2025 Summer Research Opportunities with the Bill Lane Center for the American West: Organized Projects
Overview
The Bill Lane Center for the American West offers on-campus research opportunities for Stanford undergraduates to work with faculty on projects engaged with issues related to Western land and life in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Center's vision of the West extends from San Francisco Bay to the 100th meridian, from Western Canada to all of Mexico and outward to the Pacific world. The Center supports research, teaching and reporting about Western land and life through three broad areas: 1) history, arts, and culture; 2) energy and environment; and 3) Western governance and policy.
The Center’s Research Program supports undergraduate students to undertake original research with faculty, working full-time for 35+ hours per week for 10 consecutive weeks during Summer 2025. Students meet regularly with their mentor(s) to discuss research goals and plans. The Center also organizes regular gatherings among its summer research students to foster community. Summer research students present their results during the Bill Lane Center’s seminar series on the American West during fall quarter.
The Center supports students to engage in two types of research projects, both with a priority deadline of Feb. 14, and open until April 1:
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Research projects organized by the Center (this opportunity). Focused on environmental policy and governance in the West, these projects are undertaken in collaboration with government and other stakeholders to inform decision-making. See below for additional details.
Winter and/or Spring 2025: we have limited part-time opportunities available, focused on water and climate resilience and a just energy transition. Email esther@stanford.edu for more information.
- Self-designed research proposed by students about topics related to the American West, including the arts. Learn more and apply through this separate SOLO opportunity.
To learn more about the kinds of research students have undertaken in the past, this article provides an overview of student research in Summer 2024.
Bill Lane Center Research Priorities and Projects for 2025
We are currently seeking students interested in contributing to the following on-going research projects organized by the Center. Students will focus on one of these topics, and will make a defined contribution while also working on a team with other students. Students will be mentored by the Center’s director Prof. Bruce Cain as well as the research manager Dr. Esther Conrad.
Currently, the following project opportunities are available. Others may be added later. Please discuss your specific interest in these projects in your application. We will begin reviewing applications on Feb. 14, so please apply by then if possible! The opportunity will remain open until April 1.
Water and climate resilience in California and the West: in collaboration with partners such as the Environmental Defense Fund, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, and researchers at UC Santa Cruz and UC Irvine, students may contribute research on the following topic areas:
- Analysis of policies and incentives to advance repurposing of land to reduce groundwater use and promote groundwater recharge
- Analysis of groundwater banking strategies to expand opportunities to store excess surface water flows during wet years underground for use during drought years
- Analysis of progress toward sustainability in adjudicated groundwater basins (groundwater resources managed under a court order), and in basins in the Central Coast of California managed under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
Promoting a just transition away from fossil fuels in California and the West: in collaboration with partners such as the Governor’s Office for Business and Economic Development and others, students may contribute research on the following topic areas:
- Addressing barriers to transitioning municipal fleets to zero emission vehicles
- Policies to promote an equitable transition away from gas and toward electrification
- Overcoming cost, administrative, and motivational barriers to home electrification
Reducing wildfire risks in California and the West: this project will build upon a long-term collaboration with the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority in Marin County. Specific topic areas have yet to be identified, but past focus areas have included research on the science and regulation of vegetation management to reduce fire risks and effective stakeholder engagement strategies.
Undergraduate students from all years and disciplines are encouraged to apply. Coterm students are eligible if they are paying undergraduate tuition in Spring 2025. Eligibility for this program follows VPUE student research eligibility guidelines. Please review these requirements in detail before applying. In particular, please note:
- Student athletes should confirm the impact of any awarded stipend on their athletic eligibility by contacting the Compliance Services Office prior to committing to a research project.
- Stipends, prizes, or awards paid to undergraduate students who are receiving other forms of financial aid for any purpose are a form of financial assistance and may require adjustment to a student's scholarship eligibility, and/or adjustment to their overall cost of attendance. The Financial Aid Office has the responsibility to determine whether adjustments are necessary and it's the individual responsibility of the student to contact the Financial Aid Office about the impact of their grant to their overall cost of attendance. This policy applies during quarters when students are registered for classes and therefore should not affect students participating in our summer research program.
Students participating in the Bill Lane Center’s summer research program are not permitted to engage in another full-time internship, research position, job, or volunteer opportunity (whether funded by Stanford or otherwise).
Requirements and Stipend for Summer 2025 full time research roles
- Work 35+ hours/week for 10 consecutive weeks, beginning in late June or early July 2025.
- Participate in weekly meetings with the faculty mentor and/or the Center’s research manager
- Participate in cohort gatherings if possible (typically, we organize 3-4 lunches on campus each summer).
- Present your research findings during the Center’s American West Seminar Series in Fall 2025.
- Complete an evaluation at the end of the program
- Stipend: $8,000, plus up to $1,500 supplemental stipend based on financial aid status.
