ESIP Community Fellows

The ESIP Community Fellows are graduate students and postdoctoral researchers interested in bridging the gap between informatics and Earth science.

About

This fellowship provides early career researchers a chance to work closely with Earth science data professionals in an interdisciplinary, cross-sector group by working with one of the ESIP Collaboration Areas and supporting the ESIP Meetings.

Community Fellows help with behind-the-scenes collaboration, documenting group activities on monthly calls and at ESIP’s two meetings, with occasional networking and training events. As fellows become more familiar with ESIP activities, they may choose to integrate their own research, which can lead to publication and additional funding opportunities.

The fellowship earns a $2,000 stipend and runs from December through the following November. They are required to attend both ESIP Meetings in January and July; ESIP covers all travel for the in-person meeting in July.

Community Fellows Application

Description

Title: ESIP Community Fellows

Award: $2,000/year + Participation in two ESIP Meetings (required)

Eligibility: Graduate students or post-doc (less than two years beyond PhD); U.S. Citizen or authorized to work in the U.S.

Contact & Application Submission: staff@esipfed.org

Deadline: Specifics coming soon – Applications opens in late August and are due in early October

# of awards: Up to 10

Requirements

Be enrolled in a graduate program (MS or PhD) or in a postdoctoral research position less than two years beyond your PhD
Attend the full duration of both January and July Meetings
Join monthly Collaboration Area calls; attendance only excused if the chair knows at least 24 hours before the call and only one call will be excused
Participate in occasional networking and training events
U.S. Citizen or authorized to work in the U.S.

Skills & Qualifications

Research in Earth or environmental sciences, computer science or Earth science education
Strong written and oral communication skills
Social media awareness/usage is desired

Community Fellow Application Form

Benefits

ESIP Community Fellows network with professionals in relevant research fields, share research with a broader audience, learn leading practices in collaboration, and get exposure to potential job tracks in government, industry, and academia.

Duties

Support one of ESIP’s 30+ Collaboration Areas that align with your research interests
Document and send reminders for the group’s monthly gathering (about one hour/month)
Assist the Collaboration Area leaders through collaborative technologies including Twitter, Zoom, ESIP Wiki, Slack, and more
Assist with set-up and monitoring during the January and July ESIP Meetings (about six days each)
Write a blog post on how your research relates to ESIP initiatives
Share your research with the community at the July ESIP Meeting’s Research Showcase

Term

ESIP Community Fellows will serve a year-long term starting in December through the following November. Fellows will receive a stipend of $2,000 for participation, paid in two installments (one at the July ESIP Meeting and one at the conclusion of the year only if fellow attended both meetings). In addition, ESIP will cover required travel expenses. Participation following the July ESIP Meeting is contingent on satisfactory performance.

There will be an option to renew for a second year at the end of the first year.

Application Procedure

Applicants for the fellowship should complete the application form.

Applications must include a single PDF file with:

Cover letter explaining:
- your graduate program
- which Collaboration Areas you would like to work with
- how your research interests align with your top Collaboration Areas
Graduate transcript
One letter of recommendation

NOTE: Applications open in late August with a deadline in early October (dates to be announced). Zoom interviews will be conducted in mid-October.

Partner Highlights Blogs

ESIP Partner – California Water Data Consortium: Cross-sector Collaboration to Advance Open Water Data

Apr 17, 2024

Guest blog from California Water Data Consortium, which is an ESIP Partner.

Celebrate Our 2024 Award Winners with ESIP

Jan 26, 2024

This year, ESIP recognizes a handful of people who do the work, build community, and go above and beyond.

Welcome 2024 ESIP Community Fellows!

Dec 19, 2023

This year's class of Community Fellows span many Earth science, information science and data science fields, bringing together a strong team with interdisciplinary interests and enthusiasm.

Past ESIP Community Fellows

2024 Fellows

Abel Aragon | George Mason Univ. Earth Systems Science | Data Stewardship
Anthony Pignatelli | Univ. of S. Carolina Biological Sciences | Envirosensing
Chenyue Jiao | Univ. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Information Sciences | Council of Data Facilities
Colette Brown | Univ. of California Berkeley Energy & Resources Group | Wildfires
Debasish Mishra | Texas A&M Biological & Agricultural Engineering | Soil Ontologies & Informatics
Jiyin Zhang | Univ. of Idaho Computer Science | Semantic Technologies
Lauren Holian | Univ. of S. Carolina Biological Sciences | Open Science
Md Sariful (Sharif) Islam | MIT Media Lab Space Enabled Research Group | Information Technology & Interoperability
Natalie Raia | Univ. of Arizona School of Information | Physical Sample Curation
Nelofar Qulizada | Univ. of Arkansas – Fayetteville Geosciences | Disaster Lifecycle

2023 Fellows

Jake Gearon | Indiana University | Envirosensing Cluster
Chhaya Kulkarni | University of Maryland, Baltimore County | Data Readiness Cluster
Chad Lanctot | University of Tennessee | Physical Samples Cluster
Michael Mahoney | State University of New York | Information Technology & Interoperability Committee
Sruti Modekurty | Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters in Urban Climate and Sustainability | Community Resilience Cluster
Kyla Richards | Hawaii Pacific University | Biological Data Standards Cluster
Daniel Segessenman | George Mason University | Data Stewardship Committee
Morgan Wofford | Univ. of Michigan | Open Science Cluster

2022 Fellows

James Coll | Univ. of Kansas | Cloud Computing Cluster
Sahara Ali | Univ. of Maryland Baltimore County | Air Quality Cluster
Jake Gearon | Indiana Univ. | Envirosensing Cluster
Qian Huang | Univ. of South Carolina | Disaster Lifecycle Cluster
Sara Lafia | Univ. of Michigan | Semantic Technologies Committee
Michael Mahoney | State Univ. of New York | Machine Learning Cluster
Morgan Wofford | Univ. of Michigan | Community Resilience Cluster
Daniel Segessenman | Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison | Data Stewardship Committee

2021 Fellows

Christine Gregg | Community Resilience Cluster | University of Michigan
Qian Huang | Disasters Lifecycle Cluster | University of South Carolina
Ned Molder | Public-Private Partnerships Cluster | University of Wisconsin, Madison
Kristina Fauss | Envirosensing Cluster | University of California, Santa Barbara
Sara Lafia | Discovery Cluster | University of Michigan
Cindy Lin | Machine Learning Cluster | University of Michigan
Jackie Guz | Ag & Climate Cluster | National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center
Marion McKenzie | Community Data Cluster | University of Virginia