Students Can Now Apply for Summer 2024 Climate+ Research Projects

The Rhodes Information Initiative at Duke (Rhodes iiD), in partnership with the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, is now accepting student applications for this summer’s Climate+ projects. Launched in 2022, Climate+ is a vertical within Rhodes iiD’s Data+ program, a full-time, ten-week summer research experience for Duke students of all class years and majors.

Climate+ participants learn about data science concepts and methods while applying them to identify and assess complex climate issues and advance viable solutions.

During Summer 2024, seven Climate+ projects will be offered:

• Exploring the Impact of Environmental and Climate Exposures and Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) on Immune-Mediated Diseases
• Energy Transition During Energy Crisis: Cape Town’s Experience
• Data and ML Driven Analysis of Atomic Dynamics in Energy Materials
• Detecting Saltwater Intrusion in Rivers Using Remote Sensing
• Monitoring Spartina Alterniflora Using Self-Supervised Learning
• Improving Future Rainfall Predictions in the Southeastern US
• Duke Forest Reptile and Amphibian Data

This year’s project teams will include faculty and research staff from Duke Clinical & Translational Research Institute; Duke Forest; Duke Global Health Institute; Duke Kunshan; Duke School of Medicine; Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability; Nicholas School of the Environment; Pratt School of Engineering; and Sanford School of Public Policy. External collaborators will include experts from NOAA and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  

Like the broader Data+ program, each Climate+ project team will be made up of at most three undergraduates and one graduate student, who will work in a communal environment to learn how to marshal, analyze, and visualize data. Graduate students (including master’s and PhD students) typically serve as project managers, helping their teams stay on track with deliverables and timeline; their compensation may vary.

In addition to developing new skills through project work, Data+ participants gain broad exposure to data science through interactions with guest experts and opportunities to learn from other project teams. Beyond these educational benefits, students in the Climate+ cohort will also have regular opportunities to engage with climate, environment, and energy researchers and practitioners.

All Data+ participants will receive a $5,000 stipend to arrange housing and travel. Funding and infrastructure support are provided by a wide range of departments, schools, and initiatives from across Duke, as well as by outside industry and community partners.

Climate+ reflects the goals of the Duke Climate Commitment, which unites the university’s education, research, operations, and public service missions to address the climate crisis. The commitment builds on Duke’s longstanding leadership in climate, energy and sustainability to educate and deploy a generation of climate- and sustainability-fluent innovators and create just, equitable solutions for all.