Job Summary
Energy is precious. Its use threatens the planet even as the world’s
appetite becomes increasingly ravenous in powering the modern information age. The
energy driving artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and data centers will utilize 15% of
TOTAL world production by 2040. The trend is unsustainable.
Solutions demand revolutionary ways controlling thermal energy. “Old” ways won’t
work. “New” energy carriers are needed. Polaritons—quasiparticles made up of
photons and material dipoles provide a path. Recent work has proven the potential for
polaritons as an additional heat carrying channel for both conduction and radiation at
the smallest scales. Transforming this potential into practical solutions is next. Within
this position, you will design, fabricate, and build “polariton powered” thermal solutions
to impact the world’s energy consumption. You will identify applications where
polaritons unlock thermal solutions that traditional energy carriers cannot. Practically,
you will take a polariton thermal solution from ideation to realization by leveraging
differentiating theoretical and material characterization tools with Purdue’s newly recapitalized
Birck Nanotechnology Center. By extending the science of polaritonmediated
thermal transport to realize practical solutions, the position will culminate in
career opportunities spanning from academic to entrepreneurial.
Desired Qualifications
• A Ph.D. in engineering, physics, or related discipline
• Experience in one, or more, of the following areas: (1) first-principles thermal or
optical property prediction (2) thermal property measurement, (3) near-field
optical phenomena, (4) thermophotovoltaics.
• The ability to communicate expertly within and between disciplines both via the
written and spoken word as evidenced via a strong scholarly record.
• A demonstrated ability to work independently within an interdisciplinary team
while being both mentored and taking on a mentoring role.