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Student Hourly Assistant for Mars Research

Apply now(opens in a new window) Job No: 509344
Division/Organization: Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
Department: Space Science & Engineering Center
Job Type: UW Student Jobs
Remote Eligbility: Not Remote
Location: ATMOSPHERIC OCEANIC&SPACE SCI
Salary/Wage Range or Lump Sum: 16.50
Job Categories: Interpersonal Communication, Critical Thinking/Problem Solving, Digital Technology, Teamwork/Collaboration, Professionalism/Work Ethic, Information Technology and Computers, STEM, Data Analysis

Department Overview:

 SSEC engineers and scientists develop and utilize space-, aircraft- and ground-based instrumentation to collect and analyze observations of the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and other planetary atmospheres to improve our understanding of weather, climate, and atmospheric processes. Through this research we produce new resources, products, and tools that are helping to improve the accuracy and timeliness of weather forecasts.

This position will help analyze spacecraft images of Mars weather and surface processes.

Anticipated Start Date:

 9/15/2025

Anticipated End Date (If Applicable):

  

Remote Work Eligibility Detail:

Not Remote

 

Anticipated Hours Per Week:

 8-12 

Schedule:

 8 - 12 hours/week; flexible on the schedule, but must be within the core business hours of 8am-4pm.

Salary/Wage Range/Lump Sum:

 Minimum: 16.50

Number of Positions:

 1

Qualifications:

 - A willingness to explore and learn — about another world (both different and not-so-different than Earth) and about some basics of scientific computing, analysis, and visualization.
- Due to the requirements of the contract, the successful candidate must be a United States citizen or legal permanent resident of the USA (green card).
- Currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program.
- A physical science or engineering background.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Focused training for the job will be provided, but a successful candidate requires:
- Responsible, consistent, and organized
- Able to perform tedious tasks carefully

Position Summary/Job Duties:

Recurring Slope Lineae (RSL) are one of the most mysterious and poorly-understood surface features on present-day Mars. They are dark, finger-like surface features on steep slopes that can get longer (downhill) throughout seasonally warmer periods of the year, pause, then fade away during colder periods. Many hypotheses about RSL processes have been studied and discussed (including several that involve water).

The student will primarily analyze MARCI images/animations from multiple Mars-years to determine where and when dust storm events and hazes occurred at 5 RSL study regions spread across the warmer regions of Mars. MARCI is a camera aboard the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) that takes images across the planet in multiple separate wavelengths (colors) of light.

The successful candidate will also participate in regular meetings with the rest of the project team, helping to understand what the findings tell us about Mars weather and surface processes.

Physical Demands:

Sitting for extended periods of time at a desk looking at images on computer screens.

Institutional Statements:

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

UW-Madison is an Equal Employment, Equal Access Employer committed to increasing the diversity of our workforce.

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background-people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: diversity.wisc.edu

Accommodation Statement:

If you need to request an accommodation because of a disability, you can find information about how to make a request at the following website:https://employeedisabilities.wisc.edu/disability-accommodation-information-for-applicants/
 
 

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Applications close: Central Daylight Time

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