PhD Position in Biomembrane Modeling at Binghamton University

One PhD position with full financial support in the form of research assistant/teaching assistant is immediately available in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Binghamton University (SUNY), starting Fall 2021 or Spring 2022. This specific position is focused on the development of multiscale modeling of nanoplastic-biomembrane interactions combining continuum elasticity theory and particle-based simulation methods. The student will work in a diverse and inclusive research team and collaborate with experimentalists at Rochester Institute of Technology. Interested candidates should send a CV (including GRE/TOFEL scores and contact information of at least three professional references) and transcripts to Dr. Xin Yong (xyong at binghamton dot edu). This position will remain open until filled.


Required Qualifications:
BS in Mechanics, Applied Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a closely related area. MS with project experience and publication record is preferred.
Programming skills in C/C++, Fortran, Python, or MATLAB. Experience in parallel computing is a plus.
Experience with molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations.
Broad knowledge about soft matter physics, biophysics, and computational mechanics is a plus.

Lab and PI info:
The Soft Matter and Interfacial Phenomena Lab (SaIL) at Binghamton University (http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/~xyong/) focuses on the numerical simulation and mathematical modeling of transport and interfacial phenomena in synthetic and biological soft materials, includes but not limited to colloidal assembly, polymer gels, bacterial membranes, and biofilms. The research findings from the group have been published in highly regarded journals like Nano Lett., ACS Nano, Angew. Chemie Int. Ed., J. Colloid Interface Sci., Macromolecules, J. Biol. Chem., etc.
Dr. Xin Yong is an associate professor of mechanical engineering and associated faculty member of the Materials Science and Engineering program at Binghamton University. He received his BS in physics at Peking University in 2007 and PhD in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 2012. After graduation, he spent two years in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum
Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh as postdoctoral associate. His research has been funded by NSF, NIH, and industries.