Marine Science and Engineering Summer Internships

For an immersion in a marine science or technology internship, apply to Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Summer Internship Program. Open to qualified undergraduate and graduate students, the 10-week program is designed to provide hands-on experience in a research environment in areas that include:

• Aquaculture and Stock Enhancement
• Biomedical and Biotechnology
• Marine Ecosystem Health
• Ocean Dynamics and Modeling
• Ocean Engineering and Technology
• Outreach and Informal Education

Internationally known for its research, FAU Harbor Branch is located between Vero Beach and Fort Pierce, Florida, on the Indian River Lagoon, one of the most biodiverse estuaries in the United States. Nearby habitats include seagrass beds, mangrove forests, salt marshes, mud and sand flats, beaches, rock ledges, and nearshore reefs.

FAU Harbor Branch faculty members are leaders in their fields. You will be learning from, and studying with, the best.

Undergraduate Interns: Open to students currently enrolled in a full-time program who have completed at least the equivalent of two years of college and are seeking a four-year degree.

Graduate Interns: Open to currently enrolled graduate students and graduating seniors who have been accepted and are pre-registered for a graduate program.

All applicants must be at least 18 years of age and in good academic standing as evidenced by submission of a current official transcript. Students who are not U.S. citizens must have a current visa with authorization to receive compensation. All applicants must have or be eligible to apply for a US social security number.

Applications are due by March 1. Awards will be announced April 1.

Application deadline	March 1
Awards announced	April 1
Program start date	5/19/25
Program end date	7/25/25

The major portion of the funding for this program is provided through the generosity of the Link Foundation. The Gertrude Skelly Foundation provides major support for interns in marine biomedical research.

Application Procedure

To be considered a complete application for review by the intern selection committee, the following materials must be submitted for this program:

1. Completed application form (see forms and documents section)
2. Brief (single spaced, no more than one-page) essay outlining experience and career/research interests
3. Resume
4. Three (3) letters of reference submitted by Faculty members who are familiar with you. Faculty may send their reference directly to HBOIIntern@barrett-tech.net
5. Official copy of college transcript, sealed envelope mailed to FAU Harbor Branch address below
6. Graduating seniors must submit proof (copy of registration and letter of acceptance to graduate school) of continuing education

Official transcripts must be mailed to FAU Harbor Branch:
FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
5600 US 1 North
Fort Pierce, FL 34946
All other application materials must be sent in one email* with each item an individual attachment. *If attachments exceed the size for one email as allowed by your service provider, an additional email is permitted. Email to: HBOIIntern@barrett-tech.net

Forms and Documents

Click here to download the fillable PDF application.
REQUIRED! Please install Adobe Acrobat Reader DC

Download a Summer Intern program brochure here.

Research Areas

• Aquaculture and Stock Enhancement
• Biomedical and Biotechnology
• Marine Ecosystem Health
• Ocean Dynamics and Modeling
• Ocean Engineering and Technology
• Outreach and Informal Education

All mentors are accepting interns in Summer 2025 unless otherwise noted.

• Megan Davis, Ph.D., Research Professor Aquaculture and Stock Enhancement. Research interests include: Warm water aquaculture of important Caribbean species including queen conch, and their conservation and community based restoration. She also conducts research on sea vegetable aquaculture. Learn more.
• Susan Laramore, Ph.D. Research Professor, Aquatic Animal Health, Research Interests include: Aquatic animal health, crustacean and bivalve diseases, with an emphasis on viral diseases. Learn more. Not accepting interns in 2025.
• Fernando Paredes, Ph.D. Assistant Research Professor, Fish Nutrition and Aquafeed production. Research interests include: Fish physiology, nutrition, feed production and egg quality from a molecular and biochemical perspective.
• Marty Riche, Ph.D. Research Professor Fish Nutrition. Research interests include: fish nutrition and physiology including bioenergetics, nutrient requirements and availability, and development of finfish diets. Learn more.
• Paul Wills, Ph.D. Research Professor, Aquaculture and Stock Enhancement, Research interests include: Production of finfish for food and for sportfish enhancement. Learn more.
• James Masterson, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor, Aquaculture. Research interests include aquaculture, marine education and public engagement. Not accepting interns in 2025.

• Esther Guzmán, Ph.D. Research Professor, Cancer Cell Biology Research interests include: the design, and use, of high-throughput assays to test the potential anti-tumor or anti-inflammatory activities of marine natural products isolated from sponges and corals, and studies towards understanding the mode of action of those compounds that exhibit biological activity to assess their potential as therapeutics. Learn more.
• Amy Wright, Ph.D. Research Professor, Marine Natural Products Chemistry Research interests include: the bioassay-guided purification and structure elucidation of marine natural products that may have utility in the treatment of human diseases or have ecological importance. Learn more.

• Matthew Ajemian, Ph.D.- Associate Research Professor, Research interests include: Ecology and behavior of marine and estuarine fishes, particularly fisheries species and elasmobranchs (sharks and rays). Learn more.
• Rachel Brewton, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor, Research interests include: macroalgae, seagrass restoration and assessment, estuarine habitats, nutrient pollution. Learn more.
• Andia Chaves Fonnegra, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Biology, Laboratory of Integrative Marine and Coastal Ecology. Research interests include: understanding the mechanisms that underlie changes in marine and coastal ecosystems by studying the structure and dynamics of organisms, populations and communities. Our focus is on marine sponges, corals and algae. We use an interdisciplinary approach in which we integrate reproductive biology, experimental ecology, population genetics and mathematical modeling. Learn more. Not accepting interns in 2025.
• Brian Lapointe, Ph.D., Research Professor, Ecology and Water Quality. Harmful algal blooms in subtropical and tropical ecosystems. Learn more. Not accepting interns in 2025.
• Michael McCoy, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Quantitative Ecology, Population/Community Ecology of Fresh and Saltwater Organisms, Predator Ecology, Disease Ecology, Complex Life Histories, Across Ecosystem Interactions, and Quantitative Methods. Learn more.
• Malcolm McFarland, Ph.D. Associate Research Professor, Research interests include: Phytoplankton ecology and ocean optics to study dynamic processes that determine the distribution, abundance and diversity of marine phytoplankton populations and communities. Learn more.
• Gregory O’Corry-Crowe, Ph.D. Research Professor, Wildlife Evolution and Behavior Lab, Research interests include: Behavioral ecology and molecular genetics of top predators, including marine mammals. Learn more.
• Annie Page, DVM/ Ph.D. Associate Research Professor, Marine Wildlife Veterinary Medicine & Research Lab, Research interests include: Epidemiology, pathology, and ecology of marine wildlife disease; Molecular diagnostic approaches to marine wildlife disease issues; Marine wildlife population health assessment and rehabilitation Learn more.
• Joshua Voss, Ph.D. Associate Research Professor, Coral Reef and Molecular Ecology. Research interests include: Coral reef ecology, marine molecular ecology, marine conservation and management. Learn more.

• Jordon Beckler, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Geochemistry and Geochemical Sensing, Research interests include: Developing and applying autonomous biogeochemical sensing technologies to constrain fundamental elemental cycling mechanisms and rates in redox environments. These findings can be applied to inform hydrologic or climate models, environmental restoration efforts, or resource management decisions. Learn more.
• Laurent Cherubin, Ph.D. Research Professor, Research interests include: Ocean and ecosystem dynamics, and marine connectivity. Tools consist of numerical modeling and field observations using autonomous platforms such as glider and advanced aerial and underwater sensing techniques. Learn more.
• Mingshun Jiang, Ph.D. Associate Research Professor, Research interests include: Estuarine and coastal dynamics, modeling harmful algal blooms, water quality, ecosystem dynamics, and ocean iron and carbon cycles. Learn more. Not accepting interns in 2025.
• Timothy Moore, Ph.D. Associate Research Professor, Research interests include: The use of ocean color remote sensing for environmental monitoring and includes bio-optical algorithm development for open ocean, coastal and inland aquatic systems. He incorporates field work with satellite imagery, with topics covering harmful algal blooms, benthic mapping in shallow waters, water quality studies, and global change related to climate studies. He also leads the operation of a network of buoys in the Indian River Lagoon to monitor water quality properties to be used for a variety of research areas that involve the lagoon from seagrass habitat monitoring to algal blooms across short and long-term time scales. Learn more.

• Oscar López, Ph.D. Assistant Research Professor, Ocean Engineering and Applied Technology, Research Interests include multidimensional data analysis and processing with the main goal to exploit the high dimensional structure of datasets in order to improve the efficiency of inference methods. Achieving this task is key to combat the “curse of dimensionality” due to the deluge of information emanating from evolving data collection technologies. Learn more.
• Bing Ouyang, Ph.D. Research Professor, Ocean Engineering and Applied Technology, Research interests include: cyber-physical systems, machine learning, field robotic systems, underwater laser imaging systems, and image processing. Learn more.
• Aditya Nayak, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Technology Development, Research interests include: in situ imaging instrumentation, plankton ecology, harmful algal blooms, biophysical interactions, marine particle characterization, coastal processes, and small-scale turbulence. Learn more.
• Wayne Slade, Ph.D. Associate Research Professor, Ocean Engineering and Applied Technology Research interests include: Characterization of oceanic particles and their dynamics using optical methods, especially using multi-spectral, multi-angle, and polarized measurements of inherent optical properties. One of my primary aims is the development of instrumentation and methods using optical methods, and the deployment of these technologies across various oceanographic platforms including observing systems and autonomous vehicles. Learn more. Not accepting interns in 2025; can co-mentor.
• Michael Twardowski, Ph.D., Research Professor, Ocean Engineering and Applied Technology, Research interests include: Optical sensor design-development-application for environmental characterization in oceans and coastal/estuarine areas, bioluminescence, oceanic particle field dynamics, ocean color remote sensing, active laser remote sensing, underwater imaging, long-term monitoring strategies Learn more.

• Gabrielle McHenry, Ph.D. Director of Education and Outreach, Research Interests include public engagement, citizen science, formal and informal K through grey education in the marine and oceanographic sciences. Learn more.