USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Fellowship - Bio- Materials from Lignin

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

USDA-ARS-NEA-

12/18/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis and applications may close before the deadline.

A research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), located in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania.

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency with a mission to find solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. ARS will deliver cutting-edge, scientific tools and innovative solutions for American farmers, producers, industry, and communities to support the nourishment and well-being of all people; sustain our nation’s agroecosystems and natural resources;

and ensure the economic competitiveness and excellence of our agriculture. The vision of the agency is to provide global leadership in agricultural discoveries through scientific excellence.

The Sustainable Biofuels and Co-Products Research Unit (SBCP) in Wyndmoor, PA, develops technologies that support new markets and increased profitability for U.S. agriculture. Researchers in SBCP advance chemical, catalytic, thermal, enzymatic, and fermentative technologies to convert low-value agricultural materials into high-value products such as biofuels, renewable chemicals and materials.

This research project aims to improve the utilization of herbaceous feed stocks by extracting, characterizing, and utilizing lignin for bio-based material applications. The project involves fractionating lignin out of lignocellulosic biomass (e.g. switch grass and hemp) using chemical pretreatment followed by downstream recovery of the dissolved lignin. The recovered lignin will be characterized for physico-chemical properties and be utilized in research to prepare bio-based materials.

You will participate in this research by helping conduct lignin fractionation experiments, perform analytical characterization of the recovered lignin, and prepare bio-based materials using the recovered lignin.

You will gain experience, in a research setting, by assisting with lignin fractionation experiments to include recording data, analyzing and summarizing data, preparing scientific reports, and presenting research progress during group meetings. You will also gain hands‑on experience with a variety of analytical techniques such as HPLC, TGA, NMR, and FTIR.

• Increase knowledge in chemical and biological biomass conversion technologies and plant cell wall chemistry.
• Develop skills in statistical design of experiments.
• Gain experience with analytical techniques that support characterization of biomass and biomass conversion products.
• Learn how to collect, organize and process data from analytical instruments and experimental analyses.
• Enhance scientific communication skills by assisting with the preparation of detailed scientific reports and presenting research progress to the research unit.

The mentor for this opportunity is Ryan Stoklosa (ryan.stoklosa). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).

January 11, 2027. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

The appointment will initially be for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of ARS and is contingent on the availability of funds.

The appointment is full time.

This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.