Postdoctoral Research Associate - Advanced Material Science

Requisition Id 12052 

Overview: 

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an extraordinary 80-year history of solving the nation’s biggest problems. We have a dedicated and creative staff of over 6,000 people! Our vision for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) is to cultivate an environment and practices that foster diversity in ideas and in the people across the organization, as well as to ensure ORNL is recognized as a workplace of choice. These elements are critical for enabling the execution of ORNL’s broader mission to accelerate scientific discoveries and their translation into energy, environment, and security solutions for the nation.

 

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate who will focus on powder metallurgy techniques, and advanced applications of metal powders to isotope production and additive manufacturing. This work supports the Stable Isotope Materials and Chemistry Group in the Enrichment Science and Engineering, which serves the nation by advancing enrichment technologies and providing enriched stable isotope products.  We lead the R&D and production process development for delivering stable isotopes for medical, industrial, and DOE mission critical applications. As part of our research team, you will work in the rapidly growing field of stable isotope enrichment with a focused group of scientists, engineers, and technicians on challenging, fast-paced technical projects and operations in support of the DOE Isotope Program.

 

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Develop techniques of low-volume, high-quality and high-efficiency, metallic powder fabrication
• Finding applications to exploit the unique flowability of these powders for advancing radioisotope production or applications for isotopes spanning the periodic table
• Exploration of laser sintering of powder bed for additive manufacturing for small quantities of metals including materials that may not have ever been attempted elsewhere. These may include most any solid element of the periodic table and/or stable, high-purity, enriched isotopes. These materials range from earth abundant to very precious materials where conservation of every particle matters.
• Solving materials challenges to deliver unusual materials into unique forms to meet our customer needs.
• Identify, document, and report potential intellectual property and novel discoveries.
• Present and report research results and publish scientific results in peer-reviewed journals in a timely manner.
• Ensure compliance with environment, safety, health, and quality program requirements.
• Maintain strong commitment to the implementation and perpetuation of values and ethics.
• Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. Promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

 

Basic Qualifications:

• A PhD in Material Science, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, or a related field completed within the last 5 years
• Demonstrated hands-on experimental work experience
• An excellent record of productive and creative research demonstrated by publications in peer-reviewed journals
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to communicate in English to an international scientific audience
• Ability to work with a measure of autonomy and a willingness to participate creatively in a collaborative team environment

 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with powder metallurgy.
• Experience with additive manufacturing techniques.
• Experience with or basic understanding of SEM, TEM, and XRD equipment and related analysis.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently and to participate creatively in collaborative teams across the laboratory. 
• Ability to function well in a fast-paced research environment, set priorities to accomplish multiple tasks within deadlines, and adapt to ever changing needs.

 

Applicants cannot have received their Ph.D. more than five years prior to the date of application and must complete all degree requirements before starting their appointment. The appointment length will be for up to 24 months with the potential for extension. Initial appointments and extensions are subject to performance and the availability of funding.

 

Please submit three letters of reference when applying to this position. You can upload these directly to your application or have them sent to pos