DOE Laboratory Practicum

Review abstracts for current and past practicum experiences at NREL >>

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, is a multidisciplinary laboratory conducting basic and applied research in the biological, chemical, materials, physical, and engineering sciences relating to energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. The laboratory has approximately 2,500 staff supporting this mission.

The Computational Science Center at NREL maintains a state of the art high performance computing system with 2.25 Pflops of peak performance. DOE CSGF students will use these laboratory resources during the course of their research. Various projects are available for fellowship students in many areas of basic science, including the following:

Biology: Computational systems biology, photobiological hydrogen production, large-scale molecular dynamics simulations for biomass-to-fuels production, cellulosic ethanol, biomass surface characterization, structural biology

Chemistry: Computational quantum chemistry, chemical kinetics, organic photovoltaics, lithium ion batteries and electrical energy storage, hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen sorption, photoelectrochemistry

Materials Science and Nanoscience: Solid state theory, electronic structure calculations, molecular dynamics, superconductivity, nanoscale photonics, ultrafast spectroscopy, materials by design

Computational Fluid Dynamics: Combustion, turbulent reactive flow, fluid solid interactions, wind plant aerodynamics

Mathematics and Computer Science: Scientific data management, data mining, materials informatics, visualization, design of experiment and optimization methods, numerical methods, complex systems, performance modeling

NREL’s distinctive R&D programs and competencies advance national energy goals by developing innovations to change the way we power our homes and businesses, and fuel our vehicles. These competencies allow us to develop and advance renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies more effectively through the full R&D life-cycle — from basic research through applied research and engineering; to testing, scale-up and demonstration.

DOE CSGF students performing their practicum at NREL will work closely with world-leading scientists using state-of-the-art facilities focused on the grand challenge of developing cost-effective renewable energy sources and energy efficient technologies to meet future energy demand in an environmentally responsible manner.