Postdoctoral Scientist

Sensor Research at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher candidate to carry out research on an NSF-funded project focusing on developing integrated silicon photonics-based sensors for point-of-interest soil micronutrient detection. Accurate and reliable measurement of soil nitrates using in-situ sensors is an unsolved problem today that has major implications for environmental science, agriculture and soil science. Nitrate containing fertilizers are overused globally by factors of 2X-5X in large part because it has been difficult to assess soil nitrate concentrations with high geospatial resolution. This has led to major pollution of global waterways and damage to marine ecology due to fertilizer runoff. Development of affordable and accurate nitrate sensors enable effective nitrate management. Our group has developed an integrated silicon photonics platform for various sensing applications, and the candidate will be primarily responsible for further developing this platform in conjunction with functionalization materials for analyte specificity and selectivity and their integration with the photonic devices.

Applicants with a Ph.D. degree from a range of areas including Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, and Biology are welcomed. Hands-on experience in nanofabrication and surface modification/functionalization are required. Familiarity with polymer chemistry, peptide synthesis, measurement and computing software (Labview, Matlab, or other equivalent software) and optical characterization is a plus. Semiconductor processing expertise is desired but not necessary. However, the candidate should be willing to learn cleanroom fabrication techniques and photonic device design techniques in order to be able to build and test her/his devices. We seek in particular a candidate who is interested in a multi-disciplinary approach to applied research. The immediate research, while focused on nitrate sensing, is broadly applicable towards developing silicon photonic platform-based sensors that are combined with chemical functionalization layers for analyte selectivity, and the candidate will have the opportunity to further develop this broad class of sensors.

The position will be with the University of Chicago. The research will be carried out at laboratories at Argonne National Lab and at the University of Chicago, and will provide the opportunity to work with scientists at both locations. Interested candidates should send a CV to Supratik Guha (guha@uchicago.edu).