The following research assistant (RA) positions are available for undergraduate students during Summer 2025. Interested students should review the program qualifications and application instructions on the Summer Research Funding Program webpage.

Universal control of light and heat using ensembles of liquid flow modules, Joanna Aizenberg | See More

A liquid building wrapping capable of dynamically sending heat to outer space, Joanna Aizenberg | See More

A liquid skin capable of simultaneously manipulating light and heat for 0-energy buildings, Joanna Aizenberg | See More

Optimizing Environmentally Responsible Health Care, Ann-Christine Duhaime | See More

Using remote sensing data to predict harmful algal bloom (HAB) occurrence in Madagascar, Christopher Golden | See More

Upcycling Wool Ecologies Project, Jonathan Grinham | See More

Plant Responses to Soil and Atmospheric Drought, Missy Holbrook | See More

Modeling of Atmospheric Chemistry, Daniel Jacob | See More

History of the Health Effects of Climate Change, David Jones | See More

Recognition through Work and Environmental Justice: the Cases of Indigenous People in the Northern Mariana Islands in the North Pacific and the Kichi Sibi (Ottawa River) in Eastern Canada, Michèle Lamont | See More

Light-Triggered Capture and Release of CO2 by Organic Photochromes, Richard Liu | See More

Climate Health and the Immune System: A Hot Topic, Kari Nadeau | See More

Climate Change and Storytelling, Martin Puchner & Tarun Khanna | See More

Clinical Research Trial on Air Purification, Mary Rice | See More

Climate Adaption, Loss, and Damage in Nepal and India, Eugene Richardson | See More

Environmental Economics and Policy, Robert Stavins | See More

Setting health and climate priorities in low- and middle-income countries, Stéphane Verguet | See More

MethaneSAT/MethaneAIR Research, Steven C. Wofsy | See More

The Globalization of Cleantech Innovation: Implications for Geopolitics and Business, David Yang | See More

Project Topic: Universal control of light and heat using ensembles of liquid flow modules.   

Faculty Supervisor: Joanna Aizenberg 

School: SEAS 

Department/Area: Engineering 

Details: The coordinated modulation of a broad range of optical and thermal properties is important for almost every energy application (e.g., smart windows, adaptive building insulation, personal cooling textiles, vehicle coatings, greenhouses/vertical farm claddings, solar/thermal batteries, photovoltaic cell encasings), but is challenging using conventional solid-state materials. Here, by instead leveraging the flow, wetting, and mass-carrying capacity of liquids, we introduce a class of flowable universal interfaces for directing energy (FLUIDEs), showing that a liquid-filled ‘building block’ can be generally configured to manipulate nearly any important optical and thermal property, including optical absorptivity, reflectivity, transmissivity, diffusivity, multiple opposite spectral and view-angle selectivities, as well as thermal convectivity, conductivity, emissivity, and emission azimuthal selectivity. Designing the combination and operation of building blocks enables an almost infinite number of pathways for choreographing flows of light and heat. For example, we are making new types of solar-thermal batteries, switchable heat flux gates, light concentrators, and architected materials for intelligently shaping, dimming, and filtering various bands of environmental radiation. 

Contact: Raphael Kay, rkay@seas.harvard.edu

Project Topic: A liquid building wrapping capable of dynamically sending heat to outer space.   

Faculty Supervisor: Joanna Aizenberg 

School: SEAS 

Department/Area: Engineering 

Details: An emerging class of ‘radiatively-cooling’ materials are capable of sending unwanted heat (via thermal radiation) into outer space. The ability to combine this incredible feature with the capacity to manipulate sunlight would open new pathways to curating interior climates exclusively using environmental radiation – largely eliminating the need for the heating, cooling, and lighting systems that drive energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions globally. To achieve this possible breakthrough in energy efficiency and sustainability, this project will look to an entirely new class of material – fluids – for developing a single platform capable of controlling sunlight and radiative cooling simultaneously. Our fluidic strategy may ‘unlock’ what has been considered one of the longstanding materials science bottlenecks to global sustainability. 

Contact: Raphael Kay, rkay@seas.harvard.edu

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Project Topic: A liquid skin capable of simultaneously manipulating light and heat for 0-energy buildings. 

Faculty Supervisor: Joanna Aizenberg 

School: SEAS 

Department/Area: Engineering 

Details: There are building materials that can adaptively control light. And there are building materials that can adaptively control heat. While these optical and thermal systems, respectively, enable substantial energy reductions to indoor climate control independently, incompatibilities in their materials and working principles have prohibited the untapped energy savings available with their integration within one building wrapping synergistically. In this project, by looking orthogonally to conventional window and wall materials, we will study an entirely new class of material – fluids – for developing a single platform capable of achieving optical and thermal programmability simultaneously. This brand-new fluid-based approach may unlock simultaneous access to the two key energy control knobs in buildings, light transmission, and heat flux, providing a feasible path to carbon neutrality and sustainability. 

Contact: Raphael Kay, rkay@seas.harvard.edu

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DIANE DAVIS 

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Project Topic: Optimizing Environmentally Responsible Health Care 

Faculty Supervisor: Ann-Christine Duhaime and colleagues at the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for the Environment and Health (CEH) 

School:  HMS  

Dept./Area: MGH Center for the Environment and Health/Healthcare 

Physician and Epidemiology researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital are looking for Harvard undergraduate research assistants to work on a variety of projects relevant to environmental considerations in the healthcare setting. Students may be considered from a range of concentrations and interests depending on the specific focus of the project. Past research assistants have focused on health facility energy modeling, optimizing “green space” design in an urban hospital, reusable cloth surgical/procedural masks, interactive maps of U.S. hospital demographic and environmental profiles, and design of a portable in-room enclosed “ecosphere” that allows patients to view plants that could be grown for food right in their rooms but not expose them to mold or pollen. Work is planned for hybrid on-site and remote work, including at least twice weekly virtual or in-person meetings. Research assistants are expected to produce a written summary of research findings and/or a publication. 

Several research areas are available, as follows, with specific project(s) to be chosen by mutual input from faculty and research assistants: 

• Participating in wide-ranging efforts to improve Mass General’s environmental profile with a number of possible projects in energy, waste, toxicity, air quality, building design, supply chain, biomedical research sustainability, public and community health effects, outreach, and communications. 

• Working on an ongoing research project assessing interventions to improve sustainability in biomedical research, and whether this affects researchers’ job satisfaction and pro-environmental behavior outside of work. 

• Helping to refine metrics of sustainability within the healthcare sector and working on a public-facing dashboard. 

• Working on a current research project investigating the effect of a gas-powered intermittent “peak energy” plant in Peabody on the health of local residents.  

• Collecting data on hospital operations changes already completed or ongoing in order to write manuscripts for submission for publication about health sector initiatives in sustainability. In particular, we plan to compile data and publish a case study on the process of “moving the needle” towards a more sustainable design for a large new clinical building currently under construction, and how collaboration between engineers, architects, energy experts, clinicians, and community advocates affected the decision-making and ultimate design choices. 

• Collaborative design element research relevant to a “green children’s hospital” including the potential focus areas noted above and others relevant to pediatric healthcare, including specific considerations for children’s health and psychological well-being, outdoor and indoor green space, noise reduction, and other elements specifically relevant to pediatric practice. 

• Researching (and publishing) the successes and failures of past experiences with repurposing metered dose inhaler (MDI) gases (for example, those used for asthma). 

• Creating Center for the Environment and Health education pieces geared towards both patients and staff to host on our website and/or social media. This may include creating and translating artistic, accurate, impactful information into infographics for low literacy or non-English-speaking learners. 

• Compiling the current state of environmental sustainability efforts at academic medical centers in the United States, including their staffing and reporting practices. This may result in publication and presentation of results. 

• Reviewing hospital clinical policies for potential environmental sustainability issues, with the opportunity to propose potential revisions and document the process for publication. 

• Designing and testing a surgical and procedural mask that is fabric-based, washable, modular for different purposes, is effective in the setting of viral pandemics, and could serve as a more permanent solution to worldwide shortages while meeting regulatory requirements and being cost-effective. For this project, experience or interest in life cycle analysis, materials engineering, design, market surveys, business, and health and occupational regulations would be useful. 

• Additional projects involving climate change and mental health, advocacy, and other areas of the intersection of environment and health are possible. 

Contact: Ann-Christine Duhaime, MD, aduhaime@mgh.harvard.edu 

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Project Topic: Using remote sensing data to predict harmful algal bloom (HAB) occurrence in Madagascar

Faculty Supervisor: Christopher Golden

School: HSPH

Department/Area: Human Health

Details: This research is sponsored by the Golden Lab’s Planetary Health research group.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) can arise because of increasing nutrient availability or rising freshwater or sea temperatures driven by climate change, often changing the color of the water (e.g., red, brown, orange, or yellow) and leading to the production of toxins by the water’s dinoflagellates, diatoms, or cyanobacteria. These toxins can infiltrate fresh drinking water resources in coastal areas, and also contaminate the fish and shellfish which local populations consume, leading to marine food intoxication, diarrheal disease, and dysentery. While the presence of toxic algae is best assessed by analyzing water samples directly, satellite data and images provide valuable information on the presence of HABs at a much larger scale.

Variables such as ocean color, water reflectance, sea surface temperature, and precipitation can be combined to detect HABs more rapidly and in locations where direct sampling is impractical. Satellite data on these parameters is widely available at fine resolutions, offering a powerful tool for HAB monitoring and prediction. However, confirmed, labeled HAB events are less widely available, especially in developing countries where their harmful effects are often more severe, due to e.g. weaker healthcare systems and higher dependence on marine foods.

Our research group has access to a unique collection of confirmed HAB sightings for Madagascar and its surrounding waters. This summer research project aims to leverage this dataset in combination with satellite observations to:

1. Identify and analyze the satellite variables most closely associated with HAB formation and occurrence in the region;
2. Develop and validate a model for detecting HABs in Madagascar’s coastal waters using satellite data, utilizing the available confirmed HAB occurrences as ground truth.

This project offers an opportunity to work at the intersection of environmental science, remote sensing, and data science, with potential implications for public health and coastal management in vulnerable regions.

Contact: Christopher Golden, golden@hsph.harvard.edu

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Project Topic: Upcycling Wool Ecologies Project 

Faculty Supervisor: Jonathan Grinham 

School: GSD, SEAS 

Department/Area: Design, Engineering 

Details: The Grinham Research Group seeks a motivated student to contribute to the Upcycling Wool Ecologies Project, a multidisciplinary effort in collaboration with the Graduate School of Design and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The research will focus on creating durable, insulative, and eco-friendly building cladding systems from nearly 100% waste wool. This work aims to advance circular design practices, transforming a significant waste stream into sustainable materials that enhance building energy performance while reducing reliance on carbon-intensive alternatives. The selected candidate will work alongside a multidisciplinary team to (1) Optimize the mechanical, thermal, and hygroscopic properties of wool-based biocomposites. (2) Evaluate environmental impacts and market opportunities for waste wool in the building sector. 

Contact: Jonathan Grinham, Jgrinham@gsd.harvard.edu  

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Project Topic: Plant Responses to Soil and Atmospheric Drought 

Faculty Supervisor: Missy Holbrook 

Postdoctoral Supervisors: Cade Kane 

School: FAS 

Department/Area: OEB/Biology 

Details: How will plants respond to climate change? To understand the sensitivity of ecosystems to climate change, we need to know how plants respond to changes in temperature, humidity, and soil moisture. This project centers on lab-based research on factors controlling stomatal dynamics. We will use new methods to measure the pressure within stomatal guard cells and relate the regulation of these pressures to stressors such as temperature and humidity. We will also conduct a pilot study on red oak trees at Harvard Forest in which we examine soil water access and internal (xylem) transport capacity – comparing trees whose growth has slowed in recent years versus trees with sustain carbon accumulation. This work is part of a larger study that seeks to predict factors controlling carbon sequestration in eastern forests. Daily lab work will be required, and the research team will help with outlining a potential thesis and/or paper once the lab work has been completed. This is a great project for students interested in lab and field-based physiological techniques and in learning about plant/climate interactions. 

Contact: Missy Holbrook, holbrook@g.harvard.edu 

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Project Topic: Modeling of Atmospheric Chemistry 

Faculty Supervisor: Daniel Jacob  
School: SEAS 

Department/Area: Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling Group   

Details: The Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling Group welcomes applications from Harvard undergraduates interested in computational/statistical research related to greenhouse gases and air quality issues. Undergraduate research assistants will work closely with a student, postdoc, or senior programmer in the group. Some experience and a strong interest in scientific programming are required. Visit the group’s website. 

Contact: Daniel Jacob, djacob@fas.harvard.edu 

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Project Topic: History of the Health Effects of Climate Change 

Faculty Supervisor: David Jones 

School: FAS, HMS 

Department/Area: History of Science (FAS), Global Health and Social Medicine  (HMS)

Details: Professor Jones is engaged in several historical research projects about our evolving knowledge of the health effects of the climate crisis, including one about how heat waves came to be recognized as a public health threat, and one about the effects of air pollution (including wildfires) on health. Research for each of these projects would be based in Cambridge and involve finding relevant sources (mostly through online resources, sometimes through library collections) and summarizing/analyzing them (e.g., one mission might be to identify, research, and tell the story specific 20th century heat wave mortality events). Scheduling, both of the work itself and of mentoring meetings, is flexible. Please contact Professor Jones if you’d like to discuss these opportunities. 

Contact: David Jones, dsjones@harvard.edu 

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Project Topic: Recognition through Work and Environmental Justice: the Cases of Indigenous People in the Northern Mariana Islands in the North Pacific and the Kichi Sibi (Ottawa River) in Eastern Canada

Faculty Supervisor: Michèle Lamont

School: FAS

Department/Area: Sociology and Environmental Justice

Details:  Extending my book Seeing Others: How Recognition Works and How it Heals a Divided World (2023), which is largely US-focused, I am now researching recognition in the context of global social change, to deepen our understanding of social inclusion. This should result in a new book entitled Recognition Globally that will mobilizes comparative case studies to consider similarities and differences between various types of recognition. This includes a study of political recognition for the “invisible” working class youth in the US and the UK (funded by various centers at Harvard and the JPB Foundation); and a study of recognition through work and environmental justice for indigenous groups in Micronesia and Eastern Canada (funded by Salata, WCFIA, and the Asia Center at Harvard,  as well as by  the Hewlett Foundation). While the first study concerns the political dimension of misrecognition, the second address the human consequences of environmental racism and the meaning of  work, mostly in extractive and construction sectors. The research will compare recognitions projects across groups that vary in terms of their “groupness” (i.e., the fluidity of their group identity and experienced symbolic boundaries (Lamont and Molnar 2002)). It will also consider how they experience misrecognition and whether and how they attempt to address it.

By summer 2025, approximately 90 interview will be completed with Chamorros and Rafaluwash people living in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam, and with Algonquin Anishinaabe First Nation members (from Pikwakanagan and Kebaowek Nations) in Quebec and Ontario concerning how they weigh the protection of the environment against the value of job creation in their region. The background is the growing militarization of CNMI/Guam (with important destructive environmental impacts) and the endangerment of the environment by a nuclear waste disposal site situated on unceded Algonquin territory.

Contact: Michèle Lamont, mlamont@wjh.harvard.edu

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Project Topic: Light-Triggered Capture and Release of CO2 by Organic Photochromes 

Faculty: Richard Liu 

School: FAS 

Department/Area: Chemistry 

Details: The Liu Research Group (liu-group.org) is seeking an undergraduate research assistant for Summer 2023 (extendable to semester-time) to advance a project at the intersection of synthetic organic chemistry, engineering, and the environment. We have recently developed a class of simple “molecular machines” that use visible light, such as sunlight, to realize capture of CO2 from the atmosphere and on-demand release. A motivated, open-minded team member will play an integral part in this collaborative project by synthesizing new analogues, measuring physical organic chemical properties, and incorporating the optimized molecule(s) into prototype devices. The candidate can expect to learn skills in organic synthesis and purification, photochemistry, spectroscopy, and molecular design. 

Contact: Richard Liu, richardliu@chemistry.harvard.edu 

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Project Topic: Climate Health and the Immune System: A Hot Topic 

Faculty Supervisor: Kari Nadeau 
School: HSPH 

Department/Area: Environmental Health Sciences 

Details: Are you interested in conducting research to address the largest health crisis of the century? Climate change is a global health crisis. Undergraduate students with a strong background in biology, climate science, public health or populational health are invited to join us for completing a research project during the summer. Students will learn about and participate in immunology-based research associated with climate change, such as the impact of air pollution or wildfire smoke exposure on the immune system. Possible projects range from cutting-edge wet lab work (e.g., lung organoid exposure studies, studying immune cell dysfunction using cytof, analysis of immune epigenetics, single cell analysis) to dry-lab data science research. 

Contact: Kari Nadeau, knadeau@hsph.harvard.edu 

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Project Topic: Climate Change and Storytelling 

Faculty Supervisor: Martin Puchner and Tarun Khanna 

School: FAS, HBS 

Department/Area: Climate change communication; effective storytelling 

Details: Professors Tarun Khanna (HBS) and Martin Puchner (FAS) seek new ways to bring narrative strategies and the history of storytelling to discussions about climate science and climate policy. With Professor Khanna approaching the topic from the perspective of entrepreneurship and Professor Puchner, from a history of literature, they hope to find concrete narrative genres, formats, and modes that can trigger action by self-interested players with varying objectives. To this end, their immediate goal is to work towards a matrix that matches concrete challenges and players to specific story types. These story types can be selectively adapted from existing systems of classification, including Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, Kurt Vonnegut’s five basic plots, Vladimir Propp’s structural analysis of folk tales, and Northrop Frye’s Anatomy of Criticism, as well as successful recent climate literature, both fiction and non-fiction. Research for this project would be based in Cambridge and involve finding relevant sources (mostly through online resources, sometimes through library collections) and summarizing/analyzing them, as well as writing short op-ed style takes on this material. Scheduling, both of the work itself and of mentoring meetings, is flexible. Please contact Professor Puchner if you’d like to discuss these opportunities. 

Contact: Martin Puchner, puchner@fas.harvard.edu

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Project Topic: Clinical Research Trial on Air Purification  

Faculty: Mary Rice 

School: HSPH 

Department/Area: Environmental Health Sciences 

Details: We are looking for one student to work on the Air Purification for Eosinophilic COPD (APECS) Study at Beth Isreal Deaconess Medical Center’s Institute for Lung Health (ILH). The student will learn about the etiology and effects of eosinophilic COPD while also learning how to conduct and organize data collection in a large clinical trial. They will be responsible for collecting and recording phone survey data for our currently enrolled participants in our RedCap database. This student will also have the opportunity to participate in ILH and Pulmonary Department research meetings with BIDMC physician researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and data scientists. They may also shadow study clinic visits, where our research assistants conduct various health and breathing measurements and collect and store various biological samples. This is an excellent opportunity to gain patient interaction skills and participate in the protocol of a (randomized controlled) clinical research study on climate-related exposures, including pollutants and allergens. 

Contact: Mary Rice, mrice1@bidmc.harvard.edu 

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Project Topic: Climate Adaption, Loss, and Damage in Nepal and India

Faculty Supervisor: Eugene Richardson
School: HMS 
Department/Area: Environmental Health Sciences

The research assistant would assist with climate change research (adaptation, Loss and Damage) being conducted in Nepal and India. Tasks would include literature reviews, data analysis, preparation of manuscripts, and assistance with new grant proposals.

Contact: Eugene Richardson, eugene_richardson@hms.harvard.edu

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Project Topic: Environmental Economics and Policy 

Faculty Supervisor: Robert Stavins 
School: HKS 
Department/Area: Energy and Economic Development 

Details: For this summer of research, the student proposes a topic, which applies economic thinking and economic analysis to a policy problem in the realm of environmental, energy, and natural resources. Working with Professor Robert Stavins (Harvard Kennedy School), the student researcher will refine the topic to one that is interesting, feasible, and falls within the scope of environmental economics. Next the student researcher will develop—with guidance from Professor Stavins—an outline of the paper the student will eventually write, and then a work plan of steps to be taken from the beginning to the end of the project, including the key sources of information. After that, the student researcher will meet approximately once per week with Professor Stavins in Zoom sessions until the paper is completed. The best applicants will have studied basic environmental economics, such as in Economics 1661, but that is not a prerequisite. 

Contact: Robert Stavins, robert_stavins@hks.harvard.edu 

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Project Topic: Setting health and climate priorities in low- and middle-income countries.

Faculty: Prof. Stéphane Verguet, Associate Professor of Global Health,  

School: HSPH 

Department/Area: Environmental Health Sciences 

Details: To conduct a literature review of the impact of climate-related events (e.g., heat waves, droughts, floods, etc.) on health care systems and health-related behaviors (e.g., availability of health care services, care-seeking) in low- and middle-income countries, so as to identify a range of interventions, that are both effective and cost-effective in mitigating climate-related shocks and building resilient health systems. 

Contact: Stéphane Verguet, verguet@hsph.harvard.edu 

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Project Topic: MethaneSAT/MethaneAIR Research 

Faculty Supervisor: Steven C. Wofsy  

School: SEAS/FAS  

Department/Area: Atmospheric and Environmental Chemistry 

Details: To work on MethaneAIR and MethaneSAT research. The student will study one of several outstanding problems in identifying and evaluating emission rates using remote sensing images of methane concentrations derived from MethaneSAT and MethaneAIR imaging spectrometers.  In addition, there will be a field experiment planned for MethaneAIR this summer, and the student will go into the field with ground-based spectrometers to help calibrate the remote sensing data. 

Contact: Steven C. Wofsy, wofsy@g.harvard.edu  

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Project Topic: The Globalization of Cleantech Innovation: Implications for Geopolitics and Business

Faculty Supervisor: David Yang

School: FAS  

Department/Area: Economics and Policy

Details: This project seeks to examine the rapidly changing landscape of global innovation in cleantech, and its implications for geopolitical and business power. We would combine patent data – building on the work done already using information from the Chinese, European, and U.S. offices – with information on venture capital, public offering, and product market activity in cleantech. Among the issues we would seek to assess are: (1) The changing relative positioning of major innovators in these areas; these could draw on textual analyses of the patents themselves, as well as product market data. (2) The role of government policies, including the spillovers of technological knowledge. (3) The consequences of cleantech on supply chain linkages, energy interdependence, and geopolitical leverages.

Contact: David Yang, davidyang@fas.harvard.edu

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