This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. 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:
Engineering for a Circular Economy
The work will entail:
NIST’s Engineering Lab (EL) Systems Integration Division, Life Cycle Engineering Group is seeking a researcher in product design for microelectronic circularity. We are expanding our research to develop ways of maximizing the value of U.S. microelectronics and semiconductors based on principles of circular economy. Microelectronics are valued for their processing capabilities and the materials that they contain. Our team, together with our external partners, is developing new practices for design that will better enable recovery.
The design research aspects of the work explore new ways to integrate circularity assessment into the design of products containing microelectronics. We are developing new metrics and measurement methods to allow designers to assess and plan for
the recoverability of these complex products. Additionally, this work focuses on the identification of information and data needs to provide decision-support to consumers and enable end of life stakeholders (recyclers, municipalities, waste managers, infrastructure providers) that improve the volume of valuable microelectronics to be recovered
The methods developed in this work will be used to inform future product design and may be a basis for corporate or open standards. We will drive the state of the art forward with advanced techniques in life cycle assessment, simulation, and AI- and data-driven design. Results will include a suite of decision support tools (metrics, models, and published research) and new standards to improve recovery outcomes, thereby strengthening supply chain resiliency via new material sources, and enabling stakeholders to respond dynamically to material availability challenges in the future.
We seek experienced research candidates with a background in products design, micro and nano engineering, and/or supply-chain interoperability, and a Ph.D. (preferred), M.S. and/or related experience with a record of research in peer-reviewed publications. US citizenship needed.
Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Conduct a landscape survey documenting the state of the art in chip and microelectronic design, including existing efforts for reuse, recycling and refurbishment and current methods to quantify financial and environmental impact
- Partner will stakeholders in the semiconductor ecosystem to develop and test fit-for-purpose recovery metrics
- Outline best design practices for circular and sustainable microelectronic products and support the development of documentary standards to disseminate findings
- Integrate end of life data with computational design to enable better recovery outcomes for microelectronics
- Publish and present findings through internal reports, peer-reviewed conferences, and academic journals
Qualifications
Desired skills/technical knowledge include a combination from the following:
- Understanding of micro/nano fabrication processes for chips and first-principle modeling
- Experience with systems thinking and supply chain modeling
- Familiarity with LCA and related forms of assessment used to evaluate environmental performance of products
- Programming, data analysis and visualization with Python and/or MATLAB
Experience or study of product design and engineering principles for sustainability.
The university is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer that does not unlawfully discriminate in any of its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.