The Cascadia Coastlines and Peoples Hazards Research (CoPes) Hub is recruiting up to 10 undergraduate students from any academic discipline for an exciting opportunity in the Cascadia Coastal Hazards and Resilience Training, Education and Research (CHARTER) Fellows program.

What’s the CoPes Hub project about?

People living along the Pacific Northwest coastlines face multiple climate-driven threats. Through this project, funded by prominent funding organization the National Science Foundation (NSF), the CoPes Hub will empower community members living in the coastal areas to be more prepared to deal with the impact of natural hazards.

The aim of the CHARTER Fellows program is to provide you with opportunities to engage in CoPes Hub research, act as role models for high school students, and engage with the public around the science of coastal hazards.

What’s in it for you as a CHARTER Fellow?

You will:

• Earn a stipend of $1,000 per year for their participation
• Learn about the multiple natural threats the Greater Cascadia coastline and communities face
• Gain practical experience in research including conducting interviews, survey research, and participant observation; and take/participate in a research methods class in Winter 2025
• Develop skills in computer modelling and geographic information systems (GIS)
• Get the opportunity to attend a 3-day bootcamp in Summer 2025 in coastal Oregon or northern California (this trip is fully paid for by the project)
• Present findings to educate high school students about earthquake and tsunami inundation; or
• Support other researchers in collecting data for the larger CoPes Hub research project

Project Timeline

Winter 2025 – Zoom orientation with accepted Fellows from each university

Spring 2025 – Research Methods course

Summer 2025 – 3-day bootcamp in Newport, OR or other location along the coast (TBD)

Fall 2025 – Present findings to high school students or work with a fellow Hub researcher to collect data

Interested sophomore and junior undergraduate students should complete this application by Friday, November 29, 2024. Students who identify as any of the following: BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color), Latinx, LGBTQ+, first generation, and/or low-income. Sophomore and junior students in all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply. Applicants will be notified about acceptance in December.

For more information, please contact our CHARTER Fellows Mentor, Maya Trajkovski (trajkovm@oregonstate.edu). Additional contacts at Oregon State University are Professor Dwaine Plaza (dplaza@oregonstate.edu) or Dr. Lisa Gaines (Lisa.Gaines@oregonstate.edu); at University of Oregon, Professor José W. Meléndez (jmelende@uoregon.edu); or at University of Washington, Professor Daniel Abramson (abramson@uw.edu).