Internships In Science Communication

Former Office of Communication interns Katie Yurkewicz and Matt Hutson scanning newspapers for all types of particle physics news, especially the cartoons.

Do you want to write about science? Would you like to learn about discoveries on the frontiers of high-energy physics-as they're happening? And then explain those discoveries in print, on deadline, for a worldwide readership? Do you enjoy working with people ranging from precocious sixth-graders to Nobel Prize winners to the world's leading science journalists? Would you enjoy answering the phones and confronting questions that leave you stumped? How about taking on more tasks at a higher pace than you can reasonably hope to juggle-the same as everyone else around you?

If this kind of roll-up-your-sleeves-and-pitch-right-in internship learning experience is what you're after, then Fermilab is the place for you.

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the world's highest-energy particle research facility, offers internships in its Office of Communication for students and other candidates who love good writing and aren't afraid of the process required to produce it. Six times a year, Fermilab's Office of Communication and the Office of Communication at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center jointly publish symmetry, a magazine about the science, people and culture of particle physics. Fermilab's Office of Communication also publishes Fermilab Today, a daily online newsletter for employees and users.

In the process of writing "Flying Without a Net" for Fermilab's former publication FERMINEWS, former Office of Communication intern Pamela Zerbinos learned neutrinos are everywhere but very hard to grasp.

As an Office of Communication intern, you'll devote much of your time and effort to writing for symmetry and Fermilab Today, on an equal footing with our permanent staff. You won't find a better venue for building an impressive file of clips. You'll receive an appointment for approximately three months, within an approximate salary range of $600 weekly. The lab does not provide housing or benefits for interns, but there are many apartments and shared rentals available in the Batavia-Warrenville-Naperville area -- often listed in Fermilab Today classified ads.

Fermilab is located about 35 miles (an hour's drive) west of Chicago, on a 6,800-acre site replete with ponds, restored prairie lands, many species of birds and other wildlife. A standing herd of American bison, established by founding director Robert Rathbun Wilson, symbolizes the lab's presence on the frontiers of high-energy physics and an abiding respect for region's prairie heritage. There's even an onsite continental restaurant, Chez Léon.

For more information or to apply for a science-writing internship, send your résumé and three best writing samples to Rhianna Wisniewski in the Office of Communication. An application form will be posted online as openings become available. For a calendar and list of internship openings click here.

Fermilab is a U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory operated under contract by Fermi Research Alliance, LLC. Visit us on the web at http://www.fnal.gov