An Engineering Student’s Summer of Misinformation

Khari Johnson
Khari Johnson in Barcelona in 2019

Khari Johnson came to Duke to translate his love of science into engineering that can change the way medicine serves people. As a Ph.D. student in Biomedical Engineering preparing to write his dissertation proposal, he anticipated spending the summer of 2020 continuing his work on materials to be used in medical contexts. When the pandemic intervened, Johnson tapped into Duke’s pledge to provide summer employment opportunities for all Ph.D. students who needed them.

He secured a virtual internship with RTI International to assess how misinformation affects people’s receptivity to health initiatives. Guided by Brian Southwell, director of RTI’s Science in the Public Sphere program (and an adjunct faculty member at Duke), and Sarah Ray, communication scientist, Johnson worked with researchers who were interested in finding relationships between news coverage, social media patterns, online searches, and behavior related to medicine and well-being.

With collaborators in RTI’s Women’s Global Health Imperative, Johnson helped develop a survey of clinical researchers in various African countries regarding their perceptions of how medical misinformation is spread.

Thanks to a relationship between RTI’s Science in the Public Sphere program and the public television show NOVA, Johnson also contributed to a project to increase minority representation in STEM. “I got the privilege to work with NOVA Science Studio and assist with their efforts in hopefully starting a webinar/workshop series,” he said. He explained that the goal is “to get high schoolers from diverse backgrounds interested in science and STEM, building science literacy early on so we can improve their representation.”

Khari Johnson and Brian Southwell.
Khari Johnson and Brian Southwell during the 12th Annual RTI Internship Showcase

During the 12th Annual RTI Internship Showcase on August 7, attended by more than 150 people, Johnson said he hopes this work will help improve access to health improvements. “We can be doing a better job as far as expanding and diversifying the voices that are being presented [to reach a range of communities],” he said.

Looking back on the summer, Johnson highlighted the value of collaborative research. “For me, the biggest takeaway was that you can always find [people with] similar passions in the place you least expected it, and building on those collaborations can be very fruitful.”

Read his essay for NOVA, Finding My Voice.

Symposium on Misinformation and Mistrust

On October 2, 2020, Brian Southwell will chair a session of the Duke University symposium Misinformation and Mistrust: COVID-19 Conversations on Race and Gender Equity. Learn more and register for the online event.

Duke Summer Interns at RTI International

In addition to Khari Johnson, RTI hosted eight other Duke Ph.D. students. According to the internship showcase program:

  • Cole Campton (Computer Science) worked to understand project methodology, perform data management and analysis, and draft a written report for the International Education Division.
  • Tom Cinq-Mars (History) documented the use of off-grid energy products in Sub-Saharan Africa; worked with researchers to identify the impacts of off-grid energy on education, health, and agriculture outcomes; and served as head author of a journal article.
  • Travis Knoll (History) interned with the University Collaboration Office, where he was responsible for mapping stakeholders and writing narrative-driven summaries and case studies of collaborative projects.
  • Shawn Li (Environment) analyzed data, reviewed literature, and accomplished other activities for the Applied Public Health Research division.
  • Gabriel Madson (Political Science) was responsible for analyzing AddHealth data, determining patterns associated with non-consent to the use of wearable data, and writing a journal article based on the team’s findings.
  • Francisco Meneses (Public Policy) worked on conducting literature reviews about using technology to assess soft skills, performing research about how low-income countries provide educational continuity during COVID-19, and contributing to the research and development of policy briefs.
  • Mavzuna Turaeva (Economics and Public Policy) was responsible for conducting data analysis, coding, and researching for the International Education Division.
  • Tara Weese (Philosophy and Law) described trends in readability data for terms of service agreements, analyzed the content of these agreements, and drafted an article for publication with RTI Press about the findings.

Changing Their Summer Plans, Duke Ph.D. Students Find New Options for Virtual Employment

Provost’s Office coordinates a wide range of summer funding opportunities, including fellowships with RTI International

View of campus.
Aerial of Duke University showing Abele Quad

Travis Knoll expected to be in Brazil this summer. A Ph.D. student in History, he planned to visit film and Catholic Church archives to further his work on the relationship between Catholic thought, modern Black movements and education policy. But COVID-19 intervened.

Recognizing that many students’ plans for teaching, research trips and in-person internships were overturned, Provost Sally Kornbluth and Executive Vice Provost Jennifer Francis pledged that Duke would provide employment opportunities for Ph.D. students who needed them this summer.

Behind the scenes, many of their colleagues scrambled to identify virtual opportunities for students to receive funding while advancing their career development. Their outreach resulted in full coverage for all Ph.D. students in need.

A Robust Slate of Opportunities

Ed Balleisen, Duke’s Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies, spearheaded this effort. He contacted units across campus to identify remote projects that would further Duke’s academic strategic plan, Together Duke, while providing significant professional development for doctoral students. Along with Maria Wisdom, Director of Interdisciplinary Advising and Engagement, he also sounded out several external organizations about developing similar projects.

In just three weeks, Balleisen and Wisdom came up with more than 100 funding opportunities. These summer positions – experiential fellowships with eight external organizations and research assistantships with more than 20 Duke units – supplemented teaching opportunities across Duke and research fellowships from The Graduate School.

“We were thrilled to see the creativity that Duke units and our external partners brought to this undertaking,” said Balleisen.

Other Ph.D. funding from the Provost’s Office came from Reimagining Doctoral Education (RiDE) Implementation and Graduate Student Training Enhancement Grants (GSTEG).

In addition to funding support, free online short courses through the Duke Graduate Summer Academy provided professional development opportunities. Topics ranged from software development and entrepreneurial strategy to science policy and teaching with archives. Student demand was so high that all courses filled up within 15 minutes, prompting Duke to launch a second session that was also heavily subscribed.

Partnership Spotlight: RTI International

Jacqueline Olich When Duke needed to identify hosts for remote internships at short notice, Balleisen reached out to Jacqueline Olich, Vice President for University Collaborations at RTI International. Based in Research Triangle Park, RTI is one of the world’s largest independent research organizations.

Jackie Olich.
Jacqueline Olich

Olich, who has a Ph.D. in history, leads the University Collaboration Office and oversees the RTI University Scholars Program and the RTI Internship Program.

Balleisen explained that Duke would provide the funding if RTI scholars would commit their time as supervisors.

Olich quickly identified researchers who were willing to come up with project descriptions in a hurry. “I targeted colleagues who already had a tie to Duke,” she said, “such as alumni, or through Duke-RTI Scholars, or individuals who had previously received our mentor award for working with interns, as well as colleagues who had experience in academic settings.”

Her own office is working with a Duke intern this summer. “If we’re going to do this, we should model it,” she said. “That’s what RTI is about.” She hired Travis Knoll, whose research trip to Brazil had been canceled.

“COVID-19 forced me to put [the trip] on hold,” Knoll said. “Another door opened when RTI invited me to interview dozens of its researchers, staff and executives for a project mapping RTI’s vast organizational structure, which spans global development, education, health research and applied sciences. With this information, I am synthesizing a history of RTI’s past and future collaborations and most important to my own research, learning how RTI is working to improve racial equity internally and through its partnerships.”

Duke students at RTI this summer.
First row: Travis Knoll, Cole Campton, Tom Cinq-Mars, Khari Johnson, Shawn Li; second row: Gabriel Madson, Francisco Meneses, Mavzuna Turaeva, Tara Weese

Other Duke Ph.D. interns at RTI this summer are Cole Campton (Computer Science), Tom Cinq-Mars (History), Khari Johnson (Biomedical Engineering), Shawn Li (Environment), Gabriel Madson (Political Science), Francisco Meneses (Public Policy), Mavzuna Turaeva (Economics), and Tara Weese (Philosophy and Law).

On June 8, more than 90 people took part in RTI’s summer internships kickoff meeting, including the entire executive leadership team. Amy Vargas-Tonsi, Project Operations Manager for University Collaborations, said the interns will participate in panel discussions at an end-of-summer virtual event. The 12th Annual RTI Internship Showcase is on August 7 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Olich said her colleagues’ positive engagement with doctoral students “is a testament to RTI’s commitment to training the next generation of researchers [who are] improving the human condition and advancing science. I’m honored that Duke recognizes our importance as a partner in giving students this experience.”

By Sarah Dwyer; originally posted on Duke Today

Duke Ph.D. Students Receive Grants to Enhance Their Training through Remote Internships

GSTEG grantees.
Top row: Axel Berky, Brianna Elliott, Rachel Coyte, Brooks Frederickson, Jaime Gonzalez; bottom row: Keqi He, Hannah Ontiveros, Julianna Renzi, Dana Wright

Nine Duke University doctoral students have received Graduate Student Training Enhancement Grants (GSTEG) for Summer 2020 from the Office of the Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies.

The goal of this grant competition is to expand the opportunities for graduate students to augment their core research and training by acquiring skills, knowledge, or experiences that are not available at Duke and that will enhance their capacity to carry out original research. In light of constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer 2020 request for proposals was revised to focus on doctoral students with only partial or no summer funding; applicants could propose remote internships with a community organization, government agency, NGO, or cultural institution.

Axel Berky, Ph.D. in Environment

Host: Environmental Protection Agency
Faculty Advisor: William Pan

Berky will remotely intern with the EPA’s Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment. In the first of two main projects, he will join a multidisciplinary team that is developing a platform for the public to interact with information related to the risk of wildfires and smoke exposure. This will consist of helping create interactive maps of human health risk from wildfire smoke that can be easily interpreted and updated to reflect real-time monitoring. In the second project, Berky will contribute to a manuscript on the effect of ambient temperature on end-stage chronic kidney disease patients from the U.S. Renal Data System.

Brianna Elliott, Ph.D. in Marine Science and Conservation

Host: U.S. Department of State, Office of Marine Conservation
Faculty Advisor: Andrew Read

Considered the largest global threat to marine mammals, bycatch is the incidental capture of non-target species in fisheries. For the past year, Elliott has been leading an initiative in partnership with the International Whaling Commission to research the policy response of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) to reduce marine mammal bycatch in their fisheries. After presenting her research to the IWC’s Scientific Committee this month, Elliott will continue developing this research and a report with recommendations to the IWC to work with RFMOs to address marine mammal bycatch, particularly in the Indian Ocean region. Since the U.S. is an IWC member, Elliott will collaborate with the Department of State through a remote internship focused on the bycatch report and other fisheries-focused policy tasks.

Rachel Coyte, Ph.D. in Earth and Ocean Sciences

Host: Earthjustice
Faculty Advisor: Avner Vengosh

Coal combustion residues (CCRs), including fly ash, are some of the largest industrial solid wastes in the United States. Coyte will work to connect the science behind CCR environmental contamination with the impact that such contamination could have on real communities. She will write a report with findings and produce two literature reviews for Earthjustice. The first literature review will look at the chemistry of ash pond pore water; the second will focus on research that works toward answering the question, how long will coal ash continue to leach contaminants into the water?

Brooks Frederickson, Ph.D. in Music Composition

Host: So Percussion
Faculty Advisor: John Supko

The So Percussion Summer Institute (SoSI) is an international gathering of college-aged percussionists and composers. Normally held over two weeks at Princeton University, SoSI exposes young musicians to the thinking and practices of some of the contemporary-classical music scene’s most lauded composers, percussionists, actors, choreographers, and artists. An alumnus of SoSI, Frederickson will develop an online curriculum. He will create materials for synchronous and asynchronous learning that cover a wide variety of topics connected to the creation and performance of new music. He will also create an online environment that encourages collaboration among participating SoSI students.

Jaime Acosta Gonzalez, Ph.D in Literature

Host: nonsite.org
Faculty Advisor: Michael Hardt

nonsite.org is an academic journal that features writing on aesthetics, politics, and art. Contributors often explore such issues as the relationship of the work of art to the spectator, matters of intention and interpretation, and the social ontology of the work of art. Acosta Gonzalez will serve as an editorial assistant during his remote internship. For the book review section, he will identify new and noteworthy books in the fields of art history, philosophy, literary criticism, and critical theory, then assign reviewers and collate the responses into a readable form for a scholarly audience.

Keqi He, Ph.D. in Earth and Ocean Sciences

Host: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Faculty Advisor: Wenhong Li

Wetlands protect our shores, reduce the impact of floods, absorb pollutants, improve water quality, and provide habitat for animals and plants. However, wetlands are threatened by climate change. In order to understand the processes and driving factors of wetland degradation in the southeast United States, He will remotely intern at the Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center, part of the Forest Service under the USDA. He will examine locations and time of the degradation at a regional scale, using Forest Inventory and Analysis data, vegetation indices from satellite data, and vegetation characteristics from LiDAR data.

Hannah Ontiveros, Ph.D. in History

Host: CWS Durham
Faculty Advisor: Nancy MacLean

Humanitarian organization Church World Service (CWS) is one of nine refugee resettlement agencies in the United States. The Durham office focuses on supporting immigrant and refugee new arrivals in the Triangle area. As a remote intern, Ontiveros will undertake two interconnected research projects. First, she will compile data on CWS Durham activities, funding streams, and spending, as well as on the state of immigrant and refugee populations in the region. Second, she will carry out qualitative research aimed at aligning CWS Durham’s requests for funds with the desires of individual and institutional donors.

Julianna Renzi, Ph.D. in Marine Science and Conservation

Host: National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Faculty Advisor: Brian Silliman

To increase understanding of reef ecosystems, the Smithsonian launched the Global ARMS (Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures) program. ARMS are stacks of PVC plates that have been deployed around the world to describe invertebrate diversity. This summer, Renzi will use data from ARMS in Mo’orea to determine the impacts of large-scale coral loss on invertebrate communities in French Polynesia. She will synthesize DNA metabarcoding data (sequences of a small section of organisms’ genomes that is taxonomically distinct), invertebrate survey data, and environmental data that may be influencing invertebrate recruitment.

Dana Wright, Ph.D. in Marine Science and Conservation

Host: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Faculty Advisor: Andrew Read

The eastern population of North Pacific right whale (NPRW) is the most endangered population of large baleen whale. The few remaining whales are thought to feed predominantly on zooplankton on the southeastern Bering Sea (SEBS) shelf. The Bering Arctic Subarctic Integrated Survey (BASIS) contains a rich time-series (1992-2016) of zooplankton and forage fish count data on the Bering shelf during the seasonal period of presumed NPRW foraging. Wright will use the BASIS dataset to investigate which environmental-species interactions (ESI) govern zooplankton community structure on the SEBS shelf, with the ultimate goal to assess whether the ESI conclusions support the current Oscillating Control Hypothesis that describes lower trophic level dynamics in the region.

Summer Opportunity: Graduate Assistant

Internal opportunities.

­Sponsoring unit/organization

Math and Rhodes iiD

Title of opportunity

Graduate Assistant

Scope of work

Duke Math and the Rhodes Information Initiative at Duke (Rhodes iiD) are sponsor to a number of visualization and simulation projects to be used in a course setting to supplement instruction. There are a number of different projects requiring different mathematical backgrounds. Graduate students from many mathematical STEM departments would have the needed background for a number of the projects. Most, but not all projects require the ability to program. More than one person might work on the same project splitting the time between different people. Learn more.

Funding

$1,700

Number of positions

3

Contact

Kristen Gerondelis, kristen.gerondelis@duke.edu

Jonathan Mattingly, jonm@math.duke.edu

Robert Calderbank, robert.calderbank@duke.edu

Summer Opportunity: Research Assistant, Digital Publics

Internal opportunities.

Sponsoring unit/organization

John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute

Title of opportunity

Research Assistant: Digital Publics

Scope of work

The FHI invites applications for 1 or 2 Summer Research Assistants to launch a new project in Digital Publics. This project seeks to engage growing audiences of longer-form digital writing, e.g. on Medium and similar platforms. Research Assistants will generate topical, web-friendly “think pieces” that creatively reactivate the FHI’s extensive video and online essay archives, on themes such as contagion, migration, and the world-making power of the arts. Experience writing for non-academic audiences and in social media publishing preferred – but we welcome all applicants with strong interests in both. Learn more.

Funding

19.9 hours/week for 8 weeks ($5,500)

Number of positions

2

Contact

Chris Chia, cmc7@duke.edu

Summer Opportunity: Graduate Assistant

Internal opportunities.

Sponsoring unit/organization

Health Humanities Lab

Title of opportunity

Graduate Assistant

Scope of work

The Health Humanities Lab Graduate Assistants will work with the lab manager and co-directors on various tasks related to the development of an integrated curriculum in the health humanities and disability studies. The curriculum will include three components: teaching, research, and service – community building and student wellness initiatives. Tasks will include organizing opportunities for coursework, research, faculty development, and grant writing. Learn more.

Funding

Variable/flexible

Number of positions

2

Contact

Pamela Montgomery, montgome@duke.edu

Summer Opportunity: Wolfpack WORKS Evaluation Research Assistant

Internal opportunities.

­Sponsoring unit/organization

Social Science Research Institute

Title of opportunity

Wolfpack WORKS Evaluation Research Assistant

Scope of work

Wolfpack WORKS (WW) provides professional development to K-2nd grade teachers in high-need, high-turnover NC school districts. We have partnered with WW to implement evaluations to examine program outcomes & guide adjustments for future years. The Research Assistant will work with student data on the project. Learn more.

Funding

7 hours/week for 12 weeks ($2,650)

Number of positions

1

Contact

Doreet Preiss, doreet.preiss@duke.edu

Duke Ph.D. Students Can Apply for External and Internal Summer Opportunities

PhD student opportunities

The Duke University Office of the Provost is offering a broad set of opportunities to support Ph.D. students during Summer 2020. We are working to ensure expeditious selection processes for all of these opportunities. Below you will find two separate tables – one with a list of Experiential Fellowships with external organizations; and one with a list of opportunities with internal Duke units.

Experiential Fellowships

A limited number of experiential fellowships with external organizations are available by application. The partner organizations will offer internship experiences for Ph.D. students with funding provided by Duke University. Interested students should search the opportunities to match both skills/background and summer support needs.

APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED THROUGH DUKE.

Ph.D. students should apply through the following link: https://dukeinterdisc.formstack.com/forms/doctoral_support_summer_2020. The priority application deadline was May 13. Applications are still being accepted on a rolling basis, but need to be submitted by noon on Friday, May 29, to make it possible for students who are selected for fellowships to receive a June payment. Ph.D. students may apply to only two (2) positions; please apply separately for each.

Questions about application logistics for all external experiential fellowships should be directed to Maria Wisdom, Director of Interdisciplinary Advising and Engagement – Humanities.

Students should submit the following:

  • a letter of application
  • a brief CV (2 page maximum)
  • a letter of support from the department DGS, indicating how the proposed virtual/remote internship will enhance your intellectual trajectory and summer funding requirements
  • a statement of need detailing confirmed summer funding and all pending funding requests

See the FAQ for the Summer 2020 experiential fellowships for Duke Ph.D. students.

Browse, search, or sort alphabetically by any column. Click on the link in the Sponsor/org column to access a post with more information.

Sponsor / OrgTitle of Opportunity# of Students Student $Brief Scope of Work
American Historical Association FILLEDPredoctoral Fellow119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)The American Historical Association (AHA) invites a Duke University predoctoral fellow for the summer of 2020 to work with the AHA’s Academic and Professional Affairs staff on collecting data on history PhDs and related projects.
Durham TechTeaching Fellowship -- General Psychology119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Engaging with a DT Psychology Instructor, the graduate student would be responsible for creating detailed instructions (overview, writing prompt, specific concepts, required design and organization, submission instructions, and etc.), grading rubric and grading, and be willing to revisit instructions for students who might struggle with the process.
Durham Tech Teaching Fellowship -- Intermediate Spanish119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)For this summer project, I propose to work with a graduate student that has Spanish proficiency or some Spanish background to help create material for 211 & 221, and proctoring forum discussions and writing activities submitted to Sakai.
Durham TechTeaching Fellowship -- Spanish Culture119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Share expertise to help frame the course outline and build the syllabus, find cultural materials relevant to course topics: readings, videos, etc. primarily in Spanish, build online activities/assessments related to the cultural topics, primarily using Sakai but could involve other online platforms as appropriate (e.g., FlipGrid), lead periodic online discussions. (Tentative) If not during the live course, create forum topics for future use.
Durham Tech FILLEDTeaching Fellowship -- Psychology119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Create an article database for each of the three psychology courses taught here at Durham Tech. That includes General Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Abnormal Psychology.
Durham Tech FILLEDTeaching Fellowship -- English119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)The student will assist in modifying current writing assignments and researching additional course reading materials that fit the focus of the course. In return for this assistance, the student would be provided the opportunity to teach at least one major writing assignment, including all scaffolding assignments and groupwork tasks that accompany it, and to grade the assignment if desired.
Modern Language Association FILLEDOnline Education Specialist119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Assist with reconceptualizing seminars as online modules, assist with resource toolkit project, organize materials for online webinars, shift career services offerings to online formats, assist with convention program development.
Museum of Durham HistoryMuseum Exhibit Assistant119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Conducting research including oral-history interviews with community members. Working with supervisor on analyzing research and developing an exhibit narrative. Identifying and obtaining high-resolution images for use exhibition. Writing and refining label text. Developing programming for the exhibit's run. Creating digital exhibit components.
National Humanities Alliance FILLEDPodcast Development for the Study the Humanities Initiative119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Assist with podcast project as part of the Study the Humanities initiative; outline episodes to align with aesthetic vision, marketing strategy; conduct research and outreach to develop list of interview targets; conduct and record interviews; compile episodes; participate in staff meetings.
National Humanities AllianceHumanities for All Intern119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)With Project Director, develop content and communications strategy for a new resource for teaching the publicly engaged humanities; conduct member development research on US universities; engage with staff; perform other duties relevant to work in a higher education association.
National Humanities Center FILLEDDigital Library Assistant119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Assist with the Humanities in Class Digital Library Open Education Resource
RTIKnowledge Acquisition and Modeling for Computational Social Science119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Assist in developing cutting edge technology for knowledge acquisition and modeling and using the resultant knowledge graphs for a wide range of computational social science from the Opioid Epidemic, to Global and Domestic Education Policy to policy guidance for the COVID19 Pandemic. Interns will learn data fusion and knowledge modeling technologies and apply them to create and combine data from disparate sources to create knowledge graphs that can help answer novel research questions. Opportunities for applying Machine Learning techniques to the resulting knowledge graphs will also be available.
RTIFood-Energy-Water System Resilience Internship119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Timely opportunity for PhD student to support new high-profile Grand Challenge project focused on food-energy-water system resilience and sustainability. More specifically, research what impact COVID-19 disruption might have on food-energy-water system resilience and sustainability in the immediate, near and long-term.
RTIPowering Agriculture Internship119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Timely opportunity for PhD student to support a collaborative RTI and Duke research project on productive use of energy in rural agricultural production systems in Ethiopia. The project will focus on better characterizing the potential for off-grid electricity infrastructure investments such as stand-alone systems, mini-grids, and solar pumping to support agricultural development in rural Ethiopia as well as the possible implications of rural electrification on groundwater management, farm productivity, and processing of agricultural outputs. This project will support an upcoming Bass Connections course in the 2020-2021 academic year.
RTIInternational Trade and COVID-19 Intern119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Timely opportunity for PhD student to support new research on potential COVID-19 disruptions to international agricultural and forest product trade. The student will support new empirical analysis or modeling efforts to assess how trade-flows may be augmented by the current pandemic, with implications for food security, rural economies, and the environment.
RTIHealthy Habits Among Preschoolers119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Timely opportunity for PhD student to work on analysis of an NIH-funded cluster randomized controlled trial to promote healthy habits among young children enrolled in childcare centers throughout Maryland.
RTITechnology Ethics Research Internship (Lab 58)119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Lab 58 is a corporate innovation lab operating inside RTI. The selected intern will be collaborating with Lab 58 team members to conduct research on ethical issues involving emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence.
RTIEmerging Technology Research Internship (Lab 58)119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Lab 58 is a corporate innovation lab operating inside RTI. The selected intern will be collaborating with Lab 58 team members to conduct research on emerging technologies to help direct and inform future technology explorations.
RTIMarket Research Internship (Lab 58)119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Lab 58 is a corporate innovation lab operating inside RTI. The selected intern will be collaborating with Lab 58 team members to conduct emerging technology market research.
RTISimulation and Immersive Technology Development Internship (Lab 58)119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Lab 58 is a corporate innovation lab operating inside RTI. The selected intern will be collaborating with Lab 58 team members to build Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality prototype.
RTISoftware/Mobile Engineer Intern119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Work alongside senior engineers in building new features for in-house web and mobile applications
RTIBusiness Intelligence/Data Analytics Intern119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)The selected Business Intelligence Intern will assist the team with operational IT activities, database development & administration, and creating business analytics content.
RTI FILLEDData Analysis Intern119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)RTI has a large collection of data that can be used to measure whether successful interventions in education, or at least specifically in foundational reading skills, have the effect of not just improving averages but also reducing inequality of skills distribution. A few RTI staff have already modeled this analysis in at least one or two papers and have written 3 paper that lay out the context and issues but without micro data analysis. The task now is to replicate the analysis with a few more data sets, compare the results, and possibly prepare a paper for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The intern will assist with analysis of inequality of results in learning outcomes data from near-RCT experiments in foundation phase reading in developing countries.
RTIInnovation Consulting: Digital Transformation119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)RTI’s Innovation Advisors perform analyses and research to provide digital and strategy consulting for a variety of client needs, from advising on digital project selection to conveying the business value of new technologies and partners. The IA team also conducts research and analysis to identify digital strengths and weaknesses in organizations. The intern will work alongside and receive mentorship by the Innovation Advisors and staff to help strengthen our digital transformation services, conduct tasks related to technology and market research and digital transformation.
RTIInnovation Consulting: Support for NASA's Earth Observation Programs119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)RTI’s Innovation Advisors are working with NASA to bring a user-centered approach to their planning and investments in their next generation Earth Observation platforms, in response to the Decadal Survey. The IA team, in concert with RTI’s Center for Applied Economics is working with NASA’s Designated Observables Science and Biology Group on a User Needs and Valuation Study. The intern will work alongside and receive mentorship by the RTI staff to execute a user community assessment/survey, key informant interviews, as well as follow-up analysis.
RTIInnovation Consulting: Strategy119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)RTI’s Innovation Advisors help clients optimize their organization, processes, and people to deliver innovative products and services globally. These clients include governments, companies, universities, and foundations. The intern will help IA leverage the latest academic thinking around innovation strategy and management towards winning and delivering strategic innovation services for our clients.
RTIInnovation Management: Social Impact Analysis for Forensic Technology Center of Excellence119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)RTI International operates the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence, which promotes the adoption of forensic technologies through dissemination and technology transition efforts. The intern will help quantify and document the social impact of the NIJ’s funding efforts towards forensic research and development into a publication. The intern will help the team aggregate and understand key data-centered and human-centered impact indicators.
RTI FILLEDSupplementing Survey Data with Wearables Data119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)In the most recent round of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (AddHealth) survey, respondents were asked if they owned a fitness tracking device and whether they would be willing to donate that data to the study. This student will investigate which respondents owned the devices, which were willing to donate and the objections mentioned by those who chose not to donate. The research findings here will improve other surveys that want to take advantage of fitness data already collected by respondents.
RTIUnderstanding Motivated Underreporting in the Consumer Expenditure Survey119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)The Consumer Expenditure Survey and many other surveys use filter questions to skip respondents around questions that do not apply to them. Respondents can learn to avoid follow up questions by giving incorrect answer to filter questions. This research project will involve design, programming and conducting a web survey and analyzing the data to investigate methods of asking filter questions. The goal is to identify questions that are less prone to motivated underreporting.
RTIAdding Implementation Science Elements to the Georgia ASAPP119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)The Georgia Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Program Evaluation (Georgia ASAPP Evaluation) project team is evaluating the alcohol and other substance abuse prevention activities of 38 providers throughout the state of Georgia with both process (site visit, interview, survey) and outcomes (survey) measures. This opportunity would be to help infuse Implementation Science models and measures into the data collection procedures for the project. We are also interested in how COVID-19 impacted the prevention activities of the providers and collecting and analyzing related measures.
RTIPreventing Sexual Assault in the US Military119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Over the past 5 years, we have worked with the US Air Force to develop and test the feasibility and acceptability of implementing an innovative sexual assault prevention program in Basis Military Training. This opportunity would be to support analysis, reporting, and dissemination of data from the feasibility trial. There would also be opportunity to help with start-up on a newly funded extension of this work to adapt the intervention to the US Air Force Academy. Responsibilities might include preparing IRB materials, developing evaluation instruments, and preparing intervention content for implementation in the new training environment. There may be additional opportunities to contribute to the development and revision of manuscripts to be submitted for peer review.
RTIDeveloping and Testing a Screening and Referral Protocol119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)The intern would assist with two ongoing studies of a Screening and Referral to Prevention (SRP) protocol for youth at high risk for substance use and/or conduct problems before high school, to prevent risky behaviors for pediatric well-child visits, ages 9-13. The first study is a clinical trial that has just completed data collection, permitting the intern to conduct statistical analyses and co-author research manuscripts to be submitted to top-tier research journals. The second study is a new collaboration with pediatricians at UNC to test the implementation of the SRP with 1st and 2nd generation immigrants of Latinx heritage.
RTITrends in Substance Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)The purpose of this pilot study is to assess substance use trends among young adults during the COVID-19 crisis. We are using established social media listening techniques to determine shifts in mention of the use of alcohol and other drugs (i.e., cannabis, prescription drugs) among young adults before, during, and after the national emergency declaration (March 13, 2020). Responsibilities would include assisting with the development of queries for the social media listening tool, conducting literature reviews, and contributing to publications.
RTITalent Research Associate119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950) Technical and programmatic support and analysis of Talent Research programs, activities, and initiatives to include data collection and statistical analysis, qualitative analysis, support and coordination with internal clients, and engaging in support of special initiatives, and researching Talent Research projects and opportunities. The scope of practice for Talent Research includes employee and pulse surveys and analysis, talent management program evaluation, talent analytics, internal talent research, and technology adoption.
RTIOrganizational Development and Learning Associate119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)The scope of practice for Organizational Development Consulting includes change management consulting, team development, organizational development and effectiveness, Diversity & Inclusion work, strategic planning support, facilitation, training, leadership coaching, employee engagement surveys and analysis, talent management program evaluation, talent analytics, internal talent research, and technology adoption.
RTI FILLEDTerms of Service; Didn't Read (ToS;DR)119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Human subjects research is becoming more distributed in nearly every discipline of study. Specific to COVID, a growing number of prospective, longitudinal studies now seek access to connected devices personally owned by study participants. Data generated from these devices are expected to address a wide range of research questions: from understanding early symptomatology, to characterizing outcomes associated with long term confinement. Hundreds of thousands of US adults have already enrolled in such studies via smartphone app or website, yet little is known about how well aligned the constellation of vendor policies and service agreements are with remotely administered informed consent materials. This project seeks to collect and systematically analyze the publicly available ToS and privacy policies for the top three wearable device makers and the informed consent documents used by five ongoing COVID studies to assess and describe: 1) overall concordance of terms; 2) accessibility or readability; and 3) transparency regarding data access and privacy.
RTI FILLEDCOVID-19 Epidemiology119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Opportunity for a PhD student to support epidemiological and public health intervention questions around the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, research may include quantitative study of the epidemic curves, comparing contact tracing programs, analyzing and summarizing epidemiological data about COVID-19.
RTICOVID-19 State and Local Contact Tracing Evaluation1 or more19.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Opportunity for one or more PhD student to support evaluation of state and local contact tracing programs and strategies associated with COVID-19 infected individuals and their close contacts. More specifically, research may include evaluation of best practices and comparisons to disease containment indicators.
RTI FILLEDImpact of Off-grid Energy and Nexuses with Other Sectors119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Opportunity for a student to move the needle on understanding of the impacts of off-grid energy products. The student will work with a cross-section of researchers from energy and other sectors to identify quantified and qualified impacts of energy on education, health, and agriculture outcomes. The student will be the head author of a publication as a key output of this work (research published either with RTI Press or an external conference/journal article).
RTINet Metering in the Balkans Research Internship119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Opportunity for a student to perform research in the topic of net metering of electricity in the Balkans with direct relevance to a current project. The student will be expected to do the literature review and analytical work needed to publish a journal article on this topic. The student will co-author of a publication as a key output of this work (research published either with RTI Press or an external conference/journal article).
RTIPrEP Stigma Intern119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Develop protocol, study-specific procedures manual, and questionnaires for a new study on stigma around pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among adolescent girls and young women in Kenya. This internship would provide an excellent opportunity for a PhD student to learn about operationalizing and implementing research in international settings. There may be an opportunity for future engagement in data analysis.
RTIBehavioral Pathways to PrEP Adherence Intern119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)This intern would lead analysis of a small mixed methods dataset from a recent pilot study to understand mechanisms by which a multilevel community-based intervention increased PrEP uptake and adherence among adolescent girls and young women in Kenya. The outcome would be a first-authored or co-authored paper submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.
RTI FILLEDMisinformation and Medical Mistrust in the Time of COVID-19119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Conduct a literature review and write a review paper (e.g. narrative review) on medical mistrust and conspirational theories in times of epidemics. Focus on HIV and COVID but draw from other outbreaks as well (E.g. Ebola). Consider focusing on Africa only. Could bring a historical analysis. This internship would provide an excellent opportunity for a PhD student to write a review paper and increase their understanding of how misinformation contributes to failures to adopt medical innovations. There may be an opportunity for future engagement in data analysis (e.g. if misinformation data are collected on current COVID surveys).
RTI FILLEDUniversity Collaboration Office Stakeholder Mapping and Storytelling Internship119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Work with Vice President for University Collaborations to research, understand, analyze and map stakeholder perspectives. Produce short, narrative-driven analyses of collaborative projects.
RTINaviation amidst Misinformation and Communication about Emerging Infectious Diseases119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Pundits have bemoaned the proliferation of misinformation related to COVID-19 and public health more broadly. We know relatively less, however, about how people are navigating our information (and misinformation) environment. How are people responding to misinformation? Can we find relationships between news coverage, social media patterns, search behavior, and behavior related to medicine and wellbeing? We are hoping to assess patterns in North America and Africa. Our RTI experts have extensive relevant experience and interest in mentoring. See, for example, Southwell’s work on misinformation, van der Straten’s work with public health in Africa, and Ray’s work to track social media and news coverage. The remote internship opportunity may involve work to generate research papers and may also include opportunities to contribute to existing communication research projects at RTI related to emerging infectious diseases.
RTI FILLEDInternational Education Research and Program Implementation Internship119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)This internship will contribute to cutting edge research and implementation issues in international education. Specific tasks, among others to be jointly designed with the intern, might include literature review on using technology to assess soft skills, specifically creativity, among youth; Research on how low-income countries provide educational continuity during COVID-19; Support to the instructional design and implementation of blended/technology-facilitated learning programs ranging from low-tech (SMS/WhatsApp) to higher tech (eLearning module development, e.g., in Moodle).
RTITechnology Innovation and Commercialization Internship119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Opportunity for a PhD student intern to work closely with the RTI Commercialization team on innovative technologies developing across the institute. The intern will conduct market research and develop business plans for technologies to facilitate industry partnerships for RTI. In this role, the intern will learn best practices for various technology transfer functions, including intellectual property, market research, business models and deal negotiations.
RTIQualitative Research Assistant119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)We have multiple research opportunities to analyze data collected for the last 2.5 years from families in Northeast Brazil whose infant was exposed in utero to Zika infection and diagnosed with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). Our research focuses on both the developmental, adaptive, and functional outcomes of children with CZS, as well as family adaptation (caregiver burden, stress, anxiety, family dynamics, social support).
RTIInvestigation of Co-abuse of Tobacco and Cannabis119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)To characterize patterns of CT-PSU, we developed and implemented novel survey measures that focused specifically on CT-PSU. The internship would involve assistance in analyzing and collating data from this study and preparation of manuscripts describing the results from this completed 2-year study. An opportunity to become involved in planned survey research related to vaping and COVID-19 may also be possible.
RTISupporting Grant Proposals Related to Child Development110 hours/week for 12 weeksAssist with work on a series of grant proposals this summer that cover a range of topics relevant to child development. Likely topics include a study investigating the effects of classroom lighting on child educational outcomes, a study that will develop a motor skills intervention for implementation in preschool classrooms, and a study that will evaluate the impact of an educational robotics program on cognition and early learning in K-2nd grade classrooms. Graduate students would provide support for this work and become exposed to the proposal development process.
RTIEconomic Modeling of Energy Systems119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)This internship would focus on computer modeling of energy and economic systems generally with an ideal focus on electricity. One application would be to develop a “synthetic network” representation of transmission on the electricity grid that would replicate local marginal prices.
RTI FILLEDAnalysis of Fossil Fuel Electrification Opportunities in US119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)This internship would focus on characterizing fossil fuel and electricity use in residential and commercial buildings and/or industrial processes (e.g. iron and steel). One application would be to characterize sector and end-use specific fuel and electricity consumption and identify electrification technology options.
RTIAnalysis of the Economic Impacts of Climate Change119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)This internship would focus on quantifying the economic impact of climate change (e.g. flooding, drought). One application would be to estimate increased incidence of inland flooding and its economic impact on infrastructure.
Society for Biblical LiteratureResearch Assistant119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Conduct user research, help to design and conduct user focus groups and surveys, contribute to a NEH impact report, contribute to a specifications outline for site redesign, collaborate with external partners

Duke Internships and Research Assistant Opportunities

This is a list of Duke internship and research assistant opportunities offered by departments and interdisciplinary units across campus. Ph.D. students should search for opportunities that match both their skills/background and summer support needs.

Please contact the person listed to submit your application directly with the sponsoring unit. You will be asked to provide the following:

  • a letter of application
  • a brief CV (2 page maximum)
  • a letter of support from the department DGS, indicating how the proposed virtual/remote internship will enhance your intellectual trajectory and summer funding requirements
  • a statement of need detailing confirmed summer funding and all pending funding requests

The priority application deadline was May 13. Applications are still being accepted on a rolling basis, but need to be submitted by noon on Friday, May 29, to make it possible for students who are selected for fellowships to receive a June payment.

See the FAQ for the Summer 2020 Provost internships for Duke Ph.D. students.

Browse, search, or sort alphabetically by any column. Click on the link in the Sponsor/org column to access a post with more information.

Sponsor / OrgTitle of Opportunity# of Students Student $Brief Scope of Work
Academic Resource Center FILLEDCurriculum Developer1Variable/flexibleThis position involves assisting in the development of curriculum materials for SAGE (STEM Advancement Through Group Engagement) learning communities. The SAGE program advances the University’s goals by facilitating academic engagement for early college STEM students, bolstering emerging scholars work.
Academic Resource Center FILLEDResearch Assistant2Variable/flexibleThis position involves assisting in and leading the design, implementation, and evaluation of ARC research and assessment activities to determine the efficacy of ARC services and programs.
Bass Connections FILLEDBass Connections Research Assistant: Team Based Pedagogies17 hours/week for 12 weeks ($2650)The Research Assistant will develop best practice resources and tools for project teams and collaborative courses for remote and non-remote learning including: conducting interviews and focus groups; developing guidance for teams on operating remotely; and collecting model documents/protocols.
Bass ConnectionsCollaborative Project Expeditions27 hours/week for 12 weeks ($2650)Collaborative Project Expeditions gives Ph.D. students the opportunity to work with a faculty sponsor to design and integrate a collaborative project into an undergraduate course at Duke.
Center for Documentary StudiesFull Frame In the Classroom/Using Documentary Film to Teach2Variable/flexiblePh.D. students will be working with faculty members to (1) select documentary films that are appropriate for faculty courses in 2020/21 (2) develop appropriate curriculum strategies for integrating films and critical viewing strategies into courses and (3) helping faculty design assessments; variable length of time/flexible funding
Duke AHEAD, School of Medicine, Duke Global Health InstituteDigital Humanities Research Assistant119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)We seek a research assistant to assemble a digital archive and create an online exhibition showcasing the decades-long history of this annual Medical Student/Faculty Show. If possible, we also aim to create a short documentary video describing the history of the show and highlighting our research.
Duke Forest FILLEDGovernance and Land-Use Intern3Variable/flexibleThe Office of the Duke Forest is responsible for accomplishing the mission of the Duke Forest and maintaining excellent stewardship of the forest ecosystem. Our ability to complete this work is affected and influenced by the governance and land-use policies of surrounding jurisdictions. The intern will assist with assessing the governance and land-use contexts surrounding the Duke Forest Teaching and Research Laboratory to identify potential threats, vulnerabilities, and risks to the Duke Forest’s mission, management objectives, and strategic vision.
Duke ForestSustainability Intern2Variable/flexibleThe Duke Forest Teaching and Research Laboratory has been privately owned and managed by Duke University since 1931. Its 7000+ acres across three counties, two river basins, and numerous watersheds plays an incredible but undervalued role in the sustainability of the quality of life and ecosystem. The intern will assist with articulating the contribution of Duke’s Teaching and Research Forest to the sustainability of local, regional, and state community stakeholders.
Duke Institute for Brain SciencesAssistant in Digital Communications119.9 hours/week for 8 weeks ($5500)We are seeking assistance in crafting public communications on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and neurological function.
Duke University Press FILLEDInnovation Team Intern219.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Projects could include: assist Editorial Director and Finance on a list review analysis by acquisitions editor over the last five years; Work with books marketing to launch a podcast interview series or virtual book talk series with authors of new books; Publishing services planning and launch – helping to develop the business plan and roll out; Grant writing for future and helping to ramp up open access initiatives; Subject area exploration for new areas of acquisition (e.g. Global Health series on Pandemic Guidelines for the future)
Duke University PressVirtual Marketing Events Planner119.9 hours/week for 8 weeks ($5500)Work with Duke University Press books marketing team to launch a virtual book talk series via Zoom with authors of new books that have published in May and June of 2020. Contact authors, schedule and market events. Serve as the host for the events and as the interviewer as needed.
Faculty FILLEDEditorial Assistant1$1,500 Develop index for The Academic's Handbook, 4th ed., (Lori Flores & Jocelyn Olcott, eds., Duke UP 2020). Using Duke UP guidelines, the student will index an edited volume of c. 350 pp (page proofs) by the end of May.
Franklin Humanities InstituteResearch Assistant: Digital Publics219.9 hours/week for 8 weeks ($5500)The FHI invites applications for 1 or 2 Summer Research Assistants to launch a new project in Digital Publics. This project seeks to engage growing audiences of longer-form digital writing, e.g. on Medium and similar platforms. Research Assistants will generate topical, web-friendly “think pieces” that creatively reactivate the FHI’s extensive video and online essay archives, on themes such as contagion, migration, and the world-making power of the arts. Experience writing for non-academic audiences and in social media publishing preferred – but we welcome all applicants with strong interests in both.
Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist StudiesOnline Workshop Management
5$500/workshop
Running online workshops for Revaluing Care in the Global Economy research network. Students will communicate with participants to conduct a recorded Zoom-based discussion, will guide the discussion, and will edit the recording into a video or podcast. Students may propose topics or select from existing list.
Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies; HistoryWebsite Developer
119.9 hours/week for 8 weeks ($5500)Website development for Revaluing Care in the Global Economy network. Student will develop an existing website into a more robust, interactive website for use by an international, interdisciplinary research team. Work will involve developing entries for network members (photos, bios, links to web pages), developing pages for interaction, etc.
Health Humanities Lab FILLEDGraduate Assistant2Variable/flexibleThe Health Humanities Lab Graduate Assistants will work with the lab manager and co-directors on various tasks related to the development of an integrated curriculum in the health humanities and disability studies. The curriculum will include three components: teaching, research, and service – community building and student wellness initiatives. Tasks will include organizing opportunities for coursework, research, faculty development, and grant writing.
Margolis Center for Health PolicyResearch Assistant119.9 hours/week for 8 weeks ($5300)
Research Assistant will join a COVID-19 related project to help to identify key uncertainties in COVID-19 response that would be feasible to by addressed by a decision model, work with stakeholders to confirm relevance of the topics to their decision-making uncertainties, provide technical assistance to decision modeling groups, expand the SMDM COVID-19 decision modeling repository, and work on academic products describing the findings of the collective grant awarded groups and ways that decision modeling can inform COVID-19 response.
Math and Rhodes iiD FILLEDGraduate Assistant3$1,700Duke Math and the Rhodes Information Initiative at Duke (Rhodes iiD) are sponsor to a number of visualization and simulation projects to be used in a course setting to supplement instruction. There are a number of different projects requiring different mathematical backgrounds. Graduate students from many mathematical STEM departments would have the needed background for a number of the projects. Most, but not all projects require the ability to program. More than one person might work on the same project splitting the time between different people.
Nasher Museum of Art FILLEDGraduate Summer Internship2Variable/flexibleGraduate students will work with Nasher faculty and staff to develop curriculum strategies for integrating museum exhibitions and collections into university courses in the 2020-2021 academic year. This work includes the preparation of pre-visit and in-gallery lesson plans and teaching materials.
Rubenstein Library FILLEDDigital Archival Expeditions Co-Organizer119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)
Ph.D. student with previous experience in teaching with archives to assist with development of digital collections assignments; conversion of teaching with archives sessions -> online modules with creative commons license; peer mentoring of other Ph.D. students engaged in Digital Archival Expeditions
Rubenstein Library FILLEDDigital Archival Expeditions Intern67 hours/week for 12 weeks ($2650)
Six Ph.D. students to take part in Digital Archival Expeditions. Creation of digital collections assignment for undergraduate course, with flexibility to deploy in an online setting; development of project management/digital pedagogy skills
Science & SocietyData Visualization Support119.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Support data visualization for research team, including development of accessible, interactive web-based tool to understand data, writing source code and providing it to the team to update and maintain in-house
Science & SocietyResearch Assistant319.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Research assistantship in the use of biometrics in immigration policy
Science of Team ScienceConference Planning and Assessment Intern219.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)Assistance w/ standing up virtual conference: train-the-trainer for virtual conference software; develop instructions/FAQs for software; develop etiquette guidelines for conference event formats; prepare/distribute panel moderator & technical liaison info; assist with multi-directional feedback/evaluation; participate in research for social engagement utilizing online platforms; attend virtual conference; document presentations (rapporteur); literature review; draft research findings for publication
Social Science Research Institute FILLEDResearch Assistant: Developing Effective Community Research Partnership1Variable/flexibleThis Research Assistantship is focused on supporting effective implementation of applied and community-engaged (CE) research. This builds on an active applied/CE project and associated Bass Connections team focused on collaboration with youth music education programs to address societal inequities.
Social Science Research InstituteResearch Assistant: COVID-19 Digital Lab1Variable/flexibleThis Research Assistant will work with survey data examining social distancing in the ongoing pandemic. The RA will participate fully in analyzing and reporting the data collected & work to develop briefs for local and state policy-makers on residents’ beliefs about coronavirus and social distancing.
Social Science Research Institute FILLEDResearch Assistant: Elections in a Pandemic17 hours/week for 12 weeks ($2650)This Research Assistant will coordinate 3-4 research teams focusing on U.S. electoral institutions in the pandemic & will participate fully in defining & conducting research. S/he will coordinate teams’ efforts and work to ensure teams have guidance to conduct their work and receive appropriate mentoring & feedback.
Social Science Research InstituteWolfpack WORKS Evaluation Research Assistant17 hours/week for 12 weeks ($2650)Wolfpack WORKS (WW) provides professional development to K-2nd grade teachers in high-need, high-turnover NC school districts. We have partnered with WW to implement evaluations to examine program outcomes & guide adjustments for future years. The Research Assistant will work with student data on the project.
Triangle Center for Evolutionary MedicineDevelopment of Topical Pandemics Short Course27 hours/week for 12 weeks ($2650)
TriCEM seeks a graduate student to assist with development of a short course related to the COVID-19 pandemic, "Evolutionary Medicine and Infectious Disease: Understanding SARS-CoV-2." The graduate student will assist with development of hands-on exercises and compilation of course materials.
Triangle Center for Evolutionary Medicine FILLEDEvolution-based K-12 Lesson Plan Development419.9 hours/week for 4 weeks ($2650)TriCEM seeks graduate students to develop evolution-based K-12 lesson plans for the Darwin Day Roadshow, an educational initiative centered on evolution and its importance to everyday life. The graduate students will create formal open-access lesson plan resources for teachers across NC and beyond.
University CommunicationsCommunications Intern219.9 hours/week for 12 weeks ($7950)University communications / government relations: potential projects -- analyze new NC districting; assess effectiveness of NC congressional delegation; historical documentation of Duke response to COVID; assessment of misinformation and disinformation efforts related to scientific research and policy recommendations; analysis of impact on Duke of recombining the Raleigh and Durham MSAs
University Scholars and Fellows FILLEDGraduate Fellowship Advisor17 hours/week for 12 weeks ($2650)This role includes working with undergraduate students on their Fulbright, DAAD, Boren, Gilman, Critical Language, and perhaps other study abroad scholarship applications. The incumbent will review the students' essays and offer guidance. The role also includes advising on the specific fellowships.