PREP0004016 Laser-Ablation Materials Researcher

PREP Research Associate

Opportunity No.: PREP0004016

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, and thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

APPLY ONLINE HERE

Laser-Ablation Materials Postdoc Researcher

Project Description:

Adhesion and Thermomechanical Property Measurements of Underfill Materials using Laser-Ablation. Design and develop a laser-based measurement platform to quantify the adhesion and mechanical properties of underfill materials commonly used in microelectronics packaging. Temperature and humidity control, along with the development of experimental protocols for the laser-ablation test platform, are necessary to enable successful thermomechanical evaluation of representative underfill materials. The candidate will participate in the design and development of a laser-based mechanical test that can withstand elevated temperatures and humidity levels. Additionally, the collected data will be analyzed to obtain adhesion and mechanical property data, which will aid in the design of the model underfill materials.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Design, construction, and evaluation of an environmental chamber with humidity and temperature control and sensing for laser-ablation experiments
• Evaluate polymeric materials, elastomers, thermosets, and composites for underfills
• Collaborate on the development of mechanical property data sets (e.g., adhesion energies, shear modulus, dissipation factor) to aid in underfill materials development
• Prepare technical documentation, including protocols, data analysis, and NIST best practice guides
• Present research findings to internal NIST teams, external industry, and academic stakeholders

Desired Qualifications: 

• A Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or a related field
• Research experience with characterizing polymer glasses, thermosets, elastomers, and composites
• Experience integrating devices with optical measurements (e.g., X-ray scattering, atomic force microscopy, electron microscopy), including experience with data collection and analysis of optical signals and images, is a plus
• Strong chemistry or materials background, experimental design, and data analysis skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Other Details:

• Full-time: the participant is expected to work 40 hours a week
• Location: the participant will work at the NIST Gaithersburg Campus.
• Duration: this is expected to be a seven-month position. Extensions are sometimes granted depending on the availability of funds.
• For questions related to the research project or the nature of the work in this position, please contact Dr. Christopher Soles(christopher.soles@nist.gov). For questions related to the online application or NIST PREP more generally, please contact msu-nistprep@morgan.edu.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate the administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use the information you submit for the purpose stated.