Postdoctoral Fellow (PREP0004131)

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc.; Gaithersburg (MD); On-site; USD 82,000 - 89,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Retirement plan

Career support

Job summary

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc. seeks a PREP Research Associate for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This role conducts research on material flammability and collaborates with academic institutions. Candidates should have a PhD in a relevant field and 2+ years of lab experience. Responsibilities include developing research plans and analyzing data from fire testing, contributing to publications, and leading early-career researchers. The position offers a salary range of $82,000 - $89,000 annually.

Qualifications

• PhD in Engineering, Chemistry, or related field required.
• 2+ years of relevant laboratory experience with experimental design and testing.
• Proficiency in data analysis tools (Excel, MATLAB, Python, R).

Responsibilities

• Assist in developing a research plan for quantifying fire growth rates.
• Apply techniques to quantify mechanisms controlling material flammability.
• Prepare and present research findings in meetings and conferences.

Skills

Oral and written communication

Time management

Organizational skills

Programming

Data analysis (Excel, MATLAB, Python, R)

Education

PhD in Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, or related field

Job description

Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876, is America's first research university and home to nine world‑class academic divisions working together as one university.

Salary

$82,000 - $89,000 per year. This range reflects the minimum and maximum salaries for this position.

Job Summary

PREP Research Associate – part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. The role supports collaborative research between NIST and academic institutions, performing technical work that underpins scientific research.

Description

This position focuses on real‑time research in material flammability testing and modeling, supporting the U.S. Fire Research Division's efforts to develop experimental and analytical tools that calibrate material properties and validate fire‑growth predictions.

• Develop a material flammability database that maintains tools (experimental and analytical), measurement data for model calibration and validation, and material property sets necessary to quantitatively predict material flammability behavior.
• Conduct and analyze data from bench to full‑scale thermal and fire property tests for fire model calibration and validation.
• Produce and present publications on research findings.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist in developing a research plan to quantify fire growth rate, flame structure, condensed‑phase response, and mass loss & heat release rate of combustible solids burning at the intermediate scale (emphasis on materials that deform; e.g., due to melt flow or charred/smoldering).
• Apply and advance state‑of‑the‑art techniques to quantify mechanisms controlling material flammability; iterative development and implementation of analytical tools to process the results.
• Develop and execute plans for transferring NIST research through meetings, workshops, and conferences; prepare and present measurement results (oral presentations and written reports).

Qualifications

• PhD in Engineering (fire protection, materials science, mechanical), Chemistry, Physics, or a related field.
• 2+ years of relevant laboratory experience (experimental design and testing).
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills.
• Proficiency in programming and data analysis tools (Excel, MATLAB, Python, R).
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Enthusiasm to help lead early‑career researchers.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. To that end, the university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits, and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance, and merit without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the program involved.

Total Rewards

Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports employees' health, life, career, and retirement. More information can be found at https://hr.jhu.edu/benefits-worklife/.