The University at Buffalo seeks applications and nominations to fill a newly created, full professor position in the area, broadly defined, of the use of x-ray lasers in life sciences, chemistry, or materials sciences. Appointment will be made in an appropriate School and Department, depending on the background and desires of the candidate. The successful candidate will also be a key leader in the BioXFEL Center (https://www.bioxfel.org/ ).

 

This NSF-funded Science and Technology Center is transforming how structural biology is done by developing the use of X-ray lasers to: make "molecular movies" that capture the functional motions of biological molecules in atomic detail; determine protein structures from nanocrystals a hundred times smaller than crystals that can be used today at conventional x-ray sources; and develop the capacity to determine the structures of single particles. The University at Buffalo seeks to use this Center award as leverage to develop a strong research and academic presence in x-ray laser science. This Center's interdisciplinary effort spans investigations at the interface of materials science and engineering, physics, mathematics, computer science, biochemistry, and biology. Through a focus on graduate student education and other educational programs it will empower future generations in science and engineering. 


Research: The successful candidate will demonstrate strengths in one or more research areas that can exploit the capabilities of x-ray lasers. These may include topics in the current BioXFEL portfolio, or new fields such as detector development and expansion into areas at the intersection of structural biology and materials science that would expand BioXFEL's horizons. The successful candidate will: have a strong track record of published, highly visible scientific achievements; have a strong history of external, peer-reviewed research funding; and be an acknowledged leader in her or his field. 

Management and Leadership: The successful candidate will demonstrate strengths including: past participation in large-scale collaborations and joint research proposals; experience with funding and resource development for large centers; management skills to establish future cross discipline research approaches; effective communication skills; and both near-future and strategic vision. 

Key Areas of Research Include: XFEL studies of biological/biochemical systems, such as enzyme catalysis. Dynamics associated with processes in biological and materials systems such as approaches to reaction triggering; ultrafast processes; and simulations. XFEL studies in inorganic and macromolecular systems, such as nanoparticles and colloids. Develop new capabilities for X-ray lasers such as: single particle imaging; time-resolved wide angle x-ray scattering; X-ray absorption and X-ray emission spectroscopies; study of matter under extreme state; and structure/function relationships of nanoscale materials. 

The successful applicant will have the opportunity to interact with a diverse interdisciplinary group that includes interaction with the new UB Department of Materials Design and Innovation which has a unique focus on data intensive imaging and spectroscopy as well as the multiple institutions participating in BioXFEL. Applicants should write a vision statement no longer than two pages that develops frontier ideas for XFEL research both at a personal and institutional level. 
 

Full position ad can be seen here