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PREP Graduate Research Assistant Position at NIST in the Atomic Devices & Instrumentation Group under the Time & Frequency Division (PREP0003430)

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Professional Research Experience Program (PREP). NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest 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.


The Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) is a special partnership between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder. PREP provides research opportunities to CU undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers with a Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in NIST labs to gain research experience alongside NIST scientists.

Research Location:

At NIST in the Atomic Devices & Instrumentation Group under the Time & Frequency Division.

Summary of the Position: 

This work will entail the design, fabrication and testing of advanced optical frequency references based on two-photon transitions in Cs atoms. Student will fabricate small silicon/glass microfabricated Cs vapor cells, set up a laser to interrogate the atoms in these cells and measure the stability of the resulting optical standard. Progress will be made toward understanding the limitations of these references with respect to systematics such as light shifts and background gas collisions.

Key Responsibilities: 

  • Fabricating alkali vapor cells.
  • Carry out experimental spectroscopy on vapor cells.
  • Analyze data to understand limitation to performance of optical reference.
  • Present work at leading scientific conferences.
  • Write papers on results for publication in leading scientific journals.

Required Qualifications: 

  • Bachelor’s degree in Physics, Engineering, or related discipline.

Minimum Qualifications: 

  • Applicants must be enrolled full-time at the University of Colorado Boulder master’s degree or doctoral degree program in physics, mathematics, engineering, or closely related program.
  • Must currently possess a 3.0 GPA or higher.
  • Strong oral and written communication skills. 

Preferred Qualifications: 

  • Familiarity with programming languages such as Python and C++.
  • Experience with cleanroom fabrication.

Length of Term (if applicable): 

  • Start Date: 7/1/25
  • End Date: 3/31/28

Salary (contract pay format):

  • Pre-comps: $3,041 per month
  • Post-comps: $3,202 per month

Benefits: 

  • Graduate Research Assistant contract pay based on pre-comps/post-comps rate.
  • Tuition, fees, and insurance paid for by PREP during the academic year while in PREP.

If interested, please send your resume/CV to Lisa Valencia at recruitprep@colorado.edu. The finalist will be required to submit their resume/CV, transcript, one letter of recommendation, and the PREP application.

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 of 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 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 of the information you submit for the purpose stated.