Founded and led by Nobel laureate and Faculty Director, Professor Michael Kremer, the Development Innovation Lab (DIL) is an affiliate of the Development Economics Center at the University of Chicago. Formally inaugurated in the spring of 2022, DIL brings researchers of various fields together with governments, firms and non-profits to use the tools of economics to identify, test, refine and scale innovations with the potential to benefit millions of people in low- and middle-income countries.
DIL is looking for a Research Assistant (RA) who will work closely with the research team at DIL to perform a variety of tasks. The position hours can range from 5 to 37.5 hours of work per week, depending on the candidate’s availability.
Candidates with research experience are strongly preferred, especially those with experience in electrical engineering. This position will support the following:
We need to build a very very low-cost, low-power, physically robust chlorine measurement and communication system. We need a student with an electrical engineering/CS, or other background who is comfortable working with Arduino, coding for embedded platforms, etc.
The RA will ideally have experience with Altium or other circuit design platforms.
Tasks will include:
- Finding a low-cost low-power communications platform (e.g. NbIOT)
- Programming it to specification (infrequent communication)
- Designing a circuit board with a low-power microcontroller to interface with the sensor and communications (something like a stripped down Arduino Nano)
- Calculating power budget and figuring out the optimal power source to run the system for months without battery changes (ideally)
- Designing and building the physical housing (weatherproof, easy to open, SD card backup, redundancies, etc.)
Qualifications
- Currently a student at the University of Chicago
- Pursuing Computer Science/Electrical Engineering/Economics or a related field
- Competence with Microsoft office/ Google doc, sheets etc.
- Excellent time management and organizational skills; ability to successfully complete assigned tasks and meet deadlines, as required
- Good communication skills with attention to detail
Preferred Qualification
- Experience working with electronics/circuits/Arduino/IoT
- Interest in global development