Postdoctoral Appointee - Research at extremes of pressure, temperature and strain at HPCAT

About the role

The overarching focus of the postdoc position and effort is on advancing the understanding of materials at high pressure-temperature conditions, and in particularly across the solid-melt transition and melt-liquid structure.

With the recent APS-Upgrade project completed and new high coherence and brightness x-ray beam, HPCAT has concurrently made over $20M HPCAT investments in upgrading key infrastructure to advance x-ray platforms for studying matter under extreme conditions. The selected postdoc will have ample opportunities for career growth and cutting-edge scientific research with new platforms at HPCAT and across various featured beamlines of APS, as well as playing a critical role in growth of HPCAT long term.

Research at extremes of pressure, temperature and strain at HPCAT

The selected postdoc will primarily focus on utilizing and advancing capabilities with the laser heating system at beamline 16-ID-B, complemented by monochromatic and white-beam Laue multi-grain measurements at 16-BM-D.

Leveraging an array of laser and resistive heating capabilities, the postdoc will be expected to contribute to advancement of these capabilities and integrating various high-pressure platforms, including the dynamic-DAC (d-DAC), rotational-DAC (roto-DAC), and multi-anvil DAC (MDAC), to push the boundaries of coupled heating and x-ray probing.

The goal is to characterize materials at high temperature, high pressure, and high strain rates, in effort to address outstanding scientific questions regarding material behavior near and across the solid-melt transition and into the melt region.

Measurements will be performed on various transition metals, but it is expected that the Postdoc would also drive scientific efforts and expand the capability to other materials, such as high entropy alloys, advanced manufactured materials, superconductors, and other materials proposed by the candidate.

Likewise, the Postdoc is expected to continue driving scientific advancements and contribute to long term vision of HPCAT. Working with staff and extensive partner members (including LANL, LLNL, SNL, and numerous national and international academic and other institutions) The Postdoc will have long term career growth and future opportunities at HPCAT, APS, and beyond.

Last, it is also expected that both positions will continue to grow and/or implement various AI/ML capabilities coupled to advancing the overall research efforts. As such, we encourage applicants to consider how their data processing and software development capability fits into the proposed work and future direction. The Postdocs will be working directly with assigned HPCAT staff mentor and interacting on regular basis with HPCAT principal scientist and management.

This is a two year term position (with expected impactful progress) and may be considered for extension and/or conversion to full time position.

Position Requirements

Candidates with either significant background in high pressure platforms and/or x-ray measurements are encouraged to apply, and candidates from various scientific backgrounds (Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science, Geoscience, and Engineering, etc.) will be considered.

• Recent or soon-to-be completed PhD (within the last 0-5 years) in Physics, Chemistry, Material Science, Geosciences or Engineering.
• Demonstrated experience with high-pressure platforms including dynamic DAC, laser heating and resistive heating, and synchrotron x-ray diffraction measurements.
• Able to implement various AI/ML applications.

Additional information

Please include your CV and a summary of relevant experience and proposed scientific ideas within the scope of position posting (3 page max). Application review will commence on June 08 latest and resume until position is filled.

Inquiries regarding scientific scope of the position can be directed to HPCAT Director Nenad Velisavljevic () and HPCAT Group Leader Maddury Somayazulu ().

• Job Family
• Postdoctoral
• Job Profile
• Postdoctoral Appointee
• Worker Type
• Long-Term (Fixed Term)
• Time Type
• Full time

The expected hiring range for this position is $72,879.00-$121,465.00.

Pay and benefits

Please note that the pay range information is a general guideline only. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as, but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, business considerations, internal equity, and external market pay for comparable jobs. Additionally, comprehensive benefits are part of the total rewards package.

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