Misasa
FY2024 application is open now.
The annual Misasa International Student Internship Program (MISIP) for advanced undergraduate (3rd to 4th year) and graduate students, first initiated in 2005, is designed to promote international collaborative research and education. This program will be held as part of joint-use research program of this institute. During the internship program, each student will work on an active IPM research project under the supervision of IPM faculty members and their research groups. Successful applicants will participate in one of the following internship projects described below. The goal of the program is for participants to become acquainted with research activities and the state-of-the-art research facilities at the IPM, and to gain first-hand scientific research experience. At the conclusion of the program, an internship symposium will be held for each participant to give an oral presentation of his/her internship research in English.
The Institute for Planetary Materials (IPM), located in Misasa, a well-known hot-spring resort, is a leading joint-use/research institute in the field of Earth and planetary materials science, with a diverse range of forefront experimental and analytical facilities and expertise. Active researches are being conducted, by IPM members alone or in collaboration with researchers from around the world, in the areas of isotope and trace element geochemistry, high-resolution geochronology, and high-pressure and -temperature materials science, aimed at understanding the origin, evolution and dynamics of the Earth and other planets.
(1) Rheological measurement of Martian dust slurries (Supervisor: J. Kameda*/ Students: 1)
(2) Understanding the origin of organic matter heterogeneity and organic matter-mineral relationships within the matrix of CM2 carbonaceous chondrites (Supervisors: C. Potiszil*, K. Kobayashi, R. Tanaka, T. Kunihiro, H. Kitagawa, T. Ota, M. Yamanaka and C. Sakaguchi / Students: 3~4)
(3) Detection of water in Martian mantle (Supervisors: T. Yoshino* / Students: 1)
(4) Effect of water on viscosity of mantle mineral (Supervisors: D. Yamazaki* / Students: 1)
(5) Water cycle in Mars inferred from water contents of Fe-rich silicates (Supervisors: T. Ishii* / Students: 1)
(6) Understanding Planetary Surfaces; A Remote Sensing and Laboratory-based Approach for Future Mission Planning (Supervisors: T. Ruj*, M. Izawa / Students: 1~2)
For details of above projects, see this pdf.
The program is open to advanced undergraduate (3rd to 4th year) or graduate (1st to 2nd year, including master course) students majoring in earth sciences, physics, chemistry, materials sciences, or related fields, who have a strong interest in a career pursuing scientific research. Students from either within or outside Japan, regardless of nationality, are eligible to apply. Communication skill in English is required.
From July 2nd (Tue) to August 8th (Thu), 2024
Travel expenses and daily living expenses will be covered, and accommodation in the Misasa Guesthouse will be provided.
8~10
All application materials except reference letter must be submitted by 24th March (23:59, JST) to be considered. Notification of acceptance will be made by the end of April. The application should be prepared in English and applicants should do the following:
(1) Arrange to have one reference letter, preferably from your current supervisor or departmental head, and ask him/her before the application. During the registration process (see next), his/her academic institution’s official e-mail address is necessary.
(2) Arrange to have an official transcript of your academic record, from the institution you currently attend, and make it ready for upload (preferably pdf, jpg or png). Successful applicants may be asked to send the original official transcript later.
(3) Please follow the instructions in the Submission page. Your supervisor will also receive the e-mail about instruction for submission of the reference letter (deadline: 31st March).
For inquiries about the program, contact Assoc. Prof. Tak Kuihiro (Chair of the MISIP2024 organizing committee). Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University Misasa, Tottori 682-0193, Japan
Also, see FAQ