Job Description

• One of Australia’s leading research & teaching universities
• Vibrant campus life with a strong sense of community & inclusion
• Enjoy a career that makes a difference by collaborating & learning from the best

At UNSW, we pride ourselves on being a workplace where the best people come to do their best work.

The School of Materials Science and Engineering is one of the top ranked Materials programs in the Asia-Pacific regions and strongly positioned in every facet of materials science and engineering. It offers undergraduate programs in Materials Science and Engineering (Honours), as well as a number of combined degree programs with Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Commerce.

The Postdoctoral Fellow (Level A) is expected to contribute towards the research activities of UNSW and the School of Materials Science and Engineering and to develop their research expertise through the pursuit of defined projects relevant to the field of carbon materials. The research focuses on developing novel carbon materials, especially graphene-based nanostructures, for clean energy and sustainable chemical manufacturing.

About the role

• $113K - $121K plus 17% superannuation and annual leave loading
• Fixed Term – 2 years
• Full-time (35 hours per week)

Specific responsibilities for this role include:

• Contribute independently or as a team member in collaborative research with a focus to enhance the quality of research outcomes in the discipline area.
• Conduct research (as per the norms of the discipline) and/or enable research teams to create scholarly output that is recognised by peers.
• Undertake specific research project/s under the guidance of a research leader and contribute to development of research activities.
• Support the dissemination of research outcomes through appropriate channels and outlets.
• Undertake discipline-appropriate research activities, e.g. surveys, literature reviews, data gathering and/or recording of results using appropriate research methods.
• Participate in and/or present at conferences and/or workshops relevant to the project as required.
• Assist with the supervision of research students in the research area where required.
• Lead the synthesis, functionalization, and intercalation of graphene and graphene-oxide materials including optimizing morphology, defect chemistry, and interlayer spacing to target enhanced mass transport and energy-storage performance.
• Conduct advanced in-situ and operando characterisation, including EC-TEM, synchrotron XANES/EXAFS, Raman, FTIR and XPS, to investigate the physical and chemical structure of the graphene-based materials.
• Implement electrochemical testing protocols (cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge, impedance spectroscopy) on graphene-based materials and analyse the performance metrics.
• Align with and actively demonstrate the Code of Conduct and Values.
• Cooperate with all health and safety policies and procedures of the university and take all reasonable care to ensure that your actions or omissions do not impact on the health and safety of yourself or others.