PREP0003710 Energy-Related AI System Measurement Researcher

PREP Research Associate

Opportunity No.: PREP0003710

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, and thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

APPLY ONLINE HERE

Energy-Related AI System Measurement Research Assistant

Project Description:

Surveying existing or possible measurement methods for AI systems’ needs for energy and related resources, and identifying directions for future work.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Desk research to understand and organize the literature on the energy-related needs of AI systems
• Planning and drafting a landscape survey, laying out methodological options for measuring energy needs and usage
• Consulting with experts in the field to inform the report
• Soliciting and incorporating community input on drafts of the report
• Supporting NIST in considering what follow-ups, such as developing new measurement methodologies or proposing standardization activities, might be appropriate

Desired Qualifications: 

• A Bachelor's degree or higher
• Broad awareness of computer architecture and data center operations
• Familiarity with typical computational processes involved in modern machine learning systems (e.g., matrix multiplications)
• Hands-on experience measuring energy usage of AI systems, OR detailed knowledge of academic and/or industry research and reporting on AI systems’ energy usage, ideally including needs for
  related resources such as water
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including both envisioning structure and content for nascent documents and line editing mature documents for technical precision and readability

Other Details:

• Full-time: the participant is expected to work 40 hours a week
• Location: Hybrid - the participant will work at the NIST Gaithersburg Campus and telework.
• Duration: this is expected to be a one year position. Extensions are sometimes granted depending on the availability of funds.
• For questions related to the research project or the nature of the work in this position, please contact Dr. Jesse Dunietz (jesse.dunietz@nist.gov). For questions related to the online application or NIST PREP more generally, please contact msu-nistprep@morgan.edu.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate the administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use the information you submit for the purpose stated.