PANAMA CITY, Fla. – This summer, Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) hosted over 30 students from two esteemed Department of the Navy (DoN) internship programs.

Through the Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP), college and university students were placed in DoN laboratories for 10 weeks to engage in meaningful research projects. Additionally, high school students participated in the Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) for a duration of eight weeks, gaining hands-on experience in real-world Naval research.

Several of the NREIP interns reflected on the valuable experiences they gained this summer during their internship.

Ronen Lim, computer science major at Auburn University, worked on training large language models (LLM) capable of detecting phishing emails.

“Throughout my time here I was able to gain valuable experience with both my project and work, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunities this internship provided,” said Lim. “Training LLMs and understanding essential components of AI are essential tools that will benefit my future career in the computer science industry.”

Steven-Thomas Dvorak, Florida State University electrical engineering major said he was excited to intern.

“I was extremely excited to receive the NREIP internship because I wanted to see what it was like working for the government as well as gain experience in the field my degree serves. I have created numerous connections and contacts that I would not have been able to generate otherwise,” said Dvorak. “Also, I have gained a lot of hands-on experience working in the field designing, prototyping, and maintaining systems in place to help protect and serve the sailor. I believe that this internship has benefitted me substantially by granting me a point of view that I would not have had prior to working here, specifically the interworking of the government and how to work on a bigger team. One day I hope to return here and work full time doing more of what I love.”

Colin Campbell, computer science major at North Dakota State University, said his internship with NREIP has been extraordinary.

I had the opportunity to continue an area of research I had initiated at my university, North Dakota State University,” said Campbell. “Working with mentors and other employees permitted me access to information that changed my mind regarding my current major, computer science with an influence of cybersecurity. However, I learned I would like to have an influence of machine learning instead. I decided to change because I loved learning about machine learning from my mentors and NSWC PCD employees during my internship. In addition, creating generative AI models that could be used in the military has been an enjoyable experience and I would love to pursue this in my career.”

Aubrey Heiss, Florida State University applied mathematics major, focused her internship on machine learning on synthetic aperture sonar data.

“Overall, I had a great experience as an intern at PCD!” said Heiss. I went to work alongside some highly intelligent scientists and learned from them, while also getting a taste of what working for the Department of Defense (DOD) is like. I was exposed to much of the unnoticed work the Navy does to keep America safe, which made me appreciate the DOD at a deeper level. It was a meaningful experience, and I’m glad I was able to contribute to the safety of America, even just as an intern for ten weeks.”

NREIP and SEAP provide academically gifted students who are interested in in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers with the chance to explore Naval research and technology, all while benefiting from the exceptional guidance of leading scientists and engineers. These internships aim to inspire students to consider pursuing science and engineering careers within the Department of the Navy.

The NREIP and SEAP applications for the 2025 summer term open August 1, accessible on the Naval STEM Intern site: Naval STEM Interns

https://www.navalsteminterns.us/index.html