Chemical Sensor Development for Ensuring Clean Water and Food

The development of highly practical chemical sensors is important for the detection of toxic compounds in our food and water supply. Although methods currently exist for the detection of a broad range of compounds, most of these methods require access to highly specialized laboratory instrumentation, which is not available to the general population and does not allow people to monitor the safety of their food and water on-site and in real-time. The goal of this research project is to use organic chemistry to functionalize and fabricate paper-based systems that act as highly sensitive, selective, and practical sensors for a broad variety of compounds. These sensors will operate in complex environments to provide rapid signal responses, and provide critical advances in novel sensor development.

The Supramolecular Chemistry and Sensor Development group at Ariel University is seeking a Ph.D. candidate to participate in this project. This project involves a fundamental and practical understanding of organic chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, analytical chemistry, and materials science, will build on the knowledge that the candidate brings to the position, and will directly enable the development of new knowledge and skills through the execution of this project. The Principal Investigator in charge of this research group has a strong track record of supervising and mentoring students at all educational levels and from a variety of backgrounds, and graduates of this group have gone on to postdoctoral fellowships and prestigious industrial positions.

Ariel University offers a collaborative research environment and features state-of-the-art research facilities relevant to the proposed position. A full 4 years competitive scholarship is being provided to a prospective candidate in this program.

Required Qualifications: A successful MSc degree in Chemistry, Materials Science or Chemical Engineering.

Preferred Qualifications: former studies in one or more of the following fields: analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, materials science, or nanochemistry.

*We are particularly interested in supporting applications of candidates from underrepresented demographic groups (women, minorities, students with disabilities, etc.) and encourage applications from all motivated individuals. *