomic related data sets. Experience
with GIS would be a plus.
CIESIN is proposing to build and maintain a web-based portal for the Beacon
Institute to serve as a primary educational and communication resource for
their education and research programs. This portal will provide links to
valuable environment and cultural resources throughout the Hudson River
watershed including; assess to environmental monitoring data, research
reports and papers, announcements of major conferences and meetings of
interest and provide general information on the major subject areas of the
Mastering the Hudson program such as transportation, industry, culture,
ecology, the arts, navigation, engineering, labor, exploration and
recreation. The goal is to construct a central access point for information
on the Hudson River Watershed.
Activities a research assistant would be involved in day-to-day include:
- Collect environment data and other background data include in the
interactive mapping tool.
- Use GIS to create a series of maps for Beacon Institute illustrating
special topics and focus areas.
- Develop and implement quality assurance / quality control procedures on
all data sets and mapping functions.
- Test and debug mapping and information systems.
- Contribute to the design of information systems and curriculum materials.
- Attend development meetings with staff from CIESIN, the Beacon Institute
and other educators, researchers and public officials.
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit resume and cover letter to Betsy Ness-Edelstein at
II. Research Assistant Opportunities for Undergraduates
1. LAMONT-DOHERTY EARTH OBSERVATORY – MARINE GEOLOGY & GEOPHYSICS
PROJECT TITLE: Tsunami Hazard from Impact
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Ash layers and impact ejecta
layers have a high magnetic susceptibility. The student will measure
magnetic susceptibility on LDEO cores with well-dated ash layers to find
areas of high magnetic susceptibility that are not ash layers. The student
will sample and wet impact ejecta. Impact ejecta layers can verify
Quetzalcoatl crater. The dated ash layers can date the impact. The work will
also test the idea that some major climate downturns were produced by
impacts between 30° N and 30° S.
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit a resume, cover letter and writing sample to Betsy
2. CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL EARTH SCIENCE INFORMATION NETWORK RESEARCH
PROJECT TITLE: International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs
(ICAP) – Information Management and Visualization for AIDS Clinics in Africa
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Applicants for this position do
not need any pre-requisite skills; however, they should have basic computer
skills and a familiarity with health-related datasets. Experience with GIS
would be a plus. Activities a research assistant would be involved in
- Collect health data and other background data to include in the
- Use GIS to create a series of maps for ICAP illustrating supported
countries, and special focus areas.
- Develop and implement quality assurance/ quality control procedures on all
data sets and mapping functions.
- Test and debug mapping and information systems.
- Attend development meeting with CIESIN/ ICAP researchers.
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit a resume, cover letter and writing sample to Betsy
3. EARTH INSTUTITE RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP
PROJECT TITLE: Rwandan Millennium Village
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Earth Institute is looking for a
research assistant to analyze a host of socio-economic and health data from
the Rwandan Millennium Village. The research assistant will also assist
Professor Josh Ruxin and Dr. Matt Bonds on documenting the project’s
activities in the health sector. This exercise will include a detailed
costing and analysis of all health related interventions (such as bed net
distribution). An ideal undergraduate candidate should be well-versed in
Stata or SPSS, CS Pro, Excel, and End Note. The candidate should be familiar
with the following statistical and econometric methods: principal component
analysis, instrumental variable regression, and fixed effects regression.
Language skills in French and/ or Kinyarwanda are encouraged. Student with
strong academic interests in public health, sustainable development, and
econometrics will be considered.
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit a resume, cover letter and writing sample to Betsy
4. LAMONT-DOHERTY EARTH OBSERVATORY - GEOCHEMISTRY RESEARCH
PROJECT TITLE: Bamboo bicycles as sustainable transportation in Africa
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The objectives of this project
are two-fold: 1) to build a better bike for poor Africans in rural areas;
and 2) to stimulate a bicycle building industry in Africa to satisfy local
needs. The project aims to examine the feasibility of employing native
bamboo for constructing the bicycle frames, as opposed to the commonly used
chromium-molybdenum steel. The research assistant will perform research on
availability of supplies and resources, maintain project website, act as
liaison between project leaders, government officials, local business
leaders, the media, etc. The research assistant should have an interest in
sustainable development, possess necessary research and communication
skills, have sufficient aptitude with computers, and have the ability to
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit a resume, cover letter and writing sample to Betsy
5. LAMONT-DOHERTY EARTH OBSERVATORY RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP
PROJECT TITLE: Tracking Integrated Environment and Climate Change in the
Lower Hudson River Estuary Using Marsh Sediments
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The research assistant will
assist in the collection and analysis of both new and archived sediment
cores in order to assess the role of certain elements, including heavy
metals, to gain a better understanding of watershed climate and
environmental history archived in lower Hudson marsh sediments. The research
assistant can expect to gain solid experience in and provide valuable
assistance with several phases of core collection, processing, and dating.
Acquired analytical techniques would include physical sediment analyses
(water content, organic content, matrix density, etc.), XPF spectrometry for
major and trace element, gamma spectroscopy for the analysis of natural and
man-made radionuclide, as well as data processing and interpretation. The
candidate should have common sense and good laboratory skills, be
mechanically inclined; have a willingness to work carefully and hard, some
data analysis background would be helpful, but no!
t necessary. All of the analytical work will take place at Lamont, and the
field work will take place at various marsh locations within the watershed
and may entail day-long sampling trips.
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit a resume, cover letter and writing sample to Betsy
6. LENFEST CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
PROJECT TITLE: Permanent Carbon Dioxide Storage in Deep Sea Sediments
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The undergraduate research
assistant will be involved in the design and the performance of laboratory
experiments to simulate the formation of CO2 hydrates in the deep sea
sediments. First, the research assistant will perform some basic tests to
watch the formation of the THF (tetrahydrofuran) hydrates as a function of
temperature. With increasing experience, additional experiments with
different sediment types will be conducted to study THF hydrate formation in
different type of rocks, with different porosity and permeabilities. The
research assistant should have a general interest in climate change and
possible mitigation options such as Carbon Capture and Storage. Basic
knowledge in chemistry and physics is required. Previous laboratory
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit a resume, cover letter and writing sample to Betsy
7. LAMONT-DOHERTY EARTH OBSERVATORY – GEOCHEMISTRY RESEARCH
PROJECT TITLE: Water mass distribution in the South Atlantic Ocean during
the last glacial maximum as inferred from the neodymium isotope ratio in
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The objective of this project is
to determine the distribution of water masses, and hence the circulation in
the Atlantic Ocean during the last glacial maximum compared to today. This
will provide vital information about the operation of the global overturning
circulation under different climate states and hence its involvement in
climate changes. The research assistant will be involved in all aspects of
data collection for the project. Specific tasks will include sampling of
deep-sea sediment cores at the LDEO core repository, sample reparation,
including particle size separation, carbonate leaching, as well as assisting
the principle investigator of the project in chromatographic isolation of Nd
and Sr, and isotope analysis on a thermal ionization mass spectrometer
(TIMS). The research assistant will gain profound insight into all aspects
of the analytical and scientific work, particularly sedimentological and
echniques and the use of radiogenic isotopes as a tool for the
reconstruction of past ocean circulation changes.
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
Please submit a resume, cover letter and writing sample to Betsy
8. URBAN DESIGN LAB RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP
PROJECT TITLE: Hudson River Modeling Initiative (HRMI) / Demands Placed on
the Infrastructure of Monrovia, Liberia
POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The research assistant will
contribute to the development of a digital urban model to enable city
planners, policy makers, designers, and other stakeholders to better utilize
scientific knowledge. The model will be a multi-scaled GIS database
interlaced with real-time data about the region’s ecosystem that would
provide accurate, scientific data to support long-term decisions. The
research assistant would also work to develop the research basis for another
project, which is in a more preliminary stage. This project will address the
growing demands placed on the infrastructure of Monrovia, the capital of
Liberia. Monrovia’s government is struggling to meet the basic needs of its
burgeoning urban population, including housing, clean water, sanitation, and
health care. The UDL plans to work collaboratively with local communities
and government bodies to develop a roadmap to enhance quality of life for
residents of Monrovia. The researc!
h assistant should have a working knowledge of GIS, and a background
including data gathering and analysis. Experience in modeling and statistics
COMPENSATION: $15 per hour
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