SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Research Intern

June - August 2023 • Menlo Park, CA

What I liked

Working for a national lab had a TON of resources. I also got to meet many established scientists in the field I would like to pursue.

What I wish was different

I wish the appointment was longer. I was given smaller tasks, because of the fact that I was only working at SLAC for 9 weeks. With a longer duration, I could've done a more substantial project.

Advice

I think applying to a SULI, especially early in undergrad (freshman and sophomore) is a great way to build up a resume. You do not need experience to get a position, just passion.

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Data Center Intern

June - August 2022 • Menlo Park, CA

What I liked

I liked how we were able to get hands-on experience and actually put things we worked on into production.

What I wish was different

I wish that our computers had been ready for us when we arrived.

Advice

Come prepared to learn new things!

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Intern

June - August 2021 • Menlo Park, CA

What I liked

Learned a lot about my project subject, CMB-S4, and about other research going on at SLAC,. Got clean room experience Got more experience in SolidWorks and ANSYS Workbench Got more electronics experience

What I wish was different

Better communication between coordinators and interns

Advice

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Undergraduate Researcher

June - September 2020 • Stanford, CA

What I liked

The flexibility and adaptability of research content and methods.

What I wish was different

More guidance initially

Advice

Go in ready to embrace and handle lots of scientific freedom. Focus on understanding why you’re doing certain tasks.

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Electrical Engineering Research Assistant

June - September 2020 • Menlo Park, CA

What I liked

I liked that I felt supported and encouraged by my mentor to tackle problems that I had little to no experience in. My mentor was very understanding, especially given the circumstances with COVID-19, and I felt like I was a part of a group that not only loved the science they did, but also loved showing and helping students like myself learn.

What I wish was different

I wish that my internship had not been remote, but I'm glad that SLAC took the necessary precautions to keep their employees safe during COVID-19. I also wish that my specific project had been more planned out. My project was haphazardly put together regardless of the COVID-19 situation, and I spent a lot of time reading articles when I would have rather gotten hands-on experience with coding or engineering software.

Advice

SLAC is definitely a great place to get physics and coding experience, especially as a young intern! However, if you are looking for hands-on electrical engineering experience, it will heavily involve physics. Only try and get engineering experience from SLAC if you have a cross interest with physics and/or materials science.

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SULI Intern

June - August 2020 • Stanford, CA

What I liked

The internship was very well organized, even with COVID restrictions. We had multiple lectures / presentations per week where we were introduced to plasma physics, accelerator physics, and various research projects going on at SLAC.

What I wish was different

I wish I had been able to do hands-on experimental research at the SLAC facilities, but due to COVID safety guidelines, this was not possible.

Advice

If you are a physics, math, computer science, or engineering student, apply to the SULI program! The program connects you to national labs across the country, with research spanning many fields in physics.

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Controls Intern

June - August 2019 • Menlo Park, CA

What I liked

The amicable work environment. Everyone was ready to help out, and the atmosphere was really chill

What I wish was different

I wish I had stayed closer, or at a metro-accesible area. I also wished they had told me earlier that I got the position.

Advice

Don't be scared to ask for help from people.

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Intern

June - August 2019 • Menlo Park, CA

What I liked

People were fantastic, very knowledgeable and friendly as well. Although paid hourly, my schedule was very flexible on when I actually came in and did the work, which was convenient in order to work around other things I needed to get done.

What I wish was different

There is very little that I wish was different, but one thing is that being only just out of high school I was given lots of smaller less complicated projects, and I wished I had been given fewer but larger ones like most of the undergrad and grad students.

Advice

Take advantage of the experience to the fullest and learn as much as possible.

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Research Intern

June - August 2019 • Palo Alto, CA

What I liked

I enjoyed how the experience felt as though you were an important part of the team, rather than just someone to do simple labor for a low price. Additionally, the environment and the people were very friendly and inviting.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Physics Research Intern

June - August 2019 • Menlo Park, CA

What I liked

Fascinating research topics, good opportunities for learning about research in domains outside of your work, good people

What I wish was different

Initially could have been better organized, but this improved.

Advice

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Mechanical Engineering Intern

April 2017 • Menlo Park, CA

What I liked

The environment, the engineers, the accumulative amount of experience in knowledge in the field of thermomechanical design.

What I wish was different

Nothing

Advice

Don't be concerned when walking into a room with people that have way more experience and intellect than you. Things will start to catch on, more experience will be gained, and over time, through long conversations that leave you even more confused, you'll start to understand the field better than you ever thought possible.

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Summer Intern

June - August 2017 • Menlo Park, CA

What I liked

Working environment. Learning experience.

What I wish was different

Perks and free food would have been awesome.

Advice

It was awesome being in Silicon Valley and learning and seeing the environment around. Being around Silicon Valley itself will make you learn many things that you would not otherwise.

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LCLS Summer Intern

June - September 2018 • Menlo Park, CA

What I liked

I liked some of the projects I worked on and the weekly seminars they had. At the seminars, I learned more about the lasers at the lab as well as some of the physics behind it.

What I wish was different

The work environment wasn't the best in the sense that there wasn't as much interaction between coworkers and collaboration between interns as I was hoping for.

Advice

Reach out to others and don't be hesitant to ask for projects you're interested in so that you get the most you can from the experience.

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Research Intern

June 2018 • Menlo Park, CA

What I liked

I liked the overall environment and having my mentor being very accessible and helpful.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Machine Learning Intern

June - July 2018 • Stanford, CA

What I liked

The experience was awesome. I had great mentorship and learned a ton. I was able to apply Machine Learning to real data and work on complex scientific problems.

What I wish was different

Better pay. They required you to get a mandatory meal plan in exchange for free housing.

Advice

Definitely have a monthly and weekly plan always set up. You need to be on track to finish your goals.

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Summer Undergraduate Research Intern

June - August 2017 • Menlo Park, CA

What I liked

I liked the connections it enabled me to make, the opportunities it gave me to learn about SLAC and the research opportunities, the professional development talks they had, and the community it allowed me to form, as well as the fact that they provided housing on Stanford's campus, allowing me to interact with Stanford students who were there for the summer.

What I wish was different

The project matching wasn't the best, so really I think the quality of the experience will depend primarily on whether 1. The project description truly interests you (I feel that I convinced myself I'd find the project interesting), and 2. Whether the actual project actually ends up having anything to do with the officially assigned project (my postdoc put me on a completely different project than what my official mentor told me my project would be). Stanford also requires you to buy a fixed meal plan which cost $~1500, which was kind of annoying, although the SLAC program coordinator is truly doing his best to try to change that.

Advice

I feel that this probably applies to other research programs in general, but 1. Talk not only to the PI (principal investigator, the "official" mentor) but also to the post doc or whoever you'll be working with most of the time (definitely find that out!). Make sure that the project that your day-to-day mentor will have you complete matches up with what you expect, because in my case the projects my postdoc suggested were drastically different from what my PI told me. 2. Particularly if money is a deciding factor in your decision, try to find out all the conditions of the housing situation (at SLAC, housing and transportation up to $500 was provided, but because we were housed at Stanford, we were forced to buy a $1500 meal plan, which took a significant chunk out of the $5000 paycheck).

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