Science of Extreme Environments Research Institute

Arcs and Sparcs — Sandia's Z-Machine, the Earth's most powerful laboratory radiation source, can create extreme testing conditions found nowhere else.

When offered

Year-round and summer

Who can apply

Undergraduate and graduate students majoring in engineering, physics, or math

Location

Sandia/New Mexico

About SEERI

The Science of Extreme Environments Research Institute (SEERI) provides undergraduate and graduate students with the opportunity to gain experience in the areas of radiation effects sciences, pulsed-power engineering, and high-energy-density sciences. Students work directly with Sandia scientists and engineers to conduct research on a focused project.

Potential projects available for student interns include the following:

Modeling and simulation support of high-pressure shock physics or laboratory magnetic-field applications
Modeling and simulation support of radiation transport applications using both discrete ordinate and Monte Carlo methods
Code development and support for modeling and simulation activities
Development or evaluation of a large magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) code
Use of quantum molecular-dynamics codes based on density functional theory
Modeling radiation interactions in semiconductor devices such as diodes, bipolar transistors, and field-effect transistors
Development and application of a broad range of experimental tools to assess the performance of materials and electronics in severe radiation environments
Dynamic consolidation of powders

Past SEERI student projects:

Radiation effects studies with ion photon emission microscopy
Modeling a magnetically confined plasma
Photonic Displacement Interferometry (PDI)
Plutonium containment in the Z machine
Spectral unfolding using processed pinhole images
Implementation of new transport methods in a developing radiation transport code
Implementation of new features in a production radiation transport code

Visit the SEERI website for more information.

Application procedure

Use Sandia's Careers tool to create a username and password.
Enter "SEERI" into the Keywords text field, and click Search.
Browse the list of SEERI intern openings.
Complete an online application for a specific intern opening.