Staff Scientist - Toronto, Canada - University of Toronto

University of Toronto

Verified Company

Toronto, Canada

1 week ago

Posted by:

Sophia Lee

beBee Recruiter

Description

Date Posted:09/15/2023

Req ID:33968

Faculty/Division:
Faculty of Arts & Science

Department:
Acceleration Consortium

Campus:
St. George (Downtown Toronto)

Description:

The Acceleration Consortium (AC) promotes inclusive research environment and supports the EDI priorities of the unit.

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The Acceleration Consortium received a $200M Canadian First Research Excellence Grant for seven years to develop self-driving labs for chemistry and materials, the largest ever grant to a Canadian University.

This grant will provide the Acceleration Consortium with seven years of funding to execute its vision.

The AC is developing seven advanced SDLs

These include:

Inorganic solidstate materials,
Organic small molecules for advanced materials,
Drug discovery with chemical probes,
Formulations for pharmaceuticals, consumer products, and coatings,
Biocompatibility (organonachip), and
Synthetic scaleup of materials and molecules.

This role is for a Staff Scientist within SDL4: Polymers.

Expertise in one or more of the following areas is desired:
Polymer expertise

Highthroughput polymer synthesis and processing
Structural, electrochemical, and/or (opto)electrical characterization of polymers
Physical, theoretical and/or computational polymer chemistry and physics
Applied polymer expertise in electrochemical energy storage, sustainability and recycling, formulations, optoelectronics, and more

Artificial intelligence / automation expertise

Machine learning in polymer science
Robotics and automation
Experimental planning and design/optimal control
Programming and highperformance computing
Cheminformatics

The Senior Staff Scientists will work with a diverse team of leading experts at U of T, including: Professors Helen Tran and Dwight Seferos.

The Staff Scientists involved in the AC are highly skilled and experienced researchers who will work independently to develop the AI and automation technologies required to build robust and scalable self-driving labs, manage these SDLs, and design and implement research programs (based on the direction of the AC's scientific leadership team) that leverage the SDL platforms to discover materials and molecules.

Moreover, the Staff Scientists will work collectively, sharing knowledge among each other, faculty, and trainees. This role will report to the Academic Director and Executive Director of the Acceleration Consortium.

We are hiring both Staff Scientists and Staff Research Scientists (limited term). While Staff Scientists are expected to have 5 years of post-PhD experience, individuals with a relevant Ph.
D. and associated expertise can qualify for Staff Research Scientist (limited term).

The components and duties of the work include:

**SDL and Automation Development**Working with the AC community, including faculty and partners to determine the required capabilities of the SDLs to be built. Developing the plans for SDLs that will meet user requirements and designing novel instruments for automated material synthesis and characterization. Developing customized hardware and Python software packages to build SDLs. Selection, procurement, and installation of the equipment required for SDLs.

- **Research Direction**Tasks include:

Managing the research and development projects of AC's industry partners when implemented in AC labs.
Developing plans that support research collaborations and planning and estimating financial resources required for programs and/or projects.
Working with Product Managers to ensure research outcomes meet partner requirements.
Promoting AC's research capacity, including delivering presentations at conferences.
Collaboration in the preparation and submission of research proposals to granting agencies and progress reporting.
Preparing manuscripts for submission to peerreviewed publications/journals and stewarding them through the process.

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Other

Support researchfocused events such as the Annual Symposium.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Education - Ph.
D. in chemistry, materials science, life sciences, physics, engineering, robotics, computer science, or related discipline

Experience

Five (5) to 10 years of experience (inclusive of PhD and/or postgraduate work) in accelerated research and development with demonstrated academic and research excellence
Experience working closely with a Principal Investigator or as a Principal Investigator or as Project Director with responsibilities of managing, developing and executing a major research project
Strong experience and expert knowledge of AI and automation
Experience with overseeing the activities of a lab
Experience working with industry partners and on industry led research and development projects
Strong experience presenting research at academic conferences
Demonstrated record of academic and/or research excellence.
Must have a strong scholarly publication record.

Skills