Operating Status Summer 2024:

On-site (The internship will be performed entirely at the lab.)

Student Requirements:

Interns must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Students must also have a driver’s license.

Mission

To produce quality airframes, engines, components and support equipment, and provide service that meet the Naval Aviation Enterprise's aircraft ready-for-tasking goals with improved effectiveness and efficiency.

About the Lab

As part of the Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE), the Jacksonville Materials Engineering Laboratory is actively involved in the technologies and processes utilized to perform maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) on multiple types of Navy aircraft, including fighter and attack planes, patrol, anti-submarine, reconnaissance, transport, trainer, and rotary wing. The Materials Engineering Division occupies a modern 16,500 square-foot laboratory equipped with sophisticated analytical equipment used to solve aircraft-related materials problems, develop intricate process procedures, perform research, testing, and evaluation activities, and continually improve the processes in use within FRCSE. Services range from basic materials identification to complex material failure root cause determination. The staff consists of approximately 40 materials engineers, chemical engineers, chemists, technicians, and administrative personnel.

What is unique about this lab?

The staff remains current with the latest scientific and technical advances through interactions with other Department of Defense (DoD) activities, industry, and academia. The division’s experts actively participate in many research and technology insertion projects, working with programs such as the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Navy Environmental Sustainability Development to Integration (NESDI) program, Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), and Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP). Scientists perform a variety of materials engineering research projects.

About the Internship

We are seeking motivated college students with an interest in expanding their knowledge and developing their hands-on experience in engineering, computer science, electronics, finance, logistics, and contracts management. The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) offers you a challenging and exciting career in the federal government with a variety of opportunities to achieve your career goals. Demonstrating and validating new technologies to improve material performance is a key area of research interest at FRCSE. Students will uniquely benefit from not only research in the laboratory, but the hands-on experience gained with exposure to the industrial operations of aircraft maintenance and repair.

What will I do any given day as an intern at this lab?

Interns participate in lab functions in a number of ways including (but not limited to) assisting mentors with guided research projects; job and project shadowing with professional researchers; attending technical meetings, seminars, and conferences; networking with STEM professionals and other interns; group mentoring sessions; touring labs; and other professional development activities.

What majors and disciplines are a good fit for interning at this lab?

• Aerodynamics
• Aeronautical Engineering
• Aeronautics
• Chemical Engineering
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Electronics Engineering
• Material Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Physics
• Propulsion Technology

What will I learn as an intern at this lab?

Demonstrating and validating new technologies to improve material performance is a key area of research interest at FRCSE. Students will uniquely benefit from not only research in the laboratory, but the hands-on experience gained with exposure to the industrial operations of aircraft maintenance and repair. Additionally, students will get experience writing technical reports, presenting technical information, and working in a team environment.

What kinds of projects do interns at this lab participate in?

The following are examples of projects to which interns may be assigned:

Avionics Engineering: We provide avionics engineering support for a wide variety of core avionics, wiring, RADAR, electro-optic, and electronic warfare systems found on all T/M/S USN/USMC aircraft including P-8, EP-3E, Triton, E-6, T-45, and F/A-18. This support includes comprehensive engineering investigations and avionics modifications to existing systems. The Avionics Engineering department has several Research and Development projects related to unmanned aircraft programs. The engineers support development and testing of unmanned ground communication and satellite communication systems. The aircraft/avionics modification team develops design packages for emerging and upgraded technologies.

Support Equipment and Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment: The Support Equipment and Engineering Department is responsible for the design, development, evaluation, verification, fielding, and in-service engineering support for Aircraft Launch and Recovery (ALRE) and aircraft/target/weapon Support Equipment (SE). This includes the technical cognizance over the systems that test and certify the final release of any part or component used on such aircraft or engines. The division’s teams procure, design and/or sustain support equipment Test Program Sets (TPSs), Support Equipment, Automatic Test Systems (ATS) Software Support, and Portable Equipment Maintenance Aids (PEMAs).

ATE/TPS/SE acquisition team: We procure hardware, software, and supporting documentation including operational test program sets (OTPSs) and Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) including PEMA re-procurements. This includes request for proposal (RFP) development, source selection, contract data requirements list (CDRL) review and acceptance, systems engineering technical reviews (SETR), acceptance testing, on-site verifications and fleet support team transitions. Within this competency is the Consolidated Automated Support System.

ATE/TPS/SE design team: We provide innovative hardware and software design solutions including CASS OTPS development, test routine development on Pinpoint, Huntron, and Eclypse testers, and hardware/software design and design and upgrade of ATE. Our programming environments include ATLAS, Fortran, L200/LASAR, C, C++, C#, TestStand, LabWindows CVI, Visual Basic, Java, .NET, VMS, DOS, VHDL (FPGA/CPLD), ATML, and HTML/XML. This organization is specialized in digital systems, electro-optics, radio frequency (RF), navigation, and electronic warfare (EW) systems. Additionally, the team assists Navair PMAs, cost estimators, and other acquisition teams in estimation of commercial TPS development costs and evaluation of technical issues on contracted ATE/SE/TPS development.

ATE/TPS/SE fleet support team (FST): We provide life cycle management from acquisition through retirement of ATE, TPSs, and Support Equipment (SE). This FST team provides depot production support, replenishments, hardware and software updates, block upgrades, test harmonization between various levels of maintenance, mission data file support, and obsolescence avoidance. On-site fleet training has been provided domestically and internationally for peculiar and common support equipment across all levels of maintenance.

The staff remains current with the latest scientific and technical advances through interactions with other Department of Defense (DoD) activities, industry, and academia. The division’s experts actively participate in many research and technology insertion projects, working with programs such as the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Navy Environmental Sustainability Development to Integration (NESDI) program, Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), and Environmental Security Technology.

Certification Program (ESTCP): Scientists perform a variety of materials engineering research projects. Such examples include: low temperature powder coatings, non-chromium containing primers, corrosion preventive compounds, nano-cobalt phosphorus electroplating, zinc nickel electroplating, oxygen cleaning compounds, peroxide activated paint removers, composite repair bond primers and adhesives, stainless steel passivation, computer radiography, and aluminum/magnesium surface finishing.