Postdoctoral Fellow - Wentz Lab

Indiana University Foundation; Bloomington (IN); On-site; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

The Wentz Lab at Indiana University seeks a postdoctoral scholar for innovative research on main-group heterocycles, macrocycles, and polymers. The successful candidate will manage research projects, develop novel materials, mentor students, and gain leadership skills in a collaborative lab environment.

Qualifications

• Strong foundation in anaerobic organic and inorganic synthesis.
• Experience in standard spectroscopic techniques (NMR, IR, Mass spectrometry).
• Beneficial experience in photophysical and mechanical property characterization.

Responsibilities

• Manage own academic research project(s).
• Develop new main-group molecules and polymers and characterize their properties.
• Mentor undergraduate and graduate students.

Skills

Anaerobic organic synthesis

Inorganic synthesis

Spectroscopic techniques

Characterization of new molecules

Education

PhD in Chemistry or related field

Job description

The Department of Chemistry in the College of Arts + Sciences at Indiana University, consists of a well-rounded research community with cutting-edge expertise in a wide variety of modern disciplines including analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry, materials chemistry, and biochemistry.

The Wentz Lab at Indiana University is seeking to hire a postdoctoral scholar to develop the synthesis of new main-group heterocycles, macrocycles, and polymers as functional materials. Goals of projects in the Wentz lab are to gain a fundamental understanding of how electronic structure as well as hierarchical structure influences bulk properties in main-group materials. The ideal candidate for this role will have a strong foundation in anaerobic organic and inorganic synthesis as well as experience in the standard spectroscopic techniques (e.g. NMR, IR, Mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and gel permeation chromatography) necessary for characterizing new molecules and polymers. Experience with characterizing photophysical (e.g. UV-vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, quantum yield analysis, or lifetime analysis) or mechanical (e.g. dynamic mechanical analysis, rheology, or indentation) properties is beneficial but not required.

The Wentz Lab is a collaborative, multidisciplinary laboratory environment, and the successful applicant will play a vital role within our emerging research team. The hired postdoc fellow will gain key leadership skills valuable for a career in academia or industry through mentoring both undergraduate and graduate students. Routine feedback and guidance for postdoctoral fellows will also be provided by Prof. Wentz in group meetings as well as individual meetings to ensure progress towards their future career goals are met.

Responsibilities:

1) Manage own academic research project(s). 2) Achieve research objectives by developing new main-group molecules and polymers and characterizing their properties. 3) Write up new results for publication in peer-reviewed journals. 4) Maintain excellent record keeping through lab notebook documentation of experiments. 5) Maintain equipment and instrumentation in the laboratory. 6) Assist with setting up new instrumentation and other equipment purchased. 7) Mentor undergraduate and graduate students with their projects and teach how to use new instrumentation. 8) Contribute ideas for new research projects. 9) Stay informed of new literature related to academic research project(s). 10) Present new results and systematic literature reviews in weekly group meetings.