General Description

Salary: $90,000-$120,000 a year

PREP Research Associate
CHIPS Funded Project

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest and thus requires that such institutions be the recipients of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

Research Title:

Implementing Cutting-Edge Technologies for the Realization of Kelvin at NIST

The work will entail: 

The NIST Temperature and Humidity Group is seeking a motivated individual with a background in physics, or chemical engineering or material engineering to join our Standard Platinum Resistance Thermometer Calibration Laboratory (SPRTCL). The SPRTCL is the main facility in the United States responsible for realizing the kelvin using the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90). The laboratory ensures the most precise temperature measurements with the lowest realized and transferred uncertainties, using Standard Platinum Resistance Thermometers (SPRTs) calibrated against nine fixed points ranging from Argon (-189°C) to Silver (961°C). As a member of our multi-disciplinary team, you will collaborate closely with experts in instrumentation, metrology, physics, and engineering to develop and enhance temperature measurement techniques and calibration systems. The laboratory is undergoing major equipment upgrades, and we seek a highly motivated individual to contribute to implementing these upgrades, ensuring the continued precision and accuracy of the United States' national temperature standards.

Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

  Contribute to the design, testing, and integration of advanced temperature calibration equipment, ensuring that upgrades align with NIST's standards and precision goals.

  Collaborate in the implementation of new equipment and methodologies that will enhance the SPRTCL's calibration capabilities and further minimize uncertainties in temperature measurements.

  Conduct research to explore new methods, tools, and technologies to enhance the precision of temperature measurements and reduce calibration uncertainties.

  Investigate novel approaches for improving the reliability and accuracy of temperature calibration, with an emphasis on the realization of the Kelvin and the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90).

  Maintain accurate and detailed documentation of equipment upgrades, experimental protocols, calibration results, and research findings to ensure transparency and reproducibility.

  Ensure that all results, protocols, software, and documentation are archived properly and shared with the larger NIST community and relevant stakeholders.

  Present research findings, technological developments, and calibration results at internal meetings, external stakeholder meetings, and scientific conferences.

Qualifications

  A Ph.D. in physics or chemical engineering or material engineering.

  A background in conducting experimental research, particularly related to temperature measurement, high-precision instrumentation, or metrology, is important.

  Ability to control, operate and automate scientific test equipment and instrumentation.

  Familiarity with design and simulation tools like SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor, MuMax, OOMMFi COMSOL, or similar.

  Familiarity with the programming languages Python, Matlab, or LabVIEW.

  Strong oral and written communication skills.

Application Instructions

Please upload the following with your application:

-         CV/Resume

-         2 professional references

*Please limit C.V to 3 pages only and ONLY include a valid email address for your contact info. Please DO NOT include telephone numbers, home address or photos on your resume.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority:  15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose:  The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the  Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor's degree holders, graduate students, master's degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.  

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate the administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses:  NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices:  NIST-1: NIST Associates. 

Disclosure:  Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.

About Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University remains committed to its founding principle, that education for all students should be grounded in exploration and discovery. Hopkins students are challenged not just to learn but also to advance learning itself. Critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and entrepreneurship are all encouraged and nourished in this unique educational environment. After more than 130 years, Johns Hopkins remains a world leader in both teaching and research. Faculty members and their research colleagues at the university's Applied Physics Laboratory have each year since 1979 won Johns Hopkins more federal research and development funding than any other university. The university has nine academic divisions and campuses throughout the Baltimore-Washington area. The Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, the Whiting School of Engineering, the School of Education and the Carey Business School are based at the Homewood campus in northern Baltimore. The schools of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing share a campus in east Baltimore with The Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Peabody Institute, a leading professional school of music, is located on Mount Vernon Place in downtown Bal...timore. The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies is located in Washington's Dupont Circle area.

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