Undergraduate
The NIST Greenhouse Gas Measurements Program is working to deploy 20 – 50 mid-cost, moderate-accuracy greenhouse gas (GHG) and air quality (AQ) sensor packages in the Northeast Corridor Urban Testbed located in the Baltimore – Washington region. This position offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge environmental sensing technology involving both hardware and software developments. A network of sensors is planned that will augment the current surface GHG observing network NIST uses to develop and demonstrate urban GHG emissions measurement methodologies. This PREP position will entail working with NIST staff to conduct laboratory experiments to calibrate and profile low- and mid-cost GHG and AQ sensors, assemble and test new network observing node equipment and, where necessary, work with staff of other government agencies to deploy and maintain this instrumentation across the region. Additionally, these tasks may develop new hardware and software packages to integrate emerging sensors into existing systems.
Greenhouse Gas Measurement Systems Technical Support
- Candidate must be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in meteorology or atmospheric science.
- Familiarity and experience with the assembling, testing, and supporting meteorological observing stations/equipment.
- Familiarity working with various hand and power tools.
- Programming experience (Python/Shell preferred).
- Strong oral and written communication skills.
Key responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:
- Assist in the assembly and manufacturing of custom designed GHG & AQ measurement systems.
- Support deployment and routine maintenance of GHG/AQ measurement system in the Baltimore, MD/Washington, DC region.
- Establish connections and coordinate logistics for new GHG/AQ observing station deployments.
- Utilize laboratory hardware (e.g., environmental/vacuum chambers, reference calibration gases) to quantify temperature, pressure, and relative humidity sensor correction coefficients.
- Analyze GHG/AQ sensor measurements using programming languages such as Python and MATLAB.
- Assist with the development of peer-reviewed research and open-source software repositories supporting research findings.
- Present novel results at meetings and conferences.