Postdoctoral researcher:
Advanced materials for hydrogen storage

The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) is a new international research facility located in southern Japan, and seeks to recruit a qualified postdoctoral researcher for the Nanoparticles by Design research unit.

About OIST
The founding mission of OIST centers on creating a best-in-class international institute in Japan, by providing world class laboratory infrastructure, using English as daily operational language, and fostering interdisciplinary interaction across traditional boundaries in science. Further information can be found on our website . Additionally, OIST has been profiled in numerous global publications such as Science, Nature and The Economist . OIST’s “resort-like facility, tucked into protected forests and overlooking the sea, is designed to foster mingling. And it pays top salaries and offers faculty generous start-up funding”.

About the Nanoparticles by Design research unit
The Nanoparticles by Design research unit has been set up under the direction of Principal Investigator Prof. Mukhles Sowwan . Nanoparticles are an exciting class of materials, given their enhanced surface area, size-dependent properties, and potential for biomedical and healthcare applications. Research activities at our unit include design & modeling of nanoparticles, nanoparticle fabrication using gas-aggregated sputtering, and characterization using advanced materials analysis techniques. New, leading edge facilities are installed in-house for nanoparticle fabrication (Mantis sputtering system) and characterization (FEI Titan Environmental TEM, Kratos XPS with gas reaction cell).

About the open position

Responsibilities:
-     Design, synthesis and characterization of novel nanoparticles/thin films/nanoclusters for hydrogen storage experiments.
-     Execution of hydrogen gas sorption/desorption measurements.
- Data analysis, interpretation and preparation of publications.
Qualifications & experience:
-     PhD in chemistry or equivalent discipline.
-     English language competence.
-     Preference will be given to candidates with hydrogen storage (especially thin films and/or nanoclusters), PCT (Sievert’s method), and/or XPS experience.


References
OIST official website, www.oist.jp.
Windfall for Tiny University With Outsized Ambitions, Science 342 no. 6155 p. 182 (2013).
Okinawa goes recruiting, Nature 474, 553 (2011).
Made in Japan, Nature 474, 541-542 (2011).
Where Rats and Robots Play, The Economist (26 Nov 2011).
New Unit profile: Custom-built nanoparticles, OIST website, http://www.oist.jp/eventreport/new-unit-profile-custom-built-nanoparticles
Build-a-nanoparticle, OIST website
http://www.oist.jp/news-center/news/2013/11/6/build-nanoparticle