[LTER-All-lter] student opportunity through CZOs

[Tim White]

Announcement of opportunity: CZO SAVI Summer Interns Program

The Critical Zone Observatories (CZOs) represent a wide range of 
environmental and landscape settings. To enable broad understanding of 
the evolution, function and sustainability of the Critical Zone, the 
CZOs have begun to articulate scientific questions that are common and 
have value across the entire CZO network. Those questions are: What 
controls CZ properties? And processes? What will be the response of CZ 
structure, and its stores and fluxes, to climate change? And land use 
change? How can improved understanding of the CZ be used to enhance 
resilience and sustainability and restore function of the CZ?

A major goal of the recently-awarded CZO Science Across Virtual 
Institutes (SAVI) program is to develop the theme of common science and 
measurements, and include young scientists who will advance CZ science 
through their careers. The key to how SAVI will do this is an approach 
whereby junior scientists pursuing research at multiple CZOs do so 
through strong collaboration with senior PIs. Thus, the NSF has provided 
funding to the SAVI to enable cross-CZO or “common” research by graduate 
student or postgraduate summer interns (US citizens or green card 
holders at US universities only) during 2016.

The SAVI program anticipates funding 4-8 applicants with amounts ranging 
from ~$2500-$7500 each to support travel and research-related expenses; 
no overhead costs can be included in the proposed budgets; this funding 
is not for travel to conferences. Applicants can propose research 
activities at any of the US CZOs. Those proposals that advance 
cross-cutting questions and/or data synthesis at multiple CZOs will be 
prioritized. Proposal ranking will be based on the relationship between 
the science and the above-mentioned common questions, as well as to 
general working group themes articulated at the annual CZO meeting in 
Fall 2015: concentration-discharge relations, biogeochemistry, microbial 
ecology, critical zone resiliency and services, and conceptual and 
numerical modeling. Successful applicants will be obligated to provide a 
two-page report documenting the overall results of the work as well as a 
description of how the activity will help to advance their career.

Applicants should send a 3-page proposal describing the proposed 
research activities, budget and anticipated outcomes. The 
single-pdf-file application packet should also include a C.V., letter of 
recommendation from the applicant’s primary advisor, and letters of 
support from the appropriate contact person(s) at the host CZO(s). 
Applications should be sent to Tim White (tsw113 at psu.edu) by March 21, 
2016.
-- 
Tim White, Ph.D., P.G.
Earth and Environmental Systems Institute
2217 EES Building
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-2213
814-865-3191 (fax)