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Location

Albany, OR | United States

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Job description

Description

The National Energy Technology Laboratory's (NETL's) record of success has been built on understanding the future of energy and the technologies required to make that future possible. We’ve long touted our success in developing the technologies that took on acid rain in the 1970s and mercury in the early 2000s. More recently, NETL has a leading role in President Biden’s ambitious climate goals, including a carbon emission-free power sector by 2035 and a net-zero economy by 2050.

Program Goals

The Professional Internship Program is designed to introduce undergraduate students and recent Bachelor's graduates to the challenges of conducting energy research, and enable graduate students to further build off their studies an experience as they join the scientific community. Participants interact daily with assigned mentors who guide research and project activities during the internship, while they become integral members of project teams.

The program goals include providing the opportunity to participants to:

• Develop skills and knowledge in their field of study
• Engage with new areas of basic and applied research
• Transition classroom theory into hands-on experience
• Network with world-class scientists
• Exchange ideas and skills with the Laboratory community
• Use state-of-the-art equipment
• Contribute to answers for today's pressing scientific questions
• Collaborate with the broader scientific and technical communities

Project Details

Through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), this posting seeks a recent Bachelor's graduate or student researcher to engage in projects with the Research Innovation Center (RIC) at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in the area of Advanced Materials Development, under the mentorship of Chantal Sudbrack. This short-term, 12-week project will be hosted at the NETL Albany, OR campus.

Additive manufacturing (AM), particularly laser powder-bed fusion (L-PBF), shows great promise in fabricating high-temperature load-bearing parts with complex geometries for advanced energy applications, such as for turbine engines. Ni-based superalloys are used in some of the most demanding applications in turbine engines, including airfoils, fuel injectors, vanes, and other components with complex geometries. The native surface roughness resulting from L-PBF processing can impact the mechanical performance of these components. Utilizing ANSYS FEM modeling, the project seeks to simulate stress distributions of specific lab-scale build articles from various Ni-based superalloys with complex features of the L-PBF components of interest. These predications will be compared with experimental measurements gathered. This project also seek to help understand the effect of geometry and surface roughness on the fatigue performance of several L-PBF Ni-based superalloys through testing and failure analysis.

The objective of the project will be to model the residual stresses of lab-scale articles using ANSYS and support the microstructural characterization and fatigue testing of a set of Ni-base superalloys fabricated by L-PBF additive manufacturing. This project will help support the understanding of the effect of geometry and surface roughness on the mechanical performance. The student researcher will: (a) meet with a mentor to establish a plan, identify tasks, and establish responsibilities; (b) participate in team meetings on a regular basis to monitor progress and present research results; (c) model a set of lab-scale articles using ANSYS; (d) use establish research techniques to test and gather materials related results on the fatigue behavior and other related tests as-needed; and (e) produce a final report with experimental methods used, data, data analysis, and interpretation of research results. The results may be included in a conference presentation or journal article with the student researcher listed as a co-author.

Stipend: Participants receive a biweekly stipend based on their educational level. Stipend payments are taxable as an educational benefit. Stipends for full-time participation start at:

• $450 per week - $620 per week for undergraduate students
• $690 per week - $770 per week for recent Bachelor's graduates
• $690 per week - $1,050 per week for graduate students

Deliverables: To document the effectiveness of the program, participants are required to submit a pre-appointment and post-appointment survey, as well as a reflection on their appointment experience when they renew or end their appointment. The reflection should summarize their project(s), additional activities, and overall experience. Details are provided as the appointment end date approaches.
Participants may also have the opportunity to contribute to manuscripts, journal articles, book chapters, conference presentations, posters, patents, and other publications as a part of their appointment. Such achievements should also be reported to ORISE; additional details are provided after an offer has been accepted.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory system, is owned and operated by the DOE. NETL supports the DOE mission to advance the energy security of the United States. This is an educational opportunity offered by NETL and administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. Participants in the program are not considered employees of NETL, DOE, the program administrator, or any other office or agency.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate would have some, but not necessarily all, of the following skills:

• Research in metal alloys
• ANSYS FEA modeling
• Fatigue mechanical testing
• Failure analysis and microstructure characterization with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), EBSD, and EDS.

It is recognized that not all applicants will have knowledge and experience in all of these areas. This opportunity will provide exposure to/interaction with technical experts in several of these areas

To be eligible for this opportunity, you must:

• Have one of the following academic statuses
  • An undergraduate student *1 in good standing at a regionally accredited college/university *2
  • A recent Bachelor's degree graduate *1who has received the Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college/university *2within the last 24 months at time of application
  • A graduate student in good standing at a regionally accredited college/university
• Have an overall GPA of 2.5/4.0 or higher
• Be at least 18 years of age at the time of application
• Provide confirmation of coverage under a health insurance plan prior to the beginning of the internship

*1Soon-to-be Associate's degree graduates are eligible to apply if enrolled as a student at time of application. 
*2Students and recent Bachelor's degree graduates from accredited Community Colleges and Technical Schools are encouraged to apply.

Eligibility Requirements

• Degree: Associate's Degree, Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, or Doctoral Degree.
• Overall GPA: 2.50
• Discipline(s):
  • Chemistry and Materials Sciences (12 )
  • Communications and Graphics Design (2 )
  • Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (17 )
  • Earth and Geosciences (21 )
  • Engineering (27 )
  • Environmental and Marine Sciences (14 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (51 )
  • Mathematics and Statistics (11 )
  • Physics (16 )
  • Science & Engineering-related (2 )
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences (29 )
• Age: Must be 18 years of age

How to Apply

A complete application consists of:

• An application, including academic history, work history experiences, and honors/awards
• Description of your goals, related experience, and related skills – refer to NETL's Core Competencies and ongoing projects when applicable
• Transcripts – Click here for detailed information about acceptable transcripts
• A current resume or CV
• Two educational or professional recommendations
  You must provide contact information for at least two recommenders in your application. The first two recommendations received will be attached to your application for review by NETL. You may click the "send" (paper airplane) button to send the recommendation request email immediately after entering their information prior to submitting your application; if not, a request will automatically be sent when you submit your application. Your recommenders will receive an email with a subject line of "[Your Name] - ORISE Recommendation Request - [your email]", from [email protected]. This email will include information on the opportunity to which you have applied, as well as a secure link to submit a recommendation for you for this application. If you ask the same person to submit a recommendation for you for multiple applications in Zintellect, they must click the unique link in each email request, but will be given the opportunity to copy over what they had previously submitted.

All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.

If you have questions about the application process, contact  [email protected] .

After you have submitted an application in Zintellect, you may reach out to  [email protected] to request to talk with the hosting researcher if you would like additional information on the project or to express particular interest. You must have a completed application in Zintellect to receive a response.

Application Tips

NETL values a combination of academic success, experience, and leadership potential as demonstrated in all aspects of your application. NETL's goal is to create, maintain, and support a diverse environment that encourages creative ideas and leadership. In the words of Lab Director Brian Anderson , "our differences make us stronger and we’re united in fostering inclusivity in all aspects of our research to drive innovation and deliver solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future." In your application, show us who you are!

To increase your chances of being selected for an appointment, we recommend:

1. Reading about NETL projects, and tailoring your responses to align with Laboratory focus areas. What parts of the project(s) are most interesting to you?
2. Spending sufficient time on your essay responses and your resume. Give yourself time to review your writing!
3. Ensuring that everything you submit is grammatically correct and clearly expressed.
   • Consider using a word processor to draft your answers and then copy and paste into the application.
   • Review and edit repeatedly until you have a strong response.
   • Ask someone whose judgement you trust to proofread it and make suggestions for improvement.
   • Efficient writing is valued over quantity of writing.
4. Submitting the application -- we can’t select you if you don’t submit an application!
   • To be considered for this opportunity, you must hit the "Save & Next" button after providing email addresses for your recommenders, then review the information on the Submit page. Mark if you agree to the listed terms, then click the final "Submit" button. You will receive an e-mail once the application is submitted, and the application will show it has a "Submitted" status on your Zintellect dashboard under "My Applications".
   • Your application will not be considered complete until the required recommendations have been received. You can check the status of your recommendations on your Zintellect dashboard under "My Applications". You may "Manage" your recommendations to verify or update contact information, add another recommender, and resend the recommendation request email, as needed.

Selection Decisions

Selection decisions are made directly by NETL researchers and staff looking to host an internship. Your application will be available to the hosting mentor(s) for up to 12 months after you apply. You may withdraw your application at any time. Applications may be reviewed and selected on a rolling basis or the hosting mentor(s) may choose to wait until after the application deadline before reviewing all applications simultaneously. A final decision of non-selection may not be confirmed for several months after the listed application deadline.

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