Summer Research Assistantships with the Bill Lane Center for the American West
The Bill Lane Center for the American West, in collaboration with the office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE), offers on-campus research opportunities for Stanford undergraduates to work with faculty on projects related to the American West. We welcome students from a wide variety of disciplines engaged with issues related to western land and life in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
These are full-time research opportunities for approximately 10 weeks during Summer 2022. Students will undertake a defined project under the mentorship of a faculty member or graduate student, and will present research results at the end of summer or in early Fall 2022.
The Bill Lane Center is seeking students interested in contributing in the following areas:
- Energy governance: Local governments are playing an increasing role in energy policy, ranging from energy procurement to transportation systems and building electrification. How will this decentralized approach shape progress toward carbon emissions reductions, and what challenges arise as cities and counties choose divergent paths? Additional areas of interest include the study of political conflicts around the siting of renewable energy, transmission lines and other infrastructure, analysis of the effectiveness of different programs for building out electric vehicles across states in the Western United States, and more.
- Water, climate change and disasters on the Western coast: As climate change leads to increasingly extreme weather events across the American West, coastal areas of California and other western states face multiple risks. In addition to more extreme and frequent droughts, floods, and wildfires, sea level rise both exacerbates flooding and impacts groundwater supplies through salt water intrusion. Many areas of the coast also face potentially disastrous consequences from the combination of an earthquake and tsunami. Research under this theme may relate to the analysis of these complex disaster risks, economic and political interests around water use and access in coastal regions and across California, the role of local and state government in planning for and funding disaster response, and policy options for improving coordination for more effective water resource management and disaster preparedness.
- Wildfires in the American West: The frequency and severity of wildfires has been growing, with significant impacts to communities, human health and lives, and the environment. Under this priority, The Bill Lane Center is particularly seeking a student to review academic journal articles for a systematic literature review examining the most destructive wildfires and hurricanes in the United States. In addition, students may contribute to a project focused on understanding the effectiveness of coordination across multiple local government agencies for fire preparedness and response in Marin County.
- Self-designed projects: In addition to projects related to the above themes, students may propose self-designed projects on topics related to the American West. In your application, you will be asked to provide a summary of your proposed research project and the name of a faculty member or graduate student who will supervise your work.
Several pre-arranged research opportunities are also available, with separate application forms (you may apply for multiple opportunities):
These are full-time research opportunities for approximately 10 weeks during Summer 2022, open to continuing undergraduate students. You must be paying undergraduate tuition and registered for classes during Spring 2022.
While we are primarily seeking students who can commit to full-time research over the summer, there may be part-time opportunities as well. Please indicate in your application if you wish to be considered for part-time opportunities.
