Newark SAS Launches 2016 Internship Program

We begin 2016 with the launching of our Internship Program.

Those who are interested in creating tangible solutions to real world problems will be more than suitable for our program. Although we only have funding to hire one intern at this time, we anticipate additional resources to be available in the spring and summer.  

Sponsor an Intern
Contact us to learn how you can help someone participate in our 12-week Internship Program. This initiative allows us to further our mission of creating pathways for green jobs in an urban environment, as well as provide support and inspire the next generation of ecopreneurs.  

Participants gain hands-on experience in the fields of sustainability and healthcare. They also become exposed to our social entrepreneurship program. By combining the social logic of a nonprofit with the commercial logic of a for-profit, they learn how to develop a creative means of solving real world problems. 

At the end of the 12 weeks, interns are awarded a certificate and acknowledged as Science and Sustainability Ambassadors, and receive ongoing support and training from Newark SAS. This support also includes a letter of recommendation to education institutions and employment opportunities. 

I’d like to take this time to introduce our intern Chimaobi Ibeh, American born to Nigerian parents and oldest of twelve. He definitely has a story to tell. I’ll let you read for yourself.

chimaobi

Hello, my name is Chimaobi and I am very interested and excited about the Community Outreach and Organizer Intern position.  Right now I am working as a chemist at Colgate-Palmolive and going to graduate school at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) for Material Science and Engineering. During the spring semester, with the assistance of financial aid and scholarships, I am planning to attend school full-time and spend more time conducting research. This intern position would fit perfectly into my schedule and align well with my current studies. I have always had a passion for science and want to participate in a movement that informs and changes a society for the better by the use of science. I believe my past work/academic experiences and recent experiences with Mr. Fox and as a graduate student at NJIT makes me very qualified for the position.
 
My interests in science and sustaining a healthy environment have developed from a young age. TV shows like the Magic School Bus and Mr. Rogers on PBS had made me aware of the industrial world around me and the impact it has on the environment. My passion for science led me to Penn State University. Material Science and Engineering became my main interest and eventually my major because many of its cutting edge research was displaying huge positive impacts to the environment and the society that lives within it. 

Iintern

During my academic career at Penn State, I worked as a Research Assistant where I gained experience conducting thermal and electrical analysis on polymers samples for graduate students, and witnessed a collaboration of bright minds. I also participated in the NSF-REU program, where I conducted my research project titled “Dynamics of Single Ion Conductors Using Broadband Dielectric Relaxation Spectroscopy using the Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy”. This allowed me to model the phenomenon called electrode polarization with the experimental setup of ion-conducting polymer. I played a small part of a global effort in finding innovative ways to improving existing battery technology. My senior research project titled “The Structural Characterization of Organic Molecules with Intrinsic Microporosity (OMIMs) using X-ray Diffraction Technique (XRD)” allowed me to apply a wide-angle X-ray scattering method onto twelve different OMIM samples, interpret the scattering data, and conclude on the reasons for their structural formation. These porous material possess industrial and technological interests in the field of hydrogen storage, water filtration, and fuel cell membrane.
 
My first job right out of college was a Laboratory Technician at Lyondell Basell Industries where I conducted quality control analysis on various polyolefin catalysts and polymer samples. At L’Oreal, I worked as a Quality Engineer inspecting finished goods. I even worked as a Sales Representative at a marketing firm called Infinite Direct. That position pushed me to unfamiliar territory of displaying my confidence and communication skills from business to business, selling office supplies. I really enjoyed the daily battle of improving myself and taking advice from people and reading books about marketing and self-improvement. My favorite position was working as a Research Chemist at Ashwin Ushas Corporation where I participated in a project with the United States Army developing a unique voltammetric electrochemical sensor technology for the sensing of CW agent vapors. My main duty was to fabricate these small, lightweight, flexible, and thin sensors, which consisted of metalized microporous membranes functionalized with conducting polymers and saturated with various ionic liquid electrolytes.

Ibeh

The beginning of 2015 was an interesting and stressful time for me.  While I was applying and waiting to hear back from graduate schools, I moved out of my parents’ house and was preparing to find a new job after my short-term contract position at Ashwin Ushas. I had wonderful thoughts of my future, conducting interesting research in the polymer field, but was facing the harsh reality of not finding permanent employment. One day, while unemployed and looking for a new job, I decided to check out a local garden across the street from me. There, I met with Tobias A. Fox for the first time and learned about the local garden and his organization Newark Science and Sustainability (Newark SAS). I decided to join and help out because I had gardening experience and wanted to improve the image of the neighborhood. What really impressed me about Tobias was when I told him about my material science and engineering background, he challenged me to participate in building a rainwater harvesting system and refurbishing the solar panels for useful application.  Most of the places I worked at never even acknowledged my engineering degree. I would later participate in the building of the rainwater harvesting system, gardening, and making posters for his electric pedal bike demonstration. It has been a fun, learning experience and look forward to contributing in the ever-growing development of Newark SAS. 
 
I hope you consider me for the intern position. I already have experience working with Mr. Fox and the position aligns with my major and future goals. My overall goal is to be part of the global effort of building sustainable systems using advance materials. Mainstream material science and engineering has for decades benefited the industrial sector and defense-related industries. I want to be a part of a new group of engineers and scientists that addresses the needs of the world of tomorrow—the need for clean energy, transportation, housing, food, recycling, and healthcare. I know working at the ground level with Newark SAS will give me the insight and experience I need to achieve my goals.

Tobias A. Fox
Founder-Managing Director
www.sasglocal.com

Garden of Hope

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