2024 Sustainability Summer Fellowships for Graduate Research Partnerships

Appalachian Voices works to protect the land, air and water of Central and Southern Appalachia and advance a just transition to a generative and equitable clean energy economy for the broader region. Appalachian Voices seeks a graduate researcher in the fields of clean energy and economic development policy to: coordinate data research efforts on the impact of recent federal clean energy programs in Central and Southern Appalachia, including jobs, emissions, and other impacts; or a project consistent with our mission, developed by the Graduate Fellow. The project is meant to support the student Fellows' own research in energy, economic development, and environmental policy matters. The position is remote.

Handshake Job #8495369, click here to apply

The Chickahominy Tribe is one of seven federally-recognized Indigenous nations in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is centered in Charles City County between the Chicakhominy and James Rivers. In Summer 2024, the Tribe seeks to collaborate with a graduate researcher who can assist with developing a Community Garden and/or Food Forest, in conjunction with the Tribe’s Environmental Health Program. The successful candidate will have experience in gardening,  food sovereignty, food justice, and/or community health methodologies. The Fellow will be able to collaborate with the multidisciplinary Indigenous Resilience Project at GMU. Ideally the Fellow will be able to be on site in Charles City throughout the summer, though remote connections with team and Tribal members is also possible.

Handshake Job #8495391, click here to apply

EDF’s Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds program works collaboratively with diverse partners to ensure resilient ecosystems and communities along coasts and rivers thrive with water and are safe, equitable and prosperous places to live, work and play. Working across the east and Gulf coasts and the Caribbean, this multifaceted program deals with the many complex challenges associated with restoring natural system to create sustainable and equitable communities with improved infrastructure and robust economies. In Virginia, EDF’s Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds team builds and maintains collaborative partnerships in Virginia that work together to advocate for comprehensive, ambitious, science-based and equitable flood resilience planning and policies.

Climate change presents a grave and immediate threat for Virginia’s communities, infrastructure and economy. Virginia has the highest rates of sea level rise along the entire Atlantic seaboard, but communities statewide are experiencing growing flood risk from a variety of sources, including sea level rise, increasing ‘sunny day’ flooding and stronger storms and precipitation events. The Commonwealth is working to address this risk through a variety of planning initiatives and has been deploying funding to local governments across the state through the Community Flood Preparedness Fund. However, many small, rural, and lower-resourced localities lack the capacity to apply for grant funding to begin this critical local planning and data development work. In Virginia, EDF’s Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds team advocates in support of these initiatives and works with impacted communities to ensure they are included in decision-making and have the resources they need to access funding opportunities.

Overall Function: The Fellow will provide research, resilience project analysis and organizational support to help advance the program’s near-term strategic goals. EDF’s priority in Virginia is to support a broad coalition of community-based organizations, partner NGOs and other stakeholders to focus specifically on coastal resilience outreach, communications and education and to promote the scientific and economic justification for natural solutions using the multiple lines of defense approach. Working in a highly collaborative environment, the Fellow will help advance and communicate EDF’s priorities for statewide flood resilience planning and governance that informs, engages and empowers local communities by analyzing the existing list of locality-submitted projects and initial prioritization schema to co-develop recommendations for the Commonwealth moving forward. The Fellow’s work will be guided by the Virginia Director, Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds with support from other staff on the Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds Virginia team.

Key Responsibilities

Tasks will include but are not limited to:

• Review Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation guidance on required resilience plan components for Community Flood Preparedness Program (CFPF) funding.
• Compile and analyze available comprehensive and hazard mitigation plans along with other regional and locality-specific planning or risk assessment documents for select communities in Southside Virginia. 
• Research and analyze available data inventories and data needs assessments for select communities in Southside Virginia.
• Synthesize relevant plan components and data needs to provide background information for future CFPF applications for select communities in Southside Virginia.
• Review relevant policy and technical documents, including but not limited to, Virginia’s Coastal Resilience Master Plan Phase 1 document, Coastal Resilience Web Explorer, and flood mitigation project database.
• Amplify the work of the Virginia Coasts & Watersheds team by producing supportive communications materials, possibly including fact sheets, blogs, reports, and/or social media posts related to core projects.
• Assist with other research requests as needed and as time allows.
• Participate in advancing EDF Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals in which people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected, included, and empowered to address the environmental and organizational challenges in alignment with EDF values.

Qualifications

• Enrolled in a graduate degree program with coursework in environmental science/studies, coastal sciences or oceanography, ecology/biology, government, and/or urban planning and architecture. Coursework in environmental policy, government, resource economics, hydrology, urban planning, or other related fields recommended.
• Demonstrated interest in climate adaptation, environmental justice, community-based planning, coastal and/or flood policy, hydrology and stormwater management, environmental science and/or community resilience. Interest in Virginia environmental landscape a plus.
• Proficiency in web-based computer applications and standard desktop-based software, including the Microsoft Suite and videoconferencing platforms.
• Demonstrated proficiency in independently developing ideas, researching and pursuing leads, conducting web searches, and querying databases.
• Experience with geographic information systems (GIS) preferred but not required.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; experience working with various communication styles to effectively communicate to multiple audiences.
• Must be well organized, motivated, and detail-oriented with the ability to multitask, prioritize and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work in a fully remote and/or hybrid team setting and have the ability to prioritize and work independently when projects are due.
• Demonstrate self-awareness, cultural competency and inclusivity with the ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across diverse cultures and backgrounds.
• Demonstrate initiative and problem solving skills.

Handshake Job #8495417, click here to apply

Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, an interfaith local nonprofit, is dedicated to working with and through communities of faith to pilot innovative solutions to climate and environmental justice challenges at the local level. In Summer 2024, we seek a graduate-level researcher with expertise in GIS methods to help expand our efforts to geo-locate houses of worship that wish to decarbonize their energy and land management practices. FACS recently received a Department of Energy BuildingsUP award to assist faith communities in assessing and pursuing decarbonization strategies. The Fellow will be able to work remotely, and should be available for frequent meetings with FACS staff, leadership, and Board Members.

Handshake Job #8495431, click here to apply

This position supports a field researcher investigating animal diversity in the central Amazon region of Brazil. The project will take place at and near the Biological Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP), which is the longest experiment on forest fragmentation in the Amazon, a crucial location to investigate the combination of habitat restoration and microclimate effects on biodiversity. In collaboration with Brazilian scientists and community leaders, the Fellow will investigate the long-term effects of land use change and local rapid microclimatic changes on biodiversity utilizing camera traps and audio recorders in a forest irrigation experiment 38 km from the city of Manaus, Brazil. They will also identify amphibian, bird, and mammal species from the photos and recordings and organize all related datasets. All images, sound files, and data will also be uploaded and shared in a data repository with the Brazilian National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) BDFFP team. This task will involve communicating and coordinating with original researchers at the project to acquire historic datasets and upload them to the global open-source INPA data repository.

Handshake Job #8495453, click here to apply

NVRC is a regional council of thirteen member local governments in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington DC. In Summer 2024, we seek a graduate researcher in the field of GIS to co-develop a study of the capacity for rooftop solar installations in the northern Virginia region. The fellow will work closely with NVRC’s lead Demographic and GIS Analyst, and will apply analytical methods to a diverse set of GIS data streams. The position will result in publishable work, and could be expanded to become the focus of the Fellow’s masters or PhD dissertation. The Fellow will be able to work remotely, and should be available for frequent meetings with NVRC staff.

Handshake Job #8495459, click here to apply

Sierra Club is a grassroots-driven organization that advocates for a Virginia where all people may enjoy our natural treasures, access clean air and water, and thrive in a healthy community. At over 20,000 members strong, we coordinate action to promote climate solutions and oppose projects and policies that put the interests of corporate polluters above the needs of communities. We know a cleaner, more equitable future in the commonwealth is possible if we fight for it together. In Summer 2024, we are seeking a graduate-level researcher who will work with Sierra Club staff to research any one of the following areas:

Sources of Power for Data Centers. The already under construction and proposed Data Center projects in Virginia are putting a toll on the amount of energy needed. We would like to research ways that data centers could use clean renewable energy to power their facilities. These should be located near the source or in the state. In addition, we want to explore the alternative to use other sources of water that are not rivers or aquifers like recycling water by the data centers.

Social Cost of Pollution: Currently, permits for industrial pollutant facilities do not account for the social cost of greenhouse gasses. We would like to explore what are the best ways to estimate and incorporate the benefit-cost analysis during the permitting process. 

Solar Energy: Considering the amount of Solar energy needed in VA to achieve carbon zero by 2050. Look at places where solar panels could be installed. The research should focus on places like brownfields, already developed or degraded land instead of farmland or wood forest. 

Open topic: Suggest your own idea, as we are open to work with you on research topics related to environmental justice and energy.

Handshake Job #8495470, click here to apply

In Summer 2024, we seek a Graduate Fellow to work with Fairfax City’s Urban Forester in the Department of Community Development and Planning, and its partners, in the development of its first Urban Forest Management Plan. Work will focus on outreach and communication projects that engage and educate the community on urban forestry and environmental stewardship. Fellowship provides an opportunity for project development, applied GIS, and a focus on reaching environmentally disadvantaged communities. The Urban Forest Management Plan will be a long-range planning document that sets an urban forest vision, goals, and priority action items.

The Department of Community Development and Planning is a team committed to cultivating a more livable Fairfax. In 2023, Fairfax City Council adopted its first Environmental Sustainability/Stewardship goal to preserve, protect and improve the community’s natural, cultural, and historical resources as population growth, economic development/redevelopment and climate change create significant impacts. The Urban Forest Management Plan will be a key component in operationalizing this goal.

Handshake Job #8495483, click here to apply

Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action (VCCA) is an organization consisting of a broad array of health professionals from throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Mission of VCCA is “To build a network of clinician leaders advocating for climate change solutions that protect the health of our patients and communities.” VCCA’s advocacy work is nonpartisan, and we know that climate policies should consider factors related to social justice and be sensitive to the needs of underserved communities who too often bear a disproportionate burden of negative health impacts due to climate change. In Summer 2024, a Graduate Researcher partnering with VCCA could work on any of the following initiatives:

• Develop a system to track health-based outcomes from federal climate investments coming to Virginia from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act.
• Collaborate on an EPA-funded project with Arlington County and the Virginia Climate Center to research health-based outcomes of energy efficiency measures.  
• Conduct research and produce a report on the data center industry's rise in Virginia and potential health impacts of their energy demand, siting and power sources as they relate to existing state climate policies.

Handshake Job #8495497, click here to apply

The Wilson Center is a non-partisan, non-advocacy think tank mandated by Congress to connect policy, practice, and research. In Summer 2024, we seek a graduate researcher in the fields of environmental policy, social sciences, or the humanities, to produce research in partnership with the Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP). ECSP works to connect issues at the intersection of environmental change, population, and security to foreign policy and development. The work will include, but may not be limited to: coordinating research and producing a policy brief on an agreed-upon topic at this intersection of issues; drafting articles for ECSP’s blog, New Security Beat; and attendance at private roundtables and workshops.

Handshake Job #8495509, click here to apply

Cultural heritage sites are vulnerable and conceivably being lost to the impacts of climate change such as flooding, bushfires and coastal erosion resulting in loss of heritage and the detachment of individuals and communities from the histories of the past. Scholars are also advocating nature-based strategies for adaptation and mitigation of climate change to harness the potentials of nature in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and improvement of capacities of communities to adapt to climate change impacts. In Nigeria, various cultural heritage sites which represent the histories and identities of communities are facing increasing risks from climate change and variability. This project, therefore, aims to evaluate and visualize potential exposure and vulnerabilities of national monuments to climate change but also to investigate nature-based adaptation strategies to address the impacts. The project will adopt a combination of innovative geospatial and qualitative methods to assess the values of cultural heritage to local communities. Geospatial data on location, climate, topography and sea level of the heritage sites listed on the national and state heritage registers will be collected under the exposure and vulnerability of the sites to climate change. The project will further develop National Monument Climate Risk Index (NMCRI) and Nature-based Heritage Adaptation Checklist (NbHAC) to inform the level of exposure and vulnerability of heritage sites to climate change and understand the nature-based solutions that can be implemented in different communities in Nigeria.

Handshake Job #8495520, click here to apply

Biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation are ubiquitous across the world’s biomes. Mountains are no exception and urgent measures are needed to bend the curve and safeguard the essential capacity of mountain ecosystems and their biodiversity to support human populations. But do we have the data needed to systematically detect and quantify changes in mountain biodiversity and ecosystems, attribute them to their causes, develop adaptive management strategies, and report on the progress achieved towards biodiversity conservation and sustainable development goals? Some of these critical data are time series provided by long-term monitoring programs, which typically integrate many disciplines and collect large sets of biophysical variables on individual sites. Do mountain countries perform appropriate long-term monitoring of their mountain ecosystems and know what data to collect where for reporting, decision-making, and management? A Summer Research Fellow will take the example of Switzerland to perform a geospatial, thematic, and taxonomic analysis of existing long-term monitoring programs in mountains with the objective to (i) assess and document what and where monitoring data are collected, (ii) evaluate what data are critically needed to track progress towards national to international biodiversity conservation and sustainable development targets in mountains, and (iii) design communication materials to promote improved long-term monitoring of mountain ecosystems based on the Swiss example. The work will be performed in collaboration with members of the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) and the University of Lausanne Centre for interdisciplinary mountain research (CIRM) and will be based on already available data.

Dr. Davnah Urbach (GMBA executive director), Dr. Christophe Randin (GMBA and CIRM scientist), Jonas Geschke (University of Bern and GMBA science officer) - davnah.urbach@unibe.ch

The candidate is ideally a biologist or spatial ecologist with skills in

• Spatial analysis and geo-statistics in R (e.g. R packages sf, sp, raster) – essential
• Geo-processing (ArcGis or QGis) – essential
• Spatial analysis in Python
• Biodiversity
• Design and communication

Handshake Job #8495531, click here to apply

The selected fellow in Summer 2024 will be working at the newly funded NEXUS IPO  site in Sanya, Hainan Island, where the existing Asia Hub is located with a focus on water, energy, food, land and climate nexus research in tropical environment, with a focusing on agroecosystems. The fellow would work with Asia Hub scientists from potentially 35 partner institutions in Asia (Central, South, Southeast and East Asia) to experience the complexity of the interwoven water, food, energy and land systems, being affected by climate and human interventions in the intensively managed tropical agroecosystems. A field experiment, FARI (Future Agroecosystems Research and Innovation) will be conducted and the fellow would have a chance to participate in the experimental design, data collection and analysis) with other scientists and local stakeholders to holistically address the nexus of water, food, energy and land.  

Research supervisors are Dr. Jiaguo Qi, NEXUS SSC Chair, Asia Hub Director, and Professor at Michigan State University, qi@msu.edu, Dr. Steven Pueppke, Senior Scientist of Asia Hub, and Dr. Zhansheng Li, Asc. Director of Asia Hub.

Expected skills of the applicant:  Knowledge of agricultural science, technology and management practices; familiar with an open-source computer language (R, Python or GEE), and concept of WEF Nexus.Tropical ecosystems knowledge is a plus.

Handshake Job #8495549, click here to apply