STI – PhD Studentship Position in Additive Manufacturing of Advanced Materials

Your Mission

Prof. Daryl W. Yee is seeking one PhD student to join his new research group in the Institute of Electrical and Micro Engineering in EPFL, Switzerland. We seek to integrate molecular design and materials processing strategies to engineer advanced functional materials that can tackle societal challenges in healthcare, energy, and climate change. The mission of the lab is to develop Advanced Materials for All; to that end, we are interested in developing accessible chemistries and processing strategies that can enable the fabrication of a wide variety of advanced functional materials and devices. We believe that by democratizing the manufacturing of advanced materials, we can empower both the public and the larger scientific community with the materials needed to solve their own challenges.

Main duties and responsibilities include

There are a variety of research directions that we are looking into exploring:

Hard Materials from Soft Gels — Additive manufacturing of inorganic (multi-)materials using organic templates.

Reconfigurable Polymeric Materials — Polymers (systems) that utilize dynamic covalent chemistries or supramolecular chemistries

Hybrid Materials — Processing and synthetic strategies to develop either fully organic or inorganic-organic hybrid materials via additive manufacturing

Specific directions for each project will be determined in part based on the expertise and specific interests of the candidates. We are committed to hiring diversely and inclusively.

Your profile

• Background in materials science, chemical engineering, chemistry, mechanical engineering, is preferred but not required
• Experience with materials characterization
• Excellent communication skills in English (written and spoken)
• Interest in additive manufacturing
• Interested in outfitting and building a brand-new research lab

Priority will be given to candidates who have expertise in one or more of the following:

• Small-molecule and/or polymer synthesis
• Inorganic material synthesis (sol-gel, combustion synthesis, etc.)
• Additive manufacturing, in particular vat photopolymerization
• Metamaterials

Experience in building custom materials characterization, synthesis, and/or processing hardware

We offer

• Multidisciplinary and cutting-edge projects that span the fields of chemistry, materials science, and device engineering
• Experience and knowledge in designing materials over multiple length-scales
• Collaboration with world leading research groups at EPFL and beyond
• Networking opportunities through conferences and seminars
• Career planning
• Mentorship opportunities
• Diverse and inclusive working environment
• Competitive salaries

Start date: The preferred start date will be April 1, 2023 (negotiable). To become a registered EPFL PhD student and member of the lab, the candidate needs to be accepted by one of the suitable doctoral schools at EPFL. We suggest Advanced Manufacturing (EDAM), Materials Science and Engineering (EDMX), or Microsystems and Microelectronics (EDMI).

Work rate: 100%
Duration: 4 years (1 year renewable contract)

Application process: Please send your application to daryl.yee@epfl.ch with the subject line: “Yee Lab Doctoral Student Application: [Your Name]”. If you have already applied prior to this, there is no need to reapply.
Please include a cover letter (no more than one page) and your CV. You may also include up to three relevant/representative publications. In the cover letter, please include a section outlining which research direction you are interested in and how your prior experiences (research or otherwise) have prepared you for it. Only completed applications will be considered.
Timeline: Review of the applications will begin immediately. The positions will stay open until the positions are filled.  

For further information about the positions, please contact Prof. Daryl W. Yee at daryl.yee at epfl dot ch. More details about Prof. Yee can also be found on his website: https://people.epfl.ch/daryl.yee