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The skills listed below are a wish list, thus we respect that individuals will use this role to develop these skills and demonstrate their growth throughout the job.

• This job is open to those pursuing any engineering degree, or a science degree in physics, astronomy, material science, or chemistry who have completed at least 2 years of study. Preference would be given to those studying engineering physics, or mechanical engineering.
• An interest in the design and scientific motivation of particle physics experiments.
• Desire to advance one's professional development through courses and tutorials.
• Introductory CAD experience and willingness to further develop the skill.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work independently with strong skills in setting priorities and time management.
• Ability to work as part of a team, work well with others, and accept guidance.
• Serve as an ambassador in a manner that provides a positive reflection of the McDonald Institute's vision, goals, and mission.
• Support efforts to advance equity, diversity, inclusion, and Indigenization in a learning environment.

Learning Plan

Throughout the summer, the Research Design Engineering Intern (RDEI) will benefit from hands-on mentoring by members of the MI Engineering Office, as they develop their engineering and design skills and contribute to various design projects. The specific learning plan will develop the following skills.

1. Improvement of understanding of technical requirements of particle physics experiments

• Understanding the requirements of an engineering design request is the most important first step, and as such the RDEI will begin the summer attending several lecture and tutorial sessions of the Summer Particle (Astro) Physics Workshop. In its 6th year of running, this summer school provides an information foundation on particle physics and highlights many Canadian experiments that MI is involved with. Gaining the foundation of knowledge that drives the science goals of these experiments is critical to be able to properly design and tackle the technical challenges that these experiments face.
• A unique feature of working in the MI Engineering Office is the breadth of projects, and also the variance in technical challenges we face. Some projects require cryogenic engineering (e.g., designing components able to perform at mK temperatures). Other projects need to be designed to withstand high levels of radiation because the components will be inserted in particle accelerator beamlines. Unlike other engineering jobs where the class of engineering challenges may be consistent throughout the internship, at the completion of this internship the RDEI will have had exposure to a diverse spectrum of technical topics and designs.

2. Adapting Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) to engineering workplace standards

• Unlike typical academic CAD exposure, the RDEI will become familiar with how to work on large, shared projects using repositories.
• The RDEI will design 3D models of parts which will then mate into large scale assemblies with up to 1000's of components.
• A suite of tutorial videos of Solidworks, a CAD modeling software used by millions of engineers worldwide, will be available to the RDEI to further develop their CAD modeling skills beyond that which they may have learned in their academic studies.
• Frequently the part models will be fabricated in house at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥, and the RDEI will make 2D drawings to submit to the machinists. Over the course of the summer, feedback from supervising engineers as well as the machinists themselves will help to improve the drawing quality of the RDEI.
• Some projects may require the development of 2D drawings such as P&IDs, or Electrical Diagrams which are likely new types of drawings to the RDEI. Even if the work to modify and create these drawings does not fall in the scope of the tasks for the RDEI, participating in working groups where these engineering drawings are discussed provides important exposure that the RDEI will likely encounter in their future career.

3. Connecting academic engineering principles to real world engineered solutions

• Under the supervision of a team engineers, the RDEI will perform engineering calculations which they may have been exposed to in their course studies, to adequately specify the components they design. Engineering disciplines that may be encountered include:
• Fluid flow
• Heat Transfer
• Cryogenics
• Thermodynamics
• Mechanics of structures
• Material Science
• The RDEI will have exposure to legislated regulatory requirements and engineering codes and standards, which are not necessarily emphasized as part of the academic curriculum. Working in the MI Engineering Office, the RDEI would develop awareness of the regulatory and code requirements as they pertain to a design project, which provides important preparation for future career tasks. Examples of regulations, codes, and standards that the RDEI may encounter include TSSA (pressure vessels), CSA and ASME design codes, and ASTM material design standards.
• The scale of some of the projects that the RDEI will contribute to exceed $1M+.
• The RDEI will consider practicality and buildability to their designs, and learn about various sizing standards by incorporating standard parts (nuts & bolts, piping & fittings, instrumentation).

4. Introduction to computational software to model complex engineering problems

• The complexity of some engineered solutions means that simple calculations are no longer sufficient to answer the technical questions we have about the design, and computational simulation is required.
• Working closely with a supervising engineer, the RDEI will become familiar with COMSOL, a finite element analysis software used for thermal, structural, and electricity & magnetism simulations. Opportunities to attend a workshop offered by an industry partner, CMC, may be available for additional training. The experience gained using such a software will give the RDEI the tools and confidence required to tackle difficult engineering challenges they may face in future projects beyond their summer internship.
• Opportunities may arise to develop and apply coding skills to solve more complex problems (the MI engineering team uses Jupyter/Python notebooks).

5. Hands-on experience

• Even though many of the projects the MI Engineering Team works on are constructed at other institutions (SNOLAB, Antarctic Research station, RMTL), prototyping and initial assembly often occurs at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. The RDEI will have the opportunity to participate in trial assemblies and help develop thorough documented procedures of the construction of experiment components.
• The RDEI will receive occupational health and safety training as well as machine shop training so that they can produce their own designs, and make modifications of existing parts as necessary.
• The RDEI will have access to a 3D printer for prototyping and production of small design components.
• The lifelong value one receives by machining their own components helps them to understand the limitations of machine shops and machining which will aid them in designing future parts.

6. Improvement of behavioural competencies and professionalism

• The RDEI will develop effective time management and organizational skills by juggling multiple projects. MI provides some workshops on this topic, and the RDEI will be able to see the practices the other engineers in the team use to execute on their deliverables and manage their time.
• The RDEI will grow their teamwork skills as a member of the Engineering Office, and as a member of larger multi-disciplinary experimental collaborations, providing an opportunity for students to gain transferable collaboration skills- The RDEI will be a part of a dynamic and collaborative engineering team, participating in weekly update meetings with the engineering team where they will be expected to present on the status of their projects. From time to time, the RDEI will be expected to make updates to larger working groups within experiments giving them a chance to improve their presentation skills. Many of the MI collaborators work at institutions other than ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥, so clear communication over Zoom meetings and email is necessary. This practice will help them craft the skill of synthesizing their work, and identifying which details are important to share.

7. Other opportunities

• If the RDEI is interested in receiving their professional engineering designation (P.Eng), part of the requirement is to gain relevant work experience for four years. Up to 12 months' credit towards the four years can come from experience gained prior to graduation from their undergraduate degree. The role of RDEI certainly qualifies for 4 months credit towards this requirement, and this job can be seen as an opportunity to accelerate the RDEI's career goals.
• The initiatives of MI extend beyond the design and operation of particle physics experiments. Through the summer many outreach, public communication, and teaching events are hosted that the RDEI would have the opportunity to participate in.

The RDEI will have the unique opportunity to contribute to the design of cutting edge science research. In addition to working with a team of world-leading scientists that includes the co-winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize for Physics, Dr. Arthur B. McDonald, the successful candidate may have the opportunity to visit exclusive research facilities such as SNOLAB during their stay with MI. The incumbent will be supported by an award-winning administrative team (Principal's Staff award 2019) and will report directly to an MI staff engineer. The student will have contact with MI's Senior Mechanical Engineer, Koby Dering. In addition to direct internal personnel interactions, they would have access to a suite of Professional Development programing to enhance their summer experience. Finally, there may be opportunities to have the RDEI attend the Canadian Astroparticle Physics Annual National Meeting in August 2024 or at least one other conference (e.g., CAPSS, CUPC, CCUWiP) to present their work, likely in the Fall or Winter of 2024-2025. Depending on the level of involvement of the RDEI in any one specific experiment, the local PI of those experiments may request the RDEI travel to the summer collaboration meetings (typically July-August) to present their work, as well .