PhD Intern

Responsibilities

The Building Simulation & Design Group (BS&DG) performs research in the design and modeling of building energy systems and develops software tools and workflows to drive energy efficiency and decarbonization for buildings, providing economic, environmental, security, and societal benefits to the nation. The BS&DG is seeking a PhD intern - Building Energy Research to support its research into building energy efficiency and building energy modeling. The summer internship will be three months and could be extended.

The Intern will contribute to a number of high-impact applied research and analysis activities, such as:

Residential and commercial prototype building models development using EnergyPlus National and regional building energy code upgrades, such as ASHRAE Standard 90.1 and International Energy Efficiency Code Energy impacts analysis of building energy code compliance Implementation and compliance support of building performance standards Building energy system design for resilience Grid-interactive efficient building design and controls Urban-scale building modeling for building-to-grid research Development of EnergyPlus and OpenStudio and their associated tools Development of digital tools and workflows that support the design, configuration, operation, and maintenance of high-performance buildings. Possible tasks also include developing data models for buildings including graph representations, maintaining software automations and databases, querying databases and performing verifications, and designing workflows.
Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

Candidates must be currently enrolled/matriculated in a PhD program at an accredited college.  Minimum GPA of 3.0 is required.

Preferred Qualifications:

Advanced experience with whole building energy modeling for buildings with complex energy systems and controls. Experience with EnergyPlus is highly desirable; other modeling software experience may be considered (e.g. OpenStudio, eQuest). Enrolled in a PhD degree program in Architectural Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Building Sciences, Computer science, Computer Engineering, Data Science or related fields Solid background knowledge in building physics and building energy systems Strong programming skills in Python, Ruby, R, or Perl Independent design or research experience in one or more building energy systems (e.g. building envelope, HVAC, lighting, controls, and service hot water). Experience in working with Git repository Development and implementation of containerized work-flow for institutional high-performance computing or cloud computing. Experience in leading the publications of technical reports and research papers Excellent verbal and written communication skills Strong research and writing skills to develop research ideas and support documentation of research deliverables A collaborative approach to problem-solving in areas that do not have clear or established solutions or outcomes and the ability to work well with inter-disciplinary and geographically distributed teams.
Hazardous Working Conditions/Environment

Not Applicable.

Additional Information

Not Applicable.

Testing Designated Position

This is not a Testing Designated Position.

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