Post-Doctoral Fellow in Seismic Steel Design for Functional Recovery National Institute of Standards and Technology in United States

George Washington University, via the NIST Professional Research Experience Program (PREP), is recruiting a Post-Doctoral Fellow for Seismic Steel Design for Functional Recovery at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States.

The project sits at the intersection of civil engineering, structural engineering, earthquake engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science, and computational mechanics. The successful candidate will work with leading seismic experts to move beyond collapse prevention toward resilience-based functional recovery for steel buildings after major earthquakes.

Research tasks include building high-fidelity nonlinear finite element models of steel components such as beam-column connections and braced frames, calibrating and validating models against experimental seismic datasets, running nonlinear dynamic analyses on building archetypes, and translating results into technical design guidance and future seismic code and policy metrics.

Eligibility highlights include a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering with a strong focus on the behavior, mechanics, and design of steel structures, demonstrated experience in experimental testing of structural steel, nonlinear analysis of steel systems under high-strain seismic loads, proficiency with advanced finite element software, and scripting skills in Python or MATLAB. A strong publication record in structural engineering journals is also expected.

This is a postdoctoral opening rather than a scholarship or degree programme. The post does not specify a deadline or detailed funding package, but it is presented as a professional research experience opportunity at NIST.