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Procurement Assistants

Background:
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory that produces technological solutions to America’s energy challenges.  The laboratory focuses on finding tools and processes that simultaneously address the three overarching issues that characterize today’s energy situation in the United States: energy affordability, supply, security, and environmental quality.

As the only national laboratory owned and operated by DOE, NETL is unique in how it conducts business and in the relationships it forms with industry, academia, research organizations, and other national laboratories.  NETL obtains research, development, and demonstration through collaboration with universities, non-profits, corporations, companies, State, and local governments. NETL is also proactive in outreach efforts.

Position:
Students will support the Acquisition and Assistance Division in implementing NETL’s broad range of R&D and deployment activities. They will assist with: database management; preliminary review of applications; distribution of applications; access/gather additional cost information; pre-award file preparation; draft skeleton award documents; and assist in project close-outs. 

Educational Requirements:

• Undergraduate student in a BS Program in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Economics, Management Systems, or Marketing.

Location: National Energy Technology Laboratory, Morgantown, WV and/or Pittsburgh, PA.

Engineers and Physical Scientists

Background:
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is responsible for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, Weatherization Assistance Program, State Energy Program, Advanced Battery System and vehicle batteries, and other energy efficiency and renewable research, development, and demonstration efforts  to enhance security and reliability of the energy infrastructure; and facilitate recovery from disruptions to energy supply. 
On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L.111-5).  The $787 billion economic recovery package represents the largest and most ambitious effort to stimulate the economy in United States history.  The Department of Energy (DOE) will be responsible for implementing over $38 billion of the $787 billion package. Of the DOE total, $16.8 Billion is allotted to EERE. 

Position:
These students will work at the National Energy Technology Laboratory and support DOE Project Managers on a variety of EERE projects involving Weatherization, State Energy Programs, Vehicle (e.g., Plug-in Hybrid, Materials, Alternative Fuels, and Battery) technologies, and Building (e.g., Lighting, HVAC, Windows, Appliances, Insulation, Codes & Standards) technologies.   It is expected that this internship will enhance the students’ understanding of technical project management concepts. These students will assist DOE Project Managers that are managing the solicitation process to select new projects and management of financial assistance awards through the monitoring of project technical progress and cost compliance. Project Managers provide technical expertise in advanced technologies, techniques, and systems; participate in technology assessments and planning programmatic goals and objectives; and promote technology transfer.

Educational Requirements:

• Graduate student in a MS or PhD Program in Engineering or Physical Sciences such as Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics or Masters of Business with a technical undergraduate degree.
• Undergraduate student in a BS Program in Engineering or Physical Sciences (Note:  Overall grade point at or above 3.0 on scale of 4.0 or equivalent is desirable.)

Location: Pittsburgh, PA or Morgantown, WV

Power Engineers

Background:
The mission of the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) is to lead national efforts to modernize the electric grid; enhance security and reliability of the energy infrastructure; and facilitate recovery from disruptions to energy supply. 

On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L.111-5).  The $787 billion economic recovery package represents the largest and most ambitious effort to stimulate the economy in United States history.  The Department of Energy (DOE) will be responsible for implementing over $38 billion of the $787 billion package. Of the DOE total, $4.5 Billion is allotted to OE.  As outlined in the legislation, these funds are an investment in a nationwide plan to modernize the electric grid, enhance security of U.S. energy infrastructure and ensure reliable electricity delivery to meet growing demand.  This represents a significant increase in the Department's investment in grid modernization and reflects a recognition that a more efficient and integrated grid is not only critical to achieving President Obama's goal to significantly increase the use of renewable energy resources, it is also integral to the Nation's economic future.  In remarks made at the signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Denver Colorado, President Obama stated, "The investment we're making today will create a newer, smarter electric grid that will allow for broader use of alternative energy."

The funds will also support implementation of the Smart Grid programs authorized by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.  These include the Smart Grid technology research, development and demonstration projects authorized in section 1304, and the federal matching fund for Smart Grid technologies in section 1306. 

Position:
These students will work at the National Energy Technology Laboratory and support DOE Project Managers on a variety of OE research and development (R&D) and demonstration projects that aim to modernize the electric grid.   It is expected that this internship will enhance the students' understanding of technical project management concepts. These students will assist DOE Project Managers that are managing the solicitation process to select new projects and management of financial assistance awards through the monitoring of project technical progress and cost compliance. Project Managers provide technical expertise in advanced technologies, techniques, and systems; participate in technology assessments and planning programmatic goals and objectives; and promote technology transfer.

Educational Requirements:

• Graduate student in a MS or PhD Program in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis in  Power Engineering
• Undergraduate student in a BS Program in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis in Power Engineering (Note:  At a minimum, a Student must have completed the undergraduate requirements related to Power Engineering, e.g., mandatory courses related to transformers, transmission line parameters and electro mechanical energy conversion (motors and generators).

Location: Morgantown, WV

Fuel Processing and Gasification

The U. S. Department of Energy is sponsoring the development of coal/biomass co-gasification technology to reduce the overall CO₂ emissions associated with Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plants. Coal/biomass mixture gasification presents many unique challenges. Individually, coal and biomass gasifiers are not easily adapted to support the gasification of coal/biomass mixtures. Supporting research is required to identify compatible coal and biomass mixture materials and defining their physical and chemical behavior under such gasification conditions. NETL is conducting experiments with a small-scale, simple, readily operated and fuel flexible gasifier available to generate char, tar and syngas samples to test process concepts, validate computer models, develop diagnostic tools, and screen the relative behavior of coal/biomass mixture feedstocks.

The successful deployment of fuel cell technology for many market applications requires the use of hydrocarbon-based fuels. The U.S. Department of Energy is sponsoring development of high temperature fuel cell power systems based on solid oxide technology through its Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) program. The fuel processor is a critical component of these systems and must be able to provide a clean, tailored hydrogen-rich synthesis gas to the fuel cell stack for long-term operation. Much of the technology development thus far has focused on catalytic systems. Although widely used in high steam commercial processes, most known catalytic-only systems are not capable of sustained reforming operation in low steam concentration (dry) reforming conditions. Similar issues involving liquid & gaseous hydrocarbons are synergistic with "Coal-Based" processes. Coal-based systems can contain higher hydrocarbon compounds in the syngas effluent that cannot be tolerated in the fuel cell and must be processed. These reforming processes, as well as other potential system reactions such as WGS, methane reforming, and methanation can be readily poisoned by coal gas impurities. Use of alternative catalyst systems that are more tolerant usually results in compromising activity and/or requires higher temperatures to function.

The student internship will support gasification and fuel conversion projects. Initial efforts will involve development of reaction data and assessments of modified or new concepts. The intended purpose is subsequent incorporation of fuel cells into a coal-based power generation system.

Intern Qualifications:
The ideal candidate is a student in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering, aspiring to pursue a graduate degree, or a beginning graduate student with aptitude in chemistry, chemical reaction engineering, catalysis, and fuel conversion. With the approval of the university research advisor, the work at NETL can also serve as the basis for a Ph.D. dissertation in chemistry, chemical engineering or environmental sciences. It is anticipated that the work done as a result of this appointment will lead to at least one presentation at a national meeting and one article submitted for publication in a refereed journal per year.

Location: Morgantown, WV

Solid State Lighting

Background:
The U.S. Department of Energy and its partners are working to accelerate advances in solid-state lighting (SSL). SSL is a pivotal emerging technology that promises to fundamentally alter lighting in the future. DOE has set aggressive and ambitious goals for SSL Research and Development:

“By 2015, develop advanced solid state lighting technologies that compared to conventional lighting technologies, are much more energy efficient, longer lasting, and cost competitive by targeting a product system efficiency of 50 percent with lighting that accurately reproduces sunlight spectrum.”

No other lighting technology offers the Department and our nation so much potential to save energy and enhance the quality of our building environments. Electricity consumed for lighting represents about 8.2 Quads or nearly 8.5 % of all the primary energy consumed annually by the Nation. Lighting also consumes 22% of all electricity in buildings.

The U.S. Department of Energy supports research, development, and demonstration of promising SSL technologies. SSL research partners and projects are selected based on such factors as energy savings potential, likelihood of success, and alignment with the SSL R&D plan. More information on the DOE’s SSL Program can be found at: http://www.netl.doe.gov/ssl/

Position:
This student will support SSL project managers on a variety of research and development (R&D) projects that address advanced concepts related to light emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) for general illumination. It is expected that this internship will enhance the student’s understanding of technical project management concepts. This student will assist SSL project managers overseeing contracts and cooperative agreements through the monitoring of project technical progress and cost compliance. Project Managers provide technical expertise in advanced technologies, techniques, and systems; participate in technology assessments and planning programmatic goals and objectives; and promote technology transfer.

Educational Requirements:
Graduate student in a MS or PhD Program in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or Material Science with an emphasis in the field of solid-state lighting

Location: Morgantown

Proposed Geological Sequestration Project

This project will provide needed scientific knowledge and computational tools for assessing the capacity and the environmental safety of geological sequestration of CO₂. Specifically, the primary goal of this project is to develop a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of CO₂ sequestration in brine-saturated fractured reservoirs using detailed experimental and computer simulation techniques. The other main goal is to develop computer simulation tools for assessing the capacity of fractured reservoirs for CO₂ sequestration, as well as for assessing CO₂ leakage and the associated environmental safety risks. Optical photography and image processing procedures will be used to provide the details of CO₂ flows in liquid-saturated laboratory‑scale fracture network systems. We will also adopt and upgrade use the NFFLOW computational model for predicting gas-liquid flows in the laboratory‑scale fracture network model.The upgraded NFFLOW computational model will then be applied for analyzing geological sequestration of carbon dioxide in fractured reservoirs. Comparison of the simulation results with the performed experimental data for the laboratory‑scale system and the available field data will be done for model verification. Availability of the proposed computational tool and the experimental data is the key to the further development of future plans for environmentally acceptable geological carbon sequestration for sustainable use of fossil energy, as envisioned in the DOE road map for carbon sequestration technology.

The ideal candidate is a senior in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering, aspiring to pursue a graduate degree, or a beginning graduate student with aptitude in chemistry, chemical reaction engineering, catalysis, and electrochemistry. With the approval of the university research advisor, the work at NETL can also serve as the basis for a Ph.D. or Masters dissertation in chemistry, chemical engineering or environmental sciences. It is anticipated that the work done as a result of this appointment will lead to at least one presentation at a national meeting and one article submitted for publication in a refereed journal per year.

Mentor Information:
Maria D. Salazar-Villalpando is a Fulbright scholar. She holds a Ph.D. from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. She has 15 years of experience in fuel cells, fuel processing for hydrogen generation, environmental and energy policies, and catalysis. She has worked for the West Virginia University for two years and performed intensive experimental work for NETL in the last four years. Her publications include experimental and modeling work in polymer electrolyte fuel cells and fuel processing.

Educational Requirements:
A student in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or Environmental sciences

Location: Morgantown

Computational Fluid Dynamics

A research intern with graduate school level experience in computational fluid dynamics is sought to assist in the development of user-defined functions (UDF) to evaluate the behavior of particles interacting with slag at the wall boundary of a slagging coal gasifier. The intern will have to incorporate physics of particles contacting and potentially adhering to the wall surface. The UDF will need to consider slag properties including changes in viscosity and oxidative state, particle reactions while in contact with the slag such as phase transformations, chemical reactions, and fluid transport. The intern will work with scientific experts as part of a Multiphase Flow Collaboratory to synthesize constitutive relationships from literature data and to program and update user-defined routines in existing platforms such as MFIX and Fluent. In conjunction with experimentalists and computer modelers, the intern will validate the UDF against existing data and data generated during through the Multiphase Flow Collaboratory.

The intern will exercise the code both in standalone form and within the appropriate platform, and analyze the results in a manner that will demonstrate the utility and validity of the constitutive laws applied and their implementation within that platform. The numerical accuracy and precision will be verified using standard tests such as grid independence. The performance for various particle size, composition, and trajectories will be evaluated in a coal gasification process and compared to bench-scale testing both in atmospheric and pressurized gasifiers.

Educational Requirements:
Given the complexities of the assignment, it is anticipated that this internship will be best met by a PhD candidate who, with the approval of their faculty advisor, can integrate this research into their dissertation research.

Mentor Information:
The research will be conducted in the Simulation, Analysis, and Computational Science Division in the Office of Research and Development (ORD). The mentors will be Larry Shadle and Gregory Sigley.

Preferred Location: Morgantown