Research Assistant Intern (REU)
Research Assistant Intern
Job Code: I24R-REU
Continuous Oxygen Monitoring in Buzzards Bay Summer
Falmouth, Massachusetts Onsite
Mission:
Woodwell Climate Research Center (Woodwell Climate) conducts science for solutions at the nexus of climate, people, and nature. We partner with leaders and communities for just meaningful impact to address the climate crisis.
Woodwell Climate is a rapidly growing, top-ranked, independent non-profit climate research institute whose mission is to advance science-based climate policies through scientific research and outreach. Our world-leading research and impact helps individuals, organizations, corporations, communities, and nations understand the realities of climate change, recognize the impact on our planet, and embrace the urgent action needed to safeguard the future of life on Earth.
Summary/Objective:
Join the Center’s Water program as a full-time field research assistant intern for the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU project) in aquatic ecology and water chemistry. The Research Assistant Intern will conduct field work on a project that measures water quality in Buzzards Bay estuaries using both wet chemistry and continuously-recording dataloggers. Field work will involve water collections in shallow estuaries, deployment, and maintenance of both loggers at fixed locations and loggers deployed on robotic gliders. Be part of a multi-disciplinary team that includes scientists from the Woodwell Center, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and scientists at the Buzzards Bay Coalition, a regional non-profit organization. In this role, the intern will gain experience through field and laboratory work across fields including water chemistry, data management, and data analysis of the factors that control estuarine water quality.
Responsibilities include but not limited:
- Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in aquatic ecology and water chemistry
- Participate in field and laboratory measurements of water quality
- Process and analyze project data
- Travel to several Buzzards Bay field sites at various designated times throughout the day and week
- Conduct an independent project using data collected
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Demonstrated organizational skills, the ability to work as a member of a team, and the ability to communicate with colleagues
- Ability to work independently as well as productively as part of a team
- Basic proficiency with word processing, data management and presentation software (e.g., Word, Excel, and PowerPoint or equivalent programs)
- Willingness to operate small boats or willingness to take safety courses to become certified
- Demonstrated skills in data organization and analysis
- Ability and willingness to endure exposure to sun and occasional insects, ticks, and poison ivy
- Ability and capable of rigorous outdoor activity (lifting 25+ pounds, bending, carrying heavy equipment, and walking through uneven terrain, waist-high waters and marsh)
- Ability to visit multiple local field sites
- Familiarity with best practices for field safety and/or some field experience preferred
- Ability for local travel at various locations for field work within in Massachusetts
Qualifications:
- Enrolled and/or appropriate coursework within Environmental Science, Ecology, Botany, Biology, Chemistry, Ecology, Marine Biology or Natural Resources.
Physical Requirements:
In the office:
- Ability to tolerate sustained periods of walking, standing, sitting
- Ability to lift 25+ pounds
- Ability to communicate
- Ability to kneel, bend, and carry items
- Ability to use phone and computers
- Repetitive movements
- Air, train, vehicle travel to attend meetings/event
In the field, the physical requirements of this role include:
- Air, train, vehicle travel to access field locations
- Driving a vehicle or ATV to access field locations
- Walking, hiking, climbing to access field locations
- Paddling, canoeing to access field locations
- Standing and sitting for sustained periods
- Frequent bending, squatting, and kneeling
- Reaching overhead
- Climbing ladders
- Use of manual and power tools including shovels, saws, drills, and hammers
- Ability to lift up to 25lbs up to 10 times/day
- Ability to carry up to 25lbs up to 10 times/day
- Ability to push/pull up to 25lbs up to 10 times/day
Application review will begin ongoing
Desired Start Date: Early June 2024
Classification and Compensation: This is a full-time, salaried, non-exempt, hourly, at-will position
Location: Falmouth, Massachusetts, Onsite
Desired Start Date: Early June 2024
Classification and Compensation: This is a full-time, salaried, non-exempt, hourly, at-will position
Location: Falmouth, Massachusetts, Onsite
Application Instructions: To apply, please send your cover letter addressing your experience and qualifications in relation to the responsibilities of this position (Job Code: I24R-REU), resume, and contact information for three references as a single PDF here.
Please visit Woodwell's website to learn more about Woodwell’s work.
Located on a 10-acre campus near the village of Woods Hole, the Woodwell Climate Research Center (Woodwell) is a private, non-profit research center. Woodwell is a leading source of climate science that drives the urgent action needed to solve climate change. Woodwell has 100+ staff members and is excited to welcome new employees to this work.
Woodwell is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, mental, or physical disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, familial status, veteran status, or genetic information. Woodwell is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for all individuals in employment practices, services, programs, and activities.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Woodwell
WE NEED ALL VOICES IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change is the greatest challenge of our lifetimes. Woodwell Climate Research Center (Woodwell) understands that the climate crisis—from causes to consequences—is inextricably linked with persistent social injustice. Effectively addressing either requires addressing both. The climate crisis demands that we bring to bear all of the knowledge, expertise, innovation, and creativity that we can collectively muster, and those who have been marginalized and disproportionately impacted must be heard.
The work Woodwell does—the questions we ask, the ways we seek answers, and the strategies we put forward—is stronger when shaped by a diversity of knowledge, perspectives, and experiences. We strive to welcome, respect, and amplify differing voices. We value individuals as they are, with all their differences in race, age, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, language, and mental and physical abilities.
Woodwell acknowledges that our organization, and the scientific community more broadly, have a long way to go in living up to these ideals. We approach the work of improving our organization with the same ambition and commitment to systemic change that we bring to addressing climate change.
We will inevitably make mistakes, but we will continue to listen, learn, and do this critical work. We understand that this work requires an ongoing commitment from each and every one of us. We are actively engaged in building and sustaining an equitable and inclusive culture within our organization, and in fostering greater diversity in climate science.