Description

This postdoctoral research opportunity at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) focuses on developing and understanding structure-property relationships in soft materials and complex fluids through neutron scattering techniques. The research aims to elucidate how structural transitions in non-Newtonian fluids and soft matter influence their mechanical properties, such as non-linear stress-strain behavior.

Neutron scattering, particularly Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS), is uniquely suited to probe structures from nanometers to microns under deformation using specialized shear cells and rheometers. NIST has pioneered shear SANS development, including commercial rheoSANS packages and devices capable of measuring rheology and scattering simultaneously at shear rates exceeding one million s^-1.

Applicants may either contribute to the development of novel sample environments and instrumentation or utilize existing tools to study a variety of soft materials, including micellar solutions, polymer solutions, colloidal suspensions, protein solutions, gels, and mixed materials. The research can be fundamental or industrially relevant.

Additional opportunities include working with the nSoft consortium (a NIST-industry collaboration) and engaging in the development of tomographic SANS, a cutting-edge technique for studying local structure in heterogeneous materials at ~50 µm resolution. This technique is valuable for investigating irreversible structural changes and heterogeneous microstructures in soft materials.