Spring 2023 Student Research Opportunities
The Climate Institute will offer three new research assistantship opportunities for the Spring 2023 semester. Columbia students will be able to work as research assistants on projects related to climate and sustainable development and the environment with outstanding faculty and researchers at the forefront of this emerging field. Each research position is described below.
Students selected for positions will be required to attend climate school student research showcase Spring 2023.
Job Title: Equity Implications of Floods and Post-Flood Aid
tybe of job: Undergraduate Research Assistant. While research assistantship positions at Columbia University are typically awarded to graduate students, the Undergraduate Research Assistantship Program is designed to provide undergraduates with the unique opportunity to engage in high-level research and gain valuable experience and skills for their future academic and professional careers . Successful applicants will work directly with faculty on projects on a part-time basis.
Who is eligible: Full-time Columbia undergraduate students are eligible to apply. Positions are funded at a rate of $21.50/hour for 8-10 hours per week from February 2023 to May 2023 (up to 120 hours). Please note: Barnard College students, Teachers College students and graduate students are not eligible for undergraduate RA courses. Decisions will be made shortly after the deadline.
department: Center for Climate System Research
Project research goals: (1) Investigate the impact of flooding on equity. We will compare changes in socioeconomic outcomes such as income, education, and racial composition in areas of New York City that were inundated by Hurricane Sandy over time with changes in similar areas that were not flooded to investigate how flooding affects outcomes Resident and neighborhood gentrification or decline . (2) Use changes in post-flood aid within flooded areas to investigate the equity in the distribution of aid and its impact on livelihoods. (3) If time permits, draft an agent-based flood restoration model.
Expected tasks: The RA will: conduct a literature review; compile and process data from the American Community Survey; implement propensity score matching to select appropriate census tract control groups for comparison with flooded areas; implement panel data analysis; help visualize results, And potentially co-author a paper for peer review. If time and skills allow, start writing agent-based models based on empirical results. RA is needed to help perform each of the above tasks, which are critical to achieving the goals.
Required skills: Proficiency in econometrics, including panel data methods. Experienced in data analysis. Possession of at least one statistical analysis software such as Stata, R or Matlab. Great attention to detail. Some data visualization skills. Excellent organizational, time management and communication skills. Familiarity with the proxy-based programming model is helpful, but not required.
Apply: Complete the available online application here By 11:55pm on Wednesday, January 18.
Contact Yana Zeltser (yzeltser@climate.columbia.edu) The problem.
Job Title: Sea surface waves near Antarctic ice shelves affect ice shelf stability
Project Introduction: Antarctic ice shelves are increasingly vulnerable to ocean warming and increased basement melting. Increased sea ice melt and its large temporal variability cause waves to move closer to ice shelves. These waves dampen as they hit the ice shelf, transferring energy to the ice shelf. It has been determined that wave-transmitted stress can cause ice shelves to rupture. In addition, the waves create an overturning circulation near the ice shelf, bringing warmer water closer to the bottom of the ice shelf. This effect enhances basement melting, an important source of mass loss from Antarctica’s ice shelves. In this work, students will use Sentinel’s remote sensing data to calculate changes in sea surface wave height along the Antarctic Peninsula and along Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers in the Amundsen Sea. This is an interdisciplinary project on an important upcoming topic.
Students will gain expertise in processing remote sensing data and learn how Antarctic ice shelves interact with sea ice and the surrounding ocean. Quantitative skills and proficiency in Matlab/Python are required.
tybe of job: Departmental Research Assistant
Who is eligible: Full-time Columbia graduate students are eligible to apply. From February 2023 to May 2023, the salary for this position is $3,000 (paid semi-monthly) for a maximum of 140 hours. Note that undergraduates and Teachers College students are not eligible. Decisions will be made shortly after the deadline.
Apply: Complete the available online application here By 11:55pm on Wednesday, January 18.
Contact Search Shimkus (cshimkus@climate.columbia.edu) The problem.
Job Title: Development of an integrated cybernetic infrastructure for archaeological collections in Madagascar
Project Introduction: We are looking for a departmental research assistant with experience in database construction and computer programming using SQL (or other database languages/programs such as Microsoft Access). The research assistant will be tasked with working with the PI and her lab to construct a database for the Olo Be Taloha Lab’s archaeological collection currently stored at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. The archaeological collection has been developed over the past decade through surveys and excavations in southwestern Madagascar. The main research questions focus on human-environment interactions and human responses to climate change.
tybe of job: Departmental Research Assistant
Who is eligible: Full-time Columbia graduate students are eligible to apply. From February 2023 to May 2023, the salary for this position is $3,000 (paid semi-monthly) for a maximum of 140 hours. Note that undergraduates and Teachers College students are not eligible. Decisions will be made shortly after the deadline.
Apply: Complete the available online application here By 11:55pm on Wednesday, January 18.
Contact Search Shimkus (cshimkus@climate.columbia.edu) The problem.
