There are several internship opportunities available for students, including the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) and Community College Internship (CCI) programs, supported and managed by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science’s Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) in collaboration with the DOE National Laboratories. Other internship programs include the Berkeley Lab Undergraduate Research (BLUR), Bay Area Accelerator Research Training (BAART), Physics Innovators Initiative (Pi2) 2026 Summer Scholars Program, and Experiences in Research Internship (EinR).
SULI is designed to inspire and guide undergraduates from two- and four-year colleges, post-baccalaureates, and graduate students toward rewarding careers in science, technology, engineering, and math; CCI aims to encourage community college students to enter technical careers by providing 10-week internships.
SULI interns who joined the Lab this summer included:
(l-r) Yilun Xu, Aniket Ray, and Neel Vora. (Credit: Matthew Fullmer/Berkeley Lab)
Name & affiliation: Aniket Ray, University of California, Santa Barbara
Project title: Demonstrating Small-Scale Quantum Error Correction with Superconducting Qubits using Open-Source Control System and Decoders
Mentors: Yilun Xu and Neel Vora (Berkeley Accelerator Controls and Instrumentation Program)
Student quote: “Working on this project has helped me appreciate the many engineering problems that must be overcome to perform quantum computing, and I am excited to see how the field progresses in the future”
(l) Julian Vale and Gang Huang. (Credit: Matthew Fullmer/Berkeley Lab)
Name & affiliation: Julian Vale, University of California, Berkeley
Project title: FPGA-Based QubiC Control System for Advanced and Portable Quantum Sensing using Nitrogen Vacancy Centers in a Diamond
Mentors: Gang Huang and Zhao Hao (Berkeley Accelerator Controls and Instrumentation Program)
Student quote: “I found the internship experience really fulfilling. I learned so much about the development of experimental hardware, and I was grateful for the opportunity to contribute to unifying quantum control hardware across disciplines”
CCI interns who joined the Lab this summer included:
(l-r) Xiaorong Wang, Micah Cheng, and Andy Lin. (Credi: Maureen Thaete/Berkeley Lab)
Name & affiliation: Micah Cheng, California State University, Long Beach
Project title: Develop a Prototype Winding Machine for High-Temperature Superconducting Multipolar Coils
Mentors: Xiaorong Wang and Andy Lin (Superconducting Magnet Program)
Student quote: “Working with the experienced scientists in the ATAP division has allowed me to flourish as an engineer and has sparked excitement in me for science and discovery”
(l-r) Giorgio Vallone, Claudia Navarro, and Sheryl Madlangbayan. (Credit: Matthew Fullmer/Berkeley Lab)
Name & affiliation: Sheryl Madlangbayan, Los Medanos Community College
Project title: Development of Impregnation Methods for Superconducting Magnets
Mentors: Giorgio Vallone and Claudia Navarro (Superconducting Magnet Program)
Student quote: “My time in the CCI program gave me a great look at the incredible research happening across Berkeley Lab. Working hands-on with superconducting magnets was an amazing experience, and I learned so much about experimental research along the way”
BAART interns who joined the Lab this summer included:
(l) James Coleman Alex Picksley. (Credit: Matthew Fullmer/Berkeley Lab)
Name & affiliation: James Coleman, California State University, East Bay
Project title: Classifying Axicon Lenses for Use in Laser Plasma Acceleration Through Wavefront Analysis
Mentors: Alex Picksley (BELLA Center)
Student quote: “This internship taught me real-world skills and gave me the experience of having wonderful mentors while working on challenging problems. It was an amazing journey in learning the value of hands-on work”
(l) Aodhan McIlvenny and David Torres Lepe. (Credit: Matthew Fullmer)
Name & affiliation: David Torres Lepe, California State University, East Bay
Project title: Optimizing Electron Beam Alignment for Laser Plasma Staging
Mentors: Aodhan McIlvenny (BELLA Center)
Student quote: “My time at BELLA has been a great learning experience. From the physics we perform daily to the wisdom of my mentors regarding a future career in science, it has not only taught me about what could await me but also inspired me toward career paths I never would have considered otherwise. I truly am grateful that ATAP allowed me to pick the brains of so many bright people”
BLUR interns who joined the Lab this summer included:
(l) Sarah Schröder and Rachel Migdal. (Credit: Matthew Fullmer/Berkeley Lab)
Name & affiliation: Rachel Migdal, University of California, Berkeley
Project title: Bridging the Gap: Advancing Laser-Plasma Accelerators Toward Near-Term Applications
Mentors: Sarah Schröder (BELLA Center)
Student quote: “Having the opportunity to participate in and shadow research scientists working on such a large project has allowed me to appreciate many different disciplines. As an Applied Mathematics student, combining fundamental math and physics principles with programming during this internship has allowed me to see different career paths I can take in my fields of interest”
(l) Amy Wu and Drew Bertwistle. (Credit: Matthew Fullmer/Berkeley Lab)
Name & affiliation: Amy Wu, University of Florida
Project title: RADIA: Accelerating Magnetostatic Models with HPC and AI
Mentors: Drew Bertwistle (Advanced Light Source Accelerator Program)
Student quote: “Alongside my mentors, peers, and friends in the ATAP community, I am really excited and grateful for the chances to collaborate and learn more about magnetostatic models, AI, and high-performance computing throughout this summer”
(l-r) Kirk Lliev, Changchun Sun, and Jared De Chant. (Credit: Maureen Thaete/Berkeley Lab)
Name & affiliation: Kirk Iliev, California State University, East Bay
Project title: High-Level Application Development for ALS/ALS-U Beam Profile Monitors
Mentors: Changchun Sun and Jared De Chant (Advanced Light Source Accelerator Program)
Student quote: “I have had the opportunity to work with several layers at the ALS: web interfaces for beamlines, control-room applications, machine learning on live accelerator data, and AI agent frameworks. Each project put me next to a different kind of expert. The chance to learn from physicists, engineers, and operators simultaneously is something you can’t get in a classroom”
U.S. Muon Collider Summer Program interns who joined the Lab this summer included:
(l) Olivia Clark and Tianhuan Luo. (Credit: Maureen Thaete/Berkeley Lab)
Name & affiliation: Olivia Clark, University of Tennessee
Project title: Distributed RF Power Coupling Design for the Muon Collider Ionization Cooling Channel
Mentors: Tianhuan Luo (Berkeley Accelerator Controls and Instrumentation Program)
Student quote: “Working closely under Tianhuan’s mentorship on a problem with significance to the broader efforts of the USMCC has taught me many invaluable lessons about the continuous interplay between experiment and design that is required to build a new particle collider”
Physics Innovators Initiative (Pi2) 2026 Summer Scholars Program interns who joined the Lab this summer included:
(l-r) Giorgio Vallone, Penelope Quassolo, Todd Claybaugh, and Evan Melgar. (Credit: Maureen Thaete/Berkeley Lab)
Name & affiliation: Evan Melgar, University of California, Berkeley
Project title: Experimental and Numerical Analysis of High-Temperature Superconducting Cables for Magnet Manufacturing
Mentors: Giorgio Vallone and Penelope Quassolo (Superconducting Magnet Program)
Student quote: “Having the opportunity to apply concepts from the classroom to push the boundaries of our knowledge of superconducting magnets through HTS technologies has allowed me to more deeply appreciate the breadth of the research process and the importance of overlapping multiple disciplines of study”
EinR interns, all mentored by Arianna Formenti (Advanced Modeling Program) under the Visualizing Simulations of Particle Accelerators and Colliders project, who joined the Lab this summer, included:
(l) Alisa Garduño and Arianna Formenti. (Credit: Maureen Thaete/Berkeley Lab)
Name: Alisa Garduño
Student quote: “Before this internship, I had a strong foundation in problem-solving and Python generally, but this experience pushed me to learn how to write and adapt code around concepts I wasn’t an expert in. I have also expanded my experience in technical collaboration, which will aid me in the near future when I start undergrad”
(r) Arianna Formenti and Ayush Bansal. (Credit: Matthew Fullmer/Berkeley Lab)
Name: Ayush Bansal
Student quote: “I love this internship because every day at Berkeley Lab, I’m surrounded by all sorts of inspiring people doing incredible work. I’m especially grateful for our mentor and for the supportive & talented intern team I get to work with each and every day”
(l) Dionne Wong and Arianna Formenti. (Credit: Maureen Thaete/Berkeley Lab)
Name: Dionne Wong
Student quote: “I’m really grateful to everyone I’ve met here, even those I’ve only spoken to once or twice, for teaching me lessons about education, technology, and kindness alongside pure technical skills. I think what’s really cool about interactions between people working in STEM is that they have the potential to connect humans in such a transformative, yet deeply intimate way, and I’ve never seen this magic work as beautifully as it does here at Berkeley Lab”
(l) Arianna Formenti and Leo Sitaraman. (Credit: Matthew Fullmer/Berkeley Lab)
Name: Leo Sitaraman
Student quote: “I really enjoyed my first experience working at the lab. I’ve learned so much throughout the short six weeks I get to be here, both on the technical side and about general science culture. I’m inspired to continue using simulations to explore our universe and make discoveries”
For more information on ATAP News articles, contact caw@lbl.gov.
