2010 Internship Programs - U.S. Department of Energy - Ames Laboratory

Ames Laboratory is a government-owned, contractor-operated research facility of the U.S. Department of Energy that is run by Iowa State University.  For more than 60 years, the Ames Laboratory has sought solutions to energy-related problems through the exploration of chemical, engineering, materials, mathematical and physical sciences. Established in the 1940s with the successful development of the most efficient process to produce high-purity uranium metal for atomic energy, the Lab now pursues a broad range of scientific priorities.  (http://www.ameslab.gov/final/About/Aboutindex.htm)

Topics of research for undergrad interns have been numerous and diverse. Participating students write up abstracts detailing the purpose, methods used, and results of their work. Some experiments that lab students have explored in the past include:

• Hydrogen fuel cell catalysts
• Increasing the stability of bio-oil
• Nanoparticle self-assembly
• Improving the life and performance of high-power lithium-ion cells
• The effects of impurities on Titanium-Nickel-Tin compounds
• Properties of three-element indides containing rare-earth and transition metals
• Forming multiferroic materials from rare-earth compounds
• Analysis of superconducting foams
• Response of granular matter to mechanical loading
• Separation of sugar mixture industrial by-products
• Synthesizing magnetite nanocrystals
• Growing uniform height, self-organized nanostructures

(http://www.ameslab.gov/education/SULI/research.html)

2010 Research Opportunities:

• Ames Laboratory - Apply through SULI