About

CRESP funds approximately 20 early career researchers, which we define as PhD students and postdocs.  In addition, there are MS and undergraduate students, and other affiliated PhD students and postdocs who participate in the community.

Objectives:

• foster a community of graduate students and postdocs, linking the disparate geographic sites
• create professional development opportunities for our early career researchers through networking and internships
• connect all CRESP researchers with EM practitioners to enhance our research impact

Activities:

• Annual Field Trip: Each fall CRESP will organize a field trip to a DOE site, spending approximately three days touring a site, to give the early career researchers a better context for their research.
• Mentors: Early career researchers can apply for a mentor.
• Internships: at DOE sites provide valuable professional development opportunities for PhD students and postdocs. They also can inform the ongoing research of the intern, provide context for their research, and aid in building collaborations between the groups.
• Awards: Each year CRESP will give out a monetary award for the best paper authored by an early career researcher. Papers will be nominated, including a nomination letter from the CRESP advisor, and will be reviewed by a selection committee.
• Early career organizing committee: A committee of approximately five PhD students and postdocs will advise on all activities of the CRESP Early Career program. The group will select a president and vice-president, as well as officers for the various activities. One key responsibility for the group will be to organize the seminar series.
• Seminar series: To solidify the early career community, a seminar series (virtual) will be organized by the early career committee. Seminars will be held biweekly, with one seminar per month by an early career researcher and one seminar per month by a member of DOE-EM or related practitioners (e.g. contractors). The early career committee will select the speakers based on their interest, in consultation with the CRESP faculty who can also help facilitate the invitations.
• Social media: A LinkedIn group has been created to connect the academic members of CRESP with researchers and practitioners at the Department of Energy Environmental Management Division, for networking and for sharing of our latest results and news.

Eligibility Requirements

Early Career Program participants must be:

• U.S. Citizen (for some activities)
• 18 years of age or older by the application deadline
• Enrolled as a full-time undergraduate or graduate student at an accredited institute of higher education

Contact and Additional Information

Immediate questions may be sent to cresplibrarian@vanderbilt.edu.