Day: February 9, 2026

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program invites applicants in support of research in assay development for cell-free expression systems. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

Research Title: Research Scientist for Cell-free Expression System Metrology

The work will entail:

The Materials Measurement Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking qualified U.S. Citizens to support the Cellular Engineering Group and NIST Engineering Biology Program, by leading projects to develop measurement assurance for cell-free expression systems from diverse samples, including reconstituted and microbial samples. Leads the development of characterization assays for cell-free systems. Assists automating reagent preparation, cell-free reaction assembly, and characterization, using the NIST Living Measurement Systems Foundry (LMSF) and other laboratory
automation. Analyzes experimental and simulation data, including uncertainty and other statistical analyses. Documents and manages protocols, data, and analyses. Regularly presents and discusses
progress with the larger organization.

U.S. Citizen Preferred

Key responsibilities:

• Leads, plans, and carries out difficult and complex assignments in cell-free expression systems and RNA circuits with limited supervision.
• Completed work has a sound overall approach and effectively meets requirements.
• Communicates effectively with peers and stakeholders to plan share work outputs.

Qualifications:

• A Doctoral degree in chemical engineering, bioengineering, cell biology, chemistry, physics, synthetic biology, or a related field.
• Demonstrated knowledge of cell biology, molecular biology, microbial culture, reconstituted and lysate-based cell-free expression systems, and synthetic/engineering biology.
• Demonstrated leadership and management of technical projects and programs.
• 5 years of relevant experience.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.

Please upload the following (preferably in a single PDF) with your application:

• CV/Resume

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.

• Announcement and Application

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program invites applicants in support of research in material flammability testing and modeling. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

Research Title: Material Flammability Testing and Modeling

U.S. Citizen Preferred

The work will entail:

The fire modeling community is working to predict material flammability behavior quantitatively (e.g., ignition, burning rate, fire growth). State-of-the-art fire models require input parameters (material properties) that describe combustible solids’ decomposition reaction mechanism (and associated kinetics and thermodynamics) and relevant heat/mass transport properties.

To address this need, the NIST Fire Research Division has been developing experimental and analytical tools to calibrate these material properties and validate their ability to predict flammability response across a range of configurations/scales (i.e., mg-scale thermal decomposition, g-scale gasification/burning, and flame spread over panels between 0.5 m and 2.5 m tall).

Working with the project leader, the researcher will develop and then lead the execution of experiments associated with the following tasks:

• Developing a material flammability database that maintains the tools (experimental and analytical), measurement data (for model calibration and validation), and material property sets necessary to quantitatively predict material flammability behavior (e.g., ignition, steady burning, and fire growth).

• Conduct and analyze the data from bench to full-scale thermal and fire property tests for fire model calibration and validation.

• Produce and present publications on research findings.

Key responsibilities:

• Assisting in the development, implementation, and leadership of a research plan to quantify fire growth rate, flame structure, condensed-phase response, and mass loss & heat release rate of combustible solids burning at the intermediate scale (emphasis on materials that deform; e.g., due to melt flow or charring/smoldering).
• Applying and advancing state-of-the-art techniques to quantify the mechanisms controlling material flammability; iterative development and implementation of analytical tools to process these results.
• Development and execution of plans for transferring NIST research through meetings, workshops, and conferences; preparing and presenting measurement results (oral presentations and written reports).

Qualifications:

• U.S. Citizen Preferred.
• PhD in Engineering (fire protection, materials science, mechanical), Chemistry, Physics, or a related field
• 2+ year(s) of relevant lab experience (i.e., experimental design and testing).
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills.
• Proficiency in programming/data analysis tools (e.g., Excel, MATLAB, Python, R).
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team to learn new activities and skills.
• Ability and enthusiasm to help lead early-career researchers as part of a research team.

Please upload the following (preferably in a single PDF) with your application:

• CV/Resume

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.

• Announcement and Application

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program invites applicants in support of research in  novel infrastructure materials and advanced metrology. NIST recognizes that its staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

Research Title: Advanced Metrology for Novel Infrastructure Materials

The work will entail:

The Infrastructure Materials Group is seeking a highly motivated Research Associate to be a part of the
Forward Looking Building Standards initiative within NIST.
As the construction industry pivots toward low-carbon binders—such as Type IL (Portland-Limestone)
and Calcium Sulfoaluminate (CSA) cements—traditional prescriptive building codes are becoming
obsolete. We are looking for a researcher who can bridge the gap between fundamental geochemistry
and applied standardization. You will develop the measurement science required to predict the long-
term durability of these novel materials, ensuring the nation’s infrastructure remains resilient for
decades to come.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) promotes U.S. innovation and industrial
competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance
economic security and improve our quality of life. Located in Gaithersburg, Maryland, NIST offers a
collaborative, interdisciplinary culture where you will work alongside some of the world’s leading
scientists and engineers to solve critical national challenges.
The Infrastructure Materials Group (IMG) serves as the nation’s premier resource for developing the
science-based tools—measurements, data, models, protocols, and reference standards—needed to
evaluate the performance of conventional and innovative building materials.  As part of the Engineering
Laboratory, the IMG focuses on predicting the service life of infrastructure components when exposed
to real-world and accelerated weathering environments. 
We are specifically targeting a researcher with a rigorous background in pore solution chemistry and
transport properties. The ideal candidate does not just run standard tests; they understand the
thermodynamic mechanisms driving durability. You should be comfortable moving between the wet lab
(extracting and analyzing pore solutions) and the computer (modeling phase assemblages and
quantifying uncertainty).
Experience determining the Formation Factor of concrete, using XRF for pore solution analysis, or
modeling hydration kinetics using GEMS/PHREEQC, are critical skills needed for this position.

Key responsibilities:

• Advance Measurement Science: Develop and validate novel test methods for characterizing alternative cementitious materials, with a specific focus on linking microstructural development to macro-scale transport properties.
• Pore Solution Characterization: Lead efforts to standardize X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) techniques for the elemental analysis of concrete pore solutions, establishing protocols for characterizing accuracy and repeatability.
• Durability Modeling: Apply thermodynamic modeling to predict phase changes (e.g., carbonation, chloride binding) in Type IL and CSA cements under varying climate scenarios.
• Uncertainty Quantification: Use advanced statistical frameworks (Bayesian inference, Monte Carlo simulations) to analyze experimental data, and to quantify the uncertainty in service-life predictions for code development.
• Code & Standard Development: Translate research findings into actionable proposals for ASTM and ACI committees, directly influencing the next generation of building codes.

Required qualifications:

• Education: Successful candidates should have completed a Ph.D. in any one of Chemistry, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, or Materials Science at the time of the position start date, with a focus on chemistry and material science of cementitious materials.
• Cementitious Materials Science Background: Demonstrated experience conducting quantitative laboratory measurements on cementitious materials: X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), isothermal calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
• Modeling and Computational: Demonstrated experience using computation tools such as COMSOL, Python/Matlab/R.
• Uncertainty Quantification: Demonstrated ability to apply statistical methods to quantify the uncertainty of experimental measurements, beyond linear least-squares regression.

Preferred qualifications:

• Specialized Metrology: Peer-reviewed publication utilizing one of the following techniques
  • Quantitative Phase Analysis (QPA) using X-ray Diffraction, including the use of the Internal Standard Method to quantify amorphous contents in hydrated cementitious systems.
  • Composition Analysis using X-ray fluorescence to quantify the elemental composition of solutions.
• Transport & Durability: Demonstrated understanding of the Nernst-Einstein relationship, electrical resistivity measurements, and the determination of the Formation Factor in cementitious systems.
• Thermodynamic Modeling: Proficiency with geochemical modeling software (e.g., GEMS, PHREEQC, or Oli) to simulate cement hydration and phase stability in low-carbon binders.
• Alternative Binder Expertise: Demonstrated research experience with Calcium Sulfoaluminate (CSA) cements, Type IL cements, or alkali-activated materials.
• Currently living in the United States
• U.S. citizenship is preferred

Please upload the following (preferably in a single PDF) with your application:

• CV/Resume

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.

• Announcement and Application

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program invites applicants in support of research in fire hazard model development in commercial building environments. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

Project Description:

The goal of this project is to reduce firefighter deaths and injuries due to flashover and to enhance firefighting safety and situational awareness in commercial building environments.

Flashover is an extreme fire event. When it occurs, there is a near-simultaneous ignition of most of the directly exposed combustible materials within a compartment. Due to the large heat release rate, gas temperatures increase rapidly and may exceed 800 °C. Rapid fire progression, such as flashover, is the number-two cause of firefighter deaths and injuries. Over the past 10 years, approximately 700 firefighters were killed and more than 200,000 were injured. Unfortunately, there are still no tools that firefighters can use to detect flashover, so they rely on their past experience using so-called flashover indicators that are difficult to recognize. For these reasons, researchers at NIST have been developing data-driven models that can be used to help firefighters predict the potential of flashover.

Existing modeling approaches cannot be used in real-time firefighting due to two major problems. The first problem is that the existing models are numerically inefficient for real-time applications. Even when high performance computing is being used, a single calculation takes more than 5 minutes. The second problem is that the fire scenarios being considered by these models are oversimplified. Sensors are assumed to work at extremely high temperatures and the fire locations and vent opening conditions are assumed to be well known. In real-life situations, however, sensors will fail and the inside conditions are never known. NIST has established a smart firefighting project to enhance firefighting safety and situational awareness by enabling real-time prediction of flashover conditions in commercial building environments. To reach this goal, the relationships of fire data, such as temperature, smoke, and species concentrations, and the effect of data quality, must be understood to use machine learning for effective real-time predictions.

Key responsibilities:

• Acquire fire data, including gas temperatures, smoke concentrations, and gas species concentrations from realistic fire scenarios in commercial building environments using CFAST Data Generation (CData). The scenarios include various arbitrary building structures, different fire locations, a wide range of burning items, various door and window opening conditions simulating fire events such as glass breakage and evacuation, and operational temperature limits for fire protection sensors to account for loss of sensor signals. The PREP researcher will be responsible for collecting fire data from realistic fire scenarios and will lead the study of data behavior.
• Develop an accurate and numerically efficient prediction model that can correlate flashover conditions to the corresponding temperature behaviors. The model not only needs to overcome the limitations of available fire data, but it must be generalized so that the model can be applied to any building structures without the need of prior knowledge of the building layout and interior conditions. The PREP researcher will be responsible for helping to develop the model and will lead in optimizing the model.
• Collaborate and coordinate our research with the existing fire research community which is focusing on fundamental studies of the onset of flashover, development of machine learning based models, integration of fire modeling into fire protection systems, etc. The purpose of this thrust is to use our data to reduce firefighter deaths and injuries due to flashover by supporting the development of data-driven modeling framework to enhance firefighting safety and situational awareness. The PREP researcher will help develop research plans and assist in the transfer of NIST research to stakeholders by participating in meetings, giving presentations, and preparing reports.

Desired qualifications:

• U.S. Citizen Preferred.
• A Ph.D. degree in Architecture and Civil Engineering, Safety Science and Engineering, Safety
• Engineering, Fire Protection Engineering, or similar field.
• Solid background on Fire Safety/Protection Engineering is preferred.
• Proficient in CData, CFAST, FDS.
• Proficient in Python, MATLAB, and R.
• Well-established publication record in Q1 SCI journals.
• Practical research experience in building recommendation systems and use of computer clusters.

Please upload the following (preferably in a single PDF) with your application:

• CV/Resume

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.

• Announcement and Application