EEIP Undergrad Intern - Energy Processes & Materials at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments that we refer to as Directorates within the Lab, focused on a specific area of scientific research or other function, with its own leadership team and dedicated budget.

Our Science & Technology directorates include National Security, Earth and Biological Sciences, Physical and Computational Sciences, and Energy and Environment. In addition, we have an Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus.

The Energy and Environment Directorate delivers science and technology solutions for the nation’s biggest energy and environmental challenges. Our more than 1,700 staff support the Department of Energy (DOE), delivering on key DOE mission areas including: modernizing our nation’s power grid to maintain a reliable, affordable, secure, and resilient electricity delivery infrastructure; research, development, validation, and effective utilization of renewable energy and efficiency technologies that improve the affordability, reliability, resiliency, and security of the American energy system;

and resolving complex issues in nuclear science, energy, and environmental management.

The Energy Processes and Materials Division, part of the Energy and Environment Directorate, creates and delivers real world solutions that support the Department of Energy’s goals for national energy security. We deliver new technologies that connect fundamental science to applications in areas such as energy storage, advanced materials manufacturing, applied catalysis, advanced separations, biomass conversions, carbon capture and utilization, and hydrogen production and storage.

We employ a systems perspective that includes discovery, technology development, and scale‑up as well as economic, regulatory, and market acceptance issues necessary for successful technology commercialization.

Are you interested in making the world a better place while gaining valuable research experience to launch your career?

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is seeking undergraduate students passionate about creating a sustainable energy future through science and engineering to join us for a 10 week paid summer internship as part of the Energy and Environment Internship Program (EEIP).

Participants will begin in cohort sessions and must be available to start on May 26, 2026 or June 16, 2026 as part of the Summer 2026 cohort
.

If your background or interests align with chemistry, materials science, nuclear engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, or computer science
, this internship places you at the center of high‑impact research.

Interns will contribute to projects within one of the following areas:

• Experimental and Computational Engineering
  Multiphase fluid dynamics, heat transport, structural and safety analysis, nuclear radiation modeling, reactive transport, and nuclear material storage and transportation
• Irradiation Sciences
  Irradiated materials characterization, dosimetry, and radiation effects
• Nuclear Chemistry and Engineering
  Radiochemical process engineering, separations, and conversion technologies
• Radiological Materials
  Waste‑form development, vitrification and immobilization, glass and materials science, cementitious materials, process development, and off‑gas capture and immobilization
• Reactor Materials and Mechanical Design
  Stress corrosion cracking, post‑irradiation and non‑destructive examination, advanced materials characterization, computational materials science and data analytics, and electro‑mechanical hardware design

PNNL interns are fully integrated into research teams and supported through The Gold Experience, a summer‑long program that includes professional development, networking with scientists and engineers across the lab, and exposure to the full breadth of PNNL’s research mission.

This internship is designed to accelerate your growth as a researcher and help you envision long‑term career paths in national laboratory science. Many students return for multiple summers, and a number successfully…