Odum Internship in Field Ecology

Overview

Dr. Eugene Odum, regarded as one of the founders of ecosystem ecology, launched his scientific career at the Huyck Preserve in the early 1940s as one of the first Research Fellows at the Huyck Preserve’s biological research station. In honor of his legacy, the Huyck Preserve offers an internship for undergraduate students who are interested in conducting ecological field research. Interns work with scientific professionals, conduct and present original research, and gain valuable environmental education experience through involvement in our high school summer program.Internship

Summary

• This is a full-time, six-week residential internship.
• Up to four highly qualified undergraduate students will be selected each summer.
• The internship is unpaid; however, housing and equipment are provided.
• Arrangements for college credit must be made with the applicant’s home institution.

About the Internship

Summer 2024 interns will perform their own independent research project under the direction of Summer Research Fellow (SRF) Mark Lesser, Ph.D. 

Mark Lesser is a forest ecologist in the Center for Earth and Environmental Science at SUNY Plattsburgh. Originally from Halifax Nova Scotia, Mark completed a B.S. and Master’s in Forestry and Forest Genetics at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay Ontario before going on to the University of Wyoming for a Ph.D. in Ecology where he worked on long-term development and structure of ponderosa pine populations. After completing his Ph.D., Mark held postdoctoral positions at SUNY ESF and Syracuse University and was an assistant professor at Shepherd University in West Virginia for two years before moving to SUNY Plattsburgh where he has been since 2017. Broadly, Mark’s research focuses on understanding the factors that dictate plant species range limits. He is also interested in population dynamics, tree migration patterns, and dispersal over multiple spatial and temporal scales. Recently, he has become interested in disturbance ecology and how differences in forest structure across the landscape influence wildlife habitat selection. Learn more about Dr. Lesser’s research expertise and background here.

Interns will also interact with other visiting researchers performing their own research projects at the Huyck Preserve. Find the list of some of our recent researchers here. 

The upcoming program will be held from approximately June 29 to August 10, 2024.

Previous Summer Research Fellows have included the following:

• Dr. Walter Carson, Retired Associate Professor from University of Pittsburgh
• Dr. Jonathan Titus, Retired Professor of Biology from SUNY-Fredonia
• Dr. Susan Beatty, Emerita Professor of Biology and Past Provost for The Sage Colleges (Troy and Albany, New York); Emerita Professor of Geography, University of Colorado, Boulder 
• Dr. Seth Bigelow, Forest Ecologist, Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center
• Dr. George Robinson, Associate Professor of Biology at University at Albany, SUNY
• Dr. Eddie Watkins, Assistant Professor of Biology at Colgate University​
• Dr. Radka Wildova, Plant Ecologist, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at U. Michigan 

Interns from previous years have come from colleges and universities such as Allegheny, Bard, Bates, Binghamton, Brown, Chatham, Colgate, Cornell, Fordham, Hamilton, Macalester, Skidmore, Soka University of America, SUNY ESF, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, University of Richmond, UMBC, and Vassar.