Internship Openings

MERL is seeking a motivated and qualified intern to conduct research on condition monitoring and fault diagnosis. The intern will contribute to the development of advanced monitoring and diagnostic technologies, with applications that may include electric motors and motor-driven systems. Ideal candidates should be Ph.D. students with a solid background and publication record in one or more of the following research areas: fault diagnosis, prognosis, and health management; electric machine modeling and data analysis; machine learning techniques including transfer learning and domain adaptation for fault diagnosis. Strong programming skills in Python and familiarity with frameworks such as PyTorch are required. Experience with modeling and analysis of electric machines is highly desirable. Senior Ph.D. students in related fields (e.g., Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Physics) are encouraged to apply. Start date for this internship is flexible and the duration is 3 months.

The pay range for this internship position will be 6-8K per month.

MERL seeks a motivated graduate student to develop multi-fidelity dynamic simulation methods for energy systems (e.g., vapor-compression/HVAC cycles and related multiphysics platforms). Candidates should have hands-on time-domain numerical simulation experience (ODE/DAE integration, implicit/iterative solvers, sparse linear algebra), familiarity with model reduction or surrogate modeling, solid thermofluids literacy (thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics), and strong programming skills in Python/Julia/Matlab. System identification and/or numerical optimization for dynamical systems, and familiarity with equation-oriented tools (Modelica or Simscape), are desirable; a track record of rigorous research (papers or robust software) is preferred. Senior PhD students in applied mathematics, chemical/mechanical engineering, or related areas are encouraged to apply. The internship is 3 months, with a flexible start date.

The pay range for this internship position will be 6-8K per month.

MERL is seeking a highly motivated and qualified intern to conduct research on decentralized data assimilation for multi-physical and multi-component systems governed by large-scale nonlinear differential-algebraic equations (DAEs). The research will focus on the study, development, and efficient implementation of data assimilation algorithms for such complex systems. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in one or more of the following areas: nonlinear estimation and control, Bayesian methods, machine learning, graph theory, and optimization, with demonstrated expertise through peer-reviewed publications or equivalent experience. Proficiency in Julia or Python programming is required. Senior Ph.D. students in mechanical, electrical, chemical engineering, or related fields are encouraged to apply. The internship is typically 3 months in duration, with a flexible start date.

The pay range for this internship position will be 6-8K per month.

MERL is seeking a motivated graduate student to research methods for state and parameter estimation and optimization of large-scale systems for process applications. Representative applications include large vapor-compression cycles and other multiphysical systems for energy conversion that couple thermodynamic, fluid, and electrical domains. The ideal candidate would have a solid background in control and estimation, numerical methods, and optimization; strong programming skills and experience with Julia/Python/Matlab are also expected. Knowledge of the fundamental physics of thermofluid flows (e.g., thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics), nonlinear dynamics, or equation-oriented languages (Modelica, gPROMS) is a plus. The expected duration of this internship is 3 months.

MERL seeks a highly motivated intern for a summer internship focused on developing laboratory experiments for thermofluid systems based on vapor-compression cycles. The ideal candidate will have extensive hands-on experience building pumped fluid systems, working with high-pressure equipment, and specifying and integrating sensors such as thermocouples and pressure transducers with data acquisition systems. The intern will collaborate closely with MERL researchers to design, assemble, and validate experimental platforms, and this work is expected to lead to a submission to a top-tier conference. Start date and duration are flexible.

Required Specific Experience

• Current enrollment in a PhD program in Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical Engineering or related programs (exceptional M.S. candidates considered)

• Extensive hands-on experience in designing and connecting sensors to data acquisition systems, designing instrumentation interfaces, and implementing reliable data-collection workflows is required.
• Proficiency in Linux and C/C++ for data logging and visualization tools is essential; Python experience is a plus.

The pay range for this internship position will be 6-8K per month.

MERL seeks a highly motivated intern for a summer internship focused on researching chemical and thermodynamic processes for carbon capture and utilization. The ideal candidate will have experience with the numerical simulation of the dynamics of chemical processes, including heat and mass transfer, sorbent/solvent behavior, or reactive transport. Background on control design and optimization with accompanying experience in flowsheet optimization and process control is also highly desirable. The intern will work closely with senior researchers to evaluate novel carbon capture concepts, analyze process performance, and help identify pathways for improved efficiency and scalability. 

Required Specific Experience

• Current enrollment in a PhD program in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering programs
• Proficiency in process modeling tools (e.g. Matlab, Python, Julia, Modelica, gPROMS)
• Proven publication record in top-tier conferences and journals

The pay range for this internship position will be 6-8K per month.

MERL is looking for a self-motivated intern to research on problems related to complex physical reasoning using digital twins and large vision-and-language models (VLMs). An ideal intern would be a Ph.D. student with a strong background in computer vision, machine learning, and robotics, with broad experience in using state-of-the-art physics engines. The candidate must have a strong background in 3D computer vision and machine learning (specifically in robotics and reinforcement learning), operational knowledge in using VLMs and generative AI, and experience in solving physical reasoning problems. Prior experience training VLMs would be a strong plus. The intern is expected to collaborate with researchers from multiple teams at MERL to develop algorithms and prepare manuscripts for scientific publications.

Required Specific Experience

• Experience with state-of-the-art physics simulators (both differentiable and non-differentiable)
• Experience in neuro-physical reasoning approaches
• Experience in state-of-the-art large vision-and-language models and generative AI models
• Enrolled in a PhD program
• Strong track record of publications in top-tier computer vision and machine learning venues (such as CVPR, NeurIPS, etc.).

The pay range for this internship position will be 6-8K per month.