Job Title: Postdoctoral Associate
PVN ID: RC-2501-006661
Category: Postdoctoral
Location: CUNY-ADVANCED SCIENCE RESEARCH CENTER

Job Description

General Description

The Tu lab (rtu.ccny.cuny.edu) and the Chen lab (www.xchenlab.com) in the Chemical Engineering at the City College of New York and Nanoscience Initiate at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center (asrc.gc.cuny.edu) is seeking a highly motivated and independent postdoctoral scholar to research micro-structural phase separation and confined water properties in regenerated silk fibroin/peptidoglycan composites, following from recent research in this area1-3. The proposed research is expected to provide fundamental support for spinning networks of scalable biomacromolecules that function as high-performance water-responsive actuators. The research is cross-disciplinary and combines biopolymer, interfacial physics, spectroscopy, simulations, and various imaging techniques. The postdoc will also coordinate research with collaborators at national labs.

References:

  1. Darjan Podbevšek, Yeojin Jung, Maheen K. Khan, Honghui Yu, Raymond S. Tu* and Xi Chen*. The role of water mobility on water-responsive actuation of silk. Nature Communications 15, 8287 (2024).
  2. Jacob Kronenberg, Yeojin Jung, Jason Chen, Maria Jinu Kulapurathazhe, Dustin Britton, Seungri Kim, Xi Chen*, Raymond S. Tu*, and Jin Kim Montclare*. Structure-Dependent Water Responsiveness of Protein Block Copolymers. ACS Applied Bio Materials 7, 3714–3720 (2024).
  3. Yeojin Jung, Maheen K. Khan, Darjan Podbevšek, Tejaswini Sudhakar, Raymond S. Tu, and Xi Chen. Enhanced water-responsive actuation of porous Bombyx mori silk. Soft Matter 19, 2047-2052 (2023).

Other Duties

In addition to the General Duties, responsibilities include but are not limited to:

  • Conducts experimental research in the area of functional biomacromoleculars;
  • Prepares papers for publication in peer-reviewed journals and patents and present lectures at conferences;
  • Collaborates with internal and external academic colleagues, and participates in knowledge exchange activities to establish research links with industry;
  • Assists in laboratory management, laboratory maintenance, and mentorship of undergraduate and graduate students;
  • Conducts individual and/or collaborative research, and contributes to the development of new research methods and ideas, giving direction to the project;
  • Assists in the development and planning of research objectives for specific projects, and contributes to the development of research objectives as part of the wider research program within the group, with guidance from the academic supervisor, as appropriate;
  • Performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

The applicant should have:

  • PhD in chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science, biophysics, and related fields.
  • Strong hands-on experience in functional biomaterials, interfacial science, biopolymer, and material characterization techniques, such as FT-IR, Raman, AFM, TGA/DSC, XRD, SEM, and TEM.
  • Previous experience in communicating research results at conferences and through publication in quality peer-reviewed journals.

RFCUNY Benefits

RFCUNY Employee Benefits and Accruals

About the Research Foundation

The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) is a nonprofit educational corporation founded in 1963 to provide post-award fiscal and administrative support for CUNY’s research and sponsored programs. RFCUNY’s services allow CUNY researchers, faculty, and staff to focus on their intellectual curiosity and scientific discoveries, on projects and programs that serve our local and global communities, proposing concrete solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.

RFCUNY serves as a fiscal agent and works closely with all the CUNY campus Grants Offices to perform the core functions of post-award financial management for CUNY research projects and sponsored programs. These functions include legal assessment and signing of agreements where RFCUNY is named as a fiscal agent; setting up award accounts; preparing sub-awards and assisting PIs in monitoring the work of the recipients of sub-awards; supporting project directors with hiring and managing research project and sponsored program staff; supporting the purchasing and paying for goods and services with grant and program funds; managing financial aspects of projects including accounts receivable, financial reporting, invoicing, budget monitoring, and cost compliance with uniform guidance; ensuring that sponsor financial requirements are met; monitoring compliance with applicable project and financial management rules and laws; supporting the management of independent and external audits and financial reviews; and providing data, information, management expertise, and other supports to CUNY’s research and sponsored programs.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The Research Foundation of the City University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Americans with Disabilities Act/E-Verify Employer. It is the policy of the Research Foundation of CUNY to provide equal employment opportunities free of discrimination based on race, color, age, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic violence victim status, arrest record, criminal conviction history, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Key Features

Department
Chem. Eng. & Nanoscience Initiative
Status
Full Time
Annual Salary Range
$64,350.00 - $64,350.00
Closing Date
Apr 30, 2025 (Or Until Filled)
Bargaining Unit
No

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