🚀 Internship
Novel Diffraction Methods Industrial Placement
UK Research and Innovation
•
17d ago
🚀 Placement Program
Oxford
🤑 £21.6K
⌛ 26d left
AI generated summary
- The candidate must be an enrolled undergraduate student eligible for an industrial placement year, proficient in programming languages like Python, experienced in using software tools for analysis, familiar with materials characterization techniques, and have an interest in materials science and engineering. Familiarity with photography or computer graphics, practical skills, and the ability to submit a CV and cover letter are also desired.
- The candidate will work on analyzing and indexing stored data, aiding scientists in diffraction measurements and data analysis, re-analyzing past experiment data, proposing and conducting novel experiments, and presenting the developed methods to scientists through presentations and discussions.
Description
- At the ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source, on the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory site, the Engineering and Imaging Group uses neutron radiation for a broad range of experiments in materials science, engineering, physics and chemistry. The group typically supports around 100 experiments per year, either internally or in collaboration with academic or industrial partners. In particular, the ENGIN-X beamline is diffraction instrument for materials science, materials processing and engineering, which has been in operation for over 20 years. The experiments typically involve the measurement of elastic strain, crystal orientations (texture) or phase transformations, much like the better known technique of X-ray diffraction. However the greater penetration of neutrons for common materials means that these experiments can be performed in real, bulk-scale engineering components as opposed to just powder samples.
- This project is to develop new methods to analyse the kinds of data collected on this instrument, in order to measure quantities of interest to materials and engineering researchers that they cannot currently extract from their data. This extra information may relate to the chemical composition, microstructure or physical shape of the sample. The newly developed methods will first be tested against existing measured data, and a significant aspect of the placement will involve the classification and possibly automated analysis of our ~5TB back archive of previous measurements, to identify the materials where the new methods could profitably be applied. There will also be opportunities for involvement in the experiments that will be running during the placement. The project thus combines both theoretical and experimental aspects of research.
Requirements
- Essential:
- Currently enrolled on an undergraduate degree course
- Are required or have requested to take an industrial placement year
- Able to commence employment in summer 2024
- Have the right to live and work in the UK for the duration of the placement
- Familiarity with a programming language, ideally Python
- Experience with using software tools (not necessarily a programming language) for analysis of experimental or simulation results, ideally with some use of linear algebra or least squares fitting methods
- Familiarity with at least one materials characterisation technique, ideally diffraction-based (X-ray, neutron or electron) and including physical and quantitative aspects, although other laboratory imaging or microscopy techniques may also be relevant
- Desirable:
- Personal interest in aspects of materials science and engineering such as 3D printing, failure investigation or environmental sustainability, even if not connected to degree programme
- Theoretical or practical grounding in photography or an aspect of computer graphics
- Basic familiarity with a mechanical workshop environment, or analogous practical skills e.g. decorative crafts, automotive repair
- Part of our application process involves submitting your CV and a cover letter. Your cover letter should address your suitability for the opportunity based on how you meet each essential criteria stated in this advert.
Education requirements
Currently Studying
Undergraduate
Area of Responsibilities
Research & Development
Science
Responsibilities
- Become familiar with the typical structure of stored data from past experiments, using scripts, databases or spreadsheets to index and keep track of this structure as needed
- Assist other scientists with their neutron diffraction measurements on the Engin-X beamline, and analysis of the resulting data
- From existing published results obtained from the Engin-X instrument, identify experiments where the data could usefully be re-analysed to solve problems that could not be tackled (or were not even noticed) when the experiment was originally performed
- Propose and undertake novel experiments to test the types of analysis developed in this project
- Present and communicate the benefits of the developed methods to other scientists, whether through conference presentations, posters or informal discussions
Details
Work type
Full time
Work mode
office
Application deadline
Oct 29, 2023
Location
Oxford
Salary
21600 GBP