The Kagan, Turner, and Olsson groups at the University of Pennsylvania seek a postdoctoral fellow with expertise and interest in the synthesis and processing of adaptive polymers and their integration in sensing devices. Our research groups work collaboratively to create low-cost, highly-distributable optical and radio frequency (RF) sensors that measure leaf and soil characteristics (e.g., leaf transpiration and temperature, soil pH and nitrogen content, etc.) that are indicators of plant stress.
The postdoctoral fellow will have the opportunity to use the best of capabilities in our research groups; to explore polymers that are responsive to a wide range of stimuli, are biodegradable and biocompatible, and can be coated and/or printed; and to integrate and characterize these adaptive polymers in optical and RF devices. The experience will allow the fellow to create and learn about new materials optical metamaterials and RF electronics, as well as more broadly, the application of sensor technologies in enabling future, sustainable agricultural practices. The work will allow the fellow to contribute to addressing the societal grand challenge of food, energy, and water.
Applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and one representative publication of their work via email to kagan@seas.upenn.edu. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, but applicants are encouraged to submit their materials prior to October 31, 2023.
About IoT4Ag
The NSF Engineering Research Center for the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture (IoT4Ag) unites an interdisciplinary team of faculty and students from the University of Pennsylvania, Purdue University, the University of California-Merced, the University of Florida, with partners in education, government, and industry. The IoT4Ag mission is to create and translate to practice Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for precision agriculture and to train an educated and diverse workforce that will address the societal grand challenge of food, energy, and water security for decades to come. IoT4Ag is creating next-generation IoT sense-communication-response technologies and establishing engineered integrated systems for precision farming of tree crops and row crops, mainstays of the food supply chain.
