Author: Colleen Norden

Paid Summer REU in Nevada to Study Water Resources, Climate Change and Snowpack

Colleen Norden / / STEM, Summer Program, UR Opportunities

University of Nevada, Reno Summer 2016 REU Program
Application Deadline: Friday, March 18th, 2016

Students will explore the intersections of socioeconomic and natural sciences in relation to drought resiliency in the Tahoe, Sierra Nevada and Great Basin Regions, sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Overview of Program: REU research teams will work in the Eastern Sierra Region of Nevada, specifically within the Lake Tahoe Basin and the surrounding northwestern Great Basin high desert. The program will encompass a wide range of interdisciplinary research, examining the various approaches to assessing, modeling, and managing water resources in the context of global climate change and diminishing snowpack. Participants will gain exposure to diverse scientific inquiries and technologies in order to glean how the socioeconomic and natural sciences inform land use policy and adaptive management of economic and natural resources.

The program will take place during the ten consecutive weeks of 6 June through 12 August 2016. Students in the program will be provided a stipend of $4750, plus housing.

Research Topics Include: · Rephotography: Changing Landscapes in the Tahoe Basin · Hydrology: Predicting Changes From Snow to Rain in the Eastern Sierra Nevada · Sage Grouse: Habitat Restoration in the Sierra Nevada · Agricultural Drought Management and Decision-Making · Modeling reservoir operations to mitigate for climate impacts on fisheries · Ecohydrological Effects of Pinyon and Juniper Removal · Ecological Investigations of Tree Limits in Nevada Mountain Ranges

Eligibility: Qualified undergraduates, who will have junior or senior status and will be a full-time student in the Fall 2016 term, with a combination of coursework in the following disciplines are invited to apply: environmental studies, natural resources, biology, ecology, hydrology, resource economics, photography, and statistics. We especially encourage applications from students at primarily undergraduate and non-research institutions and from underrepresented groups. Participants must be citizens or permanent legal residents of the USA.

Contact: For further information, email the Program Coordinator, Amanda Van Dellen at UNR.REU@gmail.com or visit their website for application materials and mentor profiles: http://environment.unr.edu/undergraduateresearch/opportunities/reu.html

British Fellowships and UK Graduate Study in Sciences: Talk with Ed Johnson, PhD

Colleen Norden / / Fellowships, Graduate School Funding, UK

Join Fellowships Dean Lisa Gates for a conversation with Ed Johnson, a Middlebury parent, scientist and Rhodes scholar on Thursday, March 3 at 7pm in MBH 104.

This may be especially relevant for science students, but all interested in graduate study in the UK or British scholarships (Rhodes, Marshall, Gates-Cambridge etc. which generally need a GPA of 3.7 and up) are welcome!

A Scientist Looks at the Big Name Fellowships and Graduate Study in the UK

Dr. Ed Johnson, a scientist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist based in Boston will talk about science careers, big name fellowships, and how it works to go abroad for a few years after college. Many of the post-graduate fellowships, especially the famous ones, seem to be aimed at students in the humanities and social sciences. Can a natural science student win one of these? If they do, how will it impact their research career?

More about Dr. Johnson: A physicist by training, Dr. Johnson is a Rhodes Scholar, who earned his doctorate at Oxford and went on to success in government, corporate, and academic settings. Dr. Johnson started a technology company and led it through an initial public offering. He now consults with university-based groups and start-up companies on strategies for product development and company spin-out. His main current project is at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, helping to imagine the physics, engineering, and economic challenges of a fusion energy future.

With roughly two hundred published papers and eighteen US patents, Dr. Johnson has served on a number of state and national boards, including the Massachusetts business development council, the US Department of Energy council on sensors for next generation vehicles, and the Washington and Lee University science board. He remains active in the Rhodes Scholar alumni organization and every year, he coaches applicants for Rhodes, Marshall, and Fulbright fellowships.

see go/british for more information about British Scholarships

Apply to Present at the Spring Student Symposium—Deadline Friday, March 4

Colleen Norden / / Uncategorized

Join the symposium for our 10th year of celebrating the academic and creative endeavors of Middlebury students! The 2016 Spring Student Symposium will take place all day Friday, April 15, with presentations of student work across the disciplines in McCardell Bicentennial Hall. Students from all four years and all departments and programs are invited to participate.

If you have done research in a class, independently, or through an internship; if you would like to share the experience of producing a creative work; if you have a project to present in a poster or oral format, please apply to present your academic work! The application deadline is March 4, 2016.

For more information and to apply, see the Undergraduate Research website at http://go.middlebury.edu/sym.

“The Student Symposium was one of my favorite days of the year. Presenting my work was very rewarding, but the day was great because of the quality of everyone’s work and presentation. Students at Middlebury work hard, and the Symposium is an amazing way to celebrate achievements and also gain essential presentation skills.”
— 2015 Symposium Participant

2016 Spring Student Symposium

Interested in Graduate Study in the UK?

Colleen Norden / / Fellowships, Graduate School Funding, UK

Overview of British/UK and Mitchell Scholarships
Tuesday, March 1, 7 pm in Library 201

Lunch with Prof. Ellie Gebarowski-Shafer Discussing Graduate Study at Oxford
Tuesday, March 8, 12:30 pm in Library 145
sign up now at go/appt

Lunch with Mitchell Scholarship Director Serena Wilson
Monday, March 14, 12:15pm in the CTLR
sign up now at go/appt

These scholarships vary in terms of eligibility, but they all seek intellectually accomplished students with a clear vision of what they want to achieve (minimum GPA of 3.7). Significant leadership, research, and/or accomplishment in the areas you engage in are also vital. All scholarships support 1-2 years of graduate study at various universities in the UK and Ireland in various disciplines. Some of these are also open to young alumni.

You must apply for nomination for the Churchill, Marshall, Mitchell and Rhodes by April 15 to be considered for nomination. (If you’re abroad, we will use Skype.) You do not need nomination to apply to the Gates-Cambridge. The St. Andrews nomination deadline will be in the fall. Note: Gates-Cambridge and Rhodes are open to multiple citizenship types; the others are restricted to US citizens.

More information and nomination applications are online at go/british. Questions? Contact Dean Lisa Gates at fellowships@middlebury.edu.