Post-Doctoral Fellow in Battery Fire Characterization, Thermal Runaway, and CFD Modeling National Institute of Standards and Technology in United States

George Washington University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are seeking a Post-Doctoral Fellow for research on battery fires, thermal runaway, fire protection engineering, heat transfer, and computational fluid dynamics. The position is based at the NIST Campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA.

The project focuses on characterizing rechargeable battery fires, especially the ignition behavior, radiative heat transfer, and total heat release rate (HRR) of lithium-ion batteries transitioning into thermal runaway. The work is aimed at generating empirical datasets that can validate predictive CFD models and support federal standards for consumer and industrial battery hazards.

Research activities include bench- and large-scale fire experiments, cone calorimetry, radiant panel testing, custom burn chambers, and high-speed sensor metrology. The fellow will collect and analyze data from heat flux gauges, radiometers, infrared thermal cameras, thermocouples, and National Instruments DAQ systems, using Python and MATLAB pipelines.

Modeling responsibilities include simulation with FDS (Fire Dynamics Simulator) or FireFOAM to study multi-phase heat transfer and gas-phase combustion. The role is especially suited to candidates with a Ph.D. in Fire Protection Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related field.

Eligibility highlights include strong experimental expertise in convective/radiative heat transfer, cone calorimetry, CFD fire modeling, and hardware familiarity with data acquisition systems and sensors. The post states that the Ph.D. must be completed by the start date.

No deadline, stipend, or funding package is specified in the post. Interested applicants should use the application link provided in the post and prepare materials demonstrating relevant experimental and modeling experience.