Intern, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

The Muller-Landau lab at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)
seeks 3 interns to participate in research on tropical forest ecology in
Panama for 9-12 months each.  One internship will focus on tropical forest
carbon budgets, another on landscape-level variation in forest structure
and dynamics, and a third on the role of lianas (woody vines).  The carbon
intern will focus on synthesizing field data collected at multiple sites in
Panama and across the ForestGEO / CTFS network of large-scale, long-term
forest dynamics plots, and will participate in local field data
collection.  The landscape intern will focus on collecting and analyzing
geospatial data on forest structure and dynamics collected using drones to
quantify variation in relation to topography, soils and climate, building
on 3 years of data collection.  The liana intern will collect field data,
analyze pre-existing datasets, and/or conduct modeling to investigate the
determinants of liana abundance and the importance of liana strategy
diversity.  Additional information on these opportunities can be found at
http://www.forestgeo.si.edu/article/262/

All interns will have the opportunity to gain experience in tropical forest
field work, quality assurance/quality control of the relevant datasets,
programming and running analyses in R (and/or ArcGIS), and writing up
results for scholarly publication.  The successful candidates will work
closely with staff scientist Dr. Helene Muller-Landau and collaborators.
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute is located in Panama, and is
home to a vibrant scientific community of 30 staff scientists, over 100
graduate and postdoctoral fellows, and 1500 scientific visitors per year.

The ideal candidates have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, strong
quantitative skills including programming experience, and strong English
and/or Spanish oral and written communication skills.  The positions are
particularly well suited for candidates seeking more research experience
prior to graduate school.  Each internship will be compensated with a
modest stipend sufficient to cover living expenses in Panama ($1000/month),
as well as roundtrip travel to Panama if relevant. The start dates are
flexible and can be as early as March or as late as September 2018.

To apply, please email a CV, a cover letter describing your qualifications
and interest in one or more of the positions, and contact information for 3
references to Helene Muller-Landau at mullerh@si.edu.  Review of
applications will commence on February 15, 2018, and continue until the
positions are filled.