Interested in Research?
The Department of Energy provides thousands of internships where Aggie engineering students can gain research experience!
Embarking on the journey of securing a summer internship in the realm of scientific research can be a formidable challenge, especially as a freshman through junior. The landscape often seems dominated by graduate students and seasoned seniors, potentially fueling imposter syndrome. The prospect of engaging in research within the same labs as Nobel Laureates with billion-dollar project investments might appear intimidating.
However, the Department of Energy (DOE) provides a unique opportunity with 4,000 internships exclusively for undergraduates, offering a wide range of opportunities. Drawing from my personal experience interning at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, of recent Oppenheimer fame, the last two summers, I hope to encourage you to apply!
1. Diverse Engineering Research at Your Fingertips
The DOE intern application, reminiscent of ETAM, allows applicants to express preferences for laboratory assignments. Spread across 17 DOE National Laboratories nationwide, the options cover a comprehensive spectrum of engineering disciplines. From computational sciences to mechanical and materials engineering, the diversity extends beyond the apparent energy focus, encompassing aerospace, climate, biological, and chemical research.
2. Interns as Collaborators, Not Secretaries
Contrary to common intern stereotypes involving menial tasks, DOE programs actively promote collaboration between interns and laboratory members. Each intern is paired with a scientist, forming partnerships tasked with delivering a project outcome by the summer’s end. Projects vary in scope but are often retained as internal documentation or published online. Last summer, I discovered that a scientist in the lab had not only read my paper from the preceding summer but also applied its findings to a project. This collaborative approach ensures that interns depart with tangible contributions to their field, enhancing their professional portfolio.
3. Harnessing Government Funding for Cutting-Edge Research
Ever wondered where your parents’ taxes go? The Department of Energy, funded by the U.S. government, boasts one of the world’s most advanced scientific research infrastructures. With an annual budget of $8 billion for the DOE Office of Science, comparable to industry giants like NVIDIA operating on a $7.3 billion budget, the DOE prioritizes scientific advancement over profit-centric goals. Interns gain access to cutting-edge resources, such as the world’s most powerful supercomputer, Frontier, with a staggering cost of $600 million.
Projects involving multi-million and billion-dollar facilities like Brookhaven’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, the Spallation Neutron Source, and INL’s Wireless Testbed offer a unique opportunity to work with substantial capital. This financial backing allows for diverse and innovative design solutions, setting the DOE internship experience apart from more financially constrained Industry settings.
In my experience, navigating the DOE internship landscape provides undergraduates with a chance to actively contribute to groundbreaking research. Through their programs, interns can gain valuable insights and experiences that significantly shape their future endeavors in the world of Big Science. The Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program applications close on January 15, 2024, and require two letters of recommendation, so make sure to check it out soon!
Electrical Engineering, Class of 2025
If you found this blog post interesting, you may consider reading “Tips and Tricks for an Out-of-State Internship” and “How I broke into an industry I knew nothing about.”