R&D Intern - Adhesives

Project Summary:

Adhesives R&D project(s) may include formulation, laboratory/pilot processing, and physical property testing/method development of solvent-based contact adhesives, sprayable adhesives, or pressure-sensitive adhesives for the commercial roofing industry. Projects may also include significant collaboration with production facilities in planning and executing scale-up trials and implementing quality control programs. Projects are selected to allow the intern to make significant business impact through new product development, quality improvement, sustainability, process optimization, or fundamental research. Interns may also have opportunities to visit customer sites, interact with suppliers, and collaborate with business functions outside of R&D on cross-functional efforts.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Formulation and laboratory mixing of solvent-based adhesives and primers and/or pressure-sensitive adhesives.
• Physical test sample preparation/assembly and physical property testing on Instron tensiometer and other laboratory testing equipment.
• Rheological method development and testing of adhesive samples.
• Laboratory wet chemistry work such as extractions and solvent swelling experiments.
• Collaboration with other R&D product teams or analytical groups and operation of pilot-scale mixing equipment.
• Coordination with production personnel to arrange trials and to collect materials, samples, and data.
• Accurate and organized reporting of all laboratory methods, test results, and trial observations.
• Participation in various R&D meetings with production, suppliers, purchasing, and marketing personnel.
• Compliance with all Carlisle laboratory and company-wide safety programs.

Qualifications/Experience:

An ideal candidate should be at least a third-year undergraduate student at an accredited college or university pursuing a degree in one of the following majors.  Graduate students will also be considered.

• Materials science or engineering, polymer science or engineering, chemistry or chemical engineering
• The candidate should have completed coursework that includes general and organic chemistry (12 credit hours), general physics (6 credit hours), and appropriate level mathematics.  Some background in statistical methods and/or analytical chemistry techniques is desirable.

Additional Information:

This internship will be based in the CCM Research and Innovation Center in Carlisle, PA.  Local field visits to active construction (customer) sites or production facilities may be required if applicable to the project.

Candidates must be available to work full-time for the entire duration of the internship: May 2026 to August 2026.  One or more formal presentations to internal technical and executive audiences will be required at the completion of the internship.

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