Planetary Geosciences Group - Interns

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. Currently, a significant number of interns at PSI come from two NASA-sponsored programs, the NASA Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant) and the NASA Planetary Geology and Geophysics Undergraduate Research Program (PGGURP). These programs are described below.

NASA's National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program and their 50 associated state chapters offer paid internships and fellowships for qualifying undergraduate and graduate students. 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. The University of Arizona administrates the UA/NASA Space Grant Program and matches qualified undergraduates to mentors at the University, PSI, and other established partners.

The Planetary Geology and Geophysics Undergraduate Research Program was developed by NASA to provide undergraduates the opportunity to participate in and learn from research in the planetary geosciences. The aims of the program include: to provide incentive for the development of future planetary geoscientists; to broaden the base of participation of students in planetary geosciences; to introduce qualified students in traditional geoscience disciplines to planetary studies; and to educate students about the interrelationship between science objectives, data sets, and instrument requirements.

Year	Intern	Program	Mentor(s)	Project
2009	Emily Joseph Case Western Reserve Univ.	PSI Summer Intern	David Crown Dan Berman	Impact Craters as Stratigraphic Markers on Mars
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

2008 Planetary Geosciences, Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ