Louis Stokes Midwest Regional Center of Excellence

Home/ Recent News and Events/ All News/ News Details

Radioanalytic Chemistry Internships at Idaho National Laboratory for HBCU and MSI Students

Categories: Internship/REU, Undergraduate

Date: 4/1/2019

The Idaho National Laboratory is seeking undergraduate chemistry students at historically black colleges & universities (HBCU) or minority-serving institutions (MSI) for summer research internship.

In general we would like the student to learn to: 1) Utilize our lab built apparatus called the GPEC (Gas Pressurized Extraction Chromatography) to perform quantitative separations. 2) Quantitatively analyze separated samples using a Q-ICP-MS. 3) Quantitatively analyze samples using radiochemical counting techniques, such as, LSC (Liquid Scintillation Counting).

Specifically we would like the student to help us: 1) Perform separations on important fission products, such as isolating Lanthanum, Praseodymium, Cerium, Neodymium, and Samarium from one another in a complex nuclear fuel matrix. 2) Develop a separation technique for Iron and Nickel and compare results to other well-characterized methods. 3) Quantify the separations as they occur using our hyphenated system. 4) Develop new separation procedures based on the results, for instance changing various parameters (e.g. changing acid concentration, flow rates, etc.) during the process to improve the overall separation.

At the completion of the internship, the student will have: 1) Gained experience working on method development for a research project (i.e. Troubleshooting problems and coming up with innovative solutions). 2) Developed an understanding of various separations and counting techniques utilized for nuclear fuel samples. 3) Gained experience analyzing radioactive samples via Q-ICP-MS. 4) Learned about IDMS (Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry) and how it is applied in radiochemistry.

Email all resumes to Terrence Buck at terrence.buck@inl.gov

Most importantly, we hope that the student will enjoy their time at the Idaho National Laboratory and develop a passion for radioanalytical chemistry!