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Li Xu and Haiwei Shen inject a formaldehyde sample
into the Preparative Capillary Gas Chromatograph. |
NOSAMS Graduate Student Internship Program
Each year two internships are awarded to U.S. graduate students
for research at the National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass
Spectrometry (NOSAMS) radiocarbon facility at the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution. The internships involve application
of radiocarbon measurements to an important research problem
and/or development of new techniques for radiocarbon measurement
and provide 2 to 6 weeks at NOSAMS. Available funds cover
all analytical costs, a travel allowance, accommodation and
subsistence at Woods Hole, but not field work and sampling.
Candidates should submit a two-page proposal outlining the
proposed work and motivation by June 15, 2008. Proposals (as
pdf files), CVs, and contact information should be sent to
Internships@NOSAMS.whoi.edu.
Proposals will be judged on the basis of scientific soundness,
relevance to capabilities and objectives at NOSAMS, novelty,
and scientific impact. Priority will be given to projects
involving collaborative research with PI's at NOSAMS and/or
those that show promise for follow-on projects. Winners will
be notified via e-mail by July 15, 2008. Internships can be
used at a mutually agreed time between September 1, 2008 and
August 31, 2009.
Past Interns
Haiwei Shen,
a graduate student from the Graduate School of Oceanography
at the University of Rhode Island, is using radiocarbon to
enhance her studies of formaldehyde in the atmosphere. She
spent time here working closely with NOSAMS staff to develop
a method to analyze the radiocarbon content of formaldehyde.
The data she has generated will allow her to place limits
on the relative contributions of biogenic and anthropogenic
precursors to formaldehyde.
Andrew Wozniak, a graduate student from the Virginia Institute
of Marine Science, is studying the contribution of atmospheric
organic carbon to rivers and their watersheds. An important
part of his project involves characterizing the radiocarbon
content of the atmospheric particulate organic matter he collects.
At NOSAMS, he is separating the material into water-soluble
and insoluble fractions as well as isolating lipid fractions
prior to radiocarbon analysis. His data will help us understand
the sources of material introduced to rivers and, ultimately,
the oceans.
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