Internship - Developing new IAEA Reference Material

Internships

The IAEA accepts a limited number of interns each year. The internships are awarded to persons studying towards a university degree or who have recently received a degree (see Internship web pages for further details).

The purpose of the programme is:
• To provide interns with the opportunity to gain practical work experience in line with their studies or interests and expose them to the work of the IAEA and the United National as a whole.
• To benefit the IAEA's programmes through the assistance of qualified students specialized in various professional fields.
• The duration of an internship is normally not less than three months and not more than one year.

Organizational Setting

The Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications implements the IAEA's Major Programme 2, "Nuclear Techniques for Development and Environmental Protection". This Major Programme comprises individual programmes on food and agriculture, human health, water resources, environment and radiation technologies. These programmes are supported by laboratories in Seibersdorf, Monaco and Vienna. The Major Programme's objective is to enhance the capacity of Member States to meet basic human needs and to assess and manage the marine and terrestrial environments through the use of nuclear and isotopic techniques in sustainable development programmes.

The Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences is responsible for assisting and advising Member States in research and development for the nuclear sciences, especially the physical and chemical sciences. Specifically, the Division provides support to Member States in the following fields: production of radioisotopes and radiolabelled products for applications in health care and industry; radiation source applications; research reactor utilization; applications of accelerators and nuclear instrumentation; nuclear and atomic data for applications; controlled nuclear fusion and isotope hydrology and geochemistry.

 

Main Purpose

The main purpose of the internship is to support the production of a new IAEA reference material (IAEA-494). This includes supporting processing activities and radiochemical separations with alpha-spectrometry to determine radionuclides present in the material.

Functions / Key Results Expected

• Assist in reference material processing activities including drying, sieving and homogenisation and particle size measurement. 
• Support radiochemistry separations with alpha-spectrometry to determine radionuclides present in the sample including U, Th, Pu, Am, Cs and Sr. 
• Assist in particle size measurements and microscopy of the material.
• Contribute towards a technical report on the reference material.

Qualifications and Experience

• University degree in Chemistry, Environmental or a related Scientific discipline.
• The ability to work within a laboratory and undertake analytical tasks is required
• Knowledge of radioanalytical or analytical techniques is required
• Excellent written and spoken English essential; fluency in any other IAEA official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) an asset.

Applicant Eligibility

• Candidates must be a minimum of 20 years of age and have completed at least three years of full-time studies at a university or equivalent institution towards the completion of a first degree.
• Candidates may apply up to one year after the completion of a bachelor's, master's or doctorate degree.
• Candidates must not have previously participated in the IAEA's internship programme.
• Good written and spoken English essential; fluency in any other IAEA official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish or Russian) an asset.
• Candidates must attach two signed letters of recommendation to their application.