The Energy Materials Program within the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) at the West Virginia University anticipates filling two Ph.D. graduate positions in the area of Nanomaterials and Materials Science.  The student assistantships include full tuition and stipend for living expenses.

The program aims to develop micro-scale, chemical sensors and sensor arrays composed of nanomaterials to detect gases such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, NOx, SOx, and hydrogen sulfide within high-temperature environments (>500°C). The long-term goal is to demonstrate sensor materials and processing strategies that can be used on micro-sensor arrays to monitor these and other gases (carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and nitrogen oxides) within the harsh environments, such as transportation applications and various industrial energy applications, including current and future coal-fired power plants. This appointment requires general knowledge of materials science, ceramic and/or colloidal processing, MEMs, and solid-state electrochemistry.  The project will require the candidates to work both independently and within a multidisciplinary team of engineers and scientists.

WVU is a comprehensive land grant institution within the State of West Virginia (USA) with over 28,000 students.  The MAE department has twenty-nine faculty, offering B.S., M.S., and Ph.D degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering, and M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering (planned to initiate in Spring 2011).

Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.  Non-US citizens must include TOEFL scores, and GRE scores are required by all applicants.  Applicants should send a letter describing their qualifications, resume, and names, addresses, and email addresses of at least two references.