Postdoctoral Appointee - Experimental Physical Organic Chemist

16h16 hours ago

Argonne National Laboratory

Lemont, US · Full-time · $72,879 – $121,465

About this role

Argonne National Laboratory seeks a Postdoctoral Appointee in the Advanced Energy Technologies Directorate. The role involves studying chemical upgrading of heavy oils, asphaltenes, resins, and kerogen molecules. Contribute to engineering design of upscaled processes within the Applied Materials Division.

Work as part of a collaborative team of chemists, physicists, and engineers to develop new chemistry for upgrading hydrocarbon streams. Perform chemical reactions under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, including catalytic processes, oxidizing/reducing environments, different gases, and supercritical conditions. Assemble new batch and flow processes as needed.

Collaborate with personnel performing machine learning and molecular simulations, as well as teams in other divisions, laboratories, and companies. The position requires on-site presence at the Argonne campus in Lemont, Illinois, five days per week. Model Argonne’s core values of impact, safety, respect, integrity, and teamwork.

Gain knowledge in engineering design of chemical processes, with experience in scaleup as a plus. Present research at technical meetings and publish results in peer-reviewed journal articles. Skilled communication across all levels supports these efforts.

Requirements

Recent or soon-to-be-completed PhD (typically within the last 0-5 years) in chemistry and/or closely related discipline
Expertise in the study of complex hydrocarbon mixtures, reactions under various conditions including operando studies, and product characterization
Ability to work collaboratively with teams and individuals in other divisions, laboratories, and companies
Skilled in written and oral communication across all levels of the organization
Ability to present research at technical meetings and publish results in peer-reviewed journal articles
Ability to model Argonne’s core values of impact, safety, respect, integrity, and teamwork
Knowledge of kinetics and mechanism of chemical reactions
Ability to conduct high-temperature and high-pressure experimentation in both batch and flow configurations

Responsibilities

Study chemical upgrading of heavy oils, asphaltenes, resins, and kerogen molecules
Contribute to engineering design of upscaled processes
Develop new chemistry for upgrading hydrocarbon streams
Perform chemical reactions under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions
Incorporate catalytic processes, oxidizing/reducing environments, different gases, and supercritical conditions
Assemble new batch and flow processes
Conduct operando studies and product characterization of complex hydrocarbon mixtures
Collaborate on conversion and separation of carbon-based materials