The electron beam ion trap (EBIT) at LLNL is a unique device designed to measure the interactions of electrons with highly‐charged ions. We describe three methods used at EBIT to directly measure the dielectronic recombination (DR) process: (1) The intensity of the stabilizing X rays is measured as a function of electron beam energy; (2) The ions remaining in a particular ionization state are counted after the electron beam has been held at a fixed electron energy for a fixed time; and (3) High‐resolution spectroscopy is used to resolve individual DR satellite lines. In our discussions, we concentrate on the KLL resonances of the heliumlike target ions (V21+to Ba54+), and the LMM resonances of the neonlike target ions (Xe44+to Th80+).