Catalysis Scientist

Primary Purpose of Organizational Unit

The Chemistry Department is one of the largest and most complex departments in the College of Arts and Sciences. There are 55 faculty members, 28 SHRA and 26 EHRA staff positions, 260 graduate students, 45 postdoctoral research associates, 700 undergraduate majors, and an annual total of approximately 10,000 registrations by all students in classroom and laboratory courses. The Department is housed in five buildings with over 580,000 sq. feet of space. The faculty participate in teaching assignments which involve an average of 200 students per faculty member per semester. The majority of faculty are research active and supervise graduate students working on their Masters or Ph.D. degrees, undergraduate students carrying out independent research and honors programs, research technicians and postdoctoral research associates. Primarily the research is funded by federal and private agencies such as NSF, NIH, Army, Navy, DOE, PRF and involves expenditures of more than nineteen million dollars annually. A total of over thirty-two million dollars from all sources is expended annually in the Department.

Position Summary

The Sustainable Energy Research Center (SERC) seeks applicants for a senior research scientist to lead the High-Throughput Experimentation in Catalysis Core Laboratory (HiTEC) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). HiTEC provides instrumentation for thermal, photochemical, and electrochemical reaction setup and product analysis. Instrumentation includes inert-atmosphere gloveboxes, high-pressure gas manifolds, parallel reactors, evaporators, gas chromatographs, and mass spectrometers. The position will provide technical oversight and management of the core laboratory, including financial management, supplies purchases, routine maintenance, protocol development and optimization, and user training. This position will support and advise scholarship and scientific research efforts, including reaction design and analysis.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements

Relevant post-Baccalaureate degree required (or foreign degree equivalent); for candidates demonstrating comparable independent research productivity, will accept a relevant Bachelor’s degree (or foreign degree equivalent) and 3 or more years of relevant experience in substitution. May require terminal degree and licensure.

Required Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience

A minimum of five years of laboratory experience in catalysis and analytical methods (including gas chromatography and mass spectrometry) is required. Work history should demonstrate experience laboratory and instrumentation maintenance, safety and chemical hygiene.

Preferred Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience

Experience with electrochemical methods, photoelectrochemical methods, and/or high-pressure reactors is preferred. Experience mentoring of junior researchers and laboratory management experience is highly desirable, along with commitment to establishing and maintaining laboratory best practices, including safety, chemical hygiene waste handling, and maintenance of detailed laboratory records. Successful candidates will be highly organized, enjoy working collaboratively, and bring creative ideas to improving reaction discovery methodologies.