Idaho National Lab establishes new Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship

A new Idaho National Laboratory http://www.inl.gov program is changing the way postdoctoral candidates conduct research. Unlike other postdoctoral positions where candidates are assigned projects and tasks, INL’s Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship Program lets recent Ph.D. graduates propose and work on their own research — as long as it advances the lab’s energy security mission.

INL established the program, which is common at other national labs, to recruit the best and brightest postdoctoral candidates. Each year’s Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellows will get to work on a research project of their choice, interact with senior managers and researchers, and have ready access to the resources of a national laboratory.

"A large part of using science to improve our quality of life is innovation and coming up with new ideas," said Michelle Thiel Bingham, a manager with INL’s Energy and Environment Directorate. "Under the broad theme of energy security, we are reaching out to the best and brightest Ph.D. graduates and asking them to join us in identifying novel solutions for clean, safe, affordable and secure energy technologies."

Each year, INL Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellows will be selected through a competitive process that requires applicants to submit a research proposal and budget in areas aligned with INL’s energy security mission. The recipients will work within the Energy and Environment Directorate for at least one year and will have access to INL’s top research investigators.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for postdoctoral candidates and just the right level of challenge," said Todd Johnson, an internship program specialist at INL. "These fellows will get to pursue research projects of their choice and work with scientists and engineers at the Department of Energy’s lead nuclear energy laboratory and its emerging hybrid energy systems program."

To apply for INL’s Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, candidates can go to http://www.inl.gov, click on "Careers," then click on "View Jobs/Apply Now" box, then search for Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship Program job title. Applications are due by midnight (MST) on Feb. 15.

INL is one of the DOE’s 10 multiprogram national laboratories. The laboratory performs work in each of the strategic goal areas of DOE: energy, national security, science and environment. INL is the nation’s leading center for nuclear energy research and development.

Subscribe to RSS feeds for INL news and feature stories at http://www.inl.gov.