Students who are accepted to the FACTS summer internship program will get all kinds of agriculture-related research opportunities.

April 19, 2022 - The May 1 deadline is fast approaching for students to apply for the San Joaquin Valley Food and Agriculture Cyberinformatics Tools and Science (FACTS) bridge program, a paid summer research program funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Hosted by the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute at UC Merced, FACTS is designed to give first-year and transfer students an opportunity for research experience in ag-food-tech.

The paid summer internship provides on-campus housing, stipends, travel to field sites and research experience with a lab group.

Interns could spend the summer building novel robots to improve irrigation efficiency, monitoring greenhouse gas releases, addressing climate change through improving soil quality, learning social science methods to support improved public and environmental health or choose from other exciting opportunities.

Students pick their top research areas when they apply so they can be matched with faculty mentors in the fields that interest them most.

In addition to research experience, interns network with fellow interns, lab mates and faculty members and connect with the agricultural industry, exploring potential future internships and employment in the future.

“Even if you don’t picture yourself in ag, you might be surprised at the diversity of opportunities,” Professor Colleen Naughton said.

The six-week program begins July 7 and concludes Aug. 18, the week before the fall semester begins. The internship is approximately 40 hours per week of training, field trips and research experience. For more details, visit the FACTS booth at Bobcat Day, April 23, before applying online. 
Source: UC Merced