What does it take to give 13 interns an experience of a lifetime in 50 short days? At Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the answer includes 13 dedicated mentors, adept leaders who champion their success, and many supporting hands, all of whom are passionate about supporting minority-serving institutions.

This summer, PNNL hosted the interns as part of the Department of Energy (DOE) Minority Serving Institution Partnership Program (MSIPP), which funds the Partnership for Radiation Studies (PaRS) Consortium and the Consortium for Laser-based Analysis of Nuclear and Environmental Materials (LANEM).

MSIPP is a platform that provides research and experiential opportunities for students at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), especially ones who are traditionally underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

“This is a great opportunity to give back by mentoring young scientists,” said senior scientist Cheslan Simpson, who leads the PaRS and LANEM activities at PNNL. “Through key collaborations like these consortia, we want to offer an avenue for students who would not normally be exposed to national labs as internship or employment options.”

MSI ecosySTEM

Of the 13 interns, 10 were in Richland, Washington, with one in Seattle and two virtual. Living and working in Richland was a new experience for many of the 10 interns, as they navigated details like housing, transportation, and the extremes in Washington State weather. (In July, temperatures almost reached 110 degrees, with 10 consecutive days hotter than 100 degrees.) Fortunately, they had their peers who returned to PNNL for a second internship to help them acclimate.

Adapting quickly was a skill the students would hone throughout their internship, which has given them chances to grow their mindset and experiences.

One of the returning interns, Rasaun McCain, Jr., a senior majoring in optical engineering at Delaware State University, wanted a glimpse of “what my life in the future will potentially look like.”

Another returning intern, Robert Gomez, a second-year master’s student in physics at Fisk University, wanted more of what he gained last year. “It’s exciting to have the independence I’ve been given. I have gotten more comfortable with interacting with my colleagues and finding solutions to problems with no definitive answers. While working amongst staff scientists, I’ve started making many connections between my own work and the wider world.”

Cornelius Bra’Jion Salonis, a senior at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University majoring in physics, was swayed to apply after meeting Simpson. “I picked this internship because of the location, type of research I would be doing, and the ability to work and learn directly from scientists at a national laboratory—which is a first for me as well as a childhood dream.”

Mentor mashups

Before starting, interns were matched with PNNL experts, who worked closely with them on projects, helped them access state-of-the-art facilities, had tough conversations about obstacles, and brainstormed solutions to those challenges.

Below is the full roster of students in the 2024 MSIPP cohort at PNNL and their mentors.

• Oluwabukunmi Babalola (Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University) was mentored by data scientist Natasha Arokium-Christian.
• Dexter Bourne-Williams Jr. (Delaware State University) was mentored by materials scientist Yaobin Xu.
• Stephanie Brown (Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University) was mentored by data scientist Jasmin Eshun.
• Riah Burnett (Alabama State University) was mentored by materials scientist Lance Hubbard.
• Scott Garner (Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University) was mentored by physicist Brian Archambault.
• Robert Gomez (Fisk University) was mentored by nuclear engineer Mark Murphy.
• Carlandra Harris (Alabama State University) was mentored by Earth scientist Lexie Goldberger.
• Jordan Jenkins (Alabama State University) was mentored by Earth scientist Andrew Townsend.
• Dewayne Maye (Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University) was mentored by physicist Manish Sharma.
• Rasaun McCain, Jr, (Delaware State University) was mentored by data scientist Tim Marrinan.
• Cornelius Bra’Jion Salonis (Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University) was mentored by chemical engineer Andrew Ritzmann.
• Jevin Scrivens (Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University) was mentored by electrical engineer Tim Wendler.
• Justice Stewart (Fisk University) was mentored by nuclear engineer JR Powers-Luhn.

With their wide-ranging scientific backgrounds, these mentors have a shared belief in helping these aspiring scientists grow.

“My passion for teaching, coupled with a deep commitment to nurturing and inspiring Black individuals, made this opportunity particularly rewarding,” said Arokium-Christian. “The challenges faced by minority students are significant. I advise them to persevere, regardless of how daunting the situation may appear.”

For Goldberger, it is important to help them maintain perspective on how much they have learned. “I like to remind them to compare themselves now to what they knew and what skills they had when they first started the internship. Neither of my interns had ever coded or knew Python before they started, but now they’ve completed their analysis. One of them ran their first machine learning model!”

TENacious weeks

Whether returning or first-time interns, they all know their time—10 weeks or 50 business days—at PNNL is compressed with networking, activities, projects, and more networking.

Their weeks were filled with research and trainings that included soft skills for STEM (S3TEM), a Radiation Detection Course, Scientist Spotlight Workshops, Python coding, and building a robot during the Internet of Things (IoT) training.

For Harris, a junior majoring in biomedical engineering, better understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) has been eye opening. "The power of machine learning and technology as a whole has been the most interesting. I learned so much from my mentor and how we can use machine learning to predict cloud phases like rain, snow, and drizzle and how this can help contribute to climate change.”

McCain also found the potential of AI to be the most enlightening. “When my mentor and I worked on a project entailing hyperspectral images, it expanded my knowledge on the power of coding and the things coding can manipulate. Also, the results of the overhead image detailed how experts viewing the coded photo can pinpoint anomalies and benefactors of the components in the photo.”

Salonis plans to take the knowledge learned at PNNL, whether molecular orbital theory or Slater determinants, to amplify what he learns in the classroom.

Mission impacts

Even with the ample opportunities to elevate their scientific skills, this year’s MSIPP interns agree that the personal connections they have made will give them the biggest boost in their careers.

Bourne-Williams, a senior majoring in electrical engineering, wanted his first internship to be impactful. “My favorite experience has been the networking with other researchers and interns throughout the multitude of events hosted here. This gave me insight on the structure at PNNL and opened doors which allowed me to gain knowledge on different subjects and trainings in different fields.”

Maye, a junior majoring in computer science, said he wanted to return and work with Simpson and Sharma again. “Meeting other interns from different MSI schools and seeing my mentors Ches and Manish, these are some of my favorite experiences. I was able to make new connections and strengthen connections that I already had while working on my research project at the same time.”

Since 2015, PNNL has been a key MSIPP partner and hosted interns each year. The team of managers, mentors, support staff, and other champions are reminded each year how meaningful 50 short days can be.

“PNNL plays an integral role in strengthening the workforce of underrepresented students in STEM disciplines, simultaneously preparing them for post-graduation careers and their potential hiring in DOE spaces,” said Sharma, who led the radiation and IoT trainings. “As an MSIPP mentor, we are not only assisting PNNL and DOE in achieving their long-term goals, but also giving back to the community by training these talented and creative minds.”

Funded by the National Nuclear Security Administration, MSIPP partners with 54 minority-serving institutions. PNNL is one of 14 DOE and NNSA laboratories, plants, and sites.