Ensured Consideration Date: August 5, 2026
Michigan Technological University is an R1 technological research university founded in 1885 in Houghton. Our rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's scenic Upper Peninsula and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan's flagship technological university offers more than 185 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Research focus areas include defense, health, energy, automotive, environment, and aerospace.
The area's waters, forests, and snowfall support year-round recreation, including skiing, snowboarding, hiking, biking, and paddling. The University is an integral part of the region, supported by a friendly and welcoming community that takes pride in being a true college town. We embrace our size, climate, sense of adventure, and originality.
Summary
The Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) at Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) aims to advance freshwater and coastal ocean research as a foundation for health, economic prosperity and global sustainability through interdisciplinary research cutting across Michigan Tech's academic programs. The GLRC institute includes collaborative faculty from twelve disciplines within the Colleges of Engineering, Computing, Sciences and Arts, Business, and Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences. The GLRC seeks a Research Scientist II or III to support and grow research on fuel and energy systems, chemicals, as well as characterization and analysis of plastics. Activities will include oversight of Dr. Landis's Plastics Analytics Lab, life cycle assessment, and technoeconomic analysis.
The Research Scientist will be involved in many current and upcoming research projects and would also be expected to lead new projects in collaboration with Dr. Landis and other GLRC faculty. current research projects include development of stakeholder engagement and life cycle assessments of hydrogen systems; material flow analysis (MFA), life cycle analysis (LCA) and technoeconomic analysis (TEA) of polymers and resins; characterization and analysis of micro and macro plastics in freshwater and coastal ocean environments.
Responsibilities and Essential Duties
1. Build MFAs, LCAs, TEAs and analyze results.
2. Manage Plastics Analytics Lab wet-lab; current lab research activities include digestion of organic matter, separation and characterization of plastics from environmental samples.
3. Support field-work, including sampling in a variety of environments such as freshwater, oceans, agricultural systems, drinking water, and more.
4. Contribute technical expertise to sponsored research as both a project lead and team member.
5. Successfully grow a funded research program, to become self-supporting into the future.
6. Prepare and deliver reports or presentations of research projects/analysis results for peer-reviewed publication and to project sponsors as appropriate.
7. Lead and contribute to the generation of proposals and external funding.
8. Apply safety-related knowledge, skills, and practices to everyday work.
9. Apply research security knowledge to data, facilities, and personnel.
10. Commit to learning about continuous improvement strategies and applying them to everyday work. Actively engage in University continuous improvement initiatives.
Required Education, Certifications, Licensures
* Ph.D. in engineering, chemistry, ecology, or similar related field
* U.S. citizen or permanent resident with ability to obtain and maintain necessary government clearances and access
Required Experience
* Experience with life cycle analysis (LCA)
* Experience in a laboratory environment
* Experience in stakeholder engagement
* Record of scholarly productivity, including peer-reviewed publications
Desirable Education and/or Experience
* Experience with MFA
* Experience with TEA
* Experience in field sampling
* Experience in plastic separation and characterization methods
* Demonstrated leadership, project management, and mentoring experience in a research environment Successful grant proposal authorship and execution
* Graduate-level coursework in one or more programming languages and statistical courses, particularly with environmental or ecological data
Required Knowledge, Skills, and/or Abilities
* Experience in one or more of the following programming languages/software: python, R, statistical analysis tools, OpenLCA, or other relevant software
* Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage diverse partners and represent the organization externally
Desirable Knowledge, Skills, and/or Abilities
* Experience in one or more of the following programming languages/software: python, R, statistical analysis tools, OpenLCA, or other relevant software
* Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage diverse partners and represent the organization externally
* Demonstrated success in, or potential future contributions to, working with persons with a wide variety of backgrounds and viewpoints
Language, Mathematics and/or Reasoning Skills
Work Environment and/or Physical Demands
WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate. Ability to travel internationally. Ability to collect field... For full info follow application link.
Michigan Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer that provides equal opportunity for all, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.
