Dear Student,

The one goal of RESESS is to increase the number of individuals from underrepresented populations who complete Masters and PhD degrees in solid Earth geoscience. The National Science Foundation has funded an internship program to provide a 4-year research experience with the purpose of opening new avenues and opportunities for undergraduate students who might not have considered a graduate degree in geology and geophysics.

We are fortunate to partner with SOARS - Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science - which has, over the past 10 years, built a successful internship program based on research, mentoring, and a learning community. We have created a new multidimensional program similar to SOARS for students interested in the many subfields of our solid Earth. Issues of water quality and use, earthquake and volcanic hazards, flooding, and desertification are a few of the geoscience areas of research which have immediate societal impact. The geosciences need bright young individuals to help increase knowledge to help people.

I hope you will consider participating in this program.


Sincerely,

Dr. Susan Eriksson
RESESS Director, Principle Investigator and
UNAVCO Education and Outreach Director


RESESS Informational One-Pager [PDF]

RESESS combines structured mentoring, ongoing research internships, and a supported learning community, for undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in order to increase the diversity within solid earth sciences. RESESS will build upon the knowledge and skills that make an existing program, SOARS®, so successful.

RESESS participants, called protégés, will follow the SOARS organizational, structural, and social model, centered on a series of 10-week summer internships in Boulder, Colorado. The internships will include a research project in collaboration with a solid earth scientist who is trained as a mentor, an experience of living and working with other students from underrepresented populations in science, and multidimensional mentoring from writing and communication, community, and peer mentors.

Students who enter the program after their sophomore or junior year can participate in the program for up to four years. This provides a bridge to graduate school with some financial support during their masters program.

Benefits of the program include:

  • A competitive wage for a 40-hour work week. Stipends increase each year.
  • Furnished apartments at no cost to the protégé.
  • Round-trip air fare to Boulder and a regional bus pass that meets local transportation needs.
  • Science mentors who will guide your research and help you understand the culture of geoscience.
  • Community and peer mentors who will enrich your living experience in Boulder.
  • Protégés spend their initial summer working with researchers at the University of Colorado, the United States Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado, or at UNAVCO headquarters. Subsequent summers may be spent at other research institutions throughout the country in collaboration with UNAVCO and IRIS.
  • Paid participation in a national science meeting.

Eligibility:

RESESS is open to undergraduate students who have just completed their sophomore or junior years and who major in a science, math, or engineering. Students must be interested in conducting an undergraduate research project in the solid earth sciences. This includes the many sub-areas within geophysics and geology. SOARS is our partner program for students interested in atmospheric science. All applications will be considered by both RESESS and SOARS programs. It is unnecessary to submit an application to both programs.

RESESS is designed and dedicated to broadening participation in solid earth geoscience by encouraging the participation of students from historically under-represented groups such as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.