Seeking Summer Interns | NASA/Caltech/ArtCenter Data Visualization
Come visualize data from the microscopic to planetary scale with the NASA JPL/Caltech/ArtCenter Data to Discovery visualization internship, a multi-disciplinary program for computer scientists and designers. We use visualization to understand the universe. For more information about the program and to see results from years past please visit http://datavis.caltech.edu.
In this ten week program, we mentor a student team as they tackle real science problems, in collaboration with active research scientists, with stakes on the line, in projects for which visualization can positively impact the way scientists conduct their work. It is an intense ten week professional level internship resulting in a working prototype. We are looking for highly capable and highly motivated candidates, who can nimbly transition between independent and collaborative work in a multidisciplinary team.
Students will develop creative visualization tools for scientific research/engineering groups selected from a broad set of areas at JPL and Caltech. Working in multidisciplinary teams, students will use methods from user-centered interaction design, data science, 3D graphics, and art to visualize real data sets that support active scientific research. They will receive mentorship in visualization, computing, and design from program co-organizers Hillary Mushkin and Santiago Lombeyda (Caltech), Scott Davidoff, Krys Blackwood (JPL), and Maggie Hendrie (ArtCenter). Students will work closely with scientific or engineering researchers to understand their research and data, identify their visualization needs and determine the relevance of design iterations to their research and data. In tandem, they will explore creative visual representations of the data. This should be a good opportunity for students interested in data visualization techniques and real world problems who want to gain experience crossing disciplinary boundaries.
DATES June 16 – August 22, 2025 (to be confirmed)
LOCATION Pasadena, California
ELIGIBILITY Applicants must be continuing students. Students graduating before fall 2025 are not eligible to apply.
THESE PROJECTS REQUIRE COLLABORATION WITH NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. THEREFORE, STUDENTS MUST BE US CITIZENS OR PERMANENT RESIDENTS*. GPA must be >= 3.0
(* Alternatively, we are exploring at Fall 25+Spring 26 remote internship, which does NOT have the citizenship or permanent resident requirements, is NOT a paid internship, and requires enrollment in an INDEPENDENT STUDY at your home institution. If you would like to considered for this pilot program please let us know by filling the separate statement of interest at bit.ly/D2D-F25S26-INTEREST.)
WE ARE COMMITTED TO BUILDING A DIVERSE TEAM. We welcome applications from groups that are historically minoritized in computer science and design including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and women.
APPLICATIONS bit.ly/datavis25-internship
INFO SESSION Watch the video bit.ly/datavis21-info-video
DEADLINES Accepting applications now until February 13, 2025 [CS applicants] and February 20, 2025 [DESIGN applicants], or until positions are filled