Student Research Assistant - Autonomous Imaging

Brookhaven National Laboratory • Ridge, NY

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory seeks a Student Researcher to support the X-AutoMap project, an initiative focused on autonomous hard X-ray spectromicroscopy. The project utilizes the Hard X-ray Nanoprobe (HXN) capabilities, which provide ultra-high spatial resolution scanning imaging for multimodal elemental (XRF) and chemical (XANES) analysis. The X-AutoMap framework is currently under development, with the goal of integrating Computer Vision models and AI-driven segmentation to enable active feedback control for characterizing chemically heterogeneous systems, such as rare earth minerals. As a Student Researcher for X-AutoMap, the successful candidate will work closely with a team including beamline scientists to implement and validate AI-driven scanning workflows. The Student Researcher will assist in adapting vision models for real-time feature detection and integrating them into the beamline control system (Bluesky), helping to transform the microscope into an intelligent agent capable of efficient, autonomous discovery.

Requirements

• Must be a college or graduate student enrolled in computer science related or STEM field.
• Strong skills in deep learning and programming with Python, and computer vision related technique.
• Communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.

Nice To Haves

• Demonstrated track record in computer vision or deep learning through open-source project or GitHub.
• Experience X-ray microscopy data analysis.
• Knowledge of autonomous experimentation or control systems.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative team to tackle challenging problems, such as automating complex scientific experiments.

Responsibilities

• Implement Vision Models: Adapt Deep Vision Models (e.g., Vision Transformers) to identify mineral features.
• Develop Autonomous Framework: Build a "Smart" scanning framework for autonomous microscope operation.
• Create Active Feedback: Implement logic to trigger high-resolution XRF and XANES scans based on real-time data.
• Validate Performance: Test the autonomous method on rare earth mineral samples to ensure efficient characterization.

Benefits

• Brookhaven National Laboratory is committed to employee success and we believe that a comprehensive employee benefits program is an important and meaningful part of the compensation employees receive.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees