2008 Summer Internships

The Stroud Water Research Center is seeking science and environmental education majors to serve as laboratory assistants in a biological water quality analysis of sites in the Schuylkill and Susquehanna River Basins.

Responsibilities: Students work together as a team on sample analysis (sorting, identifying, and archiving aquatic macroinvertebrates (i.e., primarily aquatic insects)), data entry and preliminary analyses and interpretation, and in presentations of results to local watershed groups or in other pubic forum. Opportunities for collaboration with education/outreach program to communicate new knowledge and experience are available. Environmental education students interested in laboratory experience are encouraged to apply. Some results from previous summers can be found at: www.stroudcenter.org/schuylkill.

Selection Criteria: Priority will be given based on background, experience, and academic performance in biological/environmental sciences and/or environmental education. Familiarity with aquatic insects a plus but not required. Applicants should be able to make approximately a 10-week commitment. Application for academic credit at the student’s home institution is encouraged. Exceptional candidates will be considered for participation in a NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program that enriches the internship with an independent research project related to our long-term research on tropical stream insects and short-term (El Niño/La Niña) and long-term climatic change (www.stroudcenter.org/research/ltreb/costarica/index.htm). Additional information on the REU program can be found at www.stroudcenter.org/jobs/REU.htm.

Location: Stroud Water Research Center, Avondale PA. Reliable transportation a must.

Salary: Approximately $3,700 based on experience and time.

Application Process: Send resume, transcripts, and cover letter detailing any prior experience, course work, and dates when you are available to the address listed below. Applications will be accepted between February 1 and March 31, 2008, or until positions are filled. Applicants who wish to be considered for a REU position should indicate their interest and qualifications for independent study.

Dr. John Jackson
Stroud Water Research Center
970 Spencer Rd.
Avondale, PA 19311

The Stroud Water Research Center is internationally recognized for its pioneering research on streams and rivers. Research teams with expertise in chemistry, microbial ecology, invertebrate biology, watershed ecology, and ecosystem modeling study the physical, chemical, and biological processes of streams and rivers, the ecology of individual organisms, and the relationship between streams and their watersheds.