2025-26 AY PT Research Fellowship: Ecosystem Restoration in Tropical Peatlands
The Stanford King Center on Global Development’s Academic Year Part-Time Research Fellowship Program connects King Center faculty affiliates and affiliated researchers with undergraduate students committed to providing research support during autumn, winter, and spring quarters.
Students have the opportunity to engage in world-class research that has real-world impact. Undergraduate student research fellows are paid $19/hour. Students must be enrolled full-time to participate and must be able to commit to research 8-10 hours per week.
*Students must attend orientation and submit an I-9 form to verify employment and receive payment. Students who cannot accept pay may be allowed to receive academic credit for this research.
Research Project Description:
Tropical peatlands are wetland ecosystems that store large amounts of carbon belowground in their waterlogged soils. Across Southeast Asia, drainage and deforestation have shifted these ecosystems from carbon sinks to large sources of CO2 emissions. Efforts are now underway to restore and rewet tropical peatlands. We are studying an experimental peatland rewetting and agricultural site in Indonesia to investigate the impacts of restoration on tropical peatlands. The results of our project will provide data needed for evidence-based land management, climate mitigation planning, and sustainable development across Southeast Asia.
Primary Research Mentor: Alison Hoyt, Assistant Professor, Doerr - Earth System Science
Co-Research Mentor: Clarice Perryman, Postdoctoral Fellow, NSF Earth Sciences
Stanford undergraduate students in good academic standing and enrolled full-time are eligible to apply. Co-term students must have undergraduate student status; if co-terms are in graduate billing status (after 12 quarters) they are ineligible to participate.
All majors are welcome!
Students Responsibilities:
The fellow will contribute to our understanding of carbon cycling in tropical peatlands. The fellow will have the opportunity to perform a range of laboratory measurements on soil samples, gas samples and water samples collected by our team to understand how carbon stocks and greenhouse gas emissions change as a results of peatland drainage and restoration. This is primarily a laboratory-based project. The intern will receive training on new methods, and will need to work independently to analyze samples. We will work with the student to adapt the research to their experience and interests.
Students qualifications:
- Prior fieldwork or laboratory experience is preferred.
Time Commitment:
The time commitment is 8-10 hours per week (equivalent to a 3-unit course) each academic quarter. The expectation is that students will work the full academic year with their mentor (Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters). Students planning on studying abroad are not eligible.
To Apply:
Along with the application, applicants are asked to submit:
- a cover letter
- resume or CV
- unofficial Stanford transcript (first quarter frosh do not need to submit transcripts for autumn quarter applications)
