Interested in Working with an Outstanding Undergraduate Student?
If so, consider mentoring an undergraduate through the IRIS Summer Internship Program.
The goal of this exciting program is to provide undergraduates with training and experience in seismological research through the universities and research institutions of the IRIS Consortium. To accomplish this goal principal investigators at IRIS member institutions and their research projects are matched with qualified undergraduate applicants from outside their own institutions. (IRIS will complete the initial matching of potential interns and PIs, however PIs have final approval of all matches.) Students will begin their summer experience with a one-week orientation the last week in May held on the campus of an IRIS member institution. The goal of the orientation period is to develop a strong sense of community among the interns and provide an introduction to some of the most exciting aspects of modern seismology.
Either prior to or following this orientation students will report to their respective host institutions to begin their summer research. Research projects may involve any aspect of seismology and may be based in the field or at the PI's home institution. Given the relatively short amount of time alotted in the summer, all projects should
- be focused on seismological research,
- reasonably well-defined and self-contained given the 10 week experience, and
- capable of resulting in an AGU poster or presentation
Interns are expected to present a paper on their summer project at a national geoscience meeting (such as AGU or the annual IRIS workshop) during the academic year following their internship. Projects will be selected based on their educational merit and the match with the interests and qualifications of the undergraduate applicants.
PIs with field experiments scheduled for summer 2013 or recent PASSCAL PIs with data for students to work with, are particularly encouraged to apply. Mentoring multiple interns at a single institution is encouraged, as we have found placements of small groups of interns to be successful.
The PI’s home institution and the PI will be responsible for the intern's activities. Students will recieve their stipends directly from IRIS, while PIs may submit to IRIS for reimbursement of up to $600 of consumable expenses
Funding provided by the program:
* $550/week for 9- 11 weeks
* Intern's travel expenses either to the PI's institution or to the field (paid directly by IRIS)
* Up to $600 is available for consumable expenses during the internship. (e.g. field work expenses, office supplies, etc.)
* (Directly to the student) Funds for the orientation week and presentation of intern’s project at the conclusion. (travel, registration, abstract submission fee and per diem)
How many interns are there each year?
The program has funding from the National Science Foundation to support 11 interns each summer. However, our goal is to support at least 15 interns annually through community sourced funding. Much of this comes from the broader impacts components of research or early-career proposals.
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | ||||||
| Additional Interns | Funding source | Additional Interns | Funding source | Additional Interns | Funding source | Additional Interns | Funding source | Additional Interns | Funding source | |
| 4 |
REU Site C/O |
4 |
M. Brudzinski |
1* |
S. Bilek | 0* | 0* | |||
* We are actively seeking PI's interested in including the IRIS Internship Program in the broader impacts statement of their proposals. To learn more about collaborating to achieve your goals while supporting our program, please contact our program facilitator Michael Hubenthal, hubenth "at" iris.edu.
Can I apply for more than one intern?
Yes. In fact, we think placing two students at the same institution is a good thing! However, to receive a second intern you must be willing to support the cost of the second intern. Depending on the details of the project and the cost of airfare etc, the estimated cost per intern is ~$9,000 - $10,000. REU Supplements, are available to PIs of other NSF awards, and are good avenues to obtain this funding. The IRIS REU Program can help you submit one.
We have moved to this model to better serve the Consortium; each year we receive several more host applications than we have funding to support.
To Apply (Applications open December 1st and close February 15 annually):
Step 1: Download the application file (.doc file) and complete it offline. In your application you will be asked to describe the following:
- Goals (both scientific and developmental) for the intern during first, second and final thirds of the internship
- A plan to monitor intern’s progress of these goals with the intern, making adjustments to them when necessary
- The role and probable activities of the intern
- Your previous experience working w/ interns
- If you interested in supporting a student who wants to expand their project into an undergraduate research project or thesis?
- The time period over which you would like the intern to work (9 - 11 weeks)
- Necessary qualifications for the student intern (computer skills, geophysical knowledge, for field-based projects, physical fitness, etc.)\
- Budget
Step 2: Return to this page and proceed to the online application (CLOSED FOR SUMMER 2013). Cut and paste your responses from the .doc file into the online fields
Step 3: You will be notified by March 15 whether your project has been approved as a potential project.
Matching of Interns and Host Projects
The selection committee works to accept interns that are well suited to the host research programs available. To finalize the pairing, accepted interns are provided with several projects that the selection committee has recommended for them based on the description of the project and the intern’s statement of interest. To make this critical decision, interns are strongly encouraged to work closely with their academic advisor at their home institution. Once students have ranked the proposed research projects, the host for the top choice is sent the student’s application to ensure that the student has the capabilities to succeed in the research project. Students are next connected to their hosts via email to finalize the dates of the internship and to get to know each other. This approach has proven very successful as all hosts since 2003 have agreed or strongly agreed that the selection committee provided them with a well-qualified intern for the summer.
End of Summer
At the end of the summer, BOTH the PI and the intern will submit a brief report summarizing their experiences with the program. We also encourage you to work with the intern to have her/him present a paper at a professional meeting during the fall/winter following the internship. As stated above IRIS will cover the costs associated with the intern attending a professional meeting.
Resources for Mentors
- 6 Steps that you can take to ensure that you and and your intern, have a great productive summer!
- The Leadership Alliance has a succinct summary of recommended strategies for mentoring undergraduate students in science, available as a pdf. The Leadership Alliance is a consortium of 31 research and teaching academic institutions, dedicated to improving the participation of underserved and underrepresented students in graduate studies and Ph.D. programs.
- The American Physiological Society Career Mentoring Program has published guidelines for a successful mentor/mentee relationship. http://www.the-aps.org/careers/careers1/mentor/guide-mentor.htm
