#batelle

Annual Battelle Numbers Shows Growing Startup Community in Illinois

The layoffs seen in the life sciences industry have been slightly offset, by a sharp rise medtech employment in Illinois – meaning job growth in the highly paid biosciences sector has remained generally steady among the nation’s many biotech clusters, according to a Battelle report released at the BIO International Conference.

(more…)

written by Kyle Poe

Anthony Butler, a sophomore planning to major is information systems, had the opportunity to intern with Battelle, a large research facility in Richland, Washington.

Where did you do your internship?

I interned at Battelle in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State; specifically, Richland, Washington.

What does Battelle do?

Battelle is a large company that fills research contracts for companies or government organizations that pay for research to be done. I was aware of research being done in the chemical engineering, nuclear technologies & containment, cyber security, microbiology, and other areas. About one half of their projects are funded by the government so they’ve partnered with PNNL (Pacific Northwest National Labs) and because of that it kind of performs like a government facility and the recruiting website is run through PNNL. I believe you have to apply through PNNL.

What were your responsibilities?

So, Battelle has a business side that supports the research side of the company. You could say that the product that the company produces is research and I worked in the information services department that maintained the systems and databases that all of the researches used to perform that research.

The main project that I worked on was the rollover from an old Microsoft product (using Microsoft SQL) to a new product (using Oracle SQL). The company was trying to implement a new off the shelf database administration suite that could replace a lot of old off the shelf and in house programs. My main responsibility was to dig into the current database, using SQL queries and stored procedures, to map out how the over 60 servers were currently working with all of the different clients in the facility. To do this, I had to find all of the sources where data was being pulled from, record the steps by which data was being manipulated, and find the targets to which it was being sent every day when the servers were backed up. The database administrators then used my analysis to implement the new Oracle product using those same sources and targets. 

What kind of team did you work with?

I worked with two data base administrators on the rollover and they were really patient and fun to work with. I also shared my office with a fellow analyst. He wasn’t working on the same stuff as I was, but it was nice to have the company and he was really good about answering a lot of questions that I came up with.

What were some of the highlights of the internship?

I liked a lot of stuff about the internship. One, we dealt with a lot of vital information so I had to get some top security clearances and that made me feel pretty cool. Also, there were about 60 other interns there with me over the summer and we had a couple of intern barbecues and socials. Most of all, I liked that they trusted me and allowed me to just take over my project. They were very willing to help when I asked for assistance, but mapping the integration to the new product was left completely up to me.

To whom would you recommend this internship?

I would recommend this internship to any information systems student who wants to gain experience in a traditional management information systems environment. They also offer internships in the finance, accounting, cyber security, and many other more research specific areas

What are the steps that should be taken to get this internship?

You need to apply online through their website. Getting an internship with Battelle is competitive, so it is important that you do some networking as well. 

I got in contact with three people that I knew who worked there and let them know that I was applying and asked if it would be alright if I listed them as a reference on my application. In all three cases they offered to pass my resume along to the right people. (Work on your resume and make sure it looks good.)

My three contacts were all BYU alumni, and one of the guys that I interviewed with happened to be BYU alumni as well. If you don’t have any contacts working at Battelle yet then I would begin by finding alumni through the BYU alumni directory. Feel free to contact me and I can introduce you to the right people.

What did you do to stand out?

To stand out in order to get the internship, I gained a network and asked them to put in a good word for me. I also submitted a couple reference letters with my application, and prepared a sharp resume.