PRR Project

Summary

Tasks to be carried out: The employee hired will carry out research related to solid-state nanopores with an emphasis on materials and processes and how these ultimately influence performance. The employee is expected to perform traditional solid-state nanopore experiments (current measurements) and to take advantage of ITQB NOVA’s expertise in optical microscopy to integrate optical measurements. In order to achieve this, it is expected that the employee will have experience in designing and assembling experimental setups for a range of applications. The employee hired is expected to exploit the above to investigate transport phenomena in very small nanopores as well as developing a range of nanopore-based detection and characterisation methodologies. The skills and experience required to develop the above will be put to more general use in support of ongoing research activities at ITQB NOVA. The employee will use their knowledge of micro and nanofabrication , along with their extensive network, to assist researchers from all across ITQB NOVA’s diverse range of scientific activities. In order to provide such support the employee is expected to be able to communicate with scientists from a diverse range of backgrounds and fields and thus will need to have a broad knowledge base . The employee is expected to teach on ITQB NOVA’s Masters and PhD programmes . An ability and willingness to teach on micro and nanofabrication methods and applications is essential. An ability to teach in other areas as well would be beneficial as would previous experience of managing/running PhD programmes. Finally it is expected that the employee hired would become a willing and active member of the ITQB NOVA family - to make contributions wherever they are required in support of ITQB NOVA’s missions : to better understand the world that we live in; to improve quality of life ; to train the next generation of researchers; and to communicate its activities with the general public. Profile sought: Essential: - Degree and PhD in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Materials Science or similar. - Extensive experience of working with solid-state nanopores. - Extensive expertise in designing and assembling experimental platforms for nanopore-type experiments.- Cleanroom experience. Ability to fabricate devices in a range of materials but with a  particular emphasis on workflow that use silicon wafers as the starting material.- Experience of teaching micro and nanofabrication methodologies to Masters and PhD students.- Excellent communication in English. Preferred:- A central position within the nanopore community with the ability to call on other research teams to join collaborations and support ongoing research efforts. The ability to join larger, European level consortia to tackle larger problems.- Extensive network of contacts within the micro and nanofabrication community. Good connections with Portuguese and international facilities and with companies.- Familiarity with tools used in mask design (AutoCAD, Layout Editor etc), with tools used to design components/devices (AutoCAD tools, FreeCAD etc).- A broad scientific background, an ability to work with researchers across a wide range of fields.-  A willingness to be involved in science communication workshops and to assist researchers with manuscript preparation; ideally a native English speaker. Rationale: ITQB NOVA has a strong background in solid-state nanopores dating back to the mid-2000s. The R&D activities that have taken place since then have firmly positioned ITQB NOVA within the international nanopore community and a number of researchers have visited ITQB NOVA over the years to learn how to work with solid-state nanopores. Tools developed at ITQB NOVA are in use around the world . Nanopores are at the forefront of next generation sequencing, data storage, energy storage, biosensing and are emerging as important components in neuromorphic computing. Micro and nanotechnology are a platform technology - a toolbox that enables researchers to make devices with interesting/novel properties. Similarly, solid-state nanopores themselves are a platform technology - they can be applied across a wide range of fields and applications . Solid-state nanopores are fabricated in thin, suspended films on silicon supports (devices). These devices are fabricated at the wafer scale using cleanroom facilities . In addition, the experimental platforms (fluidic cells) require an ability to design and build systems - a matter of integrating custom components (3D printed or CAD machined) with off-the-shelf components. The micro and nanofabrication skills that are essential to carrying out research in solid-state nanopores can be applied to a huge range of other areas - thus a researcher hired within this field can support micro and nanofabrication activities throughout ITQB NOVA.