Internships
Student research opportunities with a global impact
Whether you’re an undergraduate or graduate student, you can engage in exciting learning experiences across the spectrum of physical and life science research through paid LLNL internships. Participation in these internships—available during the summer months and throughout the academic year—offers you the chance to gain research experience that supports your education and career goals.
Interns in PLS:
- Contribute to hands-on research projects
- Work side-by-side with mentors and researchers from diverse research backgrounds
- Expand their professional networks
- Become familiar with world-class facilities and capabilities
- Learn about the variety of research opportunities available in PLS (many students return to PLS as repeat interns, postdocs, or employees)
- Attend weekly seminars, participate in the student poster symposium, and meet other students during social events (summer programs only)
Internship programs
Come explore our research and meet our researchers by participating in a related internship program at LLNL.
Accelerator Complex
Contact: Scott Anderson
LLNL’s accelerator complex houses sophisticated tools to accelerate charged particles to incredibly high speeds. Located three stories underground, these instruments allow our nuclear physicists to detect isotopes, create fast neutrons, peer inside heavily shielded objects, and characterize unknown material.
Additional information is available on the Accelerator Complex webpage.
Actinide Materials
Contact: Scott McCall
We support global and national security missions by maintaining capabilities to synthesize, characterize, and test materials containing actinides.
Animal Care Facility (ACF)
Contact: acf [at] lists.llnl.gov (ACF support)
The Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animals, International (AAALAC)-accredited and Public Health Service (PHS) Assured animal facility houses several thousand small animals, which are cared for by full-time Laboratory animal technologists. Animal models are used in comparative genomics studies that focus on understanding gene regulation and for vaccine and countermeasure development.
Earn practical research experience by working with mentors on a wide range of projects in geoscience, climate, and atmospheric science.
Learn more about our internship in atmospheric, earth, and energy science.
Autoradiography Imaging
Contact: Kim Knight
Sub-millimeter resolution alpha and beta radioactivity imaging
Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (CAMS)
Contact: Nanette Sorensen or Scott Tumey
Researchers at CAMS use diverse analytical techniques and state-of-the-art instrumentation to develop and apply unique, ultra-sensitive isotope ratio measurement and ion beam analytical techniques.
Additional information is available on the CAMS website.
Center for Micro- and Nanotechnology (CMNT)
Contact: Engineering Directorate
Researchers at the CMNT invent, develop, and apply microscale and nanoscale technologies to support LLNL missions. The research and capabilities of the Center cover materials, devices, instruments, and systems that require microfabricated components, including microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), electronics, photonics, micro- and nanostructures, and micro- and nanoactuators.
Additional information is available on the Engineering website.
Center for National Security Applications of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
Contact: Derrick Kaseman
The NMR facility provides advanced characterization of chemical processes and materials using magnetically passed spectroscopic capabilities. The center houses multiple spectrometers used to analyze solids, liquids, and gases, including explosives, highly toxic industrial chemicals, and chemical and biological threat agents.
Develop and apply methods in computational materials science, computational chemistry, and other related areas of computational science.
Learn more about the CCMS internship.
Computational Nuclear Physics
Contact: Bret Beck
We measure, collect, and evaluate nuclear data and incorporate these data into libraries to be used in simulations. We provide nuclear data, physics simulation, and data processing tools for experimental and theoretical nuclear data.
Additional information is available on the Computational Nuclear Physics website.
Cooperative Research Center for NanoScaffold-based Chlamydia trachomatis Vaccines
Contact: Matthew Coleman
Leading experts in immunology and nanotechnology are developing and testing a new type of vaccine to prevent sexually transmitted infections caused by the Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) pathogen.
Additional information is available on the Cooperative Research Center for NanoScaffold-based Chlamydia trachomatis Vaccines webpage.
Work on data science problems that matter to the nation while pursuing a degree in machine learning, statistics, applied mathematics, computer science, or similar fields.
Learn more about the Data Science Summer Institute.
Diamond Anvil Cell (DAC) and Ultrafast Science
Contact: Geoffrey Campbell
Our diamond anvil-based laboratories can measure materials properties at static pressures above 1 Mbar, providing essential equation-of-state information for weapons, experiment design, and further study of the chemistries that control unique material formation. Additional experiments to study shock compression with 10 picosecond time resolution are pushing the limits of current theories of the metal strength, phase transitions, and chemical kinetics.
Dynamic Transmission Electron Microscope (DTEM)
Contact: Geoffrey Campbell
The LLNL-developed DTEM enables direct observation of unique mechanical properties controlled by features at the nanoscale.
Additional information is available on the DTEM webpage.
Electron Beam Ion Trap (EBIT)
Contact: Greg Brown
An EBIT makes and traps very highly charged ions by means of a high-current density electron beam. The ions can be observed in the trap itself or extracted from the trap for external experiments. Our EBIT is the only ion source in the world that can create highly charged ions that are practically at rest, allowing us to study an otherwise inaccessible domain.
Additional information is available on the EBIT website.
Electron Microscopy
Contact: Kerri Blobaum
LLNL maintains state-of-the-art capabilities in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to characterize materials.
Energetic Materials Center (EMC)
Contact: Lara Leininger
The EMC supports research and development for advanced conventional weapons, rocket and gun propellants, homeland security, demilitarization, and industrial applications of energetic materials. Our researchers, as part of the EMC, specialize in the modeling and experimentation surrounding the development, characterization, and effectiveness of high explosives.
Additional information is available on the EMC website.
Feedstocks for Additive Manufacturing
Contact: Yong Han
Our scientists and engineers optimize additive manufacturing (3D printing) techniques, such as direct-ink writing, through focused investments in feedstock development. Using computer programs to simulate particle size and scale, we develop new feedstock materials from combinations of polymers, composites, and ceramics, with applications ranging from weapon components to energy innovations.
Forensic Science Center (FSC)
Contact: Audrey Williams
FSC researchers analyze interdicted samples, provide radiological assistance 24/7, and engage in the critical research and development needs of the intelligence community. FSC expertise includes analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, nuclear chemistry, and forensic instrument design and fabrication.
Additional information is available in the FSC Fact Sheet and on the FSC website.
Glenn T. Seaborg Institute
Contact: Mavrik Zavarin
The LLNL branch of the Glenn T. Seaborg Institute conducts collaborative research between LLNL and the academic community in radiochemistry and nuclear forensics, contributing to the education and training of undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and faculty in transactinium science.
Additional information is available on the Seaborg Institute website.
High Energy Density Science (HEDS) Center
Contact: Frank Graziani
The HEDS Center fosters collaborations with university faculty and students that have the potential to enhance high-energy-density science research. The HEDS Center facilitates access to LLNL’s HEDS experimental facilities and high-performance computing resources in order to support research important to the Department of Energy.
Additional information is available on the HEDS Center website.
Study matter at extreme conditions—such as those found inside stars or the cores of giant planets—using world-class laser facilities.
Learn more about the HEDS Center internship.
High Explosives Applications Facility (HEAF)
Contact: Lara Leininger
HEAF houses unique facilities for the synthesis, characterization, and testing of high explosives and other energetic materials. HEAF is also equipped with extensive, high-fidelity, high-speed diagnostic capabilities, including x-ray radiography, high-speed photography, laser velocimetry, and embedded particle velocity/pressure measurements.
Additional information is available on the HEAF webpage.
High-Performance Computing
Contact: lc-support [at] llnl.gov (LC support)
LLNL is home to a first-class computational infrastructure that supports the high-performance computing requirements of the Laboratory’s mission and research scientists. Livermore Computing provides the systems, tools, and expertise needed to enable discovery and innovation through simulations.
Additional information is available on the Livermore Computing Center website.
High-Performance Computing (HPC) Innovation Center
Contact: HPC Innovation Center
LLNL’s HPC Innovation Center connects companies with computational science and computer science experts, on demand, to help them solve their toughest challenges. It also provides cost-effective access to some of the world’s largest HPC systems and rapidly assembles expert teams to develop, prove, and deploy high-impact solutions across a broad range of industries and applications.
Additional information is available on the HPC Innovation Center website.
Joint Genome Institute (JGI)
Contact: Crystal Jaing
The JGI is a high-throughput genome sequencing and analysis facility dedicated to the genomics of nonmedical microbes, microbial communities, plants, fungi, and other targets relevant to DOE mission areas in clean energy generation, climate change, and environmental sciences. Scientists from the Genomics group support key missions of JGI by performing DNA sequencing experiments and sequencing data analysis utilizing unique molecular biology skills and state-of-the-art instrumentation.
Additional information is available on the JGI website.
Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF)
Contact: Félicie Albert
JLF is a unique laser user facility for research in high-energy-density science. Its diverse laser platforms offer researchers a wide range of capabilities to produce and explore states of matter under extreme conditions of high density, pressure, and temperature.
Additional information is available on the JLF website.
Laboratory for Energy Applications for the Future (LEAF)
Contact: Brandon Wood
LEAF is a multidisciplinary center that develops disruptive technologies for the grid, transportation, and the environment from inception to demonstration.
Additional information is available on the LEAF website.
Connect with LLNL scientists working in quantum computing, quantum algorithms, and quantum sensing.
Learn more about the LCQS internship.
Mass Spectrometry
Contact: Rachel Lindvall
LLNL’s mass spectrometry instruments offer experimental and diagnostic techniques that make it possible to count atoms, study lunar rocks, isolate isotopes, and characterize unknown material. These sophisticated tools enable our nuclear chemists, cosmochemists, and radiochemists to tackle complex science challenges.
Additional information is available on the Mass Spectrometry webpage.
Gain hands-on experience in materials synthesis, materials characterization, materials processing, analytical chemistry, actinide materials science, optical materials science, electrochemistry, materials engineering, materials chemistry, and physics.
Learn more about the MaCI summer program.
Nanoscale Synthesis and Characterization Laboratory (NSCL)
Contact: Alex Hamza
NSCL is making advances in science at the intersection of physics, materials science, engineering, and chemistry. We are pursuing research in nanoporous materials, advanced nano crystalline materials, novel 3D nanofabrication technologies, and nondestructive characterization at the mesoscale.
Additional information is available on the NSCL webpage.
Hear from PLS interns
Being at the Lab has been an amazing experience for me. I’ve been able to participate in very large laser campaigns at user facilities, like the onsite optical science laser, and I’ve benefited from great mentorship at the Lab.”
—Graduate student in the Materials Science in Extreme Environments University Research Alliance
It’s been great to get some radioactive material experience and to use the cool analytical techniques that are available at the Lab. It has even given me a lot of ideas and directions to explore further in my Ph.D. work.”
—Glenn T. Seaborg Institute summer intern
In the news
Want to learn more about internships at LLNL?
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