Undergraduate Internship: USALCO

Paul Loberg, '24 Chemical Engineering - Biotechnology & Bioengineering Track

Where was your Internship?

USALCO in Baltimore, Maryland

What is the focus of your Internship?

The focus of my internship was to develop an economical way to produce dry aluminum chloralhydrate. I am helping design and conduct experiments which would be used to advance the current R&D project through the pilot phase to a scaled up industrial version. I also did lab work to prepare and test the samples we collected from the experiments.

What are you looking forward to the most about your Internship? 

I am looking forward to returning in the winter and seeing how the project has progressed and working on it further.

What was the best part of your Internship?

The best part of my internship was the level of autonomy I was given, as an intern, by my bosses and co-workers. We had a voice during all discussions, we could make designs and sketches independently, and give our personal feedback on the project and the direction we thought it should move.

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved in research or an internship?

My advice would be, even if it's late in the spring and you haven't managed to find an internship, keep applying to postings you want. I got the text for an interview during finals week while I was taking my last exam. Definitely start applying earlier if you can but don't let rejections or a lack of responses stop you.

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

I am the Treasurer of UMBC's student chapter of AIChE as well as a member of the Chemical Engineering Jeopardy team. I play basketball for the intramural CBEE team formed by ChemE students.

What are your goals after graduation?

I want to do R&D or process engineering full time.