Postdoctoral Associate Materials Science & Nanoengineering

Special Instructions to Applicants: Please attach a cover letter and a curriculum vitae in the Supporting Documents section of the application. Please apply through the Rice jobs website posting.

About Rice:

Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston Texas Rice University is ranked among the nations top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio and a residential college system which supports students intellectually emotionally and culturally through social events intramural sports student plays lectures series courses and student government. Developing close-knit diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty staff and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rices culture. They come through in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name RICE Responsibility Integrity Community and Excellence.

About George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing

The George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing ranks among the top 20 undergraduate engineering programs (US News & World Report) and is strongly committed to nurturing the aspirations of faculty staff and students in an inclusive environment.

We seek greater representation of women minorities people with disabilities and veterans in disciplines in which they have historically been underrepresented; to attract international students from a wider range of countries and backgrounds; to accelerate progress in building a faculty and staff who are diverse in background and thought and we support an inclusive environment that fosters interaction and understanding within our diverse community.

Position Summary

The Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering has an open Postdoctoral Research Associate position. The nanofiber lab at Rice University led by Professor Karen Lozano focuses on the discovery and innovation of process-structure-property relationships of nanofiber-based membranes for a range of advanced applications including drug delivery energy storage biomaterials and thermal dissipation. The lab is particularly interested in developing hierarchical and composite nanofiber systems with prescribed structures to optimize performance in targeted applications while expanding the fundamental understanding of nanofiber fabrication processes and their resulting properties.

The postdoctoral associate will be responsible for conducting experimental and analytical research on nanofiber-based systems. The researcher will work closely with graduate and undergraduate students contribute to publications and grant writing and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams both within Rice and with external partners.

This position is a one-year term-limited position. Continued employment is contingent on the renewal of funding.

Hiring Range:$50-$65k

Requirements

• Ph.D. or other doctoral degree in Materials Science Mechanical Engineering Chemical Engineering Polymer Science Chemistry Physics or a related field
• No experience required

Skills Required:

• Expertise in nanofiber fabrication techniques (e.g. forcespinning electrospinning melt-blowing or other scalable fiber production methods)
• Strong background in structure-property relationships of polymer and composite materials.
• Knowledge of advanced materials characterization techniques (SEM TEM XRD FTIR rheology etc.)
• Knowledge of composite materials processing hierarchical material design and chemical interactions within nanofiber systems
• Strong chemistry background particularly in polymer chemistry surface chemistry or chemical functionalization of nanofiber membranes
• Knowledge of Computational or modeling related to fiber formation mechanics transport phenomena or chemical interactions in nanofiber systems (preferred)
• Excellent scientific writing and communication skills for publications and grant writing

Essential Functions:

• Design fabricate and characterize nanofiber-based membranes with tailored properties for specific applications
• Analyze the structure-property relationships in composite nanofiber systems to optimize performance
• Lead research projects mentor graduate and undergraduate students and collaborate with other faculty and researchers
• Prepare and publish research findings in high-impact journals and present results at conferences
• Contribute to proposal writing for funding opportunities related to nanofiber based systems and related technologies
• Ensure lab safety and maintain research documentation in compliance with Rice University policies
• Performs all other duties as assigned

Rice University HR Benefits: Mission and Values:Mission and Values Rice University

Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and welcoming the fullness of diversity into our candidate pools. Rice considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race color religion age sex sexual orientation gender identity national or ethnic origin genetic information disability or protected veteran status. Rice also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. If an applicant requires a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process please contact Rice Universitys Disability Resource Center at or for support.

If you have any questions please email us at. Thank you for your interest in employment with Rice University.