2026-27 AY PT Research Fellowship: Monitoring Soil Carbon Storage Following Tropical Mangrove Restoration
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:
Mangrove forests are coastal ecosystems that provide many critical ecosystem services including carbon storage, helping to mitigate climate change. However, these ecosystems have also experienced widespread disturbance resulting in losses of stored carbon and emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere. With increasing interest for science-based mangrove restoration across the tropics, more research is needed to assess the efficacy of restoration strategies and to support adaptive management. In this project we will analyze soil samples from restored tropical mangrove forests to assess mechanisms and timescales of soil carbon recovery following restoration. To track inputs and sources of carbon, we plan to analyze soil samples for carbon content (elemental analysis) and isotopes (stable isotope composition and carbon dating). We will also analyze samples for a variety of other physiochemical parameters such as grain size (laser particle diffraction) to identify drivers of new carbon storage. Overall, this research will help to inform science-based restoration efforts and management of mangrove ecosystems to encourage coastal carbon sequestration.
We are excited to work with an undergraduate student interested in biogeochemistry and/or ecosystem sciences looking to gain experience in laboratory analysis of environmental samples. The student would get the opportunity to prepare and analyze samples for multiple analyses in the lab, and gain experience using R for data analysis and data visualization. Prior experience with analyzing environmental soil or water samples in a laboratory setting is preferred, and exposure to R or another programming language is helpful but not required.
Primary Research Mentor: Alison Hoyt
Co-Research Mentor: Julie Shahan
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 student would get the opportunity to prepare and analyze samples for multiple analyses in the lab.
- Sub-sampling, weighing and drying, and grinding and sieving soil samples.
- Analyzing samples in various labs on campus, including the use of an elemental analyzer, a particle size analyzer, an isotope ratio mass spectrometer, and a gamma counter.
Students qualifications:
- Prior experience with analyzing environmental soil or water samples in a laboratory setting is preferred.
- Organizational skills and attention to detail are important for taking the soil samples through the sample preparation and analysis processes.
- The student will also gain experience using R for data analysis and data visualization. Exposure to R or another programming language is helpful but not required.
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 may not be 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)
Research Mentor Questions for Applicants:
