Summer Internships at the CCMC

Space Weather Forecasting Summer Internship

How to apply for space weather forecasting internship: (on NASA OSSI website)

1. Go to NASA OSSI internship search web page:
   https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/public/guest/searchOpps/
2. At the bottom of the search page in the "keyword" field enter "Space weather forecasting" and click "Search"
3. "View" the "Space Weather Forecasting Summer Internship" to see the description.
4. To apply for this opportunity you will have to register/log in as a student.
5. Please indicate in the Student Statement section (last section of application) if you are available/interested in continuing as a paid part-time student forecaster throughout the academic year.

About the forecasting internship:
This opportunity is about space weather forecasting and research for undergraduate students (rising freshmen, sophomore, junior in summer 2018) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center at the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC). Note that we give preference to students majoring or thinking to major in physics and astronomy.

If selected for this internship you will spend the summer training to be a space weather forecaster and have the opportunity to continue as a paid part-time remote forecaster throughout the academic school year (8-16 hrs/week).

What is Space Weather? Our society depends on technology such as communication satellites and the power grid, but these technologies are vulnerable to space weather effects caused by the Sun's activity.

What is Space Weather forecasting? Space weather forecasting at CCMC includes monitoring the Sun for solar flares and eruptions and making predictions on how these activities may impact NASA missions throughout the solar system. We also monitor and forecast the solar wind at Earth and changes in the Earth's magnetic field due to solar storms.

Who is CCMC? CCMC provides researchers with access to space weather models through web-based simulation services and also evaluates space weather prediction models. Additionally, the CCMC space weather team provides space weather services to NASA missions using real-time simulations.

Why is this internship unique? Students will attend a "space weather bootcamp" during the first week of the internship. These lectures will provide a basic knowledge of space weather and forecasting, without going into detailed physics. The following few weeks will be focused on hands-on space weather forecaster procedures training and mock space weather event analysis. The students will work as a group to carry out forecasting duties throughout the summer. For the second half of the internship students will perform short space weather research projects in groups. This internship may differ from others in this respect - the focus will be mostly on space weather forecaster training, and less on research. However, this internship provides a broad perspective on the field of space weather and a chance to interact with many different scientists.

Who are we looking for? This is an opportunity for highly-motivated and qualified undergraduate students (rising sophomore, rising junior or rising freshmen in summer 2018) who want to learn how to be a space weather forecaster. Applicants should show strong work ethic, excellent analytical and computer skills, attention to detail, good teamwork and ability to work under time pressure.

Space Weather Forecasting internship outcome: After successfully completing this summer internship, students will have a chance for a paid part-time (8-16 hours/week) space weather forecasting internship throughout the year (working remotely). After a trial period, remote student forecasters will be expected to work independently with access to an on-call scientist. Interns will also present their research at the GSFC intern poster session at the end of internship.

Students will gain knowledge about the solar system and impact of the solar storms on the earth's environment and society. Decision-making skills and knowledge acquired during the program will be beneficial to any future career pursuit. If interested, interns could further pursue space weather related scientific research.

Software Development Summer Internships

CCMC also provides opportunities for students interested in developing their software skills by participating in space weather-related application development internship at NASA GSFC. The interns will also have the opportunity to attend the space weather bootcamp.

How to apply:

To find detailed information about these internship opportunities and to apply to them use the NASA OSSI website:

1. Go to NASA OSSI internship search web page:
   https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/public/guest/searchOpps/
2. At the bottom of the search page in the "keyword" field enter "CCMC" and click "Search"
3. "View" the App development internships to see their descriptions.
4. To apply, you will have to register/log in as a student.

Experiences from past summer internships and space weather bootcamps

Undergrads from US colleges attend the summer 2015 REDI internship,
2017 summer forecaster intern presenting her research project

You can find out more about our past internships by going to the CCMC intern web page.

For help with internship and space weather bootcamp application please contact Anna Chulaki.