Smithsonian Coast-to-Coast Science Writing Internship --- DEADLINE: February 15,2019

February 10, 2019

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The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center's (SERC) Internship Program offers undergraduate and beginning graduate students a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the fields of environmental research and public engagement. This program enables students to work on independent research projects under the direction of a SERC mentor.

Since 2001 the SERC internship program has been a National Science Foundation REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) site. With this funding, along with generous donations from the Smithsonian Women's Committee and university partnerships, we are able to provide internship opportunities to qualified students looking to further their knowledge in the natural sciences.

Interns projects span the range of research conducted at SERC, including environmental chemistry, marine and estuarine ecology, molecular ecology, and terrestrial ecology. Projects are also offered in public engagement, with opportunities in environmental education, citizen science, and science writing. Although students will become familiar with much of the research of SERC in general, individuals will devote most of their time to an independent research project. Students will have the opportunity to expand their knowledge in a selected field of study and to learn a variety of research techniques through firsthand experience. At the conclusion of the internship, student participants will be expected to present the findings of their independent projects in a formal seminar to the SERC community.

As an additional educational benefit, SERC maintains an ongoing seminar program that is designed to bring in noted outside speakers on a variety of topics in the environmental sciences. We also offer experiential field trips to the Smithsonian museums and galleries on the National Mall.

Desired Start Date: Between May 6 and June 10 Deadline: February 15, 2019 Duration: 18 weeks (May/June through September/October 2019)

Description: Gain hands-on experience with environmental communication on both sides of the United States!

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is seeking an intern to work for 18 weeks, from summer through mid-autumn, covering the work of SERC scientists in Maryland and California. The intern will start at SERC's Chesapeake Bay headquarters in Edgewater, Md., receiving training in SERC science communications. After six weeks, the intern will travel to San Francisco Bay to cover the work of SERC marine biologists in California for the remaining 12 weeks. Travel funds from Maryland to California are included. This internship is open to current undergraduate and master's students, and recent graduates up to one year after graduation.

Part I: Chesapeake Bay (SERC-East) The intern will spend the first six weeks at SERC's headquarters in Edgewater, Md. Here, the intern will interview SERC scientists and other sources in the field and the lab and write about their work. This first part of the internship will introduce the intern to the main features of SERC science communications: writing articles for the SERC Shorelines blog, preparing posts for SERC's social media and assisting with the production of SERC's quarterly newsletter On The Edge, under the mentorship of SERC science writer Kristen Minogue.

Part II: San Francisco Bay (SERC-West) For the final 12 weeks, the intern will work in Tiburon, Calif., with the West Coast section of SERC's Marine Invasions Research Lab. SERC's West Coast branch (a.k.a. SERC-West) is hosted at the Estuary & Ocean Science Center, a marine field station at San Francisco State University's Romberg Tiburon Campus. The marine biologists of SERC-West work in San Francisco Bay and traverse the Pacific Coast studying invasive species, oyster restoration and other critical conservation issues. The intern will write about SERC's West Coast scientists and pitch stories to California media. While in California, the intern will work under the onsite supervision of ecologist Andrew Chang and correspond regularly with Kristen Minogue via video conferencing.

$550/week stipend, plus funds for travel between Maryland and California READ MORE MORE