03/30/2026
The North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (NC CASC) at CU Boulder has one additional position for a summer GRA for our Rapid Climate Assessment Program (RCAP). Broadly, these RCAP projects seek to support state, federal, and Tribal land and natural resource managers to adapt to a changing climate through interdisciplinary research and actionable science.
Specifically, this project seeks to develop an approach and tool for tracking and standardizing Consecutive Dry Days (CDD) as a metric for identifying the emergence and persistence of drought across the northern Great Plains and the NC CASC region (CO, WY, MT, ND, SD, NE, and KS).
This is a 50% summer GRA position (May 16-August 14, 2026); the GRA will be expected to work 20-hours per week. Fully remote work is possible with regular weekly communication with mentors and attendance at bi-weekly virtual lab meetings. An office location in the NC CASC offices in the Sustainability, Energy and Environment Community (SEEC) Building on the CU Boulder East Campus is also available if desired.
Minimum Qualifications
- Current University of Colorado Boulder graduate student
- Experience or strong interest in Python programming
- Experience or strong interest in using Gridmet data set(s)
- Experience or strong interest in using existing drought information and observational data (e.g., Experience or strong interest in using existing drought information and observational data (e.g., Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI))
- Ability to commit to working for 20-hours per week in summer 2026 (May 16-August 14, 2026)
- Proficiency in shared document tools (e.g., Google docs, sheets, slides) or similar applications (e.g., Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
- Experience using online meeting platforms (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams)
How to Apply
Email Heather Yocum ([email protected]) with a resume or CV and a cover letter (2 pages maximum for the cover letter). In your cover letter, please describe your interest in the position, any relevant experience related to qualitative research, working with natural resource managers, or related topics. Additionally, if your current graduate research (e.g., thesis or dissertation) is topically or methodologically related to this project, please also describe that in the cover letter. Please put “Drought Days RCAP Application” in the subject line. Priority will be given to applications received by April 15, 2026, but we will continue to review applications until the position is filled. We plan to conduct 30-minute interviews the week of April 20.
