UC co-op student at forefront of AI revolution in electron microscopy
Mechanical Engineering student brings fresh perspective to National Renewable Energy Laboratory
In the cutting-edge laboratories of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, University of Cincinnati co-op student Addie Salvador is quietly reshaping the future of materials science.
Living in the dynamic city of Denver, Colorado, this College of Engineering and Applied Science mechanical engineering undergraduate is playing a pivotal role in a groundbreaking project to automate electron microscopy at NREL’s recently relaunched $14 million characterization center. Her work, blending artificial intelligence with advanced microscopy, is setting the stage for transformative discoveries in energy storage, microelectronics and beyond.
Salvador’s mission at NREL is to bring autonomy to a transmission electron microscope, a powerful tool that reveals the atomic structure of next-generation materials. This is no small feat — her team is integrating hardware control, machine learning algorithms, and materials science expertise to automate complex workflows, a frontier that remains largely unexplored.
Caption: Addie Salvador, UC Mechanical Engineering student. Photo/Brooke Buchan, NREL.
“The work is exciting because it’s such new technology,” Salvador said. “Automation for electron microscopes is still in the early stages of development, so there wasn’t someone to look to for a protocol. It gave me a lot of freedom to be creative, and every small achievement felt like a big new discovery.”
Her contributions are vital to critical research areas, including the development of advanced energy storage materials, characterization of microelectronics, and failure analysis of cutting-edge technologies. Salvador has tackled the challenge with remarkable aptitude, designing experimental protocols that break down intricate microscopy processes into programmable steps. She’s also developing and testing software that allows the microscope to operate autonomously, while her mechanical engineering background provides a unique lens for solving hardware integration puzzles.
“Addie’s ability to bridge engineering and materials science is exceptional,” said Dr. Steven Spurgeon, a senior materials data scientist at NREL. “She’s shown initiative in mastering complex systems and has become an invaluable team member.”
Since arriving at NREL, Salvador has demonstrated an uncanny ability to learn quickly, diving into the nuances of electron microscopy and AI-driven automation with ease. Her work directly supports the analysis of data that could unlock new material properties, accelerating innovations in batteries, sensors and computing.
“An operator manually runs every experiment now, even the repetitive, time-consuming ones. Automation completes these tasks efficiently, even in the off-hours, increasing how quickly the researchers get the data they need,” she said, describing the automation of atomic-scale images come to life. Her efforts are not just technical — she’s also writing code, testing control systems, and troubleshooting integration challenges, all while contributing to a project that could redefine scientific discovery.
Co-op at UC
- 8,300 students from disciplines across the university participated (2023-24)
- $88.8 million in collective self-reported earnings (2023-24)
- $10,700 earned on average per student per semester (2023-24)
- 18% increase in wages from the last reported co-op data
Beyond her technical skills, Salvador’s collaborative spirit shines. Working alongside staff scientists and fellow interns, she brings rigor to her programming and a fresh perspective to the team. “Addie’s mechanical engineering mindset helps us see problems differently,” Spurgeon noted. “She’s identified hardware issues we might have missed and suggested novel solutions that enrich our approach.” Whether debugging algorithms or brainstorming with PhDs, Salvador’s professionalism and cross-disciplinary thinking are driving progress in NREL’s ambitious project.
NREL’s push to embed autonomy into its microscopy facilities signals a bold leap into the future, and Salvador is at the heart of it. Her work is laying the foundation for faster, more efficient material discovery, potentially addressing global challenges like climate change. “Addie has the makings of a future leader,” Spurgeon emphasized. “Her contributions to this challenging, impactful project are significant, and we’d love to keep working with her.”
As her co-op term winds down, Salvador reflects on the experience with a sense of purpose. “This semester at NREL taught me that AI is an essential tool to conduct the best scientific research possible,” she said. “AI in materials science alone can help increase the quality, and quantity of data acquired and help to identify trends in large datasets, allowing researchers to discover solutions faster and more thoroughly.”
With her sights set on a career in research and innovation, Addie Salvador is proof that the next generation of engineers is already shaping a brighter, more sustainable future — one atom at a time.
Featured top image of Addie Salvador at work inside the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. Photo/Brooke Buchan, NREL.
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