Prediction of Mechanical Behaviors of Heat-Resistant Structural Alloys Using Digital Twin Technologies

Reference Code: NETL-Postdoc-2026-Gao2 • Application Deadline: 12/31/2026 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time

About the Program

The National Energy Technology Laboratory's (NETL's) record of success has been built on understanding the future of energy and the technologies required to make that future possible. We’ve long touted our success in developing the technologies that took on acid rain in the 1970s and mercury in the early 2000s.

The NETL Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program is a high-intensity program designed to identify recent Doctoral graduates of high promise and to foster advanced skill development. It allows the postdoc to systematically outline career goals and helps provide the means of achieving these goals. NETL principal investigators and leads serve as mentors to postdoctoral participants during the program. This interaction affords the postdoc a unique opportunity to develop critical skills needed to become an independent professional.

Program goals include providing participants the opportunity to:

• Develop skills and knowledge in their field of study
• Engage with new areas of basic and applied research
• Transition classroom theory into hands-on experience
• Network with world-class scientists
• Exchange ideas and skills with the Laboratory community
• Use state-of-the-art equipment
• Contribute to answers for today's pressing scientific questions
• Collaborate with the broader scientific and technical communities

Project Details

Through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), this posting seeks a post-Doctoral researcher to engage in projects with the Research Innovation Center (RIC) at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in the area of Power, Fuels & Chemicals under the mentorship of Michael Gao. This project will be conducted off-site/virtually but hosted by the NETL Albany, Oregon campus.

The overarching project aims to develop predictive capabilities for the long-term performance and lifetime of heat-resistant structural alloys subjected to fatigue, creep, and creep-fatigue interaction under industrial operating conditions. Materials of interest include, but are not limited to, Brazed Aluminum Heat Exchangers (BAHX), nickel-based superalloys, heat-resistant steels, and high-entropy alloys.

The research conducted under this appointment will examine the effects of microstructural features and defects, including precipitates, vacancies, interstitials, stacking faults, twins, dislocations, grain boundaries, and surfaces. The participant will be part of an interdisciplinary team examining reliable and computationally efficient frameworks for predicting long-term creep and fatigue behavior while accounting for microstructural evolution.

Research approaches focus on digital twin technologies (including physics-informed, data-driven, and deep learning-based approaches) as well as density functional theory, machine learning interatomic potential, molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo simulations, and finite element method. The selected applicant will gain experience in multi-scale computational modeling and machine learning of mechanical behavior of heat-resistant alloys, and interact with researchers from other national laboratories and industries.

Qualifications

Eligibility

• Must have received a Doctoral degree within the last five years or be currently enrolled in a Doctoral degree program and complete the degree prior to the appointment start date
• Citizenship: Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) or U.S. Citizen
• Degree: Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or currently pursuing
• Discipline: Chemistry and Materials Sciences (including Analytical Chemistry, Bio-inorganic Chemistry, Bio-organic Chemistry, Biophysical Chemistry, Chemistry (General), Environmental Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Materials Sciences, Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Polymer Chemistry, Theoretical Chemistry)
• Age: Must be 18 years of age
• Affirmation: Must certify attendance at a regionally accredited college or university and either have earned a Doctoral degree no more than five years before the date of application, or will receive a Doctoral degree by the appointment start date

Ideal Candidate Skills

• Ph.D. in Materials Science, Physics, or a closely related discipline
• Research experience in dislocation modeling and simulation, and density functional theory calculations
• Proficiency in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and/or machine learning interatomic potential
• Previous peer-reviewed publications
• Programming skills
• Ability to conduct independent research in a multi-disciplinary team

Stipend

Post-Doctoral stipend is $8,455 per month (commensurate with educational level and experience).

Program Requirements

To document the effectiveness of the program, participants are required to submit a pre-appointment and post-appointment survey, as well as a reflection on their appointment experience when they renew or end their appointment. The reflection should summarize their project(s), additional activities, and overall experience. Details are provided as the appointment end date approaches.

Participants may also have the opportunity to contribute to manuscripts, journal articles, book chapters, conference presentations, posters, patents, and other publications as a part of their appointment. Such achievements should also be reported to ORISE; additional details are provided after an offer has been accepted.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory system, is owned and operated by the DOE. NETL supports the DOE mission to advance the energy security of the United States. This is an educational opportunity offered by NETL and administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. Participants in the program are not considered employees of NETL, DOE, the program administrator, or any other office or agency.