R&D Intern - Global Hygiene
What you can expect from H.B. Fuller's Internship Program:
You’ll be joining a cohort of talented students from a variety of schools across the U.S. We hire interns into the following positions: Process Engineering, R&D, Strategic Sourcing, Technical Sales, Supply Chain, Product Marketing, Information Technology, and more.
The projects we task our interns to lead are impactful and meaningful to our organization. You’ll be supported by your Manager and Mentor to gain in-depth knowledge of the adhesive industry and collaborate with various departments and functions. We also offer an established path for next-level opportunities - making this internship the starting point for a long-term career path.
Internship Location: St. Paul, MN
Our Internship Experience includes:
- 12-week paid program beginning the end of May to mid-August to gain insight and knowledge in your field.
- Interactive orientation and events with skilled professionals in your field, including managers, directors, and CEO.
- Multiple networking, volunteer and fun events – both virtual and in-person.
- Impactful projects that make a difference internally and externally for H.B. Fuller.
- End of summer final presentation to showcase your career development with support from managers and peers.
Position Overview:
The intern will support the Global Hygiene Research and Development team. The research of the intern will be guided by a Senior Scientist and will focus on understanding differences in raw materials that yield interesting properties for hygiene adhesives. The projects may focus on a variety of adhesive applications, chemistries, and sustainable initiatives.
Primary Duties:
- Lead projects to investigate the properties of hygiene adhesives that meet the sustainability goals of our hygiene customers.
- Leveraging renewable feedstocks to create high bio-based adhesives, and/or leveraging specific chemistries which may biodegrade in dedicated conditions.
- Investigate new raw materials in the sustainability space, look to optimize adhesive performance (through predictive modeling and physical/rheological property testing), and investigate impact of bonding performance.
- Update business and technical service colleagues of their progress and gather feedback on their results.
- May also work with our strategic sourcing colleagues to identify new raw materials in this sustainable space.
Minimum Requirements:
- Rising senior pursuing a BA/BS in Material Science, Chemistry, Polymer Chemistry, Chemical Engineering is required.
- Strong preference will be given for candidates with prior industry experience in an R&D role.
- Basic knowledge of statistics and statistical software (e.g. Minitab, JMP, Excel), and good interpersonal and communication skills
Physical Environment:
Most of the work will be in laboratory environment. Personal protective equipment is required for all lab work. The intern will be required to handle raw materials and laboratory chemicals. The individual may occasionally need to lift 25-50 pounds of raw material bags or substrates. The process of applying the adhesive may require lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, or bending.