Undergraduate Internships

PSI is dedicated to educating and training students to become future scientists. Since the early 1970's, PSI has been hosting undergraduate research interns from a variety of sponsoring programs including NASA, higher educational institutions, and public/private organizations. A significant number of PSI interns come from the NASA Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant) and the NASA Planetary Geology and Geophysics Undergraduate Research Program (PGGURP).

NASA's Space Grant and their 50 associated state chapters offer paid internships and fellowships for qualifying undergraduate and graduate students. Since 1989, the internships offer an excellent opportunity for students to gain research work experience that can also help develop professional/career interests or aid in developing an understanding of scientific work.

NASA's PGGURP provides undergraduates the opportunity to participate in and learn from research in the planetary geosciences. The program strives to 1) provide incentive for the development of future planetary geoscientists, 2) broaden the base of participation in planetary geosciences, 3) introduce qualified students in traditional geoscience disciplines to planetary studies, and 4) educate students about the interrelationship between science objectives, data, and instrument requirements.

Year	Intern	Program	Mentor(s)	Project
Summer 2019	Blake Maly Arvada West High School	Jefferson County Executive High School Internship Program	Than Putzig/PSI Colorado	Mapping buried ice in the high northern latitudes of Mars
Summer 2019	Daniel Havlat Golden High School	Jefferson County Executive High School Internship Program	Than Putzig/PSI Colorado	Mapping buried ice in the high northern latitudes of Mars
2017-2019	Katherine Mistick Washington University St Louis, MO	PSI Intern	Ryan Watkins	Analyzing boulder distributions around small lunar impact craters
2018	Triana Hernandez-Henz Pima Community College	NASA PDS	Bea Mueller Eric Palmer
2018	Vira Demchenko University of Colorado	NRAO REU	Hanna Sizemore	Investigating the Habitability of Martian Permafrost
2018	Zachary Bain Red Rocks C.C.	NASA HEOMD	Matt Perry Than Putzig	Searching for Caves and Ground Ice on Mars with SHARAD Data
2017-2018	Uli'i Miyajima University of Hawaii	PIPES	Norbert Schorghofer	Characterization of Freezing Conditions in Hawaii
2018	Christopher Nguyen University of Hawaii	NASA Space Grant	Norbert Schorghofer	Processing of Lunar Temperature Data using Cloud Computing
2016	Samuel Courville Colorado School of Mines	NASA PGGURP	Than Putzig	Thermophysical Properites of Dunes in the Martian Southern Hemisphere
2012	R. Schwegman Oklahoma St. Univ.	NASA PGGURP	Mary Bourke	Rock Breakdown Mapping in Gusev Crater, Mars
2012	Cassandra Lejoly University of Arizona	NASA PATM	Nalin Samarasinha	Cometary Coma Morphology of Comet 1P/Halley
2012	Michael Patrick Martin University of Arizona	NASA Space Grant	Nalin Samarasinha	Development of a Web-based Cometary Image Enhancement Facility
2011	Lujendra Ojha University of Arizona	NASA PATM	Nalin Samarasinha	Cometary Coma Morphology of Comet 1P/Halley
2011	Ben Schwans Trinity University	KECK Geology Consortium	Les Bleamaster	Geomorphic Analysis of Channel Forms on the Flank of Ascraeus Mons, Mars
2011	Brandon Shaw Trinity University	Senior Thesis	Les Bleamaster	Structural Mapping of Devana Chasma, Venus
2011	Allison Wetz Trinity University	PSI Summer Intern	Les Bleamaster	Constraints of Various Mineral Detections in Nili Fossae and Mawrth Vallis, Mars
2010	Cailey Condit Middlebury College	NASA PGGURP	Les Bleamaster	Modification and Infilling of Cirum-Hellas Craters, Mars
2010	Scott LaPlante University of Arizona	PSI Summer Intern	Steve Kortenkamp	Enhanced Visualization Techniques in Planetary Science and Education
2009-2010	Elizabeth Tandberg Trinity University	PSI Summer Intern	Les Bleamaster	Volcanic Styles and Timing in Devana Chasma, Venus
2009-2010	Emily Joseph Case Western Reserve U	PSI Summer Intern	David Crown Dan Berman	Impact Craters as Stratigraphic Markers on Mars
2008-2009	Emily Joseph Case Western Reserve U	PSI Summer Intern	Steve Kortenkamp	Enhanced Visualization Techniques in Planetary Science and Education
2008-2009	Ruben Rivas University of Arizona	NASA Space Grant	David Crown	Surface Characteristics of Lava Flows from Arsia Mons, Mars
2008	Holly Kagy University of N. Iowa	NASA PGGURP	David Crown	Lineament Mapping in the Upper Reull Vallis Region of Mars
2007-2008	Carrie Welty University of Arizona	NASA Space Grant	David Crown	Formation of Martian Gullies: Observations and Experiments
2006-2007	Ben Gubernick University of Arizona	NASA Space Grant	David Crown	GIS Analyses of Lava Flows on the Moon from Apollo and other Lunar Datasets
2006-2007	Chris Johnson University of Arizona	NASA Space Grant	Betty Pierazzo	Validation and Benchmark Testing of Impact Models using Numerical Codes SOVA & CTH
2005	Caroline O'Hara University of Texas-Austin	NASA PGGURP	Mary Bourke Les Bleamaster	Geomorphological Mapping from Orbital Images of Mars and Earth
2004-2005	Varun Bhartia University of Arizona	NASA Space Grant	David Crown Les Bleamaster	3-D Visualization of the Hellas Basin, Mars
2004	Lida Teneva Franklin & Marshall College	NASA PGGURP	David Crown	Geologic Analysis of Hellas Basin Interior Depoits, Mars
2004	Brett Carpenter Mansfield University	NASA PGGURP	Mary Bourke	Comparative Study of Terrestrial Frozen Sand Dunes and the North Polar Sand Sea on Mars
2004	Alex Brearley Oxford University	Oxford University	Mary Bourke	Rock Breakdown Processes at the Spirit Landing Site on Mars
2003-2004	Megan Pitcher University of Arizona	NASA Space Grant	David Crown	Analyses of Lava Flows on Earth and Mars
2002-2003	Thomas Miller University of Arizona	NASA Space Grant	David Crown	Mapping Lava Flow Fields of Alba Patera, Mars

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Undergraduate Internships

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Undergraduate Internships

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