Fellowship Research Areas
Descriptions of EPA Projects for the Research Fellowship Program
To explore the fellowship opportunities at EPA, click on the research areas listed below. These projects may also be tailored to meet the goals of fellowship programs that are offered through the National Science Foundation or other funding agencies. Contact the point of contact or mentor listed for the project to confirm availability and participation in the program.
Please review the link below for more details on eligibility, application process, funding request instructions, allowable budget, and submission guidelines:
National Science Foundation INTERN Announcement
Note that, to be eligible, graduate students must have completed at least one academic year in their graduate programs (master's or doctoral) and be making satisfactory progress towards the completion of their degrees.
This opportunity is open to PIs (and co-PIs) who are supporting graduate students through an active NSF award. A PI for an active GRFP fellowship (not the GRFP fellow) should contact GRFP regarding specific GRFP requirements before submitting a supplemental funding request on behalf of a GRFP fellow.
If you are an EPA researcher with an ongoing project and would like your opportunity to be listed below, please complete the EPA NSF-GRFP Intern Project Opportunity Template Form and return to Project Officer Matthew Floyd.
For additional clarity on the process, please review a brief flowchart describing the steps for obtaining an EPA NSF-GRFP INTERN.
Fellowship Research Areas
- Air Research
- Public Health Research
- Environmental Changes Research
- Ecosystems Research
- Health Research
- Safer Chemicals Research
- Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research
- Water Research
- Other Research Areas
Air Research
Topic: Characterizing Sources of Persistent and Emerging Air Pollution in North America
Summary: The fellow will learn and apply modeling techniques, data analysis, or a combination of these to advance the understanding the sources of poor air quality and exposure to air pollutants.
Topic: Development and Application of City-based Optimization Model for Energy Technologies (COMET)
Summary: The fellow will learn about air, climate and energy interactions and contribute to development of COMET – an energy systems model designed for cities.
Topic: Evaluation of Online Measurement Techniques for Volatile Organic Compounds
Summary: The fellow will perform the testing of advanced measurement technologies for volatile organic compounds in air in the EPA’s Office of Research and Development at Research Triangle Park, NC.
Topic: Combining Measurements and Modeling to Better Understand Ammonia Air-Surface Exchange Processes
Summary: The fellow will characterize the sensitivity of EPA’s bi-directional ammonia flux model to inputs of meteorology, air concentrations and biogeochemistry, focusing on the role of soil and vegetation compensation points.
Topic: Performance Evaluation of Low-Cost Air Quality Sensors
Summary: The fellow will evaluate the performance of a low-cost sensor for ambient air quality measurement.
Topic: Fundamental UV/IR Reference Spectra Analysis and Evaluation
Summary: The fellow will learn to verify the appropriateness of theoretically computed spectra (e.g., HITRAN, PNNL, etc.) as a reference spectra for pollutant quantification using analytical analyzers for the purpose of regulatory emissions measurements.
Topic: Advancing atmospheric chemistry to improve air quality and reduce exposure to hazardous air pollutants
Summary: The fellow will learn and apply modeling techniques, measurement methods, data analysis, or a combination of these to advance the understanding the sources of poor air quality and exposure to hazardous air pollutants.
Topic: Improving numerical models of atmospheric pollution to inform multiscale air quality policy and management
Summary: The fellow will learn how numerical models are developed by EPA and combined with measurements to advance scientific understanding of ambient air pollution sources and their impacts on public health.
Topic: Improving parameterizations of airborne pollutants and their implications for health
Summary: The fellow will learn how models inform our understanding of airborne pollutant concentrations and implications for health.
Topic: Utilizing mass spectrometry to understand the atmosphere
Summary: The fellow will utilize chemical ionization (CI) or proton transfer (PTR) mass spectrometry to explore topics of atmospheric chemistry.
Topic: Combining measurements and modeling to derive a holistic understanding of atmospheric chemistry
Summary: The fellow will learn to identify and address questions within the field of atmospheric chemistry from an experimentally holistic standpoint.
Topic: Advancing the representation of atmospheric chemistry of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model
Summary: The fellow will learn, update, and apply CMAQ model and perform analysis of model results to advance the understanding of the impact of DMS emissions on air quality.
Topic: Analyze and Advance One Health Approaches at EPA’s Office of Research and Development
Summary: The fellow will learn of the One Health concept and help to apply the One Health framework to EPA-ORD research.
Environmental Changes Research
Summary: The fellow will learn how to translates scientific insights into actionable tools, providing an advanced mathematical modeling framework for characterizing and predicting climate change effects on various ecosystems.
Topic: Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Water Impoundments
Summary: The fellow will conduct field work, lab work and data analysis to quantify the magnitude of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from water impoundments (i.e. reservoirs). This research will be used to improve the nation’s GHG inventory.
Topic: Combining Measurements and Modeling to Better Understand Ammonia Air-Surface Exchange Processes
Summary: The fellow will characterize the sensitivity of EPA’s bi-directional ammonia flux model to inputs of meteorology, air concentrations and biogeochemistry with specific focus on the role of soil and vegetation compensation points.
Topic: Quantifying the Consequences of Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Mangroves Forests in the Provision of Ecosystem Goods and Services
Summary: The fellow will examine the rates, patterns, and causes of changes to mangrove forest cover and associated change in ecosystem good and services of from 1985 to present.
Topic: Using Gene Expression to Predict Toxicity Caused by Environmental Chemicals
Summary: The fellow will link chemical-induced gene expression changes generated in different cell models to predictions of adverse effects in animals and humans using laboratory and computational techniques.
Topic: Linking Short-term Responses to Ecologically-relevant Outcomes
Summary: The fellow will characterize molecular to organismal level responses and make quantitative testable predictions of population-level outcomes from exposures to chemicals and other stressors through collaborative integrative lab, field, and modeling activities.
Topic: Identifying Neurophysiological Signatures of Neurotoxicant Action
Summary: The fellow will utilize data from microelectrode array recordings of neural networks and ToxCast endpoints to identify signatures acute and developmental neurotoxicity. It will improve prediction of these important endpoints by identifying neurophysiological and biochemical "fingerprints" for known compounds that can then be applied to previously untested compounds.
Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research
Topic: Biosensor for Arsenic Determination in Different Types of Waters
Summary: The fellow will learn to develop a field deployable sensor and/or analysis to determine total arsenic and its speciation in groundwater or drinking water.
Topic: Assessing Environmental Health Issues Related to Waste Disposal Sites Impacting Alaska Tribes
Summary: The fellow will analyze Alaska tribal health exposure pathways associated with waste by documenting exposure assessment, mapping human health risk assessment methodologies, researching social determinants of health, and, community-based participatory research methods, and sampling methodologies.
Topic: Stormwater Research for Emergency Response and Recovery
Summary: The fellow will learn to develop knowledge and tools to aid stormwater utilities and emergency responders respond to contaminated stormwater.
Summary: The fellow will learn the use of high-resolution mass spectrometry and non-targeted analysis techniques to identify novel PFAS contaminants in water samples.
Topic: Studies on CyanoHAB and Pathogens Using Molecular Approaches
Summary: The fellow will conduct experiments and data/modeling analysis, explore novel genes and metabolic pathways, validate resultant findings using qPCR/RT-qPCR and summarize the findings.
Topic: Developing Technologies for Satellite Water Quality Monitoring
Summary: The fellow will utilize satellite remote sensing and cutting-edge modeling techniques to advance water quality monitoring and forecasting, offering students the opportunity to develop innovative solutions and contribute to critical environmental management efforts.
Topic: Drivers and Impacts of Coastal Acidification in Pacific Northwest Estuaries
Summary: The fellow will learn carbonate chemistry measuring systems and procedures of mesocosm experiments to evaluate the role of eutrophication in influencing coastal acidification and its impact on estuarine ecosystems.
Topic: Building a holistic view of molecular responses of contaminants of emerging concern using deep-learning and artificial intelligence
Summary: The fellow will learn the use of omics data and artificial intelligence (AI) for risk assessment of environmental toxicants to the human health and ecosystem.
Topic: Environmental Geophysics Research and Development
Summary: The fellow will learn web site content development, model development and testing, laboratory geophysical experimentation, and fieldwork involving applications of geophysical methods to subsurface processes, site characterization, contaminant fate and transport, and remediation monitoring.
Our commitment
EPA stays committed to STEM education and the development of future environmental workforce. Learn more about other EPA STEM opportunities and the P3 Student Design Competition