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Where do you want your STEM education to take you? The AEOP Undergraduate Internship program invites you to elevate your STEM knowledge and experience and take part in the research that is shaping the future of our nation. If you are interested in pursuing a career in STEM or want to take the next step in your STEM education, an AEOP Undergraduate Internship may be right for you. As an intern, you will gain first hand exposure to the cutting edge research that is happening in top university labs and U.S. Army Research Laboratories and Centers across the country. Working under the mentorship of a professional scientist or engineer, you will learn about the variety of paths in your STEM field of interest and develop the tools you need to get there. Let AEOP help you achieve your STEM education and career goals!

AEOP Internship Benefits

  • Stand out from your peers by making the most of your summer or the academic year. The experience of an AEOP internship looks good to graduate school admissions officers and recruiters for STEM jobs.
  • Be in the room where it happens. Apply classroom knowledge and feed your curiosity by immersing yourself in the research world. Not only will you be exposed to high-tech equipment and cutting edge techniques, but you will learn the sounds, smells, and the pace of the lab. Learn the culture of STEM.
  • Mentorship is the special sauce. There is so much to learn from the people in the lab. As an AEOP Intern you will receive formal mentorship from a professional scientist or engineer. In addition to this, there will be multiple opportunities for you to learn from the STEM practitioners, of varying levels of experience, around you. Receive guidance and coaching and start building a network that will make all the difference in your STEM journey.
  • Research that matters. U.S. Army-sponsored research addresses the Nation’s biggest challenges. An AEOP internship provides the opportunity to be part of the long history of discovery and innovation for the benefit of our country.
  • Ongoing support. Connect with a community of like-minded peers, other AEOP intenrs from throughout the country. Take advantage of the AEOP’s ongoing webinar series that highlights hot STEM careers, research areas, and additional opportunities with the AEOP. Or, attend a workshop to build skills required for graduate school applications and/or your job search.
  • Earn a stipend. Not only is participation in the AEOP free, all AEOP interns receive an educational stipend in recognition of their work.

Information for Applicants

  • In collaboration with universities and U.S. Army Research Laboratories and Centers, the AEOP is proud to offer summer, semester, and year-round internships for undergraduate students throughout the country.
  • Internships take place onsite unless otherwise noted. (In the case of location closures due to COVID-19 restrictions, internships may be offered remotely or cancelled depending on individual location circumstances.)
  • AEOP Undergraduate Internships are designed for commuters. Transportation, meals, and housing are not provided. It is important to keep this in mind when selecting locations in the application.
  • Please review the application FAQ for application tips and answers to frequently asked questions. We strongly recommend that you write the essay and gather materials (transcript, etc.) before starting the application.
  • At least one letters of recommendation are required for all undergraduate locations.
  • There is no application fee and participation in AEOP Internships is free.
  • All interns earn an educational stipend in recognition of their participation. The stipend amount varies by internship location and program duration. If selected for the internship, information about the stipend will be provided in the award letter.
  • More information about AEOP Summer Internships and the application can be found here.
  • Click here to review all available opportunities.

Interested in Undergratue Internships? Applications for Summer 2024 are now open. Register for our information webinars to learn more about this year’s internship opportunities. Click here to sign up.

Stay up-to-date with our application and future opportunities by joining our mailing list here.

Eligibility

All participants must be current undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents. Additional eligibility requirements vary by location.

Important Dates

December 4, 2023
Summer 2024 Undergraduate Internships applications open

The 2024 application will have rolling opportunities
Internship opportunities will be available on an ongoing basis. Please make sure you pay attention to when sites are closing; applicants will be able to go back and add sites to their application at any time.

Apply here

Summer 2024 Undergraduate Internship applications are now open. Click here to review all available opportunities and apply here.

Interested in This Program?

If you are interested in this program email us or call 585-475-4529. We'd love to hear from you!

  • Lily Neff

    FEATURED STUDENT

    Lily Neff

    Undergraduate Internship

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  • Unveiling AEOP Internships – A Refreshed Identity for the Same Exceptional Program

    Undergraduate Internships ON THE BLOG

    Unveiling AEOP Internships – A Refreshed Identity for the Same Exceptional Program

    February 26, 2024

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    Program Locations

    Click a highlighted state to find a location near you

    Tempe, AZ
    Site: Arizona State University
    Subject area: Material Science
    Description:
    Project 1: Thermomechanical testing in different environments. The intern will conduct quasi-static tests at different temperatures, load levels, and length scales to understand damage evolution and material degradation. The intern will use a load frame with a high-temperature environmental chamber to characterize the ceramic matrix composite (CMC) thermomechanical response. Further, the intern will use a micro load frame, located inside an environmental SEM (ESEM), to capture real-time changes in the D – 3 material at the microscale. The information will be used to validate the damage evolution laws that are used in the high-fidelity multiphysics model.

    Project 2: Experimental micrograph generation of CMC microstructures. The intern will learn how to prepare for and use a range of microscopy techniques, including confocal laser microscopy (CLM), and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), and take images of as-received specimens and those oxidized to different levels. Results from the characterization studies will be used in the systematic investigation of microstructural and architectural features, pre-existing flaws, and associated variability.

    Project 3: The intern will do thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) tests on ceramic matrix composite(CMC) specimens to investigate temporal mass evolution due to oxidation over a broad range of temperatures. The test data will help identify the critical mechanisms responsible for oxidative degradation at intermediate “pesting” temperatures and oxidative crack sealing at high temperatures.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes:   Feb 29, 2024

    Pasadena, CA
    Site: California Institute of Technology
    Subject area: Material Science
    Description:
    Project 1: The intern research will focus on designing irregular materials inspired by the peel of citrus fruits. The interns will be invited to study slices of the citrus fruit peel to characterize their microscopic structure. After studying and understanding the material structure of the peel, the intern will create computational tools to design synthetic materials that mimic the structural properties of natural fruits. The interns will analyze the network-like cellular architectures of the natural materials and study their response to fracture. After identifying the structural motifs protecting the fruit, the interns will reproduce the same motifs in 3D printable models that will be tested under quasistatic compression and tension. To test the energy absorption of the materials, the students will conduct dynamic testing by using a drop tower. During these tests, they will also use a digital camera to gather images of the fracture process and will use digital image correlation techniques and image processing packages to analyze the deformation of the samples.

    Project 2: The intern research will focus on the study of irregular metamaterials consisting of interlocking hierarchical structures formed by periodically linking prime knots (as in an arrangement of linked granular elements, or chainmail). Such structures exhibit different properties based on the direction and magnitude of forces applied because of the dynamic rearrangement of the linked elements (in this case, knots). The interns will test the relation of mechanical properties to the knot geometry and will characterize and quantify the role of disorder in these systems that lead to optimal energy absorption performance.

    Project 3: The intern research will aim at modeling and characterizing the role of interfaces on strength, energy dissipation, and damping in disordered interpenetrating two-phase metamaterials. One phase will consist of a continuous shell with programmed degrees of long-range order, with the other phase filling the remaining sample volume. The intern will design and additively manufacture (in polymer and/or metal) samples with different degrees of disorder, tuned via the shell topology, and interfacial strength, tuned by accurately controlling the offset of the two phases during the printing process (in the case of metal printing, the phases can be compositionally identical but can be printed to develop different microstructures). The intern will also characterize the samples via quasi-static compression and dynamic mechanical analysis, to measure strength, energy absorption, and damping. The overarching goal will be to quantify the optimal degree of topological disorder and interfacial strength on the most desirable compromises among these mechanical properties.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Los Angeles, CA
    Site: University of California
    Subject area: Electrical Engineering
    Description: Interns will engage in the design, fabrication, and characterization of the test structures. Throughout the summer, interns will be doing the following research: the fabrication of each generation, the devices will be characterized and necessary modifications (e.g. surface treatment, post-dielectric deposition annealing, etc) will be applied to improve the performance of the next generation of devices.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Santa Barbara, CA
    Site: University of California Santa Barbara
    Subject area: Physics
    Description:

    Project 1: Flexible optical potentials for quantum simulation. The precision and control that can be obtained in experiments on degenerate quantum gasses have advanced to the point where cold atoms can be used to study many-body quantum phenomena relevant to other systems, most notably condensed matter. This field, often called “quantum simulation,” is especially well-suited to undergraduate involvement both because of the field’s fundamentally interdisciplinary nature and because the diverse experimental techniques lend themselves to modularity. The Weld group’s research in this field and in the area of quantum dynamics is based on three main experimental platforms: two large Bose condensate experiments based around lithium and strontium, and an optical-tweezer experiment using ultracold potassium. The undergraduate intern on this project will work with one or more of these degenerate quantum gas experiments. The interns’ contributions will focus on the generation and control of optical potentials to enable new forms of dynamical quantum simulation. Specific project details will depend on the intern’s interests and background. The optical, electronic, and software infrastructure that the intern will create will enable the generation and optimization of shaped optical potentials for use in experiments exploring the response of quantum systems to nonadiabatic variations of the potential.

    Project 2: Nanofabrication of anyon interferometers. Quasiparticles arising from specific even-denominator fractional quantum Hall states are proposed to exhibit non-Abelian statistics and have the potential to be utilized as robust topological qubits, capable of performing protected quantum gate operations through braiding. This project aims to investigate graphene-based quantum Hall mesoscopic devices, including Fabry-P´erot interferometers, single electron transistors, quantum dots, and quantum Hall charge pump devices, with the overarching objective of probing and manipulating non-Abelian anyons within fractional quantum Hall states. However, integrating various nano-scale mesoscopic structures into all-Van-der-Waals heterostructures that probe both bulk and edge of these quantum Hall states without introducing additional disorder presents an experimental challenge, necessitating precise and ultra-clean fabrication techniques. The involvement of the undergraduate researcher focuses on exfoliating the appropriate material and assembling the all-van der Waals stacks with the dry-transfer technique. During the stack assembly, the undergraduate researcher will also perform gate-defining lithography through anodic oxidation, by an atomic force microscope, which allows nano-scale structures to be pre-patterned and integrated into the device in a minimally invasive fashion, reducing the amount of disorder introduced to the system.

    Project 3: Rotation-controlled transition metal chalcogenide heterostructures. Twisted homobilayers of the transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) MoTe2 and WSe2 have been proposed to host integer and fractional quantum anomalous hall states of matter. Transport measurements of a well-designed Van derWaals heterostructure containing the aforementioned materials could demonstrate sharp and clear quantum hall physics that potentially includes fractional excitations such as non-Abelian anyons even at zero magnetic fields, opening the door to further probing of these phases using quantum mesoscopic devices. Making contact with and defining a conducting region with ultra-clean edges and low twist angle disorder presents an experimental challenge along with the encapsulation of air-sensitive TMDs in an effective manner. The involvement of the undergraduate intern focuses on exfoliating materials (graphite, hexagonal boron nitride, and the TMD) as well as designing and assembling the Van derWaals heterostructure using the dry-transfer technique. Fine alignment of layers into a usable stacking geometry as well as gate definition using lithography via Atomic Force Microscopy constitute the design process where feedback with a personal mentor as well as independent problem-solving and innovation are key components of the undergraduate’s success.

    Project 4: Optimizing photoconductive switches for on-chip THz spectroscopy On-chip spectroscopy in the Terahertz domain is useful for the measurement of quantum phenomena in 2D materials. Terahertz spectroscopy’s specific energy and time scale allow for experiments measuring superconductivity, strongly correlated phenomena and non-equilibrium dynamics in quantum materials. The addition of a specially designed chip allows these same measurements to be performed below the Rayleigh diffraction limit, particularly helpful for studying Van derWaals heterostructures and 2D materials such as graphene in ultra-cold environments. In this project, the difficulty lies in creating high-quality chips for the measurement of samples. The involvement of the undergraduate intern focuses on, but is not limited to the construction of complex optical arrays to generate and measure on-chip terahertz waves, dealing with analog and digital electronics for automated measurements and fabrication of custom parts necessary for measurements. By experimenting with different chip geometries and photo-conductive switches, the undergraduate researcher helps optimize the capabilities of on-chip spectroscopy.

    Project 5: Precise monitoring and control of Feshbach fields. Tunable interatomic interactions are a key tool for quantum simulation experiments with ultracold atoms. Magnetically tuned resonances between bound and unbound two-atom states offer the most straightforward way to control interactions, and our group commonly uses such ”Feshbach tuning” to create strong variable interactions or eliminate them. Currently, we are pushing up against the limits of our magnetic field control hardware: noise in the control electronics and power supplies is limiting the precision with which we can achieve the desired interaction strength. In the case of non-interacting samples such noise can even create attractive interactions which destroy the atomic sample in a so-called “Bose-nova.” The undergraduate intern on this project will design, develop, and deploy a system for monitoring and precisely controlling the magnetic fields applied to ultracold lithium atoms in our lab, to reach a hundredfold increase in precision.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Playa Vista, CA
    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory – ARL West
    Description:
    ARL regional sites create strong, enduring S&T partnerships–working together to solve the Army’s current and future challenges. ARL regional sites leverage regional expertise and facilities to accelerate the operationalizing of science for transformational overmatch.
    Technical Focus Areas: Human Information Interaction, Contextual Analytics, Hybrid Human Interfaces, Integrated Analysis and Assessment, Joint Human-Agent Decision Making, Cybersecurity, Embedded Processing, Intelligent Systems
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command-ARL West (Playa Vista) Cross-Reality (XR) Research and Development
    Description: In this project, you will support the design and development of AR/VR/XR applications that align with the objectives of ARL’s Military Information Sciences. Responsibilities include, design and implementing applications using Unity for XR devices, with a strong emphasis on optimizing performance and maintaining high-quality standards. Integrate the latest XR technologies and research findings into the research and development process to create novel and impactful applications. Conduct experiments and user studies to gather feedback and insights, iterating on designs to improve user experience and overall project success. Collaborate closely with multi-disciplinary teams, including researchers, designers, and data scientists, to analyze data, draw meaningful conclusions, and present findings. You will be selected based on the following qualifications: Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to think creatively to overcome technical challenges. Outstanding communication and collaboration skills to work effectively in a research-driven team environment. Experience in developing AR/VR/XR and applications for various XR devices. Experience in conducting user studies, usability testing, and data analysis to inform design decisions and research outcomes.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Ft. Collins, CO
    Site: Colorado State University
    Description:
    Project 1: Flexible optical potentials for quantum simulation. The precision and control that can be obtained in experiments on degenerate quantum gasses have advanced to the point where cold atoms can be used to study many-body quantum phenomena relevant to other systems, most notably condensed matter. This field, often called “quantum simulation,” is especially well-suited to undergraduate involvement both because of the field’s fundamentally interdisciplinary nature and because the diverse experimental techniques lend themselves to modularity. The Weld group’s research in this field and in the area of quantum dynamics is based on three main experimental platforms: two large Bose condensate experiments based around lithium and strontium, and an optical-tweezer experiment using ultracold potassium. The undergraduate intern on this project will work with one or more of these degenerate quantum gas experiments. The intern’s contributions will focus on generating and controlling optical potentials to enable new forms of dynamical quantum simulation. Specific project details will depend on the intern’s interests and background. The optical, electronic, and software infrastructure that the intern will create will enable the generation and optimization of shaped optical potentials for use in experiments exploring the response of quantum systems to nonadiabatic variations of the potential.

    Project 2: Nanofabrication of interferometers. Quasiparticles arising from specific even-denominator fractional quantum Hall states are proposed to exhibit non-Abelian statistics and have the potential to be utilized as robust topological qubits, capable of performing protected quantum gate operations through braiding. This project aims to investigate graphene-based quantum Hall mesoscopic devices, including Fabry-P´erot interferometers, single electron transistors, quantum dots, and quantum Hall charge pump devices, with the overarching objective of probing and manipulating non-Abelian anyons within fractional quantum Hall states. However, integrating various nano-scale mesoscopic structures into all-Van-der-Waals heterostructures that probe both bulk and edge of these quantum Hall states without introducing additional disorder presents an experimental challenge, necessitating precise and ultra-clean fabrication techniques. The involvement of the undergraduate intern will focus on exfoliating the appropriate material and assembling the all-van der Waals stacks with the dry-transfer technique. During the stack assembly, the intern will also perform gate-defining lithography through anodic oxidation, by an atomic force microscope, which allows nano-scale structures to be pre-patterned and integrated into the device in a minimally invasive fashion, reducing the amount of disorder introduced to the system.

    Project 3: Rotation-controlled transition metal chalcogenide heterostructures. Twisted homobilayers of the transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) MoTe2 and WSe2 have been proposed to host integer and fractional quantum anomalous hall states of matter. Transport measurements of a well-designed Van derWaals heterostructure containing the aforementioned materials could demonstrate sharp and clear quantum hall physics that potentially includes fractional excitations such as non-Abelian anyons even at zero magnetic fields, opening the door to further probing of these phases using quantum mesoscopic devices. Making contact with and defining a conducting region with ultra-clean edges and low twist angle disorder presents an experimental challenge along with the encapsulation of air-sensitive TMDs in an effective manner. The involvement of the undergraduate intern will focus on exfoliating materials (graphite, hexagonal boron nitride and the TMD), designing and assembling the Van derWaals heterostructure using the dry-transfer technique. Fine alignment of layers into a usable stacking geometry as well as gate definition using lithography via Atomic Force Microscopy constitute the design process where feedback with a personal mentor as well as independent problem-solving and innovation are key components of the undergraduate’s success.

    Project 4: Optimizing photoconductive switches for on-chip THz spectroscopy On-chip spectroscopy in the Terahertz domain is useful for the measurement of quantum phenomena in 2D materials. Terahertz spectroscopy’s specific energy and timescale allow for experiments measuring superconductivity, strongly correlated phenomena, and non-equilibrium dynamics in quantum materials. Adding a specially designed chip allows these same measurements to be performed below the Rayleigh diffraction limit, which is particularly helpful for studying Van derWaals heterostructures and 2D materials such as graphene in ultra-cold environments. In this project, the difficulty lies in creating high-quality chips for the measurement of samples. The involvement of the undergraduate intern will focus on, but is not limited to the construction of complex optical arrays to generate and measure on-chip terahertz waves, dealing with analog and digital electronics for automated measurements and fabrication of custom parts necessary for measurements. By experimenting with different chip geometries and photo-conductive switches, the undergraduate intern helps optimize the capabilities of on-chip spectroscopy.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    New Haven, CT
    Site: Yale University
    Subject area: Material Science
    Description: The undergraduate interns will learn to use numerical simulations to model geological flows and have significant exposure to scientific programming, the Unix environment, and running large-scale simulations on high-performance computation clusters. Through the High School and Undergraduate Research Internship Program, the students will learn to use numerical simulations to model geological flows and have significant exposure to scientific programming, the Unix environment, and running large-scale simulations on high-performance computation clusters. Interns will also be trained to communicate their research to a broad range of audiences. The students will gain insight into STEM careers, graduate school applications, and DOD graduate fellowships. Interns will have the opportunity to be coauthors of a peer-reviewed publication and present their work at an internal summer research symposium and a scientific conference.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Miami, FL
    Site: Florida International University
    Subject area: Computer Science
    Description: The intern research will be focused on five overarching research projects, 1) robust deep learning systems against deep fakes, 2) extracting forensic event signatures using network science techniques, 3) big data digital forensics, 4) drone forensics with machine learning-based fingerprinting and blockchain security, 5) extracting digital signatures and information through the development of new or improved digital forensic tools. Our large projects will be broken down into small task segments to provide a full research experience for each of the interns. This is dependent upon the overall research project status when students arrive. Each of these subprojects will be directly related to “real world” research in which the principal investigators and key personnel are engaged but tempered to provide a suitable and full research experience.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Site: University of Miami School of Medicine
    Subject area: Molecular Biology
    Description:
    Project 1: Analysis of inducible T-SCs. The intern will be involved in screening the strain collection for the formation of inducible T-SCs by BN-PAGE upon growth in pBpa-containing media and cross-linking. Moreover, once identified TSCs, we will characterize their respiratory properties by high-resolution respirometry. To analyze SC function independently of their assembly and without introducing steric constraints, we aim to generate inducible T-SCs by crosslinking naturally occurring SCs. For this purpose, we will apply the non-canonical amino acids (ncAA)-mediated photo-crosslinking strategy. Briefly, the approach involves the incorporation of a photoreactive ncAA at a defined position of the target protein and UV-mediated protein-protein crosslinking. We have already generated in the lab yeast strains expressing an array of mutant forms of the CIII subunit Cor1, which mediates the interaction between CIII and CIV in SCs. The strains also express an engineered tRNA and aminoacyl tRNA synthetase pair, which will recognize amber codons and mediate the incorporation of the ncAA p-Benzoyl-Lphenylalanine (pBpa). The AEOP-UG Intern student will be involved in screening the strain collection for the formation of inducible T-SCs by BN-PAGE upon growth in pBpa containing media and cross-linking. Moreover, once identified TSCs, we will characterize their respiratory properties by high-resolution respirometry.

    Project 2: The undergraduate intern will cross-link. Moreover, once identified TSCs, we will characterize their respiratory properties by high-resolution respirometry. Analysis of inducible T-SCs To analyze SC function independently of their assembly and without introducing steric constraints, we aim to generate inducible T-SCs by crosslinking of naturally occurring SCs. For this purpose, we will apply the non-canonical amino acids (ncAA)-mediated photo-crosslinking strategy. Briefly, the approach involves the incorporation of a photoreactive ncAA at a defined position of the target protein and UV-mediated protein-protein crosslinking. We have already generated in the lab yeast strains expressing an array of mutant forms of the CIII subunit Cor1, which mediates the interaction between CIII and CIV in SCs. The strains also express an engineered tRNA and aminoacyl tRNA synthetase pair, which will recognize amber codons and mediate the incorporation of the ncAA p-Benzoyl-Lphenylalanine (pBpa).
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Orlando, FL
    Site: University of Central Florida
    Subject area: Biochemistry
    Description: Interns will research nitramine degradation with relevance to bioremediation of explosive soil contaminants. The interns will gain experience in high-throughput screening of genetic variants, bioinformatics, oral scientific communication, experimental design, and reading scientific literature. Interns will be expected to participate in weekly lab meetings to present their data and relevant literature.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Chicago, IL
    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory  – ARL South
    Description: ARL regional sites create strong, enduring S&T partnerships–working together to solve the Army’s current and future challenges. ARL regional sites leverage regional expertise and facilities to accelerate the operationalizing of science for transformational overmatch.
    Technical Focus Areas: High Performance Computing, Impact Physics, Machine Learning / Data Analytics, Materials and Manufacturing, Power and Energy, Propulsion Science, Quantum Science
    Registration: rolling basis

    Champaign, IL
    Site: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center Construction Engineering Research Laboratory
    Description: Under the guidance of mentors, you will conduct research alongside staff and primary researchers. Through your participation in the AEOP program at ERDC laboratories, you will be introduced to a real-world laboratory environment as well as modern research technologies and techniques. This experience will inspire you to continue to pursue STEM disciplines as a career pursuit. 
    Research Areas Include: military installation and contingency bases sustainability, enhancing socio-cultural understanding in theater operations, improving civil work facilities and infrastructure, resilient facilities and infrastructure, smart sustainable materials, installation decision support and Urban and Stability Operations. 
    Registration: rolling basis

    New Orleans, LA
    Site: Tulane University
    Subject area: Material Science
    Description: The intrinsic properties of a material are those that uniquely identify it at equilibrium – one of the differences between gold and lead is how they interact with light. What happens to these properties when the systems are driven from equilibrium by a laser field? Interns will study how to control material properties through driving laser fields, an application of which is to make lead look like gold. This is achieved using a framework for controlling the observable properties of a general many-electron system known as tracking quantum control. One feature of tracking control is its tendency to produce complex, broadband laser control fields that represent a significant challenge to synthesize experimentally. In this project, we will investigate a potential method to overcome this difficulty by employing a system to generate the desired laser field itself via feedback control. A simple example of this would be an all-optical proportional controller. Generalizing this to a more generic proportional-integral-derivative feedback controller offers opportunities to extend the range of generatable fields, as well as a platform for achieving on-demand programmable optical properties of materials.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Washington,D.C.
    Site: The University of the District of Columbia
    Subject area: Mechanical Engineering
    Description: The Center of Excellence for Acoustic and Seismic Sensing of Urban Environments (CEASSUE) summer interns will study land-atmosphere interactions in dense urban environments, by studying the effects of these interactions on propagating acoustic/seismic signals. The urban environment can modify surface exchanges with the atmosphere on a larger scale and thus affect flow fields in the area. Recovering mean profiles of wind speed, standard deviation of the vertical velocity, and turbulence intensity from acoustic propagation measurements is a well-known approach. However, the urban environment’s complex reverberation, multipath, diffraction, and signature masking by building structures make this a very harsh environment for robust acoustic measurements. Therefore, coupling acoustic measurements with seismic sensing data, to identify building structure and near-surface ground properties, would enhance the accuracy of the recovered flow field parameters.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Baltimore, MD
    Site: University of Maryland
    Subject area: Immunology
    Description: Interns will do both theoretical and experimental components in basic concepts in Immunology relevant to Army research. Interns will learn how to understand the hypothesis and design experiments. and will eventually, will individually complete research on molecular and cellular experiments.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    College Park, MD
    Site: University of Maryland
    Subject area: Physics
    Description:The intern will learn to engage in theoretical work on cold-atom quantum simulators. Projects might involve: simulating many-body localization in cold-atom systems, exploring topological phases using numerical techniques and investigating quantum phase transitions in cold atom systems.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Adelphi, MD
    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory  – ARL Adelphi Laboratory Center
    Description: DEVCOM ARL seeks to remain at the forefront of executing the highest-quality research possible, building leaders in the scientific community, setting a bold Army-relevant science agenda and pushing beyond existing boundaries in search of new ideas. ARL fully integrates our internal and external foundational research efforts to shape future concepts with scientific research and knowledge, and deliver technology for modernization solutions to win in the future operating environment.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command  – Adelphi Laboratory Center- Data Scientist/Machine Learning for Recommender
    Description: This opportunity is focused on information management research and development using the latest machine learning techniques. As a Data Scientist/Machine Learning Researcher, your primary responsibility will be to support the design and development of ML applications that align with the objectives of ARL’s Military Information Sciences. You will work with multi-disciplinary teams across the country to develop the ML algorithm to advance Army’s future capabilities.

    You will be selected based on the following qualifications: • Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to think creatively to overcome technical challenges. • Outstanding communication and collaboration skills to work effectively in a research-driven team environment. • Experience in developing AR/VR/XR and applications for various XR devices. • Experience in conducting user studies, usability testing, and data analysis to inform design decisions and research outcomes.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command – Adelphi Laboratory Center -Heterogeneous and Low Probability of Detection Wireless Networks
    Description: Summer interns are sought to support projects focusing on intelligent heterogeneous networks which have been shown to have the potential for enhancing the resilience and security of wireless communications networks by intelligently and adaptively exploiting multiple communications technologies operating at different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum (i.e., low-frequency RF to Optical). The interns will work closely with ARL researchers on a variety of research tasks including theory, analysis, and modeling, as well as experimental research.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command – Adelphi Laboratory Center- Human-AI Collaboration Experimentation
    Description: Interns will run human-subjects experiments to understand how to configure and plan human-AI collaboration for optimal performance and subjective outcomes.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command – Adelphi Laboratory Center- Human-Guided System Adaptation
    Description: This project addresses the rapid evolution of military and civilian AI technologies. It will develop methodologies allowing Soldiers to guide the adaptation of these technologies effectively. This includes creating interfaces and protocols for Soldiers to interact with and steer the development of intelligent systems, ensuring that these technologies remain relevant, useful, and upgradable in rapidly changing combat environments.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command – Adelphi Laboratory Center – Meta-optics for photonic integrated circuits
    Description: The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory serves as the fundamental research facility for the U.S. Army. During this summer project, student researchers will gain the chance to engage in numerical modeling and experimental characterization of nanometer-scale structures for applications in photonic integrated circuits.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory  – ARL Aberdeen Proving Ground
    Description: The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory is the Army’s research laboratory strategically placed under the Army Futures Command. ARL is the Army’s sole foundational research laboratory focused on cutting-edge scientific discovery, technological innovation, and transitioning capabilities for the future Army.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (Aberdeen Proving Ground (Edgewood Area)
    Description: The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center) is the primary Department of Defense technical organization for non-medical chemical and biological defense.

    DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center (CBC) has a unique role in technology development that cannot be duplicated by private industry or research universities. It fosters research, development, testing, and application of technologies for protecting warfighters, first responders and the nation from chemical and biological warfare agents. DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center is currently developing better ways to remotely detect these chemical and biological materials – before the warfighter or first responder ever enters the threat zone. DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center is also developing a new generation of technologies to counter everything from homemade explosives to biological aerosols to traditional and non-traditional chemical hazards.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command-Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD- Bi-Directional Adaptation
    Description: This project aims to revolutionize communication between Soldiers and systems, going beyond traditional methods. By focusing on real-time multimodal interactions, it will explore innovative solutions for team-level trust calibration, cohesive team dynamics, dynamic information presentation, and optimizing human-system performance in real-time. This will involve researching and developing technologies that enable Soldiers to communicate with systems as naturally and efficiently as they do with fellow humans, utilizing speech, gestures, and other forms of body language. Army Research DirectorateCompetency: Human In Complex Systems. 
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command-Aberdeen Proving Grounds Composites with Tunable Thermal Properties
    Description: Controlling heat flow in composite materials is of fundamental interest. In this project, the student will design, fabricate and test fiber-reinforced composite materials (e.g., carbon fiber with a polymer matrix) and explore methods of significantly changing the material’s thermal properties (i.e., thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity, thermal contact resistances). Students majoring in engineering, chemistry, physics or materials science are ideal for this project.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command-Aberdeen Proving Grounds Estimating and Predicting Human Behavior
    Description: Focusing on the variability of human behavior within complex systems, this project will develop techniques to sense, interpret, and predict change in human states such as stress, fatigue, and intent. By understanding these human elements, the project aims to adapt technologies more effectively and infer the operational environment contexts, thus enabling intelligent systems to better comprehend and collaborate with their human counterparts.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command-Aberdeen Proving Grounds – GNC Research with the Julia Programming Language
    Description: The Julia programming language aims to solve the “two-language” problem by being as easy to write as python and as fast to run as C. However, it is not widely used in guidance navigation and controls (GNC) communities. Transitioning work in flight simulation, control theory, state estimation, image-based navigation, reinforcement learning, and other areas goes far beyond syntax differences. We’re looking for candidates with strong coding and problem-solving skills to help us figure out how to do GNC research with this new tool.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command-Aberdeen Proving Grounds – Human-System Teaming
    Description: This project seeks to understand and leverage dynamic interactions within human-system teams. It will develop principles for effective collaboration between Soldiers and intelligent systems, focusing on emergent team properties, variability in performance, shared situational understanding, and dynamic task allocation. Special emphasis will be on adapting to changing conditions, such as loss of capabilities, shifting goals, and adversarial interference.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command-Aberdeen Proving Grounds -Hybrid Human-Technology Intelligence
    Description: The focus here is on anti-disciplinary research to enhance human-system teams in multi-domain operations. This involves pioneering hybrid approaches that integrate human cognitive capabilities with advanced technology. The project will study the bottlenecks in human cognition, develop technological solutions to overcome these, and explore new methods to leverage human neural processing for creating or enhancing intelligence within human-system teams.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command-Aberdeen Proving Grounds- Injury Biomechanics
    Description: The position involves developing experimental procedures, analysis techniques, and advanced modeling approaches in a greater effort to measure, understand, or predict the biomechanics of biological tissue in high-rate impact scenarios. The work performed in this position will support a larger effort to improve computational human body models designed for simulating impact events by contributing to more biofidelic constituent materials and models and reproducing more realistic loading conditions.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command-Aberdeen Proving Grounds- Machine Learning for Security and Security for Machine Learning
    Description: Machine Learning has become an integral part of many domains (e.g., image analysis, networking protocols, network security, etc.), resulting in increased integration of ML into cyber defense tools. One way in which adversaries have responded is by perturbing inputs to cause misclassification to achieve their objective. This type of attack is known as adversarial machine learning (AML). Cybersecurity-related defenses to AML should strive to defend against unseen attacks and not require constant updating based on newly discovered attacks. Increasingly, supervised learning relies on a significant amount of labeled data to perform supervised learning. To avoid the requirements of a significant amount of labeled data, it is necessary to innovate self-supervised methodologies in a resource-constrained domain for network communications in the cyber domain. In the network/communications domain, machine learning-based classifiers are generally trained within a closed environment. Specifically, datasets used for training and evaluation are static and do not vary. Conversely, network environments are dynamic over time. Adversaries’ attacks become more sophisticated and change in response to defenders’ actions, requiring a defender to retrain a classifier to reflect the new attacks in the intended environment for deployment. This research seeks to address key research questions, such as: • How do we design ML for cyber classifiers using a limited amount of data in a resource-constrained environment? • How do we innovate network communication classifiers that are adversarial resilient?”
    Registration: rolling basis

    Silver Spring, MD
    Site: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
    Description: WRAIR provides unique research capabilities and innovative medical solutions to a range of Force Health Protection and Readiness challenges currently facing U.S. Service Members, along with threats anticipated during future operations.

    Through both times of peace and war, infectious diseases have killed, sickened, and disabled far more Service Members than bombs and bullets. WRAIR has created a model of vaccine and therapeutic development that is unique, nimble, and responsive to dynamically evolving infectious disease threats of military importance. WRAIR, with its unparalleled expertise, facilities, and international network, has developed many vaccines and drugs in use today by military and civilian medicine around the globe.
    Registration: rolling basis

     

    Cambridge, MA
    Site: Harvard University
    Subject area: Computer Science
    Description: The goal of this research program is the development of a suite of software tools that will allow for the solution of quantum Hamiltonians using a neural network approach that exploits the symmetries of a problem, and to develop the tools to characterize and visualize the solutions and extract relevant physical observables. This means that we have an interwoven set of tasks:

      1. Classification of periodic supercells and symmetry reduction for each distinct lattice type
      2. Development and optimization of code for exact numerical solution
      3. Neural network model development and training
      4. Analysis of physical observables

    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Site: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Subject area: Biochemistry
    Description: Interns will learn to express a redox-active electron-transfer protein that responds to specific environmental stresses, including redox fluctuations. They will use ΔcymA S. oneidensis initially with the cymA complemented under the control of a native two-component sensor that responds to the target environmental stressor. With confocal microscopy combined with electrochemistry, we can observe variations in the respiration and redox state of cells with single-cell resolution.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Boston, MA
    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory  – ARL Northeast
    Description: ARL regional sites create strong, enduring S&T partnerships–working together to solve the Army’s current and future challenges. ARL regional sites leverage regional expertise and facilities to accelerate the operationalizing of science for transformational overmatch.
    Technical Focus Areas: Materials & Manufacturing Sciences, Artificial Intelligence & Intelligent Systems, Cyber & Secured Comms at the Tactical Edge
    Registration: rolling basis

    Reno, NV
    Site: University of Nevada
    Subject area: Genetics
    Description:

    Project 1 – Structure-function analysis of the gene harboring the mutation leading to the PinS+ phenotype. The goal of the intern research project will be to understand how the protein encoded by the gene leads to the phenotype. We will obtain a chromosomal deletion of the gene and introduce a copy of the gene on a plasmid. The plasmid-borne copy will be used for mutagenesis. If the gene has been extensively studied before, mutations and deletions will be introduced based on already available information. If the gene is novel, mutations and deletions will be introduced based on sequence analysis and structure predictions. Another possible approach is random PCR-based mutagenesis followed by the selection of mutations leading to the PinS+ phenotype, or eliminating it. I have considerable experience in making deletion constructs, introducing site-directed mutations, and creating libraries by random mutagenesis in yeast.

    Project 2 – Analysis of the effect of other components of the [PUB1/SUP35] microtubule-associated complex on its assembly. The goal of the intern research project will be to test how inactivation or overexpression of these proteins affects the assembly of the complex (fluorescent microscopy and anti- Tub1 pull-downs), as well as its ability to maintain microtubule cytoskeleton. For the inactivation analysis we can disrupt the genes encoding the most interesting components, or to use the whole genome disruption collection available in the lab. For the overexpression analysis, genes will be cloned and expressed from the plasmids under the control of inducible promoters (CUP1 or GAL1).



    Picatinny, NJ
    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center
    Description: Interns will get world-class leadership in engineering, science excellence, quality and innovation, and we are relied upon to objectively evaluate armament solutions so that we know our true progress and how it relates to our adversaries.
    Registration: rolling basis

    White Sands, NM
    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Analysis Center
    Description: The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory (DEVCOM-ARL), as an integral part of the Army Futures Command, is the U.S Army’s foundational research laboratory that has the mission of operationalizing science. The DEVCOM-ARL mission essential task of foundational research has the objective to conduct research and reconnaissance to inform future Army science, technology, and engineering and invest in areas that ensure overmatch.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Ithaca, NY

    Site: Cornell University
    Subject area: Material Science
    Description:

    Project 1: Atomic layer deposition of high K dielectrics on AlGaN and MOSCAP characterization. In this project interns will deposit high K dielectrics (e.g. HfO2) by ALD and characterize and optimize the resultant films by making and testing simple capacitors. The intern will learn ALD, simple lithography, metal deposition, and C-V measurements. 

    Project 2: Atomic layer etching of TMN, AlGaN and AlBN with emphasis on etch selectivity – Precision etching of the nitride heterostructures will be critical to the fabrication of the “epi-Hi-K + epi-Metal Gate” AlN based devices. Atomic Layer Etching (ALE), where layers are removed one by one, should be well suited for this precision process. CNF houses one of the few dedicated ALE systems in university laboratories. Interns will develop and characterize etch processes for enewpitaxial metals (mostly transition metal nitrides (TMNs), AlGaN and AlBN films.

    Project 3: Characterization of AlGaN/AlBN heterostructure interfaces. The proposed “epi-Hi-K + epi-Metal Gate” AlN-based devices require particularly flat and pristine interfaces. These films are grown within the Xing/Jena research group. Interns will use Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction to characterize the base films. 

    Project 4: Characterization and Optimization of Ohmic Contacts to Nitride Semiconductors Project As the UWBG project proceeds to the fabrication of actual devices, reliable, high-performance ohmic contacts to the quantum well heterostructures will become an important issue. CNF has recently installed a load-locked Ultra-high vacuum electron beam evaporator specifically for clean metal contact applications. The system features a six-pocket electron gun, an ion beam, and sample heating, cooling, tilt, and rotation. For this project, the intern will optimize the ohmic contract process (materials, rates, thicknesses, cleaning, annealing temperatures ambient etc.) for contact quality and reproducibility. This will involve electron beam deposition, lithography, fabrication of transmission line structures, and electrical measurements.

    Project 5: LPCVD Nitride Passivation of AlGaN/AlBN Devices Project Host: Phil Infante Post-doc Mentor: Jimy Encomendero CNF is retrofitting/upgrading an existing horizontal tube furnace (one of 21 in CNF) to enable low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) of Silicon Nitride on compound semiconductors. Previously, this was limited to silicon substrates. LPCVD nitride will be used as passivation of the UWBG HEMT devices. The intern will characterize and optimize the deposition process (time, temperature, flows) on AlGaN/ALBN HEMT structures. Techniques user will include LPCVD, stress measurement, profilometry, ellipsometry, and breakdown measurements.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Site: Cornell University
    Subject area: Material Science
    Description: The intern will work collaboratively with the graduate research assistant to characterize the organization of confined fluids (e.g., water, hydrocarbon contaminants, water-hydrocarbon mixtures) using X-ray scattering measurements. Interns will work collaboratively to elucidate the crystallization of fluids in confinement, as discussed in a recent article on benzene crystallization. The anticipated scientific outcomes include the determination of the changes in freezing points as a function of pore size, fluid chemistry, water-hydrocarbon mixtures, and the crystallization behavior of confined fluids. During the first half of the 10-week summer experience, the interns will investigate the freezing behavior of single-component fluids. In the second half, the interns will build on this understanding and extend these studies to include two-component fluid mixtures.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    New York, NY
    Site: New York University
    Subject area: Computer Science
    Description: Interns will research single qubits, the idea of this topic is to familiarize interns with key concepts of quantum mechanics and learn to transpose them in terms of circuits using Qiskit. After getting familiar with what a qubit is, the intern will learn how to represent it and how to control it using Qiskit, we move on to a larger system. Interns will then look into Quantum State Tomography, this is how one can determine the effect of a circuit on an arbitrary state. Fully characterizing the state of a quantum state requires performing a tomography of the state. Finally, interns will learn about the impact of noise on a qubit with the methods that can be used to characterize a qubit. In the second half of the summer program, we focus on experimental realizations of basic quantum tools.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Site: New York University
    Subject area: Biological Engineering
    Description: Interns will biosynthesize, develop, and characterize conductive helical assembled fibers (CHAFs). CHAF will be engineered computationally with optimal phenylalanine residues positioned in the interior. To CHAF, interns will first study protein structures through techniques such as circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. They will be visualized via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray fiber diffraction studies. The lessons learned from this proposed research will have implications for the creation of bioinspired bioelectronic materials with applications in fuel cells, biocompatible and portable power sources, miniature sensors, and neural interfaces relevant to the Army and society as a whole for the military.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    West Point, NY
    Site: U.S. Military Academy at West Point
    Description: At West Point, intern research is organized and executed through centers and institutes. These centers and institutes, along with the Academic Research Division provide the infrastructure necessary to tackle the Army and nation’s most challenging problems. Ongoing research is focused on solving current and future Army challenges using a diverse, interdisciplinary team of experts.
    Registration: rolling basis

    Raleigh, NC
    Site: North Carolina State University
    Subject area: Biology
    Description: Interns will work to complete a gut microbiome sequencing of the 480 samples. Interns would complete the following tasks: 1) dissection of the gut from each bumble bee, 2) DNA extraction and quantification, 3) 16S amplification and library preparation, 4) library quantification and pooling, and 5) sequence data analysis. Notably, libraries would be sent over to the NC State Genomics Sciences Laboratory for sequencing on an Illumina NextSeq 2000.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Site: North Carolina State University
    Subject area: Biology
    Description: Interns will determine potential reproductive trade-offs between drone reproductive potential and mating flight behavior. This research experience will therefore provide each undergraduate intern with valuable skills in recording behavioral data, collecting live specimens, insect dissection, cellular staining, and reproductive physiology.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Oxford, OH
    Site: Miami University
    Subject area: Physics
    Description: Undergraduate intern will build a diode laser system capable of detecting nuclear spin in alkali atoms. The interns are provided the optical components, machined mounts, and required electronics for current-driving, temperature-stabilizing, and frequency-scanning the laser diode, and are asked to build the laser system from scratch. Manual-style written instructions are provided to them. In 2024 we will add another extremely useful device to the list – the Spatial Light Modulator (SLM), which enables real-time manipulation of the amplitude and phase of an electromagnetic wavefront, and is widely used in laser pulse shaping and microscopic laser surgery. The EOM, AOM, and SLM are invaluable tools in the burgeoning field of quantum information processing, and we have set aside 2 weeks to train the intern pair on them.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Kingston, RI
    Site: University of Rhode Island
    Subject area: Chemistry
    Description: The overarching theme of this site is forensic investigations. Specifically, interns are using Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) to link residue from exploded ordnance to that from unexploded. Attribution is a large part of forensic investigations. Using forensics as the theme will allow us to introduce laboratory skills as well as enticing fieldwork.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Columbia, SC
    Site: University of South Carolina
    Subject area: Material Science
    Description: Intern will study the influence of architectural features {dimensions, boundaries, arrangement, and orientations of composite tows/layers} on quasi-static (QS) fracture of meso-architectured composites (MACs). To investigate fracture propagation and stress-redistribution mechanisms in MACs, the intern will 3D print MACs and perform a series of QS tensile experiments with DIC on several composite architectures using a single-edge notched tension specimen. The intern will analyze the experimental data to determine strength and toughness and establish scaling laws for toughness as a function of layer width for the various composite architectures.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Memphis, TN
    Site: University of Memphis
    Subject area: Material Science
    Description: Undergraduate interns will be studying the non-thermal dusty plasma described offers the ability to process materials in a highly reducing environment due to the presence of reactive free electrons. As a model materials processing application using non-thermal dusty plasma, the proposed project will focus on repeatedly injecting metal oxide particles of size ~0.5 – 10 μm into a gas discharge. The applied research component of this project will focus primarily on injecting (reducing) metal oxide (Al/Ti/Fe) particles into and verifying their gas-phase concentration using sampling into a TSI Optical Particle Sizer 3331 commercial instrument. The aerosolized particles will be collected from the gas phase and characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy at the Integrated Microscopy Center (IMC) of The University of Memphis to ensure repeatability in the morphology and composition in aerosolization and particle injection into the plasma. Within this scope, the ability to inject known concentrations of aerosol particles into plasma is of interest. The experimental efforts proposed depend on the introduction of grains of known size and number concentration into a well-defined RF plasma.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Austin, TX
    Site: University of Texas
    Subject area: Biology
    Description: Many animals and plants have symbiotic bacteria that live inside their cells, organs, or tissues. Interns will be studying interactions between insects and their endosymbionts to understand at a molecular and genetic level how these vital symbiotic associations evolve and operate.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Site: University of Texas
    Subject area: Biochemistry
    Description: The overarching project goals for the present proposal will be accomplished by developing stimuli selective photosystems and characterizing their reactivity and final material properties. (A) Comparison of two main types of radical photosystems and relevant light sources. (B) Design and synthesis of photosystem components and monomers for resin formulation. (C) Spectroscopic monitoring of photopolymerization kinetics to optimize the photosystem and target specific material properties.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Site: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory  – ARL South (South, Austin/San Antonio/College Station)
    Description: ARL regional sites create strong, enduring S&T partnerships–working together to solve the Army’s current and future challenges. ARL regional sites leverage regional expertise and facilities to accelerate the operationalizing of science for transformational overmatch.
    Technical Focus Areas: AI/ML for Autonomy, Energy/Power, Cybersecurity, Bio, Materials & Manufacturing. 
    Registration: rolling basis

    Fairfax, VA
    Site: George Mason University
    Subject area: Computer Science
    Description: Interns will implement efficient and robust mmWave communication protocols that include robust beam sweeping and beam hopping schemes, Low-probability-of-intercept, and low-probability-of-detect communication schemes with active obfuscation on the mmWave signals. In the beam sweeping phase, Tx and Rx aim to find a set of best tx and rx beam patterns (sectors) at both sides to achieve a good tradeoff between high signalto- noise ratio (SNR) and spatial diversity. In the beam hopping phase, Tx and Rx will hop among different beam patterns in order to achieve a low probability of detection against Eve and a low probability of disruption against the jammer. Various online learning protocols will be implemented, including multi-armed bandit (MAB), Q-learning, safe reinforcement learning (RL), etc. These learning algorithms aim to deal with the uncertainty brought by the dynamics of the environment as well as the jamming behavior. The safe RL algorithm aims to meet a quality-of-service (QoS) performance (e.g., short-term BER or delay lower than a threshold) during the entire exploration and exploitation process. Different system parameter settings will be examined, including transmission power, distance between different parties and their relative positions, Tx/Rx patterns, learning and exploration rates, static and mobile scenarios, etc.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

    Pullman, WA
    Site: Washington State University
    Subject Area: Computer Science
    Description: Three main tasks will be performed by the undergraduate interns. The first task will be to explore the general potential of large language models (LLMs) for quality and diverse code vulnerability sample generation, under the assumption that specialized DL-based vulnerability analysis (e.g., detection, discovery, and repair of vulnerabilities) is still needed as it is superior to general-purpose LLMs for these common software security tasks. We will assess (1) the label accuracy of the generated datasets and (2) the diversity of these datasets in terms of code complexity and vulnerability category (CWE) coverage. The second task will be to examine the merits of LLM-based vulnerable sample generation for training data augmentation hence enhancing deep learning (DL) based software vulnerability analysis. We will assess (1) the usefulness of the generated datasets in enhancing those downstream tasks and (2) the strengths and limitations of each approach regarding when and why it works well or not. The third task will be to validate the assumption underlying the first task. In particular, we will directly apply the same general-purpose and coding-task-specific LLMs to the three downstream tasks—i.e., examining whether those LLMs can immediately deal with vulnerability detection, discovery, and patching in comparison to the respective training-data-augmented DL-based techniques.
    Registration opens: Dec 4, 2023
    Registration closes: Feb 29, 2024

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