Category: Science

Great Lakes Undergraduate Internship for Summer 2026 in Coastal Resource Management

collage of headshots of IISG's 2023 interns

The Great Lakes Undergraduate Internship program for 2026 offers undergraduate students the opportunity to help address issues affecting coastal communities through social and environmental conservation sciences. Through this program, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s (IISG) interns will gain knowledge and skills to support Lake Michigan coastal communities in making more informed decisions about resource management and everyday activities. These paid internships may include research, communication, or outreach activities. Applicants may also have an opportunity to participate in activities (for example, attend a professional conference) in addition to their specific internship duties.

As part of this program, IISG includes required professional development training that takes place, on average, for one hour per week, or approximately eight hours altogether. (One or more of these opportunities may take more than one hour, so in some weeks, no activities will be offered.)

Intern Positions

For 2026, up to eight intern positions are available in six topic areas: aquaculture, aquatic invasive species, green stormwater infrastructure, water resource economics, sustainable communities, and youth education.

Application materials are due by January 12, 2026. Successful applications will be notified of their acceptance by February 27, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET.

All interns in the IISG program will be paid $17–18 per hour and work 37.5 hours per week for a minimum of eight weeks (June 1–July 24, 2026). Additional weeks may be available at the discretion of each intern’s mentor and are noted in the position description. Occasional work during evenings or weekends may be required. Each intern will be a student employee of Purdue University or the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Eligibility
Undergraduates currently enrolled in any 2- or 4-year accredited U.S. community college, college, or university are eligible.

  • Graduate students are not eligible.
  • Applicants should be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or have an active F-1 visa.
  • Previous IISG interns who have participated in the Summer Student Internship or Community Engaged Internship programs are not eligible.

Expectations

  • Work 37.5 hours for eight weeks.
  • Attend four professional development trainings.
  • Submit a summary of your work and project at the end of employment.
  • Participate in social media takeovers on Instagram.
  • Attend a potential gathering of the intern cohort (encouraged).
  • Attend weekly coffee breaks (encouraged).
  • Attend career panel (encouraged).
  • If working remotely, perform job duties during regular working hours unless otherwise arranged with the supervisor.

All interns are responsible for the cost of housing, plus transportation to and from their workplace.

Application

Applicants should submit their materials via esg.iiseagrant.org to the “2026 Great Lakes Undergraduate Internship” opportunity. Any questions should be
directed to Angela Archer, amcbride@purdue.edu. The following components should be included with your application.

  • Cover letter. Please tell us about yourself, why you’re interested in the overall IISG internship and specifically the projects you’re applying for, how your experiences will benefit this internship, and how this opportunity will help you with your career goals. (1–2 pages)
  • Curriculum vitae or resume detailing your education and work experiences. (2 pages maximum)
  • Copy of unofficial transcript(s).
  • One letter of recommendation on your behalf that can be sent directly to amcbride@purdue.edu or included in your application. Letters from family, friends, or IISG staff members will not be accepted.* (1 page maximum)
  • Ranked preference of the available internship positions. If applying for the aquaculture intern position, please indicate which location is your top preference.
  • Where or how you heard about the Great Lakes Undergraduate Internship program. (This information is used to improve future communications about IISG opportunities to interested students.)

APPLICATION SUBMISSION

Today, June 8, Is World Ocean Day

Today 6/8/25 is World Ocean Day and to mark the occasion, I’m sharing a short film created by Ryan Trotter, a young up-and-coming filmmaker and the son of my longtime Sustainability Studies at Roosevelt University faculty colleague, Michele Hoffman, who collaborated with Ryan on the project. As if that’s not cool enough, the legendary marine biologist, oceanographer, and deep sea explorer Dr. Sylvia Earle provides the voice of the ocean.

Here’s the mission of World Ocean Day, which seems like a mighty fine thing to me.

World Ocean Day catalyzes collective action for a healthy ocean and a stable climate, working in collaboration with youth leaders and a wide range of organizations. World Ocean Day belongs to all groups and individuals, collectively, everywhere. It’s about how we can create a better future with an abundant ocean and a stable climate, by working together.

Apply for REU Fellowships for Summer 2025

Hey RU students — especially SUST majors and minors . . .

The annual Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) has literally hundreds of PAID summer research fellowships in the US that you can search for and apply to. These are well-compensated and you learn a ton doing one of these fellowships as a rising junior or senior.

This REU database is searchable by geographic region, general research area, and keyword. When I did a simple search for “sustainability” I got 50 hits. Check it out!

If you’re wondering, “Have any recent SUST majors got one of these awesome fellowships?” — the answer is yes. Here’s a cool post by Kiera Carpenter (BA in SUST ’24) who completed one of these REUs at the Chgo Botanic Garden in the summer of 2023.

Remember, you can’t get one of these gigs unless you apply!

Earth Month 2024 @RooseveltU: Get Involved, Have Fun, & Go Green!

This April is #RUEarthMonth2024, and there are lots of ways to go green here at Roosevelt. Whether you’re on or off campus — from attending talks and webinars by invited speakers to hearing presentations by current students to joining in the student org RU Green’s activities and community service work — you can participate in and contribute to the sustainability of our campus community.

SUST 395 Internship Presentations: As part of the annual Roosevelt Student Research & Inquiry Symposium, three Sustainability Internship students completing SUST 395 internships this spring 2024 semester at the Field Museum’s botany department (Daniel Dodinval and Kenny Koster) and the Southeast Environmental Task Force (Kristina Gillespie) gave oral presentations last Th 4/11 to the RU community on their research projects and community engagement activities. Check out the Zoom recording of their talks here!

All Week 4/15-19 — Student Mental Health Referendum Vote: All students have the chance to vote on a Mental Health Referendum for the RU student body. Below is an infographic about the issue and referendum. SGA is holding a Referendum Info Session on Zoom on Tu 4/16 at 2pm.

Mon 4/15 5-6pm — Earth Month Clean-Up with RU Green & the Black Student Union: Come join RU Green & BSU for a service project in recognition of Earth Month. We will be beautifying the area surrounding our campus by picking up trash. All supplies will be provided. Meet in WB Lobby by 5pm. RSVP and event details here on Laker Connect.

https://se-images.campuslabs.com/clink/images/97011f99-018c-46c3-833e-db5f58428f5812c5ca45-83ff-4efb-8607-c0fdb57c9f28.png?preset=med-w

Tues 4/16 12:30-1:45pm — SUST 210/250 Sustainability Teach-In Presentations: Join the students of SUST 210 Sustainable Future and SUST 250 The Sustainable University as three student teams present their projects on vital sustainability issues of the day (food, consumption, and waste). Attend live in WB 616 or virtually by Zoom. Email Prof. Mike Bryson (mbryson@roosevelt.edu) for more info.

Tues 4/16 2pm — Virtual Tour of the MWRD’s Famous “Deep Tunnel”: one and all are invited to attend a free live virtual tour of the Chicago region’s water infrastructure and history on Tuesday, April 16 at 2 p.m. Travel back in time to early Chicago to see how we reversed the Chicago River and developed wastewater treatment technology. Go behind the scenes and under water to see how we transform the water you use every day; descend 300 feet into the deep tunnel system, and watch our electrofishing crew at work sampling fish on the Chicago River. See goats and sheep at work maintaining native prairie landscaping! (Yes, you read that right.) To register, click here.

Thur 4/18 12:30-1:45pm — SUST 210/250 Sustainability Teach-In Presentations: Join the students of SUST 210 Sustainable Future and SUST 250 The Sustainable University as four student teams present their projects on vital sustainability issues of the day (athletics, energy, transportation, and water). Attend live in WB 616 or virtually by Zoom. Email Prof. Mike Bryson (mbryson@roosevelt.edu) for more info.

Thur 4/18 & Sun 4/21 — WeDigBio Citizen Science at the Field Museum: Be a part of a global effort to digitize centuries of data about life on Earth! Organisms may include ferns, fungi, mosses, lichens, insects, and mammals. Participants will have an opportunity to meet scientists and join in behind-the-scenes tours or talks about the significance of the scientific collections. WeDigBio will be held in-person at the Field Museum on 4/18 and 4/21, from 9:30am to 1pm. For more info and to register for this event, please click here.

Fri 4/19 after Senate 12-4pm – Green-up / Clean-up Event: Immediately following University Senate, RU faculty and staff are invited to connect, collaborate and clean out office spaces. Details are forthcoming about special services and activities, but wear your Roosevelt green, grab some coffee and a snack and get ready for some spring cleaning! Details here on Inside RU.

Sat 4/20 thru Mon 4/22 — Earth Day Service Opportunities & Events throughout Chicago, sponsored by the Chicago Conservation Corps (C3) and other organizations. Check out the many events listed here by C3 as well as these by the Cook County Forest Preserves. Help clean up parklands, restore natural areas, and meet conservation-minded and nature loving sustainability nerds from across the city. Fun and rewarding in a deeply spiritual and dirt-under-your-nails kind of way!

Wed 4/24 6-7pm CST — RU Students Explore the “Democracy of Place”: Join RU students as they engage other students from across the US in an online discussion about the present and future state of democracy. Led by students of the Resilience Studies Consortium, this interactive conversation will explore the importance of place, public spaces, sustainability, community resilience, and more. Zoom link: https://western.zoom.us/j/92506664532

Not enough stuff to choose from? Keep checking this page and the SUST @ RU blog for more updates about great Earth Month 2024 events and activities. And don’t forget to get outside!

Updated 4/13/24

Learn about the Race to Save America’s Whale on 4/1

Kick off Earth Month 2024 here at Roosevelt by attending this biodiversity and marine conservation event about the highly imperiled Rice’s Whale, which lives in the Gulf of Mexico. Join whale expert John Ososky, formerly of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, for a presentation and discussion about this whale, marine conservation, and biodiversity. Co-sponsored by RU Green and the STEM Center. Time/Place: Monday 4/1, 2:30-4pm, WB 418 and remotely via Zoom (https://roosevelt.zoom.us/j/5370188300) RU students, faculty, and staff can RSVP here on Laker Connect. For more info, please email rugreenclub45@gmail.com

News about Food Waste & GHG Emissions from the EPA

Issued: Oct 19, 2023 (12:23pm EDT)

EPA Releases New Food Waste Reports

Reports reveal the impacts of food waste on landfill methane emissions and provide updated recommendations for managing food waste.

WASHINGTON (October 19, 2023) –- Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released two new reports quantifying methane emissions from landfilled food waste and updating recommendations for managing wasted food. Over one-third of the food produced in the United States is never eaten, wasting the resources used to produce, transport, process, and distribute it – and much of it is sent to landfills, where it breaks down and generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
“Wasted food is a major environmental, social, and economic challenge,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “These reports provide decision-makers with important data on the climate impacts of food waste through landfill methane emissions and highlight the urgent need to keep food out of landfills.”
The reports’ findings emphasize the importance of both reducing the amount of food that is wasted and managing its disposal in more environmentally friendly ways. Based on these findings, EPA is releasing an update to its Food Recovery Hierarchy, a tool to help decision makers, such as state and local governments, understand the best options for managing food waste in terms of environmental impacts. The release of the new ranking – called the Wasted Food Scale – marks the first update since the 1990s, reflecting more recent technological advances and changes in operational practices. EPA’s research confirms that preventing food from being wasted in the first place, or source reduction, is still the most environmentally beneficial approach. Evidence in these reports suggests that efforts should focus on ensuring less food is wasted so that food waste is diverted from landfills, which will reduce environmental impacts.
The research announced today represents the first time EPA has quantified methane emissions from landfilling. This novel work published modeled estimates of annual methane emissions released into the atmosphere from landfilled food waste, giving a cost of landfilling food waste in terms of the impact on climate change. EPA conducted an analysis to estimate annual methane emissions from landfilled food waste from 1990 to 2020 and found that while total emissions from municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills are decreasing, methane emissions from landfilled food waste are increasing. These estimates indicate that diverting food waste from landfills is an effective way to reduce methane emissions, a powerful greenhouse gas, from MSW landfills.
EPA reports being released today include:
• “From Field to Bin: The Environmental Impacts of U.S. Food Waste Management Pathways,” which examines the environmental impacts of disposing of food waste. This report synthesizes the latest science on the environmental impacts of how food waste is commonly managed in the U.S. This report completes the analysis that began in the 2021 companion report, “From Farm to Kitchen: The Environmental Impacts of U.S. Food Waste ,” which analyzed the environmental footprint of food waste in the farm to consumer supply chain.
• “Quantifying Methane Emissions from Landfilled Food Waste” represents the first time EPA has published modeled estimates of annual methane emissions released into the atmosphere from landfilled food waste. More food reaches MSW landfills than any other material, but its contribution to landfill methane emissions has not been previously quantified.
The reports released today will support future EPA efforts to reduce food waste. EPA’s food waste research provides a better understanding of the net environmental footprint of U.S. food waste.
Learn more about EPA’s food waste research and sustainable management of food work:
• Food waste research information.
Learn more about what you can do to reduce wasted food in your home:
For further information: EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

Celebrate Earth Month by Documenting the World’s Biodiversity! 4/13 through 4/16 online & @ the Field Museum
Dear community scientists!
 
You are receiving this email because you registered and/or kindly participated in a prior WeDigBio event, Meet a Scientist, Members Night, etc. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you will find instructions to unsubscribe after our signatures.
 
Be a part of a global effort to digitize centuries of data about life on Earth! Organisms may include ferns, fungi, mosses, lichens, insects, and mammals. Participants will have an opportunity to meet scientists and join in behind-the-scenes tours or talks about the significance of the scientific collections!
 
WeDigBio will be held online daily from Thursday, April 13th – Sunday, April 16th.
 
The Field Museum is kindly welcoming a small group of volunteers to work in-person to assist with the curation process of the botanical collections. This opportunity is on a first-come, first-served basis so please fill out the registration form below. NOTE: The Field Museum will not be offering free parking at this time, only free admission. If you are a docent/volunteer with the museum, you will still be able to use your badge for parking at the West Lot. We are sorry for the inconvenience!
 
To register for this event, please click here.
 
WeDigBio is ideal for teens aged 15+ and adults. However, families are welcome as it is a great opportunity for all age groups to work together.
 
For educators with classes, please contact us directly.
 
Details for all WeDigBio days:
  • A Zoom link will be emailed the day before each session starts regardless if you are participating online or in-person.
  • Check-in will start at 9:30am CDT (10:30am EDT/8:30am MDT/7:30am PDT) whether you are volunteering online or in-person.
  • For in-person volunteering at the Field Museum, volunteers will be checked in at the East Entrance of the museum and must be masked when behind-the-scenes – in compliance with Museum policy.
  • Each event will begin at 10:00am CDT until 1:00pm CDT (11:00am–2:00pm EDT/9:00am–1:00pm MDT/8:00am–12:00pm PDT).
    • Talks and behind-the-scenes tours will be scattered throughout.
Thank you everyone for considering participating in this event!
 
The WeDigBio Team
Matt, Jessica, Miranda, and Yarency

Questions? Reach out to:

Matt von Konrat, Ph.D., FLS

Head of Botanical Collections, Gantz Family Collections Center

Adjunct Curator & McCarter Collections Manager (Bryophytes & Pteridophytes)

pronouns: he/him/his

O: 312.665.7864

 

Field Museum

1400 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive

Chicago, IL 60605

fieldmuseum.org

 

Get Paid To Do Research this Summer 2021

SUST majors @RooseveltU, particularly those who have had some biology and/or environmental science classes, are in a good position to apply for a Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) summer fellowships, offered through generous funding by the National Science Foundation. These fellowships are excellent opportunities to work directly with scientific researchers on lab- and field-based topics, gain hands-on research experience, and network with fellow undergrads from other schools. Plus they’re well compensated with a fellowship stipend of several thousand dollars. (Yes — you read that correctly.)

Chicago Botanic Garden REU Symposium 2015 (Source: CBG)

Chicago Botanic Garden REU Symposium 2015 (Source: CBG)

Here in the Chicago region there are several notable REU programs that offer multiple paid fellowships, including those based in the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Plant Biology and Conservation Program (2/5 application deadline) and Northeastern IL University‘s water quality study in the Yucatan Peninsula (2/15 deadline).

Further afield, there are many other opportunities available in Illinois, in the Midwest, and across the US. Two excellent ones, for example, are the Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region program at the University of Michigan Biological Station (2/15 deadline) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Summer Student Fellowship program (2/5 deadline). Both have very generous stipends and are phenomenal places to spend a summer doing field-based environmental research! (Coincidentally, SUST prof Mike Bryson worked at both of these sites back in his college days in the late 1980s, when the REU program was a new thing.)

Interested applicants should also check out the NSF’s REU Students website for access to dozens of fellowships opportunities across across the US. Consult individual program sites for 2020 application materials and deadlines, which are usually in late January or throughout February/March.

Back in summer 2012, SUST alum Allison Breeding (BA ’13) won a REU fellowship at SIU’s Center for Ecology and studied agroecology in beautiful Southern Illinois. She blogged about her experiences here and presented an overview of her research at the October 2013 Sustainability Studies Student Symposium.

Want to learn more? Check out the links above! And remember: you can’t get one of these awesome fellowships unless you apply . . .

From the NSF Website (REU For Students):

NSF funds a large number of research opportunities for undergraduate students through its REU Sites program. An REU Site consists of a group of ten or so undergraduates who work in the research programs of the host institution. Each student is associated with a specific research project, where he/she works closely with the faculty and other researchers. Students are granted stipends and, in many cases, assistance with housing and travel. Undergraduate students supported with NSF funds must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its possessions. An REU Site may be at either a US or foreign location.

By using the web page, Search for an REU Site, you may examine opportunities in the subject areas supported by various NSF units. Also, you may search by keywords to identify sites in particular research areas or with certain features, such as a particular location.

Students must contact the individual sites for information and application materials. NSF does not have application materials and does not select student participants. A contact person and contact information is listed for each site.

Service Opportunity in Biodiversity: WeDigBio @ the Field Museum

Scientists from Field Museum and around the world need your help! Join us in transcribing scientific label data from our collections and from field notes books using online and computer tools. Activities may also include hands-on curation with specimens. This event will be held daily from this Thur 10/18 thru Sun 10/21, 2018 and is based at Field Museum.

* * To register please click here. * *

You will be part of a global effort to digitize centuries of data about life on Earth. Organisms may include ferns, fungi, mosses, insects, and mammals. Participants will have an opportunity to meet Field Museum scientists and join in behind-the-scenes tours or talks about the significance of the scientific collections!

WeDigBio is ideally for teens aged 15+ and adults. Refreshments will be available, but you should feel free to bring lunch. Space is limited; please register in advance.

Details:

  • For those attending on-site activities, free admission to the museum will be available after the event.
  • Each day there is one session, including registration, the event and tours. Registration will open at 9:30am and the event will be held from 10:00am to 2:00pm.
  • Free behind-the-scene tours after the event!