Meet the 2022 class of summer interns

This summer, we will see some new faces on campus!

On May 31, 2022, the Earth and Planets Laboratory (EPL) will welcome seven undergraduate interns to our campus to participate in the Summer Undergraduate Research Internship (SURI) program. During the 10-week program, these students will work alongside world-class scientists to experience hands-on research in topics including astronomy, geochemistry, geophysics, material science, and planetary science.

In addition to research experience, the interns will participate in a professional development program covering topics and skills specially designed to prepare them for a career outside of the classroom. SURI interns can expect to dig into topics like scientific programming, presenting at conferences, and applying to graduate school.

According to Teske, “The entire program is grounded in best practices of mentoring and is intended to provide inclusive and flexible support to interns during the summer and in their future careers.”

This will be the first time EPL has hosted interns on campus over the course of the pandemic, and we’ve taken that time to refresh our program. Johanna Teske, Staff Scientist and SURI program manager, has reworked our internship model from the ground up to focus specifically on DC-regional undergraduates with the express goal of reaching new audiences and enriching the local community of young scientists.

Director Mike Walter adds that “We are thrilled to welcome the seven talented young scientists to EPL and hope to provide them with an experience they will remember for a lifetime”.

Meet the interns

Shazali Audu (he/him)

School and Major: University of Maryland, Aerospace Engineering Major

Working With: Alycia Weinberger

Project: Modeling Disks of Dust Around Stars

“This summer, I am excited to be doing an astrophysical research program for my very first time, and meeting peers who have similar interests to me. One fun fact about me is that, although many would never guess it, I was actually born and raised in Nigeria, and moved here when I was about 8 years old.”
 

Nadyah Abdul-Majid (she/her)

School and Major: Howard University, Chemistry Major, Mathematics Minor 

Working With: Dionysis Foustoukos

Project: Isotope and Chemical Evolution of Hydrothermally Altered Insoluble Organic Matter

Chris Anto (he/him)

School and Major: Johns Hopkins University, Physics & Mathematics Double Major

Working With: Zack Geballe

Project: Melting Metals in Microseconds: Laboratory Experiments to Study Earth's Core

"Hello! My name is Chris Anto, and I'm a Physics major at the Johns Hopkins University. I'm very excited to work on a project that aims to find solutions to such fundamental questions about Earth's thermal structure. Using my own creativity to help determine the trajectories we take as we go is also something I look forward to. A fun fact about me is that I am a huge desk-setup nerd!"

Maureen Clark (she/her/they/them)

School and Major: University of Maryland, Astronomy & Physics Double Major

Working With: Shaunna Morrison

Project: The Mystery of Ungrouped Chondritic Meteorites

“My name is Maureen Clark. I am beyond excited to meet and work with the Carnegie team and explore new interesting subfields of science, and am most looking forward to building my research skills, as this is my first time being able to work on a big project like this! A fun fact about me is that I collect vinyl records and love going to concerts.”

Eran Driscoll (he/him/they/them)

School and Major: College of William & Mary, Physics & Geology Double Major

Working With: Emma Bullock, Michelle Jordan, Tim Mock, Suzy Vitale, Jianhua Wang, Cian Wilson, Jing Yang

Project: Laboratory Analysis and Characterization of Planetary Materials

"My name is Eran Driscoll and I go to school at the College of William & Mary. I'm double-majoring in Physics and Geology. This summer, I'm most excited to connect with people equally interested in planetary science, and to analyze a meteorite! One fun fact about me is that I've been chased by three bears (two of them were on the same day)."

Sarah Fong (she/her)

School and Major: University of Virginia, Biochemistry Major

Working With: Dionysis Foustoukos

Project: Biochemistry of Chemolithoautotrophic Life: Constraining H and N isotope Fractionation During Growth of Piezophilic Epsilonproteobacteria.

“Hi, I’m Sarah Fong! This summer, I'm very excited to explore the different fields that chemistry has to offer over the course of this internship. I also look forward to meeting and working with fellow members of the science community. A fun fact about me is that I love growing plants and currently have five of them, but hope to acquire more in the future.” 

Anirudh Hari (he/him)

School and Major: Johns Hopkins University, Physics Major 

Working With: Tim Strobel, Sam Dunning

Project: Discovering Flexible Diamonds at High Pressures

"Hi, I'm Anirudh Hari, and I just graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a BS in Physics and minor in Earth and Planetary Sciences. This summer I'm really excited to meet the scientists at the Carnegie Institution and see how it's different from a university setting. A fun fact about me is that I love fruits and vegetables."