A position for a postdoc in the Dagastine group at The University of Melbourne, for initially a year, but funding for up to 3 years on our ARC linkage project focused on product formulation in personal care products is available. The position focuses on using colloid science to develop structure-function correlations with polymer-surfactant formulations related to hair care with a need to move to materials sourced from more sustainable feedstocks.  

We're using a combination of colloidal science measurements, some atomic force microscopy and novel microfluidic platforms we have developed in my group for high throughput measurement of  quantities including emulsions drops interactions as well as rheology of concentrated surfactant and/or polymer mixtures.  It's a chance to have a real impact with an industrial partner in an ongoing project.  It presents the opportunity to work with industry as well as time onsite, if there is interest, and in an exciting intellectual environment collaborating with other groups on the project working across three universities.

About the role:

In this role you will join a team responsible for developing the next evolution in soft matter research in structure function relationships for formulations in personal care product.

Supported through an Australian Research Council Linkage grant, working closely with an industry partner and researchers from two other major Australian Universities, this project endeavors to provide the underpinning colloid and interface science and novel methods which will drive formulations to more sustainable feedstocks.

The entire sector needs to understand the synergistic interactions in these multicomponent mixites with high surfactant concentrations, polymer-surfactant complexes, and emulsions, without the benefit of the last 50 years of formulation experience used in current formulations.

You will undertake research in the areas of soft matter interfaces, microfluidic flows, and the structure-function relationships in personal care product formulations. The position will be involved in measuring the rheology of surfactant and polymer mixtures as well as the interactions between droplets as a function of emulsifiers and surface-active additives through novel colloidal characterization methods and the development and operation of unique, scalable microfluidic platforms. The experimental approach will develop the underpinning fundamental science to link the interfacial and solution microstructure to the rheology and drop interaction behavior probed via high throughput measurement approaches using these microfluidic platforms.

For a further details (including full position description) and to apply please follow the link below:

https://jobs.unimelb.edu.au/en/job/905488/research-fellow-in-soft-matter-and-product-engineering

Applications close 8th July 2021