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Assistant Research Scientist (PREP0003710)

Johns Hopkins University
Gaithersburg, United Statesfull_timeVerifiedPosted 20 Aug 2025

About the role

Description

PREP Research Associate

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

 

Research title:

Measuring energy-related needs of AI systems

 

The work will entail:

Surveying existing or possible measurement methods for AI systems’ needs for energy and related resources, and identifying directions for future work.

 

Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

§  Desk research to understand and organize the literature on the energy-related needs of AI systems.

§  Planning and drafting a landscape survey laying out methodological options in measuring energy needs and usage.

§  Consulting with experts in the field to inform the report.

§  Soliciting and incorporating community input on drafts of the report.

§  Supporting NIST in considering what follow-ups, such as developing new measurement methodologies or proposing standardization activities, might be appropriate.

Qualifications

§  Broad awareness with computer architecture and data center operations.

§  Familiarity with typical computational processes involved in modern machine learning systems (e.g., matrix multiplications).

§  Hands-on experience measuring energy usage of AI systems, OR detailed knowledge of academic and/or industry research and reporting on AI systems’ energy usage, ideally including needs for related resources such as water.

§  Strong oral and written communication skills, including both envisioning structure and content for nascent documents and line editing mature documents for technical precision and readability.

Application Instructions

Please upload the following with your application:

 

·         CV/Resume

*Please limit C.V to 3 pages only and ONLY include a valid email address for your contact info. Your resume will not be considered if the following information is included on your CV/resume.

·         Self portraits

·         Phone number

·         Home address/Country

·         Citizenship status

·         Languages spoken

·         Sex/Gender

 

 

Privacy Act Statement

Authority:  15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose:  The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the  Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.  

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses:  NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet

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Company

Johns Hopkins University

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