Postdoc Associate - Material Scientist with Emphasis on Polymer Science and Additive Manufacturing

Requisition Id 12026 

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 be part of the Building Envelope Materials Research (BEMR) Group in the Building Technologies Research and Integration Center (BTRIC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).  BEMR conducts research for the U.S. DOE Building Technologies Office and other customers that focuses on developing state-of-the-art and cost-effective building envelope technologies that make new and existing buildings energy efficient, low carbon, durable, comfortable, and grid interactive. The Postdoctoral Research Associate will work in multidisciplinary projects that integrate the expertise of researchers from BEMR and the Soft Matter Group in the Chemical Sciences Division at ORNL (https://www.ornl.gov/group/smg).  Projects include the development of polymeric foam insulation materials with very high effective thermal resistivity and polymeric facers for foam insulation materials.

 

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Develop and formulate polymeric binder systems for additive manufacturing processes.
• Formulate composite systems using polymer binders and inorganic fillers.
• Characterize the physical properties of the components and composite system.
• Develop an understanding of composition on processability, physical and mechanical properties.
• Develop an understanding of composition & processing on flexural properties.
• Characterize moisture & thermal properties using industry test standards.
• Determine the relationship between morphology, mechanical & thermal properties and processability that are obtained from various additive manufacturing processes.
• Characterize fire performance of the composite systems in accordance with industry standards.
• Reduce flammability of the composite systems for building applications.
• Collaborate in several projects that study polymeric materials and additive manufacturing processes for various building envelope applications.
• Interact and collaborate with researchers from various ORNL groups, universities, national laboratories, and private industry.
• Present research results to ORNL staff, DOE, industry, and academia in the form of presentations, conference papers, and peer-reviewed journal papers with high impact factors.
• Assist in the development and preparation of proposals.
• Ensure compliance with environmental, safety, health, and program requirements.
• 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 Polymer Science/Engineering, Materials Science/Engineering, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field completed within the last 5 years

 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Expertise in polymer synthesis, characterization, and manufacturing methods.
• Understanding of the relationship between morphology and material properties in polymeric materials.
• Understanding of diffusion of gases through polymers and other barrier materials is advantageous.
• Experience with experimental studies and data analysis.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced research environment in which the researcher must set priorities independently to accomplish multiple tasks for parallel deadlines.
• Demonstrated strong publication record.
• Experience with the development of low carbon materials.
• Successful proposal writing experience.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently and to participate creatively in collaborative teams acr