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Internships & Fellowships

ORAU provides support to almost 1,500 postdoctoral fellows and researchers at federal agencies, such as NASA and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. Since 1951, we have been committed to enabling and enhancing career paths for those just launching their scientific careers to senior scientists who are building experience while furthering the missions of research organizations around the country.

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Impact Areas

What we offer

ORAU maintains a robust technical infrastructure and experienced education and operations staff to professionally administer every aspect of a premier internship, fellowship, research, or contractual program, including:

  • Marketing and communication
  • Full immigration services
  • Applicant recruiting and development
  • Award administration
  • Administration of benefits
  • Program evaluation and assessment/impact and tracking
  • Expert merit review capabilities
  • Training and enrollment
  • Full payroll capability for administering stipends, tax withholding and documentation, and fellow expenses

Preparing to study the moon's terrain: A conversation with Jordan Bretzfelder, Ph.D., NASA Postdoctoral Fellow

Backpack-mounted LIDAR systems are laser-ranging devices that can create very high definition 3D terrain maps. Jordan Bretzfelder, Ph.D., was very early in her tenure as a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow when she was set to embark on a trip to California's Death Valley to use LIDAR on the dunes there. The Death Valley trip served as an analog for future expeditions to the moon and to Mars. LIDAR can map terrain in places without light, which will be useful to map the polar regions of the moon and other interesting topographies. In this episode, Bretzfelder discusses her research at the Marshall Space Flight Center, how she got interested in science and the path that led her to NASA. Listen in for a fun and interesting conversation!

Listen to the podcast   Transcript (.DOCX)

Preparing to study the moon's terrain: A conversation with Jordan Bretzfelder, Ph.D., NASA Postdoctoral Fellow

Contact us

If you would like  to learn more about ORAU's expertise in managing STEM internship and fellowship programs, contact Scott Miller, Ph.D., director of ORAU Research Programs.

If you have questions about contracting options, contact the ORAU Contracts Administration Office at (865) 576-7618 or angela.holmberg@orau.org.