URAP

Unveiling and Communicating the Hidden Environmental Costs Internet Infrastructures

Nicole Starosielski, Professor  
Film Studies  

Applications for Fall 2025 are closed for this project.

Over the past two years, Berkeley undergraduates have been researching the hidden environmental costs of the internet, publishing their findings in industry journals, presenting at high profile industry and academic conferences, and teaching over 125 students from 32 different majors in a DeCal called Building A Sustainable Internet. We are currently searching for passionate undergraduate students who are interested in developing research about the sustainability of digital infrastructure (including subsea cables which are responsible for 99% of transoceanic traffic, and data centers which are responsible for storing and computing all of our data) and communicating our research groups findings to large academic, industry and public audiences. You must possess the ability to effectively collaborate with the researchers from our team, which includes professors, graduate students, industry stakeholders, and other associations, and be able to work both independently and diligently. You must be able to adapt to different perspectives, learn from the varied expertise of team members, and contribute your own unique insights to the project. If you have a passion for technology and social change, a curiosity to learn more about an ever-changing global-spanning industry, and a commitment to make internet infrastructures more sustainable, we would love to hear from you.

Role: In this position, you can expect to:

1. Gain an in-depth understanding of the digital infrastructure industry and its environmental impact, including subsea networks, data centers and the broader internet infrastructure globally.
2. Learn how to communicate across a wide variety of audiences (and gain a large connection network while doing so).
3. Develop an understanding of how sustainability metrics are used both in industries and policies (and how those uses often differ in ways that are problematic) .
4. Learn to conduct comprehensive literature reviews, synthesize academic and industry research, and gather real-world examples from the digital infrastructure sector.
5. Acquire experience in writing communication for disseminating research findings within a wide variety of social science disciplines.
6. Enhance collaborative research skills, working within an interdisciplinary team across geographic locations and institutions, and hone independent working abilities, including project initiative and follow-through.
7. Hone critical thinking skills by investigating industry trends and academic resources in metrics to draw significant conclusions that enhance sustainability in the digital infrastructure industries.

Potential weekly tasks could include:

1. Taking Notes During Interviews with Industry Experts: The student will join members of the research team in interviews with members of the industry with experience in project management. Doing so will support the team on maximizing the limited time available with industry experts to ask questions and craft organized and detailed notes with direct quotations that can be used for further research
2. Developing Short-Medium Sized Public Facing Articles: This will potentially involve working with guests for our team’s high profile speaker series: Building A Global, Equitable, and Just Internet Infrastructure to create 400-700 word articles describing their lecture. It may also involve publishing articles for Submarine Telecommunications Forum, the largest industry magazine in the subsea cable space.
3. Creating Presentations and Lectures: This will involve turning research findings into presentations that can be used for industry and academic conferences or lectures in the Building A Sustainable Internet DeCal. Researchers will be given the opportunity to teach the DeCal in Spring 2026 and beyond if interested.
4. Literature Review of Broader Digital Infrastructure Sector: Gathering relevant materials for literature review, synthesizing academic and industry research, and collecting real-world examples from stakeholders (e.g., best industry practices, failed examples, noteworthy policy frameworks, or international agreements).

Qualifications: Undergraduates with a background in any social science or humanities discipline, such as media studies and communication, STS, geography, economics, or sociology, as well as STEM areas such as environmental science and engineering, are welcome to apply.
Preference is given to students who enjoy learning through a mix of qualitative and quantitative research approaches.
Keen interest in researching technology and the natural environment and commitment to driving change toward more sustainable practices.
Ability to work independently, collaborate with a geographically dispersed team beyond Berkeley, and be proactive in completing project activities.
Strong notetaking skills
Experience with literature review
Public speaking experience / presentation skills
Ability to work Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 semesters

Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Michael Brand, Graduate Student

Hours: 9-11 hrs

Off-Campus Research Site: Off-Campus Research Site: It is possible to do this job remotely. Travel to conferences and field sites may also be available.

Related website: http://

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