Available Global FEWture Alliance Internships

University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
Project Focus: Harvested Rainwater Quality

University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
Project Focus: Recreational Water Quality

Mbeya University of Science and Technology (Mbeya, Tanzania)
Project Focus: Irrigation Water Quality

The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (Ketura, Israel)
Project Focus: Innovative off-grid technologies to manage wastewater

Position Description (In-person prefered): As climate change continues to stress freshwater and cause more unpredictable precipitation, it is critical to identify sustainable irrigation approaches for agriculture to adapt the changing climate. Rainwater harvesting can provide farmers and gardeners with additional water and reduce their reliance on costly municipal water. However, farmer concerns about water quality and system design and maintenance need to be addressed. In addition, extreme precipitation caused by climate change is leading to increased sewer infrastructure failures and sometimes sewage backups in homes. The intern will have the opportunity to explore the public health impacts of sewage backups and work with impacted communities through the Water Emergency Team (WET) project (https://research.umd.edu/wet). This unique position will allow the intern the opportunity to learn advanced microbiological techniques and develop skills in translating complex scientific information to a variety of audiences.

The intern will have the opportunity to combine two approaches to increasing rainwater harvesting in local agriculture into one unique summer: 1) evaluating the microbial quality of harvested rainwater and 2) developing communication and outreach materials. Duties will include: collecting water, soil, and produce samples from urban farms; collecting surface samples from homes impacted by sewage backups; filtering water samples and extracting DNA; entering data (water parameters, DNA concentrations, etc.); conducting preliminary data analysis; developing fact sheets and other outreach materials.

About the Lab: The WOW (Water Quality, Outreach and Wellness) lab at the University of Maryland School of Public Health in College Park conducts interdisciplinary research around water - analyzing microbial water quality, the most effective ways to communicate about water quality, and the perceptions and behaviors related to water use. In addition, the WOW lab is exploring the beneficial impacts of urban agriculture and gardening on health and wellness. The WOW lab has multiple ongoing collaborations with the University of Maryland Extension, USDA Agricultural Research Service, and community organizations throughout Maryland.

Position Description (In-person prefered): Even though the Clean Water Act of 1972 mandates the monitoring of rivers and streams, more than 70% of the nation's recreational waterways remain unassessed. The Anacostia River watershed, which accommodates approximately 1 million residents, has been exposed to industrial and urban pollution for centuries. In 2019-2020, the Anacostia River Keeper Water Quality Monitoring Program initiated a volunteer-driven community science program to oversee water quality at ten established stations in Maryland. This program measures E. coli levels and various physicochemical properties of the water, providing the public with valuable information about water quality. We intend to harness the existing water monitoring program to conduct microbial source tracking for monitoring environmental water quality.

The summer intern will collaborate with Dr. Suhana Chattopadhyay to participate in the collection of water samples, laboratory processing, and subsequent analysis. We particularly welcome applications from interns who possess prior experience in sample collection for microbial analysis, proficiency in molecular laboratory techniques like DNA extraction, PCR, and qPCR, as well as a fundamental understanding of R or other bioinformatics software. Additionally, interns will have the chance to contribute to the development of research manuscripts to present and publish the data collected during their internship.

About the Lab: The project is housed within the CONSERVE Center of Excellence at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. Specifically, the intern will be working in CONSERVE’s applied environmental microbiology lab, comprised of biosafety level II laboratories. The lab team includes undergraduates, graduate students, post-docs, and faculty.

This project is subject to potential adjustments and may change because it is still in the planning phase.

Position Description (Restricted to students in Tanzania):  Characterization of microbial pollutants of irrigation water in Tanzania. The project aimed to investigate and analyze the presence of microbial pollutants in irrigation water sources within the geographical context of Tanzania. Conducted over a specified period, the study will employ various scientific methods to identify and characterize microorganisms present in water samples used for agricultural purposes. Findings from this research would provide valuable insights into the microbial quality of irrigation water in Tanzania, contributing to understanding potential risks associated with agricultural practices in the region.

The duties of the student intern include collecting water samples, processing water samples for chemical testing, filtering water samples, entering data, and data analysis. The intern will be provided with $625 stipend for the 10-week internship

About the Lab: This position will be hosted by the Global FEWture team at Mbeya University of Science and Technology Microbiology Lab. The University is located in Mbeya Tanzania at the Mbeya Campus. Project team members include undergraduates, graduate students, and Assistant Research Professors.

Position Description (Restricted to students in Israel): The Arava Institute's Center for Transboundary Water Management is developing an off grid food, energy, water technology hub on its campus and also in a Bedouin community that is not serviced with water, energy or sewer grids - an off the grid community. The purpose of the technology hubs is to demonstrate, in real time, off grid technologies that can provide for the food, water and energy needs of such communities. The hubs will include off grid wastewater treatment and reuse systems, solar PV energy systems, atmospheric water generators, biogas and probably other technologies such as agri-voltaics. The hubs are designed to validate these technologies within the socioeconomic context of the Bedouin community and to also serve as an educational and research hub that can demonstrate an off grid, decentralized approach in meeting the food, energy and water needs for the close to 70% of the world's population that is off the grid.

The summer intern will be assisting Dr Clive Lipchin, director of the Center for Transboundary Water Management, in collecting data on the operation and efficacy of the various off grid technologies that will be operating in the technology hubs. The kinds of data that will need to be collected include water quality data, soil data, crop growth and crop yields, solar energy production, etc. Interns with prior knowledge with water and/or soil sampling and/or engineering skills with water and/or energy systems are encouraged to apply. Interns will have the opportunity to engage with the various technologies and to build their skills in resource quality analysis and operation and maintenance of innovative off grid technologies. The skills developed through this internship can be helpful in similar projects taking place in the developing world and for working with development oriented NGOs such as Engineers Without Borders, etc. The intern will be provided with $6000 stipend for the 10-week internship

About the Lab: The Center for Transboundary Water Management (CTWM) at the AIES has field-based water quality testing kits from the Hach Company and online water quality monitoring and sensors from the Ayyeka company (https://www.ayyeka.com/) and from Siemens. CTWM has also developed an online portal for managing water quality for off-grid water treatment systems whereby it integrates water quality data collected from Ayyeka sensors installed in the off-grid systems and compares these data in real time to water quality regulations and to the water quality needs for crops.