Project Listings

About Aepnus Technology Inc.
Aepnus Technology was founded on the belief that decarbonization of the chemicals and materials sector will be essential to building a sustainable future. With this in mind, we are developing electrolysis technologies to enable the electrified manufacture of a portfolio of critical materials here in the US.

Learn more at: https://aepnus.com/

About the Project

• Perform systematic electrolysis experiments, collect/analyze data, and write reports to document findings (at Berkeley Lab)
• Perform elemental analysis on brines with IC, ICP-MS, ICP-OES, titration etc.
• Conduct material/failure analysis on cell components (i.e., membranes, electrodes) with SEM, XPS, XRD, FTIR, NMR, etc.
• Test prototypes, sample cell components from suppliers, and write reports to document the results
• Perform other duties as assigned

Basic Qualifications

• Must be enrolled in a bachelor's degree program in an engineering, physics, or chemistry discipline by the start of employment
• 3+ months of applied engineering experience (internship, laboratory, and personal/team project experience is applicable)

Preferred Skills and Experience

• GPA of 3.0 or above
• 6+ months experience in the application of technical skills outside of the classroom (examples: laboratory, research, extracurricular project teams, volunteering, personal projects, or prior internship/work experience)
• 3+ months of technical experience working with electrochemical technologies including batteries, fuel cells, electrolysis, water treatment, etc. Experience with chemical catalysis or electrocatalysis and completion of a basic electrochemistry course is a major plus.
• Ability to work well in a small team, agile start-up environment. Can work independently in dynamic environments and has a “go-getter” attitude.
• Ability to engage in frequent interactions with suppliers, contractors, engineers, technicians, and the founding team.

Time Commitment: 10 – 15 hours per week

Stipend Available: Yes

Location: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Remote work:  No

About Aralez Bio
Aralez Bio manufactures novel non-canonical amino acids that are opening up new chemical design space for drug development.

Learn more at: https://aralezbio.com/

About the Project
Read journal articles in order to assist in writing and creating marketing materials (handouts, whitepapers, web pages, graphics, etc) that describe scientific, chemical and biochemical merits for how non-canonical amino acids impact drug discovery and development and how biocatlysis is a beneficial way to do this.

This is a technical marketing project. However, you will need to understand biochemistry principles in order to understand the papers you will be reading. You will learn about current activities in the drug discovery arena, develop ideas about how our products can meet these needs, and communicate these concepts to chemists and biochemists in the industry.

Work Sample or Application Requirement: Scientific writing sample

Time Commitment: 10 – 12 hours per week

Stipend Available: Yes

Location: San Leandro

Remote work:  Some.

About Cypris Materials, Inc.
Cypris Materials is developing a new generation of color - producing an enhanced and exclusive spectrum of color, simplifying formulation, all while eliminating the need for toxic pigments, dyes, metals, or expensive engineering practices. Backed by an extensive patent portfolio, Cypris enables the first paintable and printable, nature inspired, structural color coatings. Cypris collaborates with industry-leading partners in a variety of markets and applications to impressively differentiate their brand and product(s) with colors and color effects not possible through any other means.

Learn more at: https://www.cyprismaterials.com/

About the Project
Students will work on the formulation and application (Spray, printing, brush, etc.) of self-assembling structural color polymers using a variety of carriers (waterborne, solvent, and UV cure). The coatings applied by students will be tested using a industry relevant techniques to test coating quality.

Opportunities of Role

• Gain experience in design of experiments methodology
• Introduction to materials characterization instrumentation that may include spectroscopy and rheology
• Introduction to broad materials properties testing techniques and specific American Standards for Testing Materials (ASTM) that may include coating hardness testing, coating adhesion testing, paint/ink dry and tack times.

Time Commitment: Minimum of 10 hours per week

Stipend Available: Yes

Location: 1933 Davis St STE 289, San Leandro CA 94577. (~20-30 minutes from Berkeley)

About Intropic Materials
Intropic Materials is developing revolutionary nanoprotectants that keep the proteins stable and active in foreign environments. This enables use in a wider range of solvents, and thermal processing to incorporate them into plastics. It’s like PPE for Proteins. From self-degrading plastics to clean manufacturing and biosensors, our platform unlocks potential for proteins.

Learn more at: https://intropicmaterials.com/

About the Project
Student intern(s) will support polymer synthesis and characterization, sample generation, and enzymatic assays and degradation tests.

Work Sample or Application Requirement: Organic and analytical chemistry and associated labs. Polymers and/or enzyme experience is a bonus. Especially suited for senior students interested in startups and/or transition to full-time depending on performance.

Time Commitment: 10 – 20 hours per week

Stipend Available: Yes

Location: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

About Noble Thermodynamic Systems, Inc
Driven by our mission to radically and quickly reduce the world’s carbon emissions and accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, Noble Thermodynamics is bringing to market its breakthrough in power generation technology offering zero-carbon, dispatchable, and affordable power. Our technology is a reciprocating engine with no exhaust!

Learn more at: https://noblethermo.com/

Project 1: Multicomponent Flow Modeling

Preferred Discipline: Chemical-Eng., Mechanical-Eng.

Description: You will implement a numerical model of NTS’ novel power generation system to calculate the steady-state concentration of various chemical species. You will investigate the sensitivity of the predicted chemical state to different plant operating conditions, and verify your results against experimental data. The results of this project will be used to help optimize the plant design. You must have prior knowledge of MATLAB, basic fluid mechanics and thermodynamics.

What you will learn: Modeling using scientific coding platform (MATLAB), process simulations applied to power plant engineering.

Project 2: Power Generation Prototype Process Engineering

Preferred Discipline: Chemical-Eng., Chemistry

Description: In this role you will develop the process engineering model and drawings for a H2 power generation prototype. You will investigate the sizing of the industrial gas supply system as well as system actuators, valves, and sensors. The results from this project will be used to develop a 3D engineering model of the system and to build the initial prototype. You must have prior knowledge of process modeling.

What you will learn: 0D and 1D process modeling using commercial software, development of process modeling for prototype design and manufacturing.

Work Sample or Application Requirement: Resume & Cover Letter.

Time Commitment: 10 hours per week

Stipend Available: Yes

Location: NTS Office, Alameda, CA-94501

Remote work: Some hybrid is possible but in-person is preferred.

About ReSource Chemical Corp
ReSource has created technology to produce high-volume plastics that are made from truly sustainable feedstocks – CO2 and inedible biomass – yet outperform conventional materials and have favorable end-of-use options.

Learn more at: https://www.resourcechemicalcorp.com/

About the Project
Work with the team to develop process conditions to perform our core chemical technologies. These activities will include synthesis and testing of different catalysts, building reactors, and developing purification procedures.

Work Sample or Application Requirement: Wet lab experience. Preferred skills: Experience in using NMR and HPLC.

Time Commitment:20 hours per week

Stipend Available: Yes

Location: 717 Potter Street, Berkeley

Remote work: No

About Takachar
Takachar’s vision is to dramatically increase the amount of biomass (crop and forest residues) economically converted into useful products. Our impacts include income and job creation in rural areas, as well as mitigation of CO2 emission and air pollution associated with conventional open-air biomass residue burning. In the West Coast of North America, improved vegetation management of non-merchantable residues may also mitigate the risks of catastrophic wildfires.

Learn more at: https://www.takachar.com/

About the ProjectWe are building and testing a prototype in order to test the technical and commercial viability of the concept above. The intern will play a crucial role in assisting this prototype testing to reality by:

• Operating an existing prototype in at least 20 different experimental configurations (to gain hands-on experience on our workflow and science-driven experimentation process)
• Based on the previous experience, fabricating, and assembling an additional drying component to the prototype; and 
• Designing and setting up key instrumentation to enable real-time logging of input temperature, density, and weight.

In order to support these objectives, Takachar will dedicate its team to supervise the intern. Austin Young, our project engineer, will directly supervise and train the intern on the prototype operations, fabrication, and assembly. Kevin Kung, our Chief Technology Officer, will directly supervise and train the intern on the instrumentation aspect. The intern will carry out these objectives with the support of other members of the operations and design team in North America and India

Time Commitment: 10 – 20 hours per week

Stipend Available: Yes

Location: Richmond, CA

Remote work: No