The application for the Summer 2023 GSL internship is CLOSED.
In addition to the NOAA GSL/CIRES Summer Research Program, please check our Opportunities page for other internship and student career opportunities.
The NOAA Global Systems Laboratory (GSL)/CIRES Summer 2023 Research Program is a paid summer research internship program open to undergraduate students, graduate students, and those who have applied or intend to apply to a graduate degree program for the 2023 academic year. We seek applicants who have interest in the research areas of the NOAA Global Systems Laboratory. The Global Systems Laboratory (GSL) is one of ten NOAA Research laboratories and is located in Boulder, Colorado. GSL research improves environmental prediction models, develops state-of-the-science decision support tools and visualization systems, and uses high-performance computing technology to support a Weather-Ready Nation.
The goal of the NOAA GSL CIRES Summer Research Program is to give interested students a research experience at the NOAA Global Systems Laboratory. Students with a variety of scientific and technical backgrounds can explore environmental or geosciences and learn more about how their skills can be applied to societal needs.
Up to 10 students will be accepted into the Summer 2023 program. Students will be paid to conduct environmental and geoscience research activities with CIRES and GSL scientists. Undergraduate interns will receive $750/week over 10 weeks (May 30-August 4) and graduate student interns will receive $1500/week over 10 weeks (May 30-August 4) paid biweekly.
The Summer 2023 program will be in person unless local COVID-19 levels and NOAA COVID protocols require a move to virtual. Students will be in residence in Boulder, CO with paid housing and travel in addition to their stipend.
Applicants will also be asked to submit unofficial transcripts and to ask a person familiar with their academic or research background to complete a short recommendation form. See links to the recommendation forms on the "For Recommender" tab or in the FAQ. Graduate applicants will be asked to submit a description of research they would like to conduct with NOAA GSL scientists in addition.
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Students from rural colleges and from groups historically underrepresented in science are encouraged to apply.
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Note that no prior research experience is required and there is no minimum GPA requirement; All applicants will be given full consideration.
Questions? Please contact ciresdiversity@colorado.edu .
Click on a question below to see answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the GSL internship.
Applicants must:
- Be a US Citizen or a Permanent Resident
- Attend an accredited United States university or college as an undergraduate or graduate student (can plan to graduate in the spring semester and plan to attend a 4-year University or attend graduate school in the upcoming Fall semester)
- Be willing to make a full-time commitment for 10 weeks (40 hours per week) during the program.
- Be able to complete program requirements in residence in Boulder or locally.
We regret that we are unable to expand eligibility beyond US-based students who are US citizens or permanent residents. Export control expectations require that the research be conducted in the US. The access approvals timeline for those who are not US citizens or permanent residents to gain access to NOAA assets and databases is long and uncertain, even if the person holds a work authorization in the US.
To apply, go to: https://tinyurl.com/CIRESSummerResearch2022
- Full applications are due February 6, 2023
- You will receive an email when we have received your complete application packet (including recommendation forms)
- Applicants will be notified of acceptance or dismissal in early March.
- All communications will be via email – check your emails regularly
You will be asked for your contact information, academic information, an unofficial transcript, and your answers to the following background questions (200 words or less). You will also ask someone familiar with your academic and research background to submit a recommendation form on your behalf. Graduate students will submit a description of a project they'd like to pursue with NOAA GSL researchers.
- Note that there is no minimum GPA to be eligible for the CIRES Summer Research Program. Do you feel that your GPA accurately reflects your potential to succeed in the CIRES Summer Research program? Please describe. We recognize that there may be circumstances that affect GPA.
- Please list any particular courses you would like to bring to our attention, including any relevant high school AP, IB classes, dual credit courses, current courses or certifications that might not be included on your unofficial transcript.
- Please tell us about yourself, how you became interested in STEM, your career goals, and motivation for applying to this program.
- Please briefly describe any previous experience with research, jobs, extracurricular activities, or community service that you feel have prepared you for the program? What skills did you gain from this experience?
- Please list any experience (incl. coursework) you have with data analysis software such as Excel or R, programming languages, and/or GIS software.
- Research is often a non-linear process that may not work the way we expect. Tell us about an experience where you overcame a challenge. How did you overcome this challenge and what did you learn from the experience?
- After learning about the Global Systems Laboratory from their website, which research areas interest you most and why?
- Building on your values, identities and previous experiences, how will you contribute to creating an inclusive and supportive environment in the CIRES Summer Research Program and beyond?
- Undergraduate students: If you would like to propose a project with GSL, please describe it. (Optional)
- Graduate students: Please complete a project description form (details in the next FAQ).
- Is there anything else you would like to share with us? (Optional)
Once you begin the application you must answer all questions before closing the form in order for your answers to be saved. We suggest you write your responses to the background questions in a separate Word document, and then copy and paste them into the application when you are ready to complete the whole application in one sitting. It is very important to be thoughtful in writing your responses to provide a window into yourself and your motivations for applying to this program.
The project description form is used to be sure your project is aligned with both your own research and career goals and the current research at NOAA GSL. If you are chosen as a participant, you will have a chance to iterate your project with your mentors so don't worry if there are questions you aren't sure about. You will be taken to the project description form as part of the application.
To discuss your proposed project, please contact NOAA GSL Deputy Director DaNa Carlis at dana.carlis@noaa.gov.
The project description form covers the following areas:
Project Title:
Student Name:
Participating Organizations (if any): Add information about prospective collaborators and their affiliations, including a link to your primary advisor's CV or profile and to those of any collaborators.
Note: Assume maximum project duration will be 10 weeks
Project summary (1 paragraph)
1. Background: Briefly describe the opportunity or problem being addressed (1 paragraph)
2. Project Benefits (Outcomes): Describe the planned outcomes/benefits (e.g. improvements in resolution, detection, reliability, accuracy, lead time, skill, processing speed, efficiency, cost, knowledge, acceleration of capability development) (1 paragraph)
3. Does this project need HPC resources and Storage Requirements from GSL (Core-Hours per Month):
4. Are there data needs to complete this project? If so, describe the data you will need.
5. What existing technical skills or tools do you use and what would you like to learn or improve on as a CIRES/GSL Intern?
6. What GSL or GSL-affiliated research could be prospective areas of collaboration?
Undergraduate experience applicants: Please ask an instructor, professor or research advisor who is familiar with your academic and research background to complete the General Recommendation Form.
This recommender must fill out an application form by the application deadline.
Graduate experience applicants: Applicants to the graduate experience must ask their primary research advisor to complete the Primary Research Advisor Recommendation Form, which asks the advisor to confirm that they are aware of and in support of this application.
You may also provide an optional additional recommendation from another person who is familiar with your academic and research background, using the General Recommendation Form.
All applicants: Note that we do not require a recommendation letter besides these forms. However, you may provide an optional letter of recommendation if you wish. Have your recommender email the optional letter to ciresdiversity@colorado.edu. Questions? Ask ciresdiversity@colorado.edu.
Please upload your unofficial transcript(s) from your current college or university to the online application. If you have issues with uploading, please email it to ciresdiversity@colorado.edu.
All applicants who are accepted into the program will need to provide an official transcript from your current institution.
Yes, the CIRES Summer Research Program is a paid research experience.
Undergraduate interns will receive $750/week over 10 weeks (May 30-August 4) and graduate student interns will receive $1500/week over 10 weeks (May 30-August 4) paid biweekly.
We seek students that are passionate about science, have intellectual curiosity, are hard working and responsible, flexible, pro-active communicators, and can work as part of a team. You will work on a project with the Global Systems Laboratory, supervised by one or more mentor scientists. We seek students with a range of existing skill sets, and from different scientific or technical backgrounds at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. We will expect you to work 40 hours per week with weekend work a possible option. You will participate in program evaluations periodically. Near the end of the program you will present your results at a poster session for student researchers in Boulder and may have other optional opportunities to present your work in a meeting or conference.
You will also be expected to perform some pre-program work, such as connecting with your mentor, completing software tutorials where necessary, and connecting with CIRES Program staff to complete necessary paperwork, etc.
While mentored by one or more scientists and the internship project team, you will be working on a project with the Global Systems Laboratory. Depending on the project, you may learn to code, process or visualize environmental data, how to evaluate forecast methodologies against models, how to develop and create effective science communication products, or you may suggest a project that interests you. Note that GSL focuses on numerical weather modeling, decision support applications, and related software development and data management, processing, and visualization activities, rather than conducting physical laboratory studies or field campaigns. You will present your project and findings in a poster presentation towards the end of your project.
Throughout the internship you will receive support and guidance for all steps. You will also participate in weekly professional development seminars with other members of the cohort.
In the application you will describe your areas of interest and explain why you are interested in them.
We will identify which scientists can serve as your mentor based on your interests and send them your application. The scientists will decide which students most closely match their research interests. To find out more about GSL research, review the GSL website and research themes.
This is the second year of the CIRES Summer Research Program in partnership with NOAA Global Systems Laboratory. Please see the tab "2022 Interns" for descriptions of example projects.
Once a week, all student researchers will meet for a required group check-in with the program manager and each other. Following the check-in, there will be a weekly seminar that will guide students through the process of constructing a poster, focus on careers in the environmental and geosciences, or on other professional development topics as needed. Onboarding and training will happen over the first two weeks, including an introduction to Python.
Students will move-in May 29, 2023 and start the program May 30. You will work on a 40 hour per week schedule as decided with your scientist mentors, including the weekly check-in. The poster session will take place at the end of the program. The last day of the research experience is August 3, and move-out is August 4, 2023.
The 2023 CIRES Summer Research Program will provide housing and airfare or a transportation allowance for local students who do not require housing.
We will accept up to 10 student researchers for this summer research program.
Email ciresdiversity@colorado.edu.
Congratulations on the completion of your undergraduate degree! Since you are not yet a graduate student in a graduate degree program (working towards a master's or Ph.D) you would be considered under the undergraduate component of the program.
We do not require letters, only the completion of the recommendation form. Find the forms for undergraduate applicants and for graduate student applicants under the "For Recommenders" tab on the webpage.
APPLICATION IS CLOSED
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You will receive an email when we have received your complete application packet (including recommendation forms)
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Applicants will be notified of acceptance or dismissal in early March.
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All communications will be via email – check your emails regularly.
Thank you for supporting your students in applying for the CIRES Summer Research Program!
A Recommendation Form from a person who is familiar with the applicant’s academic and/or research background is required for each applicant to the NOAA Global Systems Laboratory/CIRES Summer Research Program.
Recommendations are due by 12 am MST February 6, 2023.
Recommending a student for the undergraduate research experience:
Recommenders who are recommending an applicant to the undergraduate experience should use the web-based General Recommendation Form. .
Recommending a student for the graduate research experience:
Primary research advisors advising a graduate student should use the Primary Research Advisor Form, which will ask you to confirm that you are aware of and support the student’s application to the CIRES Summer Research Experience.
Graduate applicants may also ask another person who is familiar with their academic and/or research background to submit a recommendation (optional) using the General Recommendation Form.
For all Recommenders:
The form must be completed in one session. We recommend completing your answers to the open-ended questions in a separate document, then pasting the text into the form. We ask that you provide answers of 200 words or less.
The open ended questions on the forms are:
- How do you know the student you are recommending?
- What stands out to you about this student?
- Is there anything else that stands out to you about this student?
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Optional Letter of Recommendation
We value the work and effort that you spend with students, therefore we do not require recommendation letters, only the forms linked above.
However, you are welcome to submit an optional letter of recommendation if you wish. We find it helpful when the letter addresses items such as:
- How long have you known the applicant and in what capacity?
- The quality of the candidate’s academic or creative achievements, including areas not reflected on the official transcripts.
- The applicant’s potential strengths in a collaborative research environment.
- Those aspects of the applicant’s personality or character that would help them to succeed in this program.
- The applicant’s level of interest in environmental and geosciences.
- Anything else we should know?
The Letter of Recommendation can be emailed as a pdf to ciresdiversity@colorado.edu.
Please contact ciresdiversity@colorado.edu with any questions.
Graduate Interns
Tim Corrie
Bio: My name is Tim Corrie. I just finished my first year of my Master's in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Wyoming, working on a blowing snow parameter with HRRR data. I grew up in Washington (state, not DC) and have lived in a few different states as an adult (WA, CO, OK, IA, WY). In my free time, I run and play video/board/card games.
Project: Developing a blowing snow (BLSN) parameterization using HRRR model data
The goal is to create a blowing snow parameter using HRRR data only. Blowing snow is an issue for motorists, especially truckers, as it reduces visibility (especially on the road). Once developed/tested/fine-tuned, the aim is for government organizations (e.g. National Weather Service) to implement this parameter to warn motorists of potential road hazards due to blowing snow. Additionally, this aims set the framework for future high-resolution models.
View Tim's poster.
Rey Koki
Bio: I'm in the Computer Science PhD program at CU, Boulder, specifically working in the numerical computation group. I am focused on engineering community driven software for scientific and machine learning applications.
Project: Deep Learning Smoke Segmentation from Satellite Imagery
With the increase in severity and frequency of wildfires, it is important to be able to monitor and report on smoke coverage for environmental, ecological and public health impacts. Our objective is to deploy an accurate and efficient smoke detection model built on machine learning methods. The model would work in near-real-time to input geostationary satellite imagery and output the detection and segmentation of smoke.
View Rey's poster.
Taylor Roper
Bio: I am a third year PhD student in the applied math program at University of Colorado Denver. My research is in uncertainty quantification. I love reading about people's stories, walking around somewhere with trees, and jazz piano.
Project: Compression of Ensemble Data that Maintains Uncertainty Information
My project aims to make weather prediction data files a more accessible size while still maintaining all valuable uncertainty information.
View Taylor's poster.
Laura Thapa
Bio: I am a third year PhD. student in Pablo Saide's research group in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at UCLA. My research focuses on improving the representation of wildfire smoke in air quality models, including plume rise modeling and emissions forecasting. I am a recipient of the Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology Fellowship, the Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship, and the Richard P. and Linda S. Turco Graduate Student Fellowship as well as a board member of Chi Epsilon Pi and the Society for Gender Equity in Geosciences at UCLA.
Project: Forecasting Smoke Emissions and Plume Rise in RRFS-Smoke
Reliable forecasts of wildfire smoke allow people to mitigate exposure and plan transportation. Currently, NOAA scientists are developing RRFS-Smoke, a coupled weather-smoke forecasting system that will replace the widely-used HRRR-Smoke model. This summer I plan to work on improving the capability of RRFS-Smoke to forecast smoke events, including predicting fire behavior over the next hours/days and predicting the height to which smoke plumes will rise in the atmosphere.
View Laura's poster.
Ali Van Ormer
Bio: My name is Allison Van Ormer (she/her) and I am a second-year graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I am pursuing a MS in Earth Science, where I am primarily conducting research within the Climate Science field. My passion is traveling the world and learning about different cultures/experiences, all while promoting sustainable traveling!
Project: Evaluating Hub-Height Wind Forecasts in Offshore Regions from the Global Forecast System
The primary goal of this project is to evaluate the hub-height wind forecasts in offshore regions using the Global Forecast System. We will assess the temporal scale that the GFS provides to see how it operates long-term, as well as assess the accuracy of these wind forecasts in different offshore regions in order to make the electric grid more resilient. In doing this, energy companies can be provided with the strengths and weaknesses of the GFS, so that they can optimize offshore energy production and enhance the effectiveness of their budgeting.
View Ali's poster.
Kourtney Wallace
Bio: I am Kourtney Wallace, and I am entering my 2nd year of Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University's PhD program in Environmental Science, with a concentration in Policy and Risk Management. My research focus is on environmental justice/equity and building vulnerable communities' capacity to respond to environmental disasters. Outside of academics, I enjoy human connection; playing games, sports and music; being outdoors; reading and writing; exploring new things; and making the world a better place.
Project: Public Alerting of Wildfire-Related Hazards
This project will assist in identifying best practices for wildfire alerting and how certain communities without cell phones and those in small mountain communities with poor signal or ‘off the grid’ would be notified.
View Kourtney's poster.
Undergraduate Interns
Kevin Capps
Bio: In my junior year at Florida Institute of Technology, I am studying Aviation Meteorology. I am an Air Force veteran who enjoys the experiences of living in and visiting foreign countries.
Project: Weather Archive and Visualization Environment (WAVE) Tool Advancement
WAVE is a tool developed in partnership with the NWS to create consistent, understandable graphics for decision support, social media in addition to archive access for past events. The goal of the project is to improve aspects of WAVE for impact-based decision support, help communicate what WAVE can offer by improving and developing the WAVE user's page, and testing and evaluation of WAVE 1.5 release.
View Kevin's poster.
Ethan Carr
Bio: I graduated from the U.S. Military Academy with a B.S. in Physical Geography in 2020. In the Fall of 2022 I will begin my Masters in Geography at CU Boulder, where I am looking to focus my studies on the Cryosphere. In my free time I enjoy various outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, and fly fishing.
Project: Quantifying the Benefit of Using Hazard Services to Disseminate Hazardous Weather Information
This project will quantify the difference in areal extent of watch/warning in Hazard Services to the old version. The goal of this project is to more accurately identify evacuation zones for storm surge.
View Ethan's poster.
Nicolle Cirino
Bio: I'm a senior at Metropolitan State University of Denver, working towards a Bachelors Degree in Meteorology with a minor in Mathematics. I graduated with a Bachelors in the Environmental Sciences from the University of Northern Colorado in 2020. In my free time, I like to read, quilt, and cook Puerto Rican food!
Project: Assessment of RRFS Ensemble Convective Storm Forecasts Using Radar Reflectivity Object-Based Diagnostics
My project focuses on evaluating the performance of the Rapid Refresh Forecast System (RRFS) using object-based verification on composite reflectivity imagery from forecasted severe storm events.
View Nicolle's poster.
Xinba Li
Bio: Xinba received his B.S. from the University of Connecticut, where he double majored in applied mathematics and economics along with a statistics minor. Xinba has experience working with satellite altimetry, HF radar, buoy, and ADCP datasets and published a first-author article in Remote Sensing during his junior year. He will attend Vanderbilt University for a PhD in economics next semester and hopes to pursue multidisciplinary research involving energy and economics in the future.
Project: Improvements for Dynamic Ensemble-based Scenarios for IDSS (DESI)
I will be working on developing a series of backend statistics and plots for the DESI project using python. These include, but are not limited to, probability of exceedance, localized probability matched means, and paintball plots.
View Xinba's poster.
Jessica Paredes Saltijeral
Bio: My name is Jessica and I am a student at the University of Colorado Denver. This upcoming fall, I will be starting my second year of undergrad as a physics student. I am a first generation student and a proud daughter of immigrants.
Project: Evaluation of the Radiative Energy Budget in the UFS Coupled System Prototype 7: using 2017 case study
My project involves looking at the radiative energy exchange between that absorbed by Earth and that which is reflected out to space. I will specifically be looking for biases, which means looking for differences between this forecast model's outcomes and observed data. I will do this by comparing the forecast in this prototype of the Unified Forecast System with the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System data from NASA.
View Jessica's poster.
Savannah Wujastyk
Bio: I'm a recent graduate of Syracuse University with a B.S. in Environmental Engineering and a B.S. in Environment, Sustainability, and Policy. In the Fall of 2022, I will be pursuing my M.S. in Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. I'm passionate about understanding climate change's effect on the environment and how this may impact current living conditions.
Project: Evaluation of Model Forecast Against Aircraft Observed Icing Parameters
Understanding icing conditions in the atmosphere is important for preventing ice buildup on aircrafts which can result in aircraft failure. Using ICICLE experiment observation data and comparing this to HRRR model data helps to improve forecasts of these conditions. To further improve the models, a quantitative approach can be taken to discover errors and verify accuracy to help provide better forecasts.
View Savannah's poster.