The Carnegie Astrophysics Summer Student Internship Program (CASSI) is a 10 week, paid internship and educational program based at Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena. We welcome a diverse cohort of 10-15 undergraduates from colleges and universities in Southern California to join Carnegie astronomers in collaborative original research projects. CASSI interns also participate in an educational program that includes over 60 activities during the summer designed to improve students' fluency and ease with scientific communication and scientific computing. The program also features structured mentoring and other forms of professional development intended to fully support the students during the program and in their future careers. To learn more about the program or our former interns, please follow the links below or contact the program director, Dr. Gwen Rudie.
The Class of 2020 CASSI Interns Participating via Zoom
Apply to CASSI 2021
The dates for the 2021 CASSI program will be
June 14, 2020 - August 20, 2021.
Carnegie is seeking undergraduate students interested in scientific research projects. We invite applications from all students in Southern California. One of the goals of the summer program at Carnegie is to increase participation and retention of under-represented groups in astronomy. We encourage Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous scholars, first-generation college students, and women to apply. Applications are due January 31, 2021.
Students will work for 10 weeks in the summer with scientists at Carnegie Observatories on projects spanning the field of astronomy. Using data taken from Carnegie's telescopes in Chile, students will have the chance to work with senior researchers on topics such as exoplanets, the first galaxies in the Universe, accreting black holes, dark matter, and the life and death of stars. Interested students can also work with Carnegie scientists and engineers on the next generation of cameras and spectrographs for our telescopes. Upon successful completion of the program, all students will also be given the opportunity to attend the American Astronomical Society meeting the following January to present their research. In addition to research, CASSI Interns will participate in a coding bootcamp during the first week of the program as well as an educational program designed to teach crucial scientific communication skills.
We hope that it will be possible to host the 2021 program in person; however, if that is not possible, we intend to host the program remotely, as we did successfully in 2020.
CASSI Program Details
- A complete schedule of events and deadlines for the summer.
- Information about the reports and deadlines for the program.
- The schedule of research talks for the summer.
- Carnegie Observatories Statement on Community
- Our Alumni Page
- Videos from past Summer Student Symposia
Carnegie Observatories Resources
- The Carnegie Observatories Help pages. For technical info specific to our campus.
- Local information about Pasadena.
- Approachable Experts.
- Carnegie's Vox Charta page (listing of papers we discuss at morning tea)
Programming/Technical Resources
- Unix tutorial for beginners.
- Slides from Andrew Benson's Unix tutorial
- Resources specific to the Python programming language.
- Resources specific to the IDL programming language.
Professional Development Resources
- Getting the most out of the relationship with your mentor
- Ground Rules for DEI Conversations
- Science and Politics
- Scientific Writing Suggestions
- Scientific Writing Exercise
- Resources for Preparing Scientific Talks
- Astronomy Careers Outside Academia
Astronomy Resources
- AstroBetter: A blog with lots of useful resources for the astronomer.
- Astrobites: write-ups about astronomy papers by grad students for undergraduates
- AAS Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy
- AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy
- AAS Committee for Sexual Orientation and Gender Minorities in Astronomy
- Women in Astronomy blog
- Astronomy in Color blog
- Working Group on Accessibility and Disability
- Guide to reading astronomy papers and participating in astronomy seminars
Maps
Here is a map of our buildings with room numbers. It is a bit out of date (some rooms have been split and the basement of the Hunt building has been reorganized a bit). Below is a complete map of our campus.
