Posting Title

Undergraduate (Year-Round) Internship - PV Reliability

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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

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for research and development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

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 National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) Materials, Chemical, and Computational Science (MCCS) directorate has an immediate opening for an undergraduate student in Golden, Colorado to assist with laboratory work studying the performance and reliability of materials for PV modules. A continued internship is anticipated, including both the summer and subsequent school year. A variety of materials are being examined in the PV Reliability group, including polymer encapsulants, backsheets, and optical coatings. The work here is expected to focus on the durability of polymeric backsheets, encapsulants, edge seals and optical coatings in accelerated testing. The work will consist of preparation and examination of a large number of samples using a wide variety of techniques, with an emphasis on mechanical testing.

Good skills with Microsoft Excel and general data management skills are desired. Python programming skills are a useful but not necessary.

This is an excellent opportunity for a student who desires to obtain relevant laboratory experience in preparation for graduate school or a career in industries including those involving materials science, mechanical engineering, electrical device engineering, reliability, or physics.

Duties

• Help to create samples for stress testing.
• Organize and handle samples in and out of accelerated test chambers.
• Measurement of optical and mechanical properties of stressed samples as well as the electrical performance of solar panel devices.
• Use new test instruments (both purchased and custom) and develop test procedures for their use.
• Record, organize, analyze, and summarize results using Excel spreadsheets or other software packages. Statistics based analysis of variance, “ANOVA”.
• Communicate effectively with mentor about the expected work, progress toward completing that work, and any issues in completing the work as planned.
• Be trained in laboratory safety procedures and follow these consistently.

Candidates who are able to work onsite more than 15-20 hours per week during the school year are preferred. The hiring team can offer up to 40 hours per week during academic breaks and holidays.

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Basic Qualifications

Minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.

Undergraduate: Must be enrolled as a full-time student in a bachelor’s degree program from an accredited institution.
Post Undergraduate: Earned a bachelor’s degree within the past 12 months. Eligible for an internship period of up to one year.

Graduate: Must be enrolled as a full-time student in a master’s degree program from an accredited institution.
Post Graduate: Earned a master’s degree within the past 12 months. Eligible for an internship period of up to one year.
Graduate + PhD: Completed master’s degree and en