Post Doctorate RA - Materials Sciences – Peptoid Nanomaterials Synthesis

About the role

The Integrated Discovery Sciences Directorate (IDSD) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is seeking a self-motivated Post Doctorate RA to join our team in the Physical Sciences Division. The successful candidate will be vital in developing peptoid-based functional nanomaterials, which will include peptoid polymer chemistry, self-assembly of sequence-defined peptoids into crystalline nanomaterials, peptoid-based control over inorganic nanocrystal formation, peptoid folding, and fundamental understanding of solution peptoid crystallization processes.

Responsibilities

• Conducting synthesis of sequence-defined peptoids using solid-phase processing and their purification.
• Conducting experiments for self-assembly of sequence-defined peptoids into hierarchical nanomaterials and understanding peptoid solution crystallization, multifunctional Layer-by-Layer (LbL) coating and/or spin coating using peptoid-based crystalline nanomaterials.
• Developing an understanding of the peptoid polymer chemistry and peptoid polymer folding.
• Determining important parameters of self-assembling peptoid sequences, such as pKa, critical micelle concentrations (CMC), critical chain length for macromolecular crystallization.
• Controlling the formation of inorganic (nano)crystals using surfactant-like peptoids and self-assembled peptoid nanomaterials as tunable scaffolds.
• Troubleshooting coating materials and evaluating them for selective moisture transport and (super)omniphobicity.
• Characterizing the structures and morphologies of peptoid-based biomimetic materials using a range of experimental techniques, including Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM).
• Providing timely reports on research progress and presenting organized results to the internal and external teams.
• Leading manuscript development and maintaining a strong overall publication record in peer-reviewed scientific literature.
• Disseminating the research results via participation in research conferences.
• Interacting, communicating, and coordinating with a multidisciplinary team of researchers within the Material Sciences group, PSD, and across PNNL.
• The ability to adapt, refine, or innovate experimental tools based on research needs.
• Ability to work independently and take initiative in the completion of tasks important to the projects.

Qualifications

• Candidates must have received a PhD within the past five years (60 months) or within the next 8 months from an accredited college or university.
• Track record and research lab experience in polymer nanoscience, macromolecular self-assembly and bio-controlled inorganic crystallization.
• Proven background and publications in polymer nanoscience, chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science.
• Detailed knowledge of and hands-on experience with spectroscopic and microscopic nanomaterials characterization methods, such as AFM, TEM, SEM, and fluorescence microscope.