The United States Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC has openings for up to
two college student interns to join its Green Chemistry Program during the
month of January. The position is
volunteer, not paid, but offers a unique opportunity for training in green
chemistry.
St.
Olaf Chemistry Majors have been selected for this internship during
three of the last four years! The staff love working with Oles. Often students find housing with St. Olaf alumni living in the area and commute to the EPA offices by public transit.
This year, the Green Chemistry Program staff have two projects in mind. For the past 17 years, EPA’s Green
Chemistry Program has collected nominations for Presidential Green Chemistry
Challenge Awards. The nominations are 8-page descriptions of cutting-edge green
chemistry technologies.
(1) This fall, the program is starting a new
project to make some of the wealth of information we have collected over the
years available to other parts of EPA, other Federal Agencies, and possibly
state programs. As part of this project, we will develop outreach materials
targeted to specific concerns of the outside groups, for example, technologies
related to smog for EPA’s Office of Air or to biofuels for the Department of
Energy. We have a database that can help us identify the nominations related to
specific areas. We would like interns help us by finding the information
related to the interest of an outside group(s) in Challenge nominations and
writing a short description that connects the technology to the interests of
the outside group(s). These descriptions will become part of communication materials
to help us reach out to other organizations.
(2) Our website categorizes Challenge
winners into "winners by industry" and
"winners by technology" For
each list, each winner is listed in at least one category (or more, if
appropriate). Each listing for a winner has a sentence fragment that describes
the technology as it relates to the category. A possible intern project for January
2013 is to help EPA expand these lists to include all nominations EPA received
for the Challenge 1996-2012, approximately 700 unique technologies. We expect
to be starting this project in the fall and continuing it through the academic
year, at least, with the help of some organic chemistry students at Gordon
College and EPA interns. This project would provide interns with a broad
exposure to green chemistry as well as technical writing experience, as
students would work closely with EPA staff to categorize nominations and write
the descriptions that EPA will put on its website.
Because the
work is highly technical, interns need to have a strong science background,
including at least one year of organic chemistry. For general information about the program and
summaries of previous nominations, visit www.epa.gov/greenchemistry. If you have questions or would like to be
considered for an internship, please send email to greenchemistry@epa.gov.
The position is a volunteer one, but Rich Engler and Carol Farris, the
senior PhD chemists who work in EPA’s Green Chemistry Program, have worked with
many interns previously and can provide educational support. Rich is currently
teaching an online course in green chemistry through the University of
California, Berkeley.
Qualifications
·
Sophomore, Junior, or Senior with strong academic
record in science.
·
At least one year of organic chemistry; majors
might include chemistry, biochemistry, biology, pre-med, but we will consider
students in other majors.
·
Strong analytical abilities, ability to extend
knowledge and skills to a very broad range of cutting-edge technologies related
to chemistry.
·
Evidence of effectiveness working independently;
demonstrated self-starter.
Other Useful skills:
·
Ability to learn quickly
·
Strong written and verbal communication skills
·
Ability to interact well with people
·
Understanding of and respect for diversity
Compensation
This is an unpaid internship.
Application Materials (apply by email
to greenchemistry@epa.gov)
Cover letter including a (1) statement of interest in this internship
and (2) the dates you would be available.
Resume
Transcript listing science courses and grades (does not have to be
official)
Contact information (phone and email) for 2-3 references
Application Deadline and
Process
EPA is making this opportunity available to college students who are
available during January (i.e., students at schools with J-terms, interim
January terms, etc.). We have two openings
and will consider applicants as we receive them. Students will get the most from the
internship if they are at EPA for at least four weeks between January 2 and
January 31. We will consider internships
with different start and end dates, but internships must be over three weeks.
Deadline: As appropriate for
January term applications at your institution.
The Program may make an “early decision” and offer positions to
exceptionally qualified candidates prior to the deadline.
Questions
Please send email to greenchemistry@epa.gov. At St. Olaf, Paul Jackson (chemistry) and Sandy Malecha (Piper Center) can answer your questions too!
