Welcome to Physical & Natural Sciences career community. We all interact with the physical and natural world. As the need for innovation in this community intensifies, many industries will require the best and brightest minds to discover and create new solutions.

The Physical & Natural Sciences Career Community prepares students to be leaders in an increasingly sophisticated scientific society through research, innovation and public service. Physical sciences generally focus on the study of non-living systems and natural sciences on objects observable in nature; positions in this field often work in laboratories, conduct experiments, analyze findings, operate necessary equipment, and develop tests and theories in a private research laboratory, government agency, or as a teacher.

Get Career Advising

Meet with Grace Kutney, the interim career advisor for the physical and natural sciences community.

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Join the PHN community

Become part of the PHN community via Voyager to receive the most current resources and news.

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Enter the PHN Resource Portal

Already joined the PHN career community? Go to the PHN Resource Portal. You'll find career-specific resources related to the physical and natural sciences, such as environment, natural resources, and wildlife; engineering; scientific research and development, and more!

PHN Resource Portal

Career Development Resources 

Don't know how to start looking for an internship or job? Need help writing a resume or cover letter? Check out these useful guides.

Nicole Chodkowski, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology, searches for snails while working on summer research Monday, July 19, 2021, at Sawyer Creek Nature Trail And Oak Savanah Forest in Oshkosh, Wis. Photo by Danny Damiani

Workshops and Programs

Upcoming events pulled directly from Handshake will appear below.

  • Plug Into Intelligence: Meet AI at INL ⚡ (Monday, May 18th 2026, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm MDT)

    Fri, 04/24/2026 - 11:37am
    When: Monday, May 18th 2026, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm MDT Location: Virtual Chris Ritter is the division director of scientific computing & AI and director of the Digital Innovation Center of Excellence at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). His team of ~100 computational and data scientists are changing the world’s future with AI/ML, digital twinning, digital engineering, multi-physics, HPC, and digital thread technologies across a portfolio of nuclear energy, non-proliferation, semiconductor, and defense applications. Chris founded INL's nationally leading digital engineering team which grew from 0 to over ~57 of the nation’s top researchers and developers in digital science. His team led the first nuclear reactor digital twin, built the Deep Lynx open digital thread platform, developed the first autonomous non-nuclear microreactor, and is actively building multiple petabyte-scale digital thread platforms. Additionally, he is the national technical director for AI at the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy. Prior to INL, Chris co-founded and led development of the #1 cloud-native MBSE tool, Innoslate, used in 107 counties across 2,000 companies around the world.

Internship Spotlight 

Lawrence has existing partnerships with local and national arts organizations, such as: 

Urban Ecology Center logo

With a mission to connect people in cities to nature and each other, the Urban Ecology Center has a vision to inspire generations to build environmental curiosity, understanding, and respect. Lawrentians in recent years have been hired in both internships and full-time roles.

Explore more internship opportunities with existing partners.

Get Funding for Internships 

As a Lawrence student, you're eligible to apply for funding to support summer internships. Funding can help defray transportation costs, living expenses, and more so you can pursue opportunities that will expand your classroom learning and help you acquire important transferrable skills for future success.

Get funding

Relevant Student Organizations 

Joining a student organization can connect you with peers with similar interests and goals. Get involved, learn, experience, and give back. 

  • Society of Physics Students
  • Lawrence University Womxn in Physics

Alumni Connections

Alumni can offer invaluable insights into your fields of interest and provide career advice to help you reach your goals.  

These Lawrence alumni are currently working in the physical or natural sciences:

Connect with Lawrence Alumni on LUAA on LinkedIn for an informational interview.

Connect Now

Prepare for an informational interview

Not sure where or how to start with an informational interview? We've got your back!

Professional Associations

Professional associations are a great source of field-specific information, career path ideas, and networking contacts. Examples of associations for professionals in the physical and natural sciences: