The Georgia Tech Institute for Materials (IMat) is seeking diverse, interdisciplinary and active academic and research faculty, including from GTRI, with a range of experience levels, who have interest in research leadership and community building. The Initiative Leaders will:

• Assist IMat in identifying GT strengths and gaps in a given materials research domain
• Identify emerging research directions, opportunities for new large-scale research centers and partnerships, and new infrastructure needs in a given materials research domain.
• Help build an inclusive and active community of interdisciplinary researchers across and beyond GT in a given materials research domain using activities such as technical workshops.
• Enable GT to create and respond to large-scale, multi-investigator extramural funding opportunities including large-scale research centers (e.g. NSF MRSEC, NSF ERC/STC, DOE EFRC), and industry partnerships and consortia.
• Broadly communicate IMat’s vision and activities both within and outside of GT.
• Regularly meet as a group with the IMat Executive Director, Innovation Director, and Science Advisor to identify overlaps between the initiatives and plan activities.

IMat currently supports nine of these initiatives (https://research.gatech.edu/materials/research_overview) that cross a wide range of areas of materials research from fundamental science to applications, and in a broad cross-section of domains. New initiatives should be distinct from the existing initiatives and at the intersection of a committed leader, a community of researchers at Georgia Tech, and a materials area that has potential for future, large-scale interdisciplinary research. Examples of activities that initiatives pursue include: submission of large-scale interdisciplinary proposals, development of industry consortia, technical workshops, brainstorming/planning meetings with teams of faculty, publishing of review articles or opinion pieces that develop the vision for the initiative, websites or meetings with external stakeholders that communicate GT’s activities in the space, roadmap development, and plans for or acquisition of new infrastructure, equipment, and capabilities important to the initiative.

The roles of IMat Initiative Leads will be announced annually, with existing Initiative Leaders considered for renewal based on their progress in achieving community building goals and their impact on IMat and the materials innovation ecosystem at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

All areas of materials research will be considered; examples include: Materials in Extreme Environments, Lightweight Structural Materials, the Science of Soft Materials, Biologically Inspired Materials, Materials for Biomedical Applications, and Materials Theory, Simulation and Data Science. Where appropriate, Initiative Leaders will also collaborate with other IRIs. In recognition of their service, IMat Initiative Leaders will receive discretionary funds. Initiatives will be considered for renewal annually based on their progress in achieving the aforementioned goals and their impact on IMat and the GT materials innovation ecosystem.

To apply, please submit a CV and a two-page position statement to Cecelia Jones (cecelia.jones@me.gatech.edu) by 5 PM on May 18th. The position statement should include (1) A description of the materials research domain in which you are interested and a list of interdisciplinary faculty that align with the initiative. This can be one of the above materials research domains or any other suggested area related to materials. A brief technical/scientific description of the area and why this is an important materials area for GT in the future should be provided. If there is potential for overlap with the existing initiatives, the description should include why you feel it is distinct. Include any potential collaborations with existing IRIs or research centers at GT. Also include a brief description of your research background and how it overlaps with the research domain of interest. (2) A description of your experience and/or interests in leadership and community building. This should include your thoughts on how to build community as an Initiative Leader for the proposed research domain.

For any questions regarding these positions, you may contact Eric Vogel (eric.vogel@mse.gatech.edu).

About IMat

Materials discovery is the foundation of many new technologies and is vital to economic growth as well as to the development of solutions to 21st century challenges in energy, mobility, infrastructure, computing, communications, security, and health. The reach and impact of GT’s materials research is broad; from fundamental physics and chemistry, to simulation, synthesis, processing and characterization, to properties that impact structural, chemical, biomedical, electronic, optical, magnetic, thermal, and energy applications. As one of Georgia Tech’s Interdisciplinary Research Institutes (IRIs), the Institute for Materials (IMat) seeks to enable and support Georgia Tech’s internationally recognized materials research and innovation ecosystem, from fundamental science to applications and policy; establishing and supporting large-scale industry- and government-funded partnerships and research centers, developing opportunities for GT researchers to catalyze new teams and ideas, and establishing GT as an internationally recognized hub for core materials research facilities and infrastructure.