Student Opportunities: Cities and Climate Change

The Environmental Solutions Initiative is launching a new program area titled Cities and Climate Change. This launch coincides with the establishment of a cooperation agreement between the Sloan School of Management, the MIT Urban Metabolism Group and Thailand. The agreement is focused on discovering the resource intensity of Bangkok and other cities in Thailand, as well as community and government engagement toward a resilient urban future.

We are immediately seeking MIT students to contribute to this project.

Six positions are currently open. Each position is open for the spring term, beginning immediately, as well as the upcoming summer months. All positions are open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Spring positions are offered as UROPs (for pay or credit) or work study for undergraduates and hourly paid positions for graduate students. Summer positions are similarly structured. Committing to the spring does not require a commitment to the summer. Full research assistant positions (RA support includes tuition and stipend) will be considered on a case by case basis and may not be available until the fall term 2020.

The positions are as follows: 

1. Resource efficiency and resilience planning and design: General understanding of low energy and low carbon technologies, design and sustainability issues of the built environment, infrastructure, food systems and other areas. 1 position is available.
2. Data science: General understanding of a range of topics and techniques related to manipulating and analyzing diverse datasets. 2 positions are available.
3. Climate science and earth systems: General understanding of major elements of climate science, especially related to climate change but also including a range of biogeochemical flows. 1 position is available.
4. Urban metabolism: General analytical and good writing skills are required. The team lead, ESI Director Prof. John Fernandez, will introduce the various methods and metrics used to establish an understanding of the resource intensity of a modern city. 2 positions are available.

All six positions are available and will remain open until filled. Interviews will begin the week of February 10.

If you are interested, please send an email to Prof. John E. Fernandez at fernande@mit.edu. Please indicate what time period you are interested in and in what mode you would like to be employed: UROP paid or for credit, work study, or hourly pay.

Please include with your email an updated CV and any additional materials such as relevant coursework or publications.