Posting Title

Undergraduate/Graduate Intern – Biomass Upcycling – Chemist/Mechanical Engineer/Civil Engineer

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Location

CO - Golden

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Position Type

Intern (Fixed Term)

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Hours Per Week

40

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Working at NREL

Join a team of world-class scientists, engineers, and visionaries dedicated to shaping the world’s energy future through cutting-edge research and innovation. From our vision to our NREL community, we are unique in the research community. We are focused on impact. From our work in basic sciences to systems engineering, analysis, demonstration, and deployment, we are focused on solving market-relevant problems that result in advanced, secure, reliable, and affordable energy systems. We are trusted clean energy leaders, developing cost-saving solutions that make U.S. industries more competitive, and support job creation and economic growth across rural and urban communities.

At NREL, we offer a unique, mission-driven work environment with cutting-edge facilities and multidisciplinary research teams. NREL's environment offers strong partnerships with industry, academia, and other national laboratories, as well as professional development opportunities and a competitive benefits package for employees.

Learn about NREL’s critical objectives: NREL's Mission and Vision.

Job Description

The Building Thermal Energy Science Group of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is seeking a graduate intern. NREL is the nation's primary laboratory for research, development, and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. This position will support research and development at NREL for bio-based, sustainable building materials and their relation to upcycling waste products. We are developing and synthesizing these materials and determining mechanical properties.

General Duties and Responsibilities

The successful candidate should have a strong background in (1) polymer synthesis and characterization, (2) an understanding of heat and mass transfer, and/or (3) familiarity with handling concrete. The candidate will contribute to new research in a lignin-based sustainable building materials that are an effective alternative to cement/concrete. The candidate is expected to demonstrate good communication skills and the ability to document the research in the form of journal articles and presentations.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

• Perform chemical modifications and characterization of lignin to form high-strength materials.
• Characterize the chemical and thermal properties of materials using tools like nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).
• Characterize the mechanical properties using tools like dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), tensile testing, 3-point bending testing, freeze-thaw testing, accelerated UV/heat/moisture aging tests, and compression strength testing.
• Scale up synthesis and troubleshoot manufacturing issues.
• Assist in project management, including writing reports, journal articles, and presentations for program review or conferences.

Desired Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The candidate will get the opportunity to be involved in detailed experimental research and linking the knowledge to several other aspects of systems engineering. Moreover, the candidate will be able to learn different techniques and measurement equipment utilized for thermal, mass transfer, mechanical, and chemical measurements.

The ideal candidate will have several or all of the following:

• Strong background in polymer synthesis, lignin chemistry, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, and/or a related field
• Experience in experimental work synthesizing lignin and/or polymer networks and completing their characterization.
• Demonstrated research capability and creativity to solve challenging problems, as well as the ability to work well in a team.
• Experience with cement/concrete characterization tools (e.g. freeze-thaw chambers, rheometers)
• Experience with synthesis and characterization of engineered wood products.

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