Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Remote Sensing Summer School
Applications accepted
October 12 2026 to January 10 2027
In-person 10-week school
June 7 to August 13 2027
Overview
LANL’s Remote Sensing Summer School is an immersive in-person 10-week paid program dedicated to providing hands-on experience to the world of remote sensing in the Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratory complex. Students will engage with research projects led by remote sensing experts in LANL’s Space Remote Sensing and Data Science group (ISR-6) while also learning through conversations and seminars with LANL scientists and academic partners.
The school accepts up to 10 students. To be eligible, students must be U.S. citizens and actively enrolled in a graduate program at the time of submitting their application.
For additional information on the Remote Sensing Summer School, please contact Elena Reinisch and and Kelsey Williams at rsss-leads@lanl.gov.
Curriculum
Students will partake in mission-relevant research for the duration of the program. In addition to research, students will also engage in professional development activities and weekly seminars given by experts from government and academia on topics such as:
- Sensing phenomenologies (hyperspectral, multispectral, infrared, optical, synthetic aperture radar, radiofrequency, gravimetry, x-ray, etc.)
- Analysis techniques (AI/ML, anomaly and change detection, signal and image processing)
- Career retrospectives
At the end of the program, students will give an oral presentation of their work at the Remote Sensing Summer School’s Symposium, which will be supplemented by a poster and technical report. Conference opportunities are also encouraged and will be explored on a project-level basis.
Example Projects
Example Projects Examples of FY26 projects include:
- “Semantic Segmentation Methods For Improving Material Detections In Longwave-Infrared (LWIR) Spectral Imagery.” – Angelina Ibarra, Texas A&M University
- “Filtering Longwave Hyperspectral Detections With VLM-Generated Spatial Context.” –Celvi Lisy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- “Effects Of Platform Motion On Laser Doppler Vibrometer's Noise Floor.” – Alfred Moore, University of Arizona
- “Differencing Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferograms To Observe Short-Term Antarctic Ice Shelf Change.” – Zachary Katz, Colorado School of Mines
Application process
Application deadline: Sunday, January 10, 2027. Applications received after this date will not be considered.
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until all spots are filled, or the application deadline is reached.
To apply, please do the following:
- Apply to the ISR division GRA job ad and include:
- Current resume with your GPA and contact information for 2 professional references
- Letter of intent (1 page) describing your:
- qualifications for participation in this summer school,
- research interests and experience,
- familiarity with remote sensing and imaging sciences,
- programming experience, and
- interest in this summer school
- Official transcript
- Fill out the RSSS interest survey.
You must complete both actions by the application deadline to be considered for the Program.
Who can apply?
- This program is limited to U.S. citizens and U.S. persons
- Must be a current graduate student in a science or engineering field
- Must be a first-time student to LANL’s ISR-6 group
- Must have a 3.2 GPA or better (on a 4-point scale)
- Must be able to relocate to Los Alamos, New Mexico for the duration of the 10-week program (June 7 – August 13, 2027)
- Must be interested in signal processing and/or imaging science
- Prefer candidates with strong backgrounds in physics, engineering, mathematics, or computational sciences
Interested?
Begin your application process
Selection announcements: Monday, February 7, 2027.
- If selected, reply to confirm your participation and provide official transcripts (if not already received).