Carbon Neutral Strategy Intern

Toyota Research Institute

Toyota Research Institute

Los Altos, CA, USA
Posted on Friday, November 3, 2023
At Toyota Research Institute (TRI), we’re on a mission to improve the quality of human life. We’re developing new tools and capabilities to amplify the human experience. To lead this transformative shift in mobility, we’ve built a world-class team in Robotics, Human-Centered AI, Human Interactive Driving, and Energy & Materials.
This is a Summer 2024 paid 12-week internship opportunity. Please note that this internship will be a hybrid in-office role.
Energy and Materials
The Energy and Materials Division at TRI is building tools and creating strategies, from accelerating the design, discovery, and deployment of new materials to performing interdisciplinary systems analysis to help foster a transition to more sustainable mobility. Our research applies AI, data-driven methods, and automation to materials science and device engineering, along with stakeholder-informed systems modeling. The Carbon Neutral Strategy Program operates at the intersection of technology, business, and policy, using tools like energy systems modeling to inform decarbonization strategy development across Toyota. Our projects often involve collaboration with scientists from universities and national labs. Interns will be involved in industrial research on topics of broader interest to the general materials science and clean energy community, and several previous intern projects have resulted in peer-reviewed publications in journals such as npj Computational Materials and Chemical Science and presentation to internal Toyota leadership to support strategic decision-making.
The Internship
We are looking for an intern researcher to contribute to our energy systems research program. Together, we will scope and develop technoeconomic systems analysis frameworks to inform technology and business development surrounding topics like predicted policy compliance requirements around materials usage or forecasting placement of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. These models may involve incorporating human behavior heuristics, material supply chain limitations, and circularity, or multiple critical decarbonization technologies, including EV charging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure, biofuels and synthetic fuels, plug-in hybrids, etc. We welcome you to join a unique team of scientists and engineers where you will constantly learn new skills at the interface of energy and AI.

Qualifications

  • Are currently enrolled in a masters or a doctoral program in STEM subjects (e.g. materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, systems engineering, public policy, energy economics, or a related discipline with an emphasis on computational research)
  • Have demonstrated interest in decarbonization, technoeconomics, and policy.
  • Experience with ML: supervised learning: neural networks (e.g. classification, LSTM), Unsupervised: Clustering (e.g. k-means, hierarchical), and/or reinforcement (e.g. Markov decision process, discrete choice model)
  • Experience with platforms like SciPy, PyTorch, Tensorflow; GIS is a bonus
Please add a link to Google Scholar and include a full list of publications when submitting your CV to this position.
The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $45 and $65/hour for California-based roles; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Note that TRI offers a generous benefits package including vacation and sick time. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.
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