Student Research Opportunities
Student Fellowships
The Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship and an earlier NERRS Graduate Research Fellow, have generated well over 200 student research projects in the past 30 years.
Davidson Graduate Fellowship
Through a research project, fellows will address a key coastal management question designed to help scientists and communities understand coastal challenges and impacts that may influence future policy and management strategies. Applications are due December 20, 2019 for the fall 2020. https://www.hrnerr.org/nerrs-research/margaret-a-davidson-graduate-fellowship-at-the-hudson-river-reserve
Research topics are:
- Eel population dynamics and distribution using eDNA
- Transplantation of submerged aquatic vegetation
- Historic formation of tidal wetlands
- Societal value of ecosystem services
Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship
Researcher surveying a transect in a tidal marsh.
In cooperation with the Hudson River Foundation the Polgar Fellowship provides funding for eight students each summer with small stipends for
advisors. In the last 35 years, high school, college and graduate students from over 90 research institutions have conducted research on the Hudson. https://www.hudsonriver.org/article/polgar-fellowship
Corey Rundquist was a 2018 Polgar Fellowship recipient from Hamilton College. He collected data at Norrie Point for his project titled “Detecting Cyanobacteria in the Hudson River Using Fluorescent Sensors Suitable for Real-time Deployment.” Sophia Courtney was a 2019 Polgar Fellowship Recipient from Drexel University. She collected data from Piermont Marsh for her project titled “Is Sea Level Rise Altering Wetland Hydrology in Hudson River Valley Tidal Marshes?”
Recent NERRS GRF recipients include Christopher Nack (2010 – 2011) from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, whose project was entitled “Habitat Use by American Shad Larvae in the Hudson River Estuary, NY,” and Brian Brigham (2010 – 2012) from Queens College CUNY, whose project was entitled “Exploring Biogeochemical Connections Between Anthropogenic Nutrient Deposition and the Anaerobic Production of Hydrogen Sulfide in Wetland Systems.”
| Student Research Program | Number | Timeframe | Amount | Partner |
| Margaret A. Davidson Fellowship | 1 | 2 academic years | $41,000/yr | NOAA |
| Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program | 1 | 2 academic years | $9,500/yr | NOAA |
| NOAA College-Supported Internship Program | 1 | Summer | $3,800 | NOAA |
| Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship | 8 | Summer | $5,000 | Hudson River Foundation |
Undergraduate Programs
Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program
The Hollings Scholarship Program provides successful undergraduate applicants with awards that include academic assistance for two years of full-time study and a 10-week, full-time paid internship during the summer at a NOAA facility.
NOAA College-Supported Internship Program
NOAA has partnered with selected colleges to provide undergraduate students college-funded summer internship opportunities. At the Hudson River Reserve, the student assists research staff in summer field work in freshwater tidal wetlands, including identifying and quantifying emergent marsh and submerged aquatic vegetation, sampling Surface Elevation Tables and also assisting with water sampling and laboratory processing. Students must be in there second or third year and apply to their college, not to NOAA or HRNERR. https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/about/internship/overview/
