Postdoc Position Announcement
(posted Nov 2007)

Feedback Control of Particles to Nanometer Precision
Dr. J. Alexander Liddle, National Institute of Standard and Technology
Dr. Benjamin Shapiro, University of Maryland at College Park

The Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology at NIST and the Control of Micro-Scale Systems laboratory at UMD have a joint program to manipulate, trap and steer multiple particles in 3-dimensions to nanometer precision by feedback control. This project will extend Dr. Shapiro’s expertise in simultaneous control of multiple particles on the micro-scale and Dr. Liddle’s expertise in nano-scale sensing, to enable feedback control to nanoscale resolution. A high-impact capability, enabling, for example, precision nano-scale assembly, that has never been demonstrated.

Left: Steering of a yeast cell by feedback control to 1 mm resolution (Shapiro). Right: 3D tracking of a freely diffusing 190 nm particle (McMahon/Liddle).

Competitive applicants should have earned, or be about to earn, their PhD, and be familiar with control theory, programming for real-time applications (DSP, real-time estimation algorithms), and must have had at least some experimental experience. Expertise in micro-fluidics and MEMS fabrication is a plus but is not required (we already have those capabilities at NIST and at UMD). The ideal candidate would combine expertise in advanced control theory, image processing in real-time applications, and control of MEMS or micro-fluidics, but we do not expect to find a candidate that has expertise in all 3 areas and will hire a talented researcher that has expertise in some but not all of these areas.

The position is with University of Maryland and research will be carried out both at the University of Maryland and at NIST – the two campuses are located within 30 minutes of each other by car. Both US and foreign citizens are eligible for this position.

How to apply

Interested applicants are encouraged to visit the two web-pages listed above for general information, and to submit their hardcopy applications to Dr. Benjamin Shapiro (a short cover letter, resume, a list of graduate classes taken, a sample of 1-3 published papers, and a list of 4 references that we may contact – the packet should be marked as “application for nano-control position”). We expect to review applicants from Dec’07 till March’08, and to have a start-date shortly thereafter, as applicants’ circumstances dictate.

Questions can be addressed by email to:

benshap@wam.umd.edu or
liddle@email.nist.gov

Both the University of Maryland and the Department of Commerce are Equal Opportunity Employers.