PhD position available at Texas A&M University

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY and TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY AT QATAR

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

PhD position available

A PhD student position is available starting in fall 2020 jointly at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University (TAMU) and Chemical Engineering Program of Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) related to the project “Innovative Asymmetric Mixed Matrix Hollow Fiber Membranes for Gas Mixture Separation” funded by the Qatar National Research Fund.

The goal of the project is to develop innovative scalable approaches to prepare asymmetric metal-organic framework (MOF)-based mixed matrix hollow fiber membranes and their first-ever modules as well as to finely control their molecular sieving properties for the separations of mixture gases under consideration. Gas mixtures of interest include, among others, C₂H₄/C₂H₆, C₃H₆/C₃H₈, N₂/CH₄, and CO₂/CH₄. The practical separation applications of energy-efficient membranes are hindered mainly due to the limitations of 1) current membrane materials (i.e., polymers) and 2) current processing technologies of new membrane materials. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), in particular zeolitic-imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), offer unique opportunities for gas separations (e.g., ZIF-8 membranes for C3 separation). Polycrystalline MOF membranes are, however, prohibitively expensive. Over the last two decades, mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), composite polymer membranes with more selective fillers such as MOFs (ZIFs), have been extensively studied as an evolutionary solution. The project involves experimental work on synthesis and characterization of new membranes and computational work at the molecular and mesoscopic level. This PhD position available refers to the computational part of the project.

The PhD student will be jointly supervised by Professor Hae-Kwon Jeong at TAMU in College Station, Texas, USA and Professor Ioannis Economou at TAMUQ in Doha, Qatar. The PhD student should be admitted at the Chemical Engineering PhD program of TAMU and is expected to spend his/her first year in the main campus of TAMU in College Station and the subsequent years in Doha, Qatar. A complete application should include the following:

(a) Undergraduate and graduate transcripts,
(b) GRE general test scores,
(c) Statement of purpose,
(d) Three letters of recommendation,
(e) TOEFL IBT or IELTS English proficiency exams (only required for international applicants).

The application submission deadline for international applicants is December 1, 2019.

For more details on the application process click here.

The official announcement can be found here.