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 nation’s 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 Rice’s 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
<