USDA-ARS Summer Student Internship - Chemistry

ARS Office/Lab and Location: Research opportunities are currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), within the Food Processing and Sensory Quality Research Unit located in New Orleans.

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency with a mission to find solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. ARS will deliver cutting-edge, scientific tools and innovative solutions for American farmers, producers, industry, and communities to support the nourishment and well-being of all people; sustain our nation’s agroecosystems and natural resources; and ensure the economic competitiveness and excellence of our agriculture. The vision of the agency is to provide global leadership in agricultural discoveries through scientific excellence.

Research Project: The Food Processing and Sensory Quality Research Unit develops technologies that optimize the nutritional and health benefits, functional properties, and sensory qualities of agricultural commodities, thus, enhancing their utilization. This project will focus on catfish utilization and the chemistry of off flavors associated with aquaculture products. 

Research activities will address USDA-ARS project objectives to develop new and improved analytical methods to evaluate the quality of catfish products.

Learning Objectives: The participant will have the opportunity to participate on projects related to creating methods to detect off flavor chemicals in various substrates, as well as helping to determine the causal factors leading to off flavors in fish. In doing so, they will gain a better understanding of chemical methods, instrumental analysis, good laboratory practices, and day-to-day activities of a research chemist. 

Mentor(s): The mentors(s) for this opportunity is Brennan Smith (brennan.smith@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: 2023.  Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for ten weeks in the summer, but may be renewed upon recommendation of ARS and is contingent on the availability of funds.

Level of Participation: The appointment is full-time.

Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience.

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals. Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens Details page of the program website for information about the valid immigration statuses that are acceptable for program participation.

ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and ARS. Participants do not become employees of USDA, ARS, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process, please email ORISE.ARS.Southeast@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in one of the relevant fields.