Applying for a 2025 SPS internship?
Check out the weekly journals and see presentations from the 2024 Interns!
Applications open November 1, 2024.
Application Deadline: January 15, 2025.
Education and Outreach Positions
AIP History/NBLA Program Intern
Joint Hosts: AIP Center for History of Physics and Niels Bohr Library & Archives (1 available)
Are you curious about the human story behind scientific discoveries? Are you interested in bringing more attention to underrepresented voices in the history of science? The AIP Center for History of Physics (CHP) and the Niels Bohr Library & Archives (NBLA) are looking for an intern to develop educational resources and to conduct outreach on topics in the history of the physical sciences. In the first half of the summer, the intern will work with CHP to create educational materials such as new lesson plans for the AIP Teaching Guides on the History of the Physical Sciences. In the second half of the summer, the intern will work with NBLA to conduct outreach related to topics in the history of physical sciences. This outreach could take the form of a bibliography for related reading and research, posters/flyers/other graphic print announcements, bookmarks and other promotional materials, or Wikipedia edits on their chosen topic. The intern will also create an outreach plan to promote their exhibit on various outlets, including writing for the History Newsletter and/or Ex Libris Universum blog, as well as social media posts on Facebook, Twitter, or other outlets.
Qualifications:
- Demonstrated writing skills
- Interest in public outreach and informal education
- Strong creative skills, visual presentation and/or marketing skills
- Completion of at least two years of college physics
- Ability to effectively communicate scientific topics to pre-college students
APS Public Engagement STEP UP Intern
Host: American Physical Society (1 available)
Improving diversity, representation and inclusion in the physics discipline starts in middle and high school science classrooms. If this interests you, and you share our goal of supporting the physics community in promoting widespread participation and engagement in physics, APS is looking for a STEP UP Summer Intern to work with our public engagement team. STEP UP is a national community of physics teachers, researchers, and professional societies that aims to mobilize thousands of high school physics teachers to help engage young women in physics and inspire them to pursue physics in college. We do this by designing high school physics learning opportunities to empower teachers, create cultural change, and inspire young women.
Responsibilities for this position include updating data and instructional materials on Women in Physics, working with physics educators to update training materials, aiding in data analysis, and curating content for quantum science related physics lessons.
Qualifications:
- Knowledge of best practices for virtual, DEI-compliant instructional content (desired).
- Demonstrated attention to detail.
- Strong organization, documentation, and prioritization skills.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to adapt to quickly changing schedules.
- Ability to work well with interdepartmental teams as well as independently.
AAPT/SPS Science Outreach Catalyst Kit Intern
Host: Society of Physics Students, American Institute of Physics, American Association of Physics Teachers (1 available)
Are you passionate about sharing physics with the next generation? Do you like developing fun and educational science activities? SPS Science Outreach Catalyst Kits (SOCKs) are self-contained kits that feature creative, informative, and hands-on physics activities for SPS chapters nationwide to use in outreach programs in their communities. The SOCK intern will work on the summer 2024 SOCK from inception to completion by brainstorming, testing, designing, and refining activities. The intern will participate in several physics outreach events over the course of the summer, work on related physics and astronomy outreach materials, and will write a manual that will accompany the SOCK. The science theme for the 2024 SOCK will be determined in coordination with the selected intern.
Qualifications:
- Interest in public outreach and education
- Experience in outreach or education with K-12 students
- Ability to effectively communicate scientific topics to non-scientists
- Excellent writing skills
- Experience with science outreach or education preferred
Physics Today Science Writing Intern
Host: American Institute of Physics - Physics Today (1 available)
Physics Today, the world’s leading physics magazine, seeks an editorial intern. Responsibilities include writing about new studies in the physical sciences, doing research for stories under development, and helping with PT’s social media accounts. This is a great opportunity for someone considering a career in science journalism.
Qualifications:
- Interest in science communication
- Demonstrated writing skills
- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to work independently
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: AI Laboratory Guide for Physics with Smartphones
Host: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) (1 available)
Description: This internship focuses on developing a new educational tool for teaching physics at the high school and college levels. It will utilize smartphone sensors to conduct a wide range of measurements, enabling students to build their knowledge and skills in science and engineering. Over the past five years, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has developed a curriculum that leverages smartphone technology for physics education. The next phase of this initiative aims to integrate recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) with mobile sensor technology. The goal is to create a platform that guides students through a diverse array of experiments, providing real-time feedback and enhances critical thinking throughout the experiment.
Intern Responsibilities
The intern will collaborate with LLNL and American Institute of Physics (AIP) staff to:
- Develop a comprehensive plan for a national-scale project to create educational materials and an AI-enabled experimental guide using the physics with phones approach.
- Design a development and testing strategy that utilizes the extensive Society of Physics Students network.
Qualifications
The ideal candidate will possess:
- At least one year of college-level physics coursework.
- A strong interest in AI tools and their applications in education.
- A desire to make a meaningful impact on physics education.
Science Policy Positions
AIP Mather Public Policy Intern - NIST
Host: American Institute of Physics (AIP) and the National Institute for Standards and Technology (1-2 available)
AIP Mather Interns are placed with the Office of Advanced Manufacturing (OAM), at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on the Gaithersburg camps. Coordinated through OAM, Manufacturing USA is a national network created to secure U.S. global leadership in advanced manufacturing through large-scale public-private collaboration on technology, supply chain, and workforce development. These $3 billion public-private partnerships across 17 institutes align manufacturers of all sizes, academia, and government to work on major research and development projects relevant to industry and train people on advanced manufacturing (STEM) skills. The Institutes focus on different technology sectors including but not limited to: semiconductors, robotics, integrated photonics, 3D printing, composites and materials, flexible electronics, AI, etc.
Interns will work within OAM, which convenes and enables industry-led, private-public partnerships that focus on manufacturing innovation by engaging 9 federal agencies, state and local governments, U.S. universities, and technology manufacturers. It uses an integrated whole-of-government advanced manufacturing initiative to facilitate collaboration and information sharing across federal agencies, including NSF, DOE, DoD, NASA and others. By coordinating federal resources and programs, the office enhances technology transfer in U.S. manufacturing industries and helps companies overcome technical obstacles to scale-up new technologies and products.
Mather Policy interns work on a mixture of our day-to-day policy needs and a policy focused summer capstone project. The interns should anticipate visits to Capitol Hill and to other executive branch agencies, conferences, and with other federal policy partners. Interns will receive a valuable educational experience through exposure to science and technology policy making within the federal government and its connections to industry.
Qualifications
- Interest in science policy
- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to work independently
AIP FYI Science Policy News Intern
Host: American Institute of Physics (1 available)
Are you interested in how science informs public policy and how the government sets policies that impact science? Do you want to help communicate policy developments to scientists? If so, consider applying for a summer internship with FYI, an objective science policy news and resource center supported by the American Institute of Physics.
The AIP Science Policy News Intern will help the FYI team research, write, and distribute news articles about federal science policy debates and decisions. To improve the FYI team’s awareness of science policy developments, the intern will attend and summarize a wide variety of events, including congressional hearings, think tank discussions, and federal advisory committee meetings. The intern may also have the opportunity to be the lead author for one or more articles.
Qualifications
- Interest in science policy
- Interest in communicating policy developments
- Demonstrated writing skills
Science Research Positions
Science Research: Space Telescope Science (STScI) Institute Intern
Host: STScI (1 available)
Description: Galaxy formation and evolution are regulated by a complex interplay between star formation, chemical abundance and gas dynamics. Stars form from cool gas, which is either formed in situ in the galaxy or accreted from the circum/inter galactic medium or from the merger progenitors. Metals form in stars and are ejected into the interstellar medium (ISM) by subsequent supernova explosions. The metal-enriched gas can get dispersed in the ISM due to the internal gas dynamics of the ISM or get transported out of the galaxy via supernova-driven outflows or galactic winds. This project aims at probing the properties of the ISM via spectroscopic studies involving the emission lines emanating from the ionized gas component of the ISM. The project will have two components: one consists of compiling/analyzing the already available large literature dataset while the other one involves performing the spatially-resolved studies of star-forming galaxies via the integral field spectroscopic technique. This project will allow an enthusiastic student to get a first-hand experience in astronomical research, addressing key questions related to galaxy formation and evolution. All resources are in place. A suitable candidate should be willing to learn new skills and be enthusiastic about astronomy research.
Qualifications
- Interest in physics research
- Previous research experience
- Programming skills a plus