Internship Opportunities
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Deep-C's internship program is designed to carefully match interns to opportunities proposed by Deep-C scientists. These Deep-C research experiences vary in focus and duration (anywhere from a week to a semester) based upon the needs of participating scientists. Individual internships may be open to high school seniors (age 18+), undergraduate students, graduate students, and/or teachers.
The Deep-C research internships program matches educators and students majoring in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) fields with opportunities at the various Deep-C educational institutions. It offers participants the opportunity to conduct research in various fields of science, as well as gain real-world experience working with scientists on projects that support the Deep-C mission.
To apply, please review the current opportunities listed below and complete the appropriate application form as possible. All internships require a minimum 3.0 GPA, however check the individual listings for requirements. Positions will be filled on a rolling basis.
Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any questions.
Download Flyer (PDF)
Application Forms
For High School Seniors (Word doc)
For Undergraduate Students (Word doc)
For Graduate Students (Word doc)
For K-12 Teachers (Word doc)
Current Opportunities
There are currently no opportunities available. Please check back later.
Additional opportunities will be posted here as they become available. Deep-C researchers may submit an opportunity by visiting http://deep-c.org/for-deep-c/internships.
Opportunities Already Filled or Closed to New Applicants
The following position is CLOSED to new applicants:
Title: Microbial Methane Production in the Aerobic, Open Ocean
Host: Dr. Olivia Mason
Location: Florida State University, Dept. of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Science, Tallahassee, FL
Date Range: May 1 - September 1, 2013
Description: The intern will likely participate in a research cruise to collect water column samples. The intern will also carry out DNA and RNA extractions, assess the quality of these extracts, and will participate in sequence preparation for sequencing on a nextgen sequencing platform (Illumina). The intern may also have the opportunity to learn how to use Illumina's MiSeq sequencer.
The following position has been FILLED:
Title: Hydrologic Measurements in the De Soto Canyon
Host: Dr. Nico Wienders
Location: Florida State University, Dept. of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Science, Tallahassee, FL
Dates: Summer 2013
Description: Twelve new CTD-Diver instruments were deployed in May 2012 at the head at the De Soto Canyon for a duration of one year. Placed on two different moorings, they record temperature and salinity at different depths (pressure, which is also a recorded parameter) and every 3 minutes. The tasks incumbent on the intern would first be to recover and organize the recordings from the different instruments, proceed with standard data processing/cleaning routines. Once a quality controlled set will be established we will work on the different means and ways to illustrate and publish it. Along, we will investigate the different physical mechanisms observed within the records, either they are for instance corresponding to waves, tides, eddies, upwellings, or interactions with river plumes. Results will be compared to already existing datasets and model outputs. During the whole internship we will foster discussions and collaborations with Deep-C scientists from different disciplines, not only to understand how their expertise can help our analysis but also to inquire how our records can help them in their own research. The idea here is to get the most from a simple dataset, following a classic and exhaustive scientific approach. Participation to a scientific cruise will be encouraged if there are availabilities on ships.
The following position has been FILLED:
Title: Coupling CAEDYM to the Gulf of Mexico model and Evaluating the Nutrient Cycle
Host: Dr. Eric Chassignet
Location: Florida State University, Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, Tallahassee, FL
Dates: 10 weeks, summer 2013, full time
Requisites: Undergraduate student with a 3.0 minimum GPA. Familiarity with CAEYM coupling.
Description: The goal of the internship is to couple CAEDYM to our Gulf of Mexico model (similar to ELCOM) and evaluate the nutrient cycle. We are looking forward to learning more about CAEDYM and its capabilities. The intern will work closely with research scientists at COAPS for the implementation and testing.
The following position has been FILLED:
Title: Analyzing Sail Buoy Data and Validating Oil Drift System
Host: Dr. Lars R. Hole
Location: Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Bergen, Norway
Internship Open To: Graduate students with a minimum of 3 years of study of mathematics and geophysics. Minimum GPA=3.0.
Duration: 4 months
Date Range: August 19, 2013 - December 19, 2013
Hours: 20 hrs/week
Description: Depending on interest, the candidate can analyze sail buoy data collected at DeSoto canyon a spring 2013 research cruise (see http://www.sailbuoy.no/). Another opportunity is to validate our oil drift system using ocean drifter data from the Gulf of Mexico. The work will involve statistical analysis and code development. There are opportunities to attend university courses at the University of Bergen and research cruises.
The following position has been FILLED:
Title: Networking Students through Ocean Currents
Host: Dr. Villy Kourafalou
Location: University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Division of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, Miami, FL
Internship Open To: Middle school science teachers.
Duration: 8 weeks
Date Range: Fall 2013
Hours: 5 hrs/week
Description: Material will be developed for inclusion in class teaching in Miami. The material will be based on project findings connecting coastal and deep parts of the Gulf of Mexico. The same material will be available to teachers in other Florida schools. The students in the schools will network through dedicated lessons, where they will be discussing how the beaches in their home areas are connected through the ocean currents.
The following position has been FILLED:
Title: Biodegradation of Crude Oil by Hydrocarbon-Degrading Bacteria Isolated from Beach Sands
Host: Dr. Joel Kostka
Location: Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biology, Atlanta, GA
Date Range: May 13 - August 2, 2013
Description: Biodegradation mediated by indigenous bacteria is the ultimate fate of the majority of oil hydrocarbon that enters the marine environment. As part of Deep-C's ecological impacts research, the Kostka laboratory in the Georgia Tech School of Biology has been studying the impacts of oil contamination from the Deepwater Horizon spill on Florida's beaches for nearly two years. Our lab collected sediment cores from Pensacola Beach several times from June 2010 to the present. Samples were obtained from a visible layer of oil in the supratidal and intertidal areas. Analysis of the samples using molecular biology techniques detected the presence of oil-degrading bacteria. Twenty-four strains were enriched, isolated, and purified by repeated streaking on marine culture media. The proposed research will characterize the physiology of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria from the Deepwater Horizon spill. Specifically, we will study the degradation of Macondo oil and the impact of degradation on the toxicity of the oil. The proposed research project will: 1) characterize the physiology of these new species using a combination of cultivation (quantification of growth) and chemical techniques (oil concentration), and 2) determine the effects of biodegradation on toxicity of the oil. Toxicity studies will be performed in collaboration with the laboratory of Dr. Terry Snell in the School of Biology. The ultimate goal will be to understand the mechanism that these microbes use to metabolize hydrocarbon compounds and whether biodegraded oil is more or less toxic to marine life. Each of the pure strains will be inoculated in an artificial seawater medium containing 1% or 5 % crude oil collected from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Oil degradation activity will also be tested in the presence and absence of the emulsifier, Corexit. The cultures will be incubated at room temperature and periodically shaken by hand for aeration. At various time points, bacterial growth will be quantified by spectrophotometry, and the percentage of oil degradation will be tested by performing oil extractions using chloroform followed by analysis of total petroleum hydrocarbons by gas chromatography. Culture media containing bacteria and biodegraded oil will then be used to test for the effects bacterial transformation on the toxicity of the oil using an EPA-approved rotifer assay.
The following position has been FILLED:
Title: Molecular Microbial Ecology
Host: Dr. Richard Snyder
Location: University of West Florida, Department of Biology, Pensacola, FL
Date Range: April 29, 2013 - August 16, 2013
Description: The intern will be taught basic molecular biology lab skills to assist in analysis of Bacteria, Eubacteria, Ciliate protists and Foraminiferan protists in the plankton and benthos of the Florida Panhandle Bight Shelf. The goals are to determine the dynamics of community structure of these organisms in time and space, and provide sequence data for known visually identified individual ciliate and foram cells. The intern will be integrated into our lab group of undergraduate and graduate students and faculty, participating in research meetings and a journal club where we educate each other and scientific papers are discussed. Parts of the larger project can be isolated as an individual project for the intern depending on interest.
The following position has been FILLED:
Title: Validating Surface Oil Drift Models
Host: Dr. Dmitry Dukhovskoy
Location: Florida State University, Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, Tallahassee, FL
Date Range: May 13, 2013 - August 16, 2013
Description: The project will be related to development of validation metrics for surface oil drift models. There are many oil models that predict surface oil drift. There is a need to quantify uncertainty of these predictions either for model validation against observations or model-to-model intercomparison. Oil spill can be viewed as a two-dimensional shape given by the planar curves forming their boundaries. Several simple metrics have been developed and applied. The major disadvantage of simple techniques is their inability to provide shape -descriptive quantification of the oil spill. The intern will be involved in developing a shape-descriptive metric for the oil spill.
The following position has been FILLED:
Title: The Long-Term Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Sediments and Plankton in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Host: Dr. Patrick Schwing
Location: University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL
Date Range: June 3, 2013 - August 9, 2013
Description: We are seeking an intern to assist in an ongoing project that focuses on determining the long term effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil blowout on the sediments and benthic foraminifera (plankton) communities in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Daily tasks would include processing sediment cores, preparing sediment samples for analysis, picking and counting benthic foraminifera using a microscope, stable isotope analysis, and data recording/processing. There is a likely opportunity to participate in a 3-week research cruise that will collect sediment and fish tissue samples during the internship. This internship will offer excellent laboratory and field experience along with a background in marine sedimentation and benthic foraminifera identification.
The following position has been FILLED:
Title: Bridging the Gulf: Using Science to Inform Policy in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico
Host: Meredith Field
Location: Florida State University, Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, Tallahassee, FL
Date Range: June 10, 2013 - August 2, 2013
Description: The intern will work to ensure that the science conducted by the Deep-C Consortium is communicated to policy makers both efficiently and effectively. The intern will develop briefing materials about Deep-C research on the effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and have those materials reviewed by Deep-C scientists and outreach professionals. The intern will also work to facilitate relationships between scientists and policy makers and to build upon the knowledge Deep-C scientists gained during a February 2013 COMPASS workshop on science policy and communications.