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Danielius Krivickas has won a prestigious internship.
“Intern at Brookhaven National Lab” calls to mind the image of a white coated researcher in a pristine lab measuring chemicals into a glass beaker. But in a pandemic world with its quarantines and social distancing, the reality is remote.
Still, selection for the prestigious appointment is an opportunity that excites Hampton Bays High School Class of 2018 grad Danielius Krivickas. If it could lead to a position at the lab in the future “that would be the best,” he said. In the meantime, he said, working at the lab is a dream come true. “The environment and people are phenomenal,” he said.
Mr. Krivickas is one of 13 Sufffolk County Community College students chosen this year to collaborate with renowned scientists and engineers on some of the lab’s most advanced and emerging research and projects. At 20, the Engineering Science major, is working from home, attending myriad Zoom meetings and juggling emails, as he works on the Coherent Electron Cooling project, creating three-dimensional computer models from two-dimensional drawings. Pre-COVID, he attended SCCC at the Ammerman campus, and hopes to go on to Stony Brook University, especially, he said, “because Stony Brook has a pretty big affiliation with the lab itself.”
At SCCC, Mr. Krivickas is working toward an associate’s degree in engineering science. The program is for students who plan on continuing their studies toward a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and general engineering science at a four-year institution.
“The programs at Suffolk have been a tremendous help,” Mr. Krivickas said, “everything that I learned at Suffolk, translated over to my internship at Brookhaven National Lab.”
Asked about the application process for the internship, Mr. Krivickas, who goes by Dan or Daniel rather than the Lituanian iteration of his name because “it makes it easier for people,” sighed. He submitted transcripts, but admitted, “the hard part for me was we had to write three separate essays. They’d read through the essays and figure out what type of person you are and where you’d be best fitted.” Writing, he acknowledged, isn’t his strong suit, “I found those essays a bit challenging, but got through them and here I am.”
His work involves taking existing 2D drawings and making 3D models using the computer application Autodesk Inventor. At the same time, Mr. Krivickas said, he’s researching the systems in place at the lab “to get a better understanding of what the thing I’m actually working on really is.” He’ll be working on the Coherent Electron Cooling aspect of the BNL’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.
For now, the project is in the early stages, and Mr. Krivickas said he’s still learning about it and what its applications for society would be.
Interns can’t go into the labs due to COVID, and, after his younger brother William tested positive for the virus, Mr. Krivickas has been working from quarantine. Tested at school, William was positive, but, “we have a feeling it was a false positive. If he has it, he’s asymptomatic.”
So far for school and the internship, “Most of it is online meetings … working on your own time, basically.” The intern and student is looking forward to a day when he can be in a class or lab with others; that’s his preferred way of learning.
The 10-week internship has been extended into the summer. “It’s quite a bit of time now,” he said, expressing hope of continuing on next year as well. “I’ve been really enjoying my time there, even though so much of it is above me. I’ve just been learning a whole host of things, it’s very interesting.”
“Our college typically places three or four students into this highly competitive paid internship program,” explained Academic Chair and Professor of Engineering/Industrial Technology Peter Maritato, in a release announcing the school’s achievement. Students are given the chance to work with scientific and engineering staff on projects that are relevant to the Department of Energy’s mission through transformative science and technology solutions, he said. Interns may enjoy the chance to present research results verbally and/or in writing and collaborations with leaders that may result in a contribution to a scientific journal. Each intern is provided a weekly stipend of $600. Mr. Maritato said the internships and training could also lead to possible employment at the lab.
“Securing a BNL internship is a highly competitive process and our success here proves that a Suffolk County Community College education allows our students to compete and succeed against anyone,” said Suffolk County Community College Interim President Louis Petrizzo.
