Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Below are undergraduate research opportunities with SESE faculty, staff, post-doctorates, and graduate students. Use the filtering options to find the best fit for you, after selecting your filters, click "APPLY" to view the filtered table. Be sure to check out other SESE undergraduate research pathways here, as well!
For advice on contacting mentors once you've identified a possible opportunity, contact your mentor with the method listed. For email, write your potential mentors a formal email to introduce yourself, and inquire about their interest in taking an undergraduate student (you!) onto their research team. Here is an example email template. There are also more tips for contacting a possible research mentor on the main undergraduate research page.
For any issues or suggestions with this site please email Duane DeVecchio: [email protected].
| Subject | Mentor | Contact | Project Description | Position Type | Location | Duration | Experience Required | Experience Type | Thesis Option |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geology | Emma Lodes | [email protected] | I am looking for an undergraduate research assistant to assist with geochemical analysis of stream sediment samples from the Hawaiian Islands. The goal of the project is to find out how the climate impacts chemical weathering on these islands. Over the last two summers, our team collected a set of fine sediment and stream cobble samples from streams along a rainfall gradient, and I aim to find out how much weathering occurs as bedrock (represented by stream cobbles) weathers into fine sediment in each stream. This will be achieved through measuring the geochemistry (major elements) of both types of sample, and calculating the loss of mobile elements (lost during chemical weathering) compared to immobile elements (not lost during weathering). I need help with drilling small cores out of the stream cobbles and powdering all samples, as well as measuring major elements using X-Ray Fluorescence in the Metals, Environmental and Terrestrial Analytical Laboratory. This work would involve training in the lab, lab work, and meetings to discuss the project. Unfortunately this is unfunded so I can only offer research credit, but it is a great opportunity to learn a new skill to add to your CV, especially if you are interested in graduate school. |
Unpaid | In-person | ~3-6 months | Ideally some lab experience; attention to detail and careful work habits is mandatory | ||
| Equations of State & Planetary Interiors | Allison Pease | [email protected] | This position is for an undergraduate research assistant interested in gaining research experience. The researcher will compile results from published equations-of-state (EoS) measurements and help improve and expand EoSAlign, an open-source, Python-based tool that converts and compares pressure calibrations. The goal of the software is to align pressure scales at the extreme conditions found within planetary interiors, enabling clearer comparisons across experiments. No prior experience is required; the position is in person or hybrid. |
Paid | In-person | Academic year | No | Yes | |
| Geoscience Eduction Research | Daryl Reano | [email protected] | This position is for an undergraduate education researcher who is interested in developing their skills in qualitative research methods. The researcher will need CITI certification, will meet weekly with PI Reano, and will be responsible for documenting individual research analyses in a research notebook. The projects available include qualitative data (surveys and interviews) from geoscience undergraduate students, graduate students, and professionals. |
Unpaid | In-person | 1–3 months | No | ||
| Ocean Worlds Research | Maitrayee Bose | [email protected] | The research project is to better understand carbon cycling in ocean worlds like Ceres or Enceladus, and their potential for habitability. The work is to create and investigate ocean world simulants using various (chloride and carbonate) salts and organic molecules in a wet-chemistry lab. The aim is to observe growth of crystals, changes in pH during crystal growth, and quantify entrainment rates of organics within the crystal. |
Unpaid | In-person | Academic year | No | Experience in chemistry lab preferred | |
| biogeosciences, ecosystem science, global change biology | Heather Throop and DERT colleagues | [email protected] | Project focusing on geochemical changes of hot springs in Yellowstone National Park. Undergrad would work with a graduate student on a few selected hot spring regions exploring multiple geochemical datasets to examine how the hot springs have changed through time.
The Drylands Ecosystem Research Team explores questions related to biogeochemical cycling and ecosystem processes in arid and semi-arid (dryland) ecosystems. We are especially interested in exploring how dryland ecosystems are affected by human activities such as climate change and land management. |
Unpaid | In-person | Research | Yes | ||
| Cosmology | Rogier Windhorst Seth Cohen or RolfJansen | [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected] | Possible research topics for undergraduate, 2nd year, Masters, and/or PhD Students are solicited to do research with the Hubble and Webb Space Telescopes The student will do research with Hubble and the new Webb data to study current http://www.asu.edu/clas/hst/www/jwst/jwsttalks/ (Files: *23*.pdf) https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/ https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2014/news-2014-27 https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2022/news-2022-050 https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2023/news-2023-119 https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2023/news-2023-146 https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2024/10/01/ |
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| Planetary Science | S.-H. Dan Shim | [email protected] | High-pressure synthesis of minerals for shock wave experiments |
Paid | In-person | Multi-year | Yes | Coding Experience, Laboratory experience. Background in mineralogy, petrology, or chemistry. | Yes |
| System Administration | Nathan Cluff | [email protected] | System administration for various NASA missions |
Paid | In-person | Multi-year | Yes | Coding Experience, Linux command line | No |