Dear Colleagues, A position for a Postdoctoral Scholar is available in the group of Prof. Raphaële Clément in the Materials Department at UC Santa Barbara. We are looking for a postdoc with expertise in solution-state/diffusion NMR to investigate the stability of surfactant-water-oil systems.
Full details regarding the position, research environment, benefits required qualifications, and application requirements can be found on the UC recruit website: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02155. Key information is summarized below.
All applicants must apply through the UC recruit online application system, posting JPF02155: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02155/apply. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience in accordance with University of California policy. Applications will be reviewed starting on Dec. 15th, 2021, with an anticipated start date as early as January/February 2022. Position will remain open until filled.
Best,
Raphaële
About the project: Surfactants play an important and ever increasing role in personal care ingredients, emulsifiers, foaming agents, coatings, and cleaning products, among others. The molecules are unique in that small changes in chemical structure can produce vast differences in interfacial thermodynamics, bulk assembly in water or oil bases, and efficacy in targeted applications. A current example is the difficulty in replacing perfluoroalkyl surfactants (PFAS) with more environmentally-benign substitutes in applications such as fabric treatment and firefighting foams. Alkyl and silicone-based surfactants of both ionic and nonionic variety consistently underperform the incumbent PFAS offerings for reasons that remain unclear.
The capability to rapidly design surfactant molecules with property sets and function that meet emerging needs demands a fundamental understanding of surfactancy and deep insights into competing molecular interactions of surfactant molecules with components of a formulation and at surfaces and interfaces. Trial and error experimentation is too slow and synthesis and characterization of new surfactants is tedious, even when assisted by high- throughput techniques. This research project involves three UCSB faculty (Raphaële Clément, Glenn Fredrickson, and Scott Shell) with complementary experimental and computational expertise and combines a new multiscale modeling technique with advanced nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) characterization tools to gain an unprecedented understanding of surfactant self-assembly, molecular interactions and dynamics, and solution thermodynamics.
We are recruiting a Postdoctoral Scholar (primary supervisor: Raphaële Clément) to investigate the stability of surfactant-water-oil systems, with a particular emphasis on exploring the phase diagrams of conventional organic surfactants and fluorosurfactants. We will also seek to gain an in-depth understanding of molecular packing at water-surfactant-oil interfaces, of interfacial structure, and H-bonding, etc. Experimental findings will be used to validate the multiscale modeling predictions and inform refinements/selection of computational parameters.
About the Materials Research Lab (MRL) at UCSB: The Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) at the University of California, Santa Barbara, was established in September 1992 with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), and became an NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center (MRSEC) in 1996. Its primary role is to support interdisciplinary research, training and education through the study of materials with chemical and structural complexity. These materials range from self-assembling polymers to atomically layered semiconductor materials and have the common theme that multiple length-scales play an important role in their physical properties. In addition, the UCSB, MRL maintains state-of-the-art instrumentation in central facilities: X-ray, Spectroscopy, Microscopy and Microanalysis, Computing, Polymer Characterization, and Chemistry. The MRL has a tradition of international collaborations and engages in a large number of individual and multi- investigator collaborations with overseas scientists. The MRL has especially been proactive in fostering special relationships with international centers-of-excellence in Materials research.
There are eight staffed Shared Experimental Facilities managed by or partnered with the MRL, which are available to researchers on and off campus. The spectroscopy facility of the Materials Research Laboratory at UCSB comprises several solid-state NMR spectrometers, including a 300 MHz system equipped with a MRI/diffusion probe, a 400 MHz DNP-NMR spectrometer, and 500 MHz and 800 MHz systems.
Qualifications: Ph.D. in Chemistry, Materials Science, Physics, Engineering, or related field. 2 years of experience in NMR is required. We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in solution-state NMR, preferably including pulsed field gradient NMR, relaxometry, and 2D spectroscopy (COSY, EXSY). Experience with other characterization tools, including dynamic light scattering (DLS), small angle X-ray/neutron scattering (SAXS/SANS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a plus.
In addition to performing research, the Postdoctoral Scholar will be expected to provide assistance with the training of graduate and undergraduate students in the group. Additional requirements include good hands-on lab skills, as well as a strong interest in lab training. The ideal candidate should have strong background in thermodynamics and data analysis.
Other benefits of the position: World-class NSF-funded shared instrumentation facilities at UCSB host most of the equipment needed to carry out the research, including the NSF MRSEC Spectroscopy Facility co-directed by PI Clément (https://www.mrl.ucsb.edu/spectroscopy-facility/instruments), the Materials Department’s Microscopy and Microanalysis facility comprising several transmission electron microscopes (https:// www.mrl.ucsb.edu/microscopy-and-microanalysis-facility/instruments), a next generation SAXS/WAXS system hosted by the BioPACIFIC NSF Materials Innovation Platform, and the NSF MRSEC Polymer Characterization Facility that hosts a DLS system (https://www.mrl.ucsb.edu/polymer-characterization-facility/instruments/dls). The postdoc will also benefit from close interactions with a vibrant and closely-knit community of faculty, postdocs and graduate students working on polymers and collaborating with PI Clément within MRL MRSEC supported interdisciplinary research groups (https://www.mrl.ucsb.edu/research/irg-2-polymeric-ionic-liquids).
Included benefits: UC Santa Barbara offers excellent health and welfare packages. It also has a number of policies and programs in place to support employees as they balance work and family. Information on available plans and eligibility can be found at: https://clients.garnett-powers.com/pd/uc/contact/ The department is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through research, teaching and service.
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
As a condition of employment, you will be required to comply with the University of California SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Vaccination Program Policy https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/5000695/SARS-CoV-2_Covid-19. All Covered Individuals under the policy must provide proof of Full Vaccination or, if applicable, submit a request for Exception (based on Medical Exemption, Disability, and/or Religious Objection) or Deferral (based on pregnancy) no later than the applicable deadline. New University of California employees must (a) provide proof of receiving at least one dose of a COVID-19 Vaccine no later than 14 calendar days after their first date of employment and provide proof of Full Vaccination no later than eight weeks after their first date of employment; or (b) if applicable, submit a request for Exception or Deferral no later than 14 calendar days after their first date of employment. (Capitalized terms in this paragraph are defined in the policy.) Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.
Raphaële Clément (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor, Materials Department
Faculty Director of the MRL MRSEC Spectroscopy Facility
Associate Editor for Battery Energy, a Wiley open access journal
Materials Research Laboratory, Room 3009
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5121
Phone: 805-893-4294
Zoom: https://ucsb.zoom.us/my/rclement
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