Postdoctoral Scholar – Materials Science and Engineering

Overview

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Current Penn State employees (faculty, staff, technical service, or student) should complete the internal process through Workday. Current Penn State students (not previously employed by the university) seeking employment should apply internally through Workday. If you are not a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the external application. Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location.

For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see the relevant university guidance. This is a term position; length of the term will be discussed during the interview process. Continuation past the term length will be based on university need, performance, and/or availability of funding.

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering, in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, is seeking a postdoctoral scholar. The final candidate will:

• work in close collaboration with the polymer crystallization team, including Prof. Ralph Colby and Profs. Alicyn Rhoades and Xiaoshi Zhang at Penn State, Erie-Behrend.
• demonstrate considerable expertise in polymer melt rheology, flow birefringence, and characterization and modelling of crystallization kinetics with and without prior shear flow.
• be able to analyze birefringence data and two-dimensional X-ray scattering from sheared semicrystalline polymers.
• supervise about ten undergraduate researchers currently working on this project.

• Plan and perform experiments on flow-induced chain alignment and subsequent crystallization of sheared polymer melts.
• Supervise many undergraduate researchers.
• Analyze data and train undergraduate students to analyze data.
• Report biweekly to SKF scientists.
• Write papers and proposals for new funding.

• Must have a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering or Chemical Engineering.
• Should have experience in: birefringence, melt rheology, crystallization, calorimetry, X-ray scattering.

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. For more detailed information, please visit our benefits page.

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