Student Research Assistant - Autonomous Imaging

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.

Essential Duties and 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.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

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

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• 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

Other Information:

• Temporary/Part-time schedule of 16 hours per week.
• This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship

Brookhaven National Laboratory is committed to providing fair, equitable and competitive compensation. The salary range for this position is $17.00 - $31.75 / hour. Salary offers will be commensurate with the final candidate's qualification, education and experience and considered with the internal peer group.