Please
note: No financial assistance, housing, or travel
are provided as part of this opportunity. Students
are responsible for making their own arrangements.
Discover
more about serving an academic appointment at
NMNH and join in conversation, news and events
by visiting our Facebook page and joining the
"ARC" group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7307446629
Winter
Break Project List - 2008
Not
all projects are available all weeks.
Some projects require special skills and requirements.
PROJECT
TITLE:
Digital Image Library of Amazonian
Canopy Beetles (Coleoptera)
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
This goal of this project is to produce a digital
taxonomic image library of new species of tumbling
flower beetles (Coleoptera: Mordellidae) for the
Ecuador Canopy Biodiversity Project. This research
began in 1994 to monitor the effects of road construction
and oil extraction on the insect fauna of Yasuni
National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon, and has
resulted in the discovery of an incredible diversity
of arboreal beetles. As an intern on this project
you will receive hands-on training from SI Entomology
staff on curating and imaging pinned beetle specimens
using our new GT Vision Extended Focus Imaging
(Auto-Montage) microscopy system. Your job will
be to compile the final images for Mordellidae,
along with accompanying taxonomic information
for each species, into a PowerPoint presentation
or set of web pages formatted for the Encyclopedia
of Life. Optional training is available on scientific
illustration, including digital techniques using
Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. If you have multi-media
or communications experience you can use this
opportunity to write a popular science article,
blog, or podcast about the project to share with
the public.
QUALIFICATIONS:
At least one organismal biology class is necessary.
Some experience with insect collections is preferred
but not required.
TIMETABLE:
Indefinite
CONTACT
Name:
Terry Erwin
|
Phone:
202-633-1022
|
E-mail:
erwint@si.edu |
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PROJECT
TITLE:
Translations of Mollusk Species
Descriptions
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
The intern will translate original species descriptions
from Spanish, French, German, and Latin to English
for mollusk species listed on http://invertebrates.si.edu/cerion/
The work can be done from any computer with internet
access, so off-site students can also apply. A
list of descriptions in a particular language
will be provided and the translations sent in
by e-mail. Staff will check them for appropriate
malacological jargon and post them to the internet
from here. A credit line “Translation by
……” for will be included. To see
an example,
go to the Cerion website, scroll to Cerion
aedilii in the “select from list”,
click the go box, then go to original description,
“Click to view” to see a description
in Spanish for which we are seeking an English
translation. There
are probably about a hundred descriptions in need
of translation on this website.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Fluent in language being translated.
TIMETABLE:
CONTACT
Name:
Jerry Harasewych
|
Phone:
202-633-1745
|
E-mail:
harasewych@si.edu
|
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PROJECT
TITLE:
Analysis of a Pennsylvanian-age
wetland flora
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
Incumbent will be working with plant fossils of
Pennsylvanian age (about 307 million years old)
from a coal mine in south-central Illinois. Objective
1 is to sort the fossils into groups with similar
appearance. Objective 2 is to photograph representative
members of each group of fossils. Objective 3
is to attempt to identify the fossil groups taxonomically
in as much detail as possible.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Inquisitiveness. Computer and photographic skills
(or desire to learn the latter) a plus.
TIMETABLE:
One month, starting in January, 2008. December
start possible, although it is likely that we
will not be here the last week of December.
CONTACT
Name:
Bill DiMichele
|
Phone:
202-633-1319
|
E-mail:
dimichel@si.edu |
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PROJECT
TITLE:
Development of educational
material for geology field course
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
The student would work closely with staff to create
educational presentations to be used for a college-level
geology field course. The student should be creative
in generating dynamic and effective presentations
aimed at teaching college-level students about
the mineralogy and petrology of granitic pegmatites.
These presentations would be created in Microsoft
Powerpoint.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Experience using Microsoft Powerpoint a must.
Knowledge of Adobe Photoshop a plus.
TIMETABLE:
CONTACT
Name:
Michael Wise
|
Phone:
202-633-1826
|
E-mail:
wisem@si.edu |
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PROJECT
TITLE:
Using MySQL to put FileMaker
Pro worms on the internet
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
The intern will convert a web application for
identifying the species of a particular group
of worms in the phylum Nemertea from FileMaker
Pro to MySQL. The NEMERTES
web site is intended to serve as a relatively
comprehensive knowledge-base for specialists,
other professionals, and students interested in
an important but understudied phylum of mostly
marine worms. The
worms are predators and occupy all marine habitats,
as well as some terrestrial and freshwater habitats.
About 1,200 species have been named but we expect
that up to a thousand more wait to be recognized
as new just in our reasonably well-studied coastal
regions. Despite their ecological significance
and potential importance in understanding animal
evolution, this particular phylum of worms tends
to be ignored because they are very difficult
to work with and to identify. We had invested
a lot of effort into creating a module in FileMaker
Pro for identifying and tracking information about
a particular group of nemerteans. For various
reasons, we are no longer able to deploy this
module and need to rebuild it in MySQL. We seek
someone familiar with these database formats,
someone clever about database structure, to take
on the challenge.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Must have significant experience with MySQL; experience
with FileMaker Pro, Mac OS X and biological taxonomy
desirable.
TIMETABLE:
A minimum of 80 hours anytime after 15 January
2007.
CONTACT
Name:
Jon Norenburg
|
Phone:
202-633-1783
|
E-mail:
norenburgj@si.edu |
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PROJECT
TITLE:
Assessing
the Value of a Science Publication
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
The
Institution publishes information about erupting
volcanoes in what is currently called the Bulletin
of the Global Volcanism Network. This is available
both in black-and-white as a paper copy, and as
a pdf file, and it forms a key part of our website
(www.volcano.si.edu/)
where it is typically described as an 'activity
report.' We would like to find ways to evaluate
the impact of the Bulletin on scientists and research.
The process is complicated by the fact that the
name of the publication has changed several times
since it began in 1968. Furthermore, the publication
is 'gray literature' that often gets cited in
differing ways in various publications. We are
also uncertain whether investigators are clearly
citing the data obtained from our website. Still,
we'd like to explore how we might establish a
reasonable estimate of our "citation index."
Perhaps there are other indices that come into
play in cases like this, in which case, we would
like to learn more about the options for evaluating
this publication.
In
addition, various experiments and comparative
tests can be made using citation indexing techniques.
If time is available, the student may wish to
explore some of these (see http://scientific.thomson.com/free/essays/useofcitationdatabases/linking/).
Another related publication that we support, Weekly
Reports on active volcanoes might also be the
subject of a similar evaluation (that publication
is just a few years old and only web based).
The
results of these efforts will bear upon our planning,
direction, and strategy. How important is our
work in current research and for future assessments
and understanding of planet Earth?
QUALIFICATIONS
/ REQUIREMENTS:
TIMETABLE:
CONTACT
Staff
Sponsor:
Rick Wunderman
|
Phone:
202-633-1827
|
E-mail:
rwunder@volcano.si.edu
|
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PROJECT
TITLE:
Contributions
to the U.S. National Herbarium: Botany Maps
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
The Department of Botany has a collection of over
10,000 maps dating from the 1860s to the present.
Volunteer help has been organizing the maps, photographing
them and entering them into a database. Depending
on the student's skills and interests, s/he would
assist in identifying obscure maps, photographing
maps, editing the photos, entering information
about the maps into the database and/or cleaning
up the database code and web interface. The database
is written in Microsoft Access and its primary
user interface is in ColdFusion / HTML / SQL.
QUALIFICATIONS
/ REQUIREMENTS:
No
specific experience or academic requirements required
for either project.
TIMETABLE:
CONTACT
Staff
Sponsor:
Rusty Russell
|
Phone:
202-633-0943
|
E-mail:
russellr@si.edu
|
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PROJECT TITLE:
San Jacinto Mountains Field
Guide
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
The Department of Botany is developing a field
guide for rapid identification of the flora of
the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains in southern
California. Using data from historic plant collections
in the U.S. National Herbarium and other participating
herbaria, an electronic field guide is being designed
that incorporates these data, together with color
images and geo-reference data in order to establish
precise localities. Interested students would
participate in the acquisition and processing
of color plant images for the guide, assist with
the organization of thousands of data records,
and/or help prepare synoptic descriptions of selected
species.
QUALIFICATIONS
/ REQUIREMENTS:
Online
research experience and familiarity with MS Excel
are requirements.
TIMETABLE:
CONTACT
Staff
Sponsor:
Rusty Russell
|
Phone:
202-633-0943
|
E-mail:
russellr@si.edu
|
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PROJECT
TITLE:
Botany of the United States
Exploring Expedition: 1838-1842
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
Interns will work directly in the US National
Herbarium to extract specimens collected on the
US Exploring Expedition as well as conduct research
online, and in libraries and archives to resolve
gaps in the specimen data record. Interns are
also needed to enumerate specimens that have already
been located to maintain organization of specimen
data. Other opportunities include managing the
growing Wilkes collection and transcribing historical
documents including some data-entry is required.
Sure
we've all heard about the journeys of Captain
Cook and Lewis & Clark but have you ever heard
about the US Exploring Expedition 1838-1842? There
were 6 Vessels, 346 men, plus 9 scientists and
artists that traveled the world with the goal
of surveying and charting the South Pacific, exploring
the Columbia River of the US Pacific NW, and claiming
discovery of, then unknown, Antarctica. Even lesser
known are the stories of the expedition's scientific
collections. The Smithsonian Institution's natural
history collections claim their roots in the wealth
of specimens brought back by the scientists on
board. In the US National Herbarium alone, there
are potentially 10,000 US Exploring Expedition
specimens from around the world. It is estimated
that a total of 50,000 botanical specimens exist
at a variety of herbaria across the country and
around the globe. A comprehensive narrative discussing
the Botany of the US Exploring Expedition has
not yet been done. This project focuses on the
botanical story of the expedition from its historical
and scientific perspectives. The project's goals
include enumerating the entire collection, conserving
each specimen, and producing a web presentation
that integrates specimens and historical documents,
such as publications, correspondence, manuscripts,
field notes, and journal entries, into a precise
resource on the Botany of the US Exploring Expedition.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Must have a strong interest in working directly
with museum collections, especially with regard
to botanical specimens. Must possess strong research
skills. Must be able to work independently and
demonstrate a commitment to achieving project
goals. Must be detail oriented and highly motivated.
Careful handling MUST be applied in working with
fragile, historical specimens. Knowledge of Microsoft
Excel and Microsoft Access a plus. A minimum of
10 hours per week is required. Individuals best
suited to the project are eager to search for
'buried' specimens, patient when they don't find
them, and possess a sense of humor.
TIMETABLE:
CONTACT
Name:
Rusty Russell
|
Phone:
202-633-0943
|
E-mail:
russellr@si.edu |
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PROJECT
TITLE:
Preparing a List of Plant
Species
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC)
calls for a preliminary assessment list of the
conservation status of all known plant species.
The student will use specimen data from the U.S.
National Herbarium to investigate and analyze
preliminary conservation assessments on select
plant families.
QUALIFICATIONS:
TIMETABLE:
Indefinite
CONTACT
Name:
Gary Krupnick
|
Phone:
202-633-0940
|
E-mail:
krupnickg@si.edu |
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PROJECT
TITLE:
Discovery Room Collections
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
The intern will organize and catalogue the collection
of the Museum's Discovery Room as well as identify
unknown objects utilizing the expertise available
from the Museum's research and collections staff.
The Discovery Room is a unique educational facility
for families and students. The room features activities
using real Museum objects and interactive, hands-on
experiences that allow visitors to explore the
natural world at their own pace, guided by their
own interests and sense of wonder. The Discovery
Room serves two primary audiences: families and
school groups. Activities in the room for the
families (during public hours) and school groups
(during reserved times) are designed and developed
by museum staff and incorporate objects from the
Discovery Room collection. The Discovery Room
collection is comprised of about 1,000 objects
representing anthropology, botany, entomology,
invertebrate zoology, mineral sciences, paleobiology
and vertebrate zoology (birds, fishes, mammals,
reptiles and amphibians). The objects are deaccessioned,
gifts or purchased items. Not all the objects
are catalogued and not all the objects have been
identified.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Undergraduate or graduate students in science
or museum studies or graduated students with a
minimum of a bachelor's degree and experience
in the fields of science or museum studies. Applicants
should have an interest in science and museum
studies; excellent organizational and cataloging
skills; good communication skills and computer
skills; ability and interest in working with collections;
be a self-starter and work independently.
TIMETABLE:
CONTACT
Name:
Amy Bolton
|
Phone:
(202-633-1071
|
E-mail:
boltonam@si.edu |
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PROJECT
TITLE:
Wield the
Power of RSS
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
The
intern will work with the NMNH IT Web Branch and/or
internal content providers and web managers to
develop and implement RSS XML templates, usage
standards, guidelines, and documentation for multiple
museum RSS feeds to distribute and promote museum
information. May include research (if not already
known) into RSS industry standards and best practices.
The RSS, the Really Simple Syndication XML format
is among the fastest growing internet technologies
to distribute, expose, and share online information.
It is also growing as one of the best ways to
promote museum websites and dynamically changing
museum web content. The NMNH Web Branch seeks
to take advantage of the established RSS technologies
in support of the new NMNH Web Site, launched
in the Spring of 2006, as well as for the promotion
of existing websites, exhibits, and other promotional
venues. This internship opportunity also provides
valuable experience in working with a powerful
and industry standard, enterprise wide WCM.
QUALIFICATIONS
/ REQUIREMENTS:
This
opportunities best suited for candidates with
basic or advanced levels of web development and
especially those with a good or aspiring understanding
of XML and RSS and those that are interested in
working within an industry standard WCM. Moreover,
good communication skills, dynamic initiative,
creativity, and thorough follow-up with solid
documentation skills would also be important to
find success with this opportunity.
TIMETABLE:
CONTACT
Staff
Sponsor:
Dennis Hasch
|
Phone:
202-633-0848
|
E-mail:
haschd@si.edu
|
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PROJECT TITLE:
Power to
the Podcasters!
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
The intern will work with the NMNH IT Web Branch
and/or internal content providers and web managers
to develop and implement an easy-to-use Podcast
toolbox, establish usage standards, audio encoding
guidelines, and documentation for Podcast feeds
to distribute and promote museum audio or visual
information. May require research (if not already
known) into Podcast standards and best practices.
Podcasting,
like RSS (Really Simple Syndication), is among
the fastest growing internet audio visual technologies
to syndicate and distribute online information.
Likewise, it is growing as one of the best ways
to promote museum events and dynamically changing
rich audio and video museum content. NMNH seeks
to take advantage of established Podcast technologies
and inexpensive tools to utilize its power and
trend in support of the new NMNH Web Site launched
in the Spring of 2006 as well as for the promotion
of museum events, new exhibits, online websites,
and other museum promotional venues.
Since
the NMNH web sphere is emerging deeper into the
Smithsonian's utilization of Interwoven TeamSite/OpenDeploy,
our Web Content Management (WCM) system, this
internship opportunity also offers the advantage
of gaining valuable experience by working with
a powerful and industry standard, enterprise wide
WCM.
QUALIFICATIONS
/ REQUIREMENTS:
This
opportunities best suited for candidates with
basic or advanced levels of audio and video web
development and especially those with a good or
aspiring understanding of Podcast technologies
and associated encoding and RSS formats, and those
that are interested in working within an industry
standard WCM. Moreover, good communication skills,
dynamic initiative, creativity, and thorough follow-up
with solid documentation skills would also be
important to find success with this opportunity.
TIMETABLE:
CONTACT
Staff
Sponsor:
Dennis Hasch
|
Phone:
202-633-0848
|
E-mail:
haschd@si.edu
|
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PROJECT TITLE:
Fantastic
Flash Development and Educational Flash Interactives
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
Flash
has been called the industry standard for creating
high-impact interactive web presentations, and
this description fits well for many museum virtual
efforts, online exhibits, and educational and
informative interactives. As with other museums
and public educational institutions, the use of
Flash at NMNH has paralleled the industry trends.
This Flash based internship opportunity offers
2 optional directions:
a)
The firsts is to work with the NMNH IT Web Branch
or NMNH Content Providers and implement a small
collection of Flash based applications that use
the "scribble" coloring book Flash interactive
application technology, which basically allows
web users to color or draw on a selection of images.
The Smithsonian has complete usage rights to these
tools and various implementations are already
in use at a few other Smithsonian museums. Specifically,
the intern(s) would assist in choosing and editing
optimal natural history related images (dinosaurs,
gems, animals, plants, etc.), work with Flash
and code configurations, upload, test, and document
the steps and procedures. An example of the "Scribble"
Flash application can be seen in use at the Smithsonian's
Postal
Museum.
b)
The second opportunity is to develop a less specific
Flash based interactive that would allow the intern
to come up with and implement his or her own idea
for an educational or edutainment oriented Flash
interactive that makes innovative use of our rich
online educational and collections content.
QUALIFICATIONS
/ REQUIREMENTS:
These
opportunities are best suited for candidates with
basic or advanced levels of Flash experience,
but aspiring Flash developers are also welcome.
Moreover, good communication skills, dynamic initiative,
creativity, and thorough follow-up with reasonable
documentation would also be important to find
success with these opportunities.
TIMETABLE:
CONTACT
Staff
Sponsor:
Dennis Hasch
|
Phone:
202-633-0848
|
E-mail:
haschd@si.edu
|
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PROJECT TITLE:
Internal
Navigation and Emerging Cascading Style Sheet
(CSS) Development
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
The
intern will work with the NMNH IT Web Branch and
internal content providers to build and implement
a more solid navigational foundation and structure
for the Museum's internal resources within the
Intranet WCM and assist in the migration of disparate
intranet content sources into a new structure
and system. Because new NMNH Intranet efforts
are moving to CSS functionality, it will also
be important to implement a dynamic and changeable
format for the navigation that takes advantage
of style sheet functionality, from which the NMNH
Web Branch has already started to build and manage.
NMNH
is among the largest and most complex museums
in the world. As the Web Branch moves forward
to support the web and online needs of our web
visitors and professional associates, we also
must provide an efficient internal (intranet)
web presence to meet the growing needs of internal
communication and information sharing. Traditionally,
the museum intranet space as been a disparate
collection of various office and departmental
spaces without a necessary logical structure that
supports the internal museum structure. Efforts
to consolidate our intranet resources into the
Smithsonian's enterprise wide web content management
system (WCM) are already underway. The Smithsonian
uses Interwoven TeamSite/OpenDeploy among the
most powerful and industry standard WCM systems.
QUALIFICATIONS
/ REQUIREMENTS:
This
opportunities best suited for candidates with
basic or advanced levels of web development and
especially those with a good understanding of
CSS and those that are interested in working within
an industry standard WCM. Moreover, good communication
skills, dynamic initiative, creativity, and thorough
follow-up with reasonable documentation would
also be important to find success with these opportunities.
TIMETABLE:
CONTACT
Staff
Sponsor:
Dennis Hasch
|
Phone:
202-633-0848
|
E-mail:
haschd@si.edu
|
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PROJECT
TITLE:
Design our Facebook page
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
Do you enjoy maintaining your own Facebook page?
Here's an opportunity for you to design and
launch our Facebook page. For years students
interested in internships at Natural History,
those serving current academic appointments,
and our alumni have kept informed through our
active web pages. To keep up with current trends
in communication we will be launching a new
page on Facebook featuring the latest information
about our academic programs, including the Research
Training Program, as well as daily posts from
the ARC (Academic Resources Center).
QUALIFICATIONS:
Experience using Facebook
TIMETABLE:
CONTACT
Name:
Mary Sangrey
|
Phone:
202-633-4548
|
E-mail:
sangreym@si.edu |
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Logistics
Questions
How
do you apply for the Winter Break Program?
Students
interested in participating in the Winter
Break Program should contact (e-mail)
the person listed as the ""Staff
Sponsor" for the project they are
most interested in working on. Include
in your e-mail the name of the project
you're interested in, the dates of your
winter break, and your academic background
including any experience relevant to the
project selected.
How will students be selected?
Students
selected for participation will receive
a confirmation e-mail from the project
Staff Sponsor.
How many students will be selected?
During
the winter break no more than 20 students
will be selected for participation in
the program.
Where will students report on the first
day of the week? Do you have advice or
directions for how to get there?
Students
selected for participation will report
to the National Museum of Natural History
(10th Street and Constitution Avenue,
NW) Constitution Avenue Lobby. Have a
security officer call Mary Sangrey (633-4548)
who will meet them in the lobby.
What time should students arrive on the
first day? And what will be their regular
working hours?
Monday
at 9:00 a.m. is preferred arrival. Regular
work hours are 8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.
After selected and reporting for the first
day, whom should students ask for?
Mary
Sangrey, phone: 633-4548
What sort of attire should students wear
throughout the week?
Work
dress is casual attire. Anything easy
to work in is best. (yes, jeans are fine).
