A full time postdoctoral position is
immediately available in the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) Energy
Sciences Directorate. The National Renewable
Energy Laboratory, located at the foothills of
the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado, is
the nation’s primary laboratory for research,
development and deployment of renewable
energy and energy efficiency technologies.
The postdoctoral researcher will work on a
recently funded project to investigate the
application of novel, molecular-based,
photon up-conversion systems, exploiting
triplet-triplet annihilation, to improve the
efficiency of photovoltaic devices. The
assignment is initially for one year and
renewable upon mutual consent and
availability of funds for up to two years.
Job Duties
NREL’s Chemical & Materials Science Center
performs focused research and development
of new materials and technologies. The
postdoctoral researcher will assist Drs.
Andrew Ferguson and Andrew Norman to
develop novel energy related devices
employing photon up-conversion, using thin
films and other processes. Specific work will
include:
- Preparation and characterization of
photovoltaic devices.
- Preparation of up-conversion systems and
optimization of their optical coupling
characteristics.
- Analysis to characterize the efficiency of
photovoltaic devices with and without up-
conversion system.
- Literature reviews to develop appropriate
research direction.
- Maintenance/optimization of scientific
equipment.
- Collaborative R&D with other group
scientists.
In addition, the postdoctoral researcher is
expected to provide input for reports,
publish results in peer-reviewed scientific
journals, and present their work at scientific
conferences.
Required Education and Experience
Must be a recent Ph.D. graduate with in the last
three years.
Additional Basic Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Recently completed doctoral degree in
materials science, chemistry, physics, or a
related field, with demonstrated laboratory
experimentation, photovoltaic device
preparation, polymer-processing, and
analytical techniques experience. The most
important qualifications include:
- Demonstrated experience in the
preparation and characterization of
photovoltaic devices.
- Demonstrated experience in polymer-
processing.
- Ability or desire to learn other processing
and analytical techniques.
- Outstanding academic and experimental
skills to perform high quality research.
- A self-starter that can perform independent
research at a high level with just a small
amount of oversight and guidance. However,
the candidate must be able to work closely
with several people in a team arrangement to
maximize results.
- A demonstrated capability to write high
quality scientific journal papers.
- Excellent written and oral communication
skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- Previous work experience with polymer-based
thin films and photovoltaic devices.
- Previous work experience with appropriate
characterization techniques.
- A good knowledge of photophysics.
