LRSM Special Lecture: “Pursuing a Scientific Career at a National Laboratory”

If you are finishing your PhD or your postdoctoral tenure you may be asking yourself, What’s next? Should I pursue an academic career, as my thesis adviser or postdoctoral supervisor has done? Or should I look elsewhere, perhaps at industry, or government? These are great questions that most of us have asked ourselves at the beginning of our professional life. And while I believe that the university, the private sector, and public service are excellent options to consider, I am here to invite you to add one more possibility – being a scientist at one of the national laboratories, most of which are run by the US Department of Energy.

In this short talk, I will first briefly compare a research university with a national laboratory. Then, I will use Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), on Long Island (NY), as an example to describe representative national-laboratory programs on materials science and condensed-matter physics, and the large facilities available for projects, among many others, on quantum materials, catalysis, and materials self-assembly. Finally, I will describe a typical career path at BNL and mention current and future opportunities for staff and postdoctoral positions.

An essential part of this informational seminar is the Questions and Answers period that will follow the talk.