Research Scientist (Carbon Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage)
Looking for an opportunity to make an impact?
We are seeking an exceptional and motivated recent Ph.D. graduate interested in pursuing their passion by working side-by-side with world experts through a post-doctoral research appointment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). In this role, you will work as part of DOE’s leading engineering Research & Development laboratory team supporting NETL to pursue cutting-edge research on carbon nanomaterials for electronic devices. Specifically, you will work with NETL’s carbon materials manufacturing team to develop novel methods and technologies to synthesize carbon materials for energy storage applications (e.g., lithium-ion batteries or sodium-ion batteries). In this role, you will engage with world-class carbon materials synthesis researchers and battery engineers, including leading DOE scientists and external partners to develop world-changing energy technologies that address internet of things and big data era challenges.
Location: This position is onsite at the NETL campus in Pittsburgh, PA.
What this opportunity with Leidos supporting NETL uniquely provides you:
- Working on applied, cutting-edge projects with global impact while being mentored by the nation’s leading energy scientists and engineers.
- Real-world experience supplemented with technical development and discussions that provide unique insight into the broad range of mission critical engineering and scientific disciplines NETL leverages to support national energy research and policy development.
- Unique access to world-class, customized facilities specific to high impact energy research, technology generation, and patent development.
- Participation in novel fundamental and applied energy technology development with direct economic impact on global carbon management and resource use.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Hands on lab work to synthesize graphite, graphene, porous carbons, activated carbons, and composite carbon materials with polymers, metals, and metal oxides.
- Characterize the structural, optical, and electronic properties of diverse carbon and composite materials using techniques including electron microscopy, FTIR, Raman, TGA, surface area analyzer, UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy, and XRD.
- Fabricate electrochemical cells (coin cell, split cell, and pouch cell) with novel carbon materials, characterize their properties, and test their performance.
- Characterize electrochemical properties of new electrode materials for batteries and supercapacitors using cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge discharge, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and other analyses as appropriate.
- Participate and present results in regular team meetings, contribute to progress reports and research proposals, and prepare scientific manuscripts for publication in peer reviewed journals.
Required Education & Experience:
- Ph.D. in relevant discipline (Material Science, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, or a related engineering discipline)
- Hands-on experience and expertise in conducting synthesis and functionalization of carbon materials (e.g., graphite and graphene) as demonstrated through publication record
- Considerable knowledge of and experience with diverse electrochemistry techniques and developing, testing, and characterizing electrode materials as demonstrated through publication record
- Experience with common carbon materials characterization techniques such as electron microscopy, XPS, Raman, FTIR, UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy, and XRD
- Demonstrated ability to publish high impact research
- Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team to solve problems of scientific and technological interest
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with or knowledge of graphite synthesis and characterization for use in battery applications
Salary Range for this role: $95K to $105K