Postdoctoral Research Associate- High Temperature Corrosion

Requisition Id 14746 

­­Overview:  

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate who will support the Corrosion Science and Technology (CST) Group in the Materials in Extremes section, Materials Science and Technology Division (MSTD), located in the Physical Sciences Directorate (PSD) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The position focuses on the development of physics-based material degradation and lifetime assessment models for high temperature materials and coatings. As a postdoc, you will employ state-of-the-art technology, research equipment and computational resources to enable the next generation of high efficiency power generation and transportation.

 

As part of our research team, you will coordinate laboratory work on high temperature oxidation in various environments (e.g., steam, hydrogen, liquid metals, molten salts) to assist in the development of the next generation of power generation and transportation technologies. An important aspect of the research will be developing multiscale material degradation models that will cater to the need to develop new alloys and provide reliable lifetime assessment for existing materials as a function of application-specific operating conditions.

 

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Coordinate and/or conduct laboratory high temperature oxidation experiments in controlled environments.
• Develop material degradation and lifetime assessment models for long-term applications.
• Communicate and coordinate experimental results with other organizations to facilitate collaborations.
• Use range of analysis techniques to characterize the performance of metallic and ceramic specimens exposed in extreme environments (e.g., hydrogen, liquid metals and molten salts).
• Coordinate and/or conduct microstructural characterization activities with other organizations.
• 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.
• Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. Promote equal opportunity by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

 

Basic Qualifications:

• A Ph.D. in materials science or a related field completed within the last 5 years.

 

Preferred Qualifications:

• A minimum of 2 years of experience in high temperature materials research after Ph.D.

• An excellent record of productive and creative research as demonstrated by publications in peer-reviewed journals.
• Demonstrated experience and understanding of the basic principles of high temperature oxidation research.
• Experience utilizing microstructural characterization tools including, but not limited to, light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, electron probe microanalysis and transmission electron microscopy.
• Experience with computational thermodynamics tools (e.g., FactSage, Thermo-Calc).
• Experience with predictive modeling of material performance in extreme environments.
• Experience with coding (e.g., C++, Python, Fortran).
• 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.

 

Special Requireme