ALS Collaborative Postdoctoral Fellowships

Program Objective

The Advanced Light Source (ALS) Collaborative Postdoctoral Fellowship program provides opportunities to conduct collaborative research and instrument development in areas supporting the scientific mission of the Department of Energy (DOE), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and the ALS. Fellows pursue research projects as part of research teams comprising members of ALS staff and the user community, and are exposed to current scientific challenges that can be tackled using advanced synchrotron radiation tools. They share and exchange innovative scientific ideas and techniques to enhance their skills and professional training. Fellows will have access to a valuable combination of outstanding professional scientific and engineering staff, research instrumentation, and other facilities available at the ALS.

ALS Collaborative Postdoctoral Fellowships provide an annual stipend of $34,500 which does not include benefits. Fellows from non-US home institutions are also provided a one-time $3,000 stipend payment (included in the first monthly payment) to support additional expenses incurred to temporarily relocate to and reside in the US from abroad. Applicants must 1) locate a source of collaborative funding, usually provided by a collaborating postdoctoral advisor outside the ALS or an external postdoctoral fellowship; 2) contact one or more beamline and/or photon science staff members to discuss areas of common research interest and to agree on a potential research project and scope (staff are listed in beamline directory entries and on the ALS staff page); and 3) apply when the application window is open.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• Be legally eligible to work in the United States, regardless of citizenship;
• Have received a doctoral research degree from an accredited academic institution in an appropriate scientific or engineering discipline no more than three years before the appointment start date; 
• Provide proof of PhD at least one month prior to the fellowship start date; and 
• Provide a letter of proof of funding from the home institution or funding agency for the duration of the fellowship appointment. Example letter of institutional support.

Note that LBNL-employed students and postdocs are not eligible to apply to the ALS Fellowship Program.

Awards are for one year with the possibility of renewal.

All contingencies of an appointment offer must be met before the Fellowship term begins. If an award is offered to a doctoral degree candidate, the candidate must present acceptable evidence that all formal academic doctoral degree requirements have been met before starting the fellowship.

Successful applicants will benefit from a series of professional development activities, including an orientation program, seminars throughout the year, and an opportunity to present results at the end of the fellowship.

Expectations

Fellowships involve a full-time commitment to the collaborative postdoc research program between ALS and external advisors and possibly other ALS users. Fellows must be in residence at ALS/LBNL at least 70% of the time during the entire period of the fellowship. Fellowship research must be conducted in accordance with a plan that meets the overall research needs of the ALS.

Fellows are required to:

• Sign and abide by the appointment letter, the terms of appointment, and other required ALS/LBNL policies; 
• Submit a final report of research accomplishments to the ALS, acknowledge the support of ALS/DOE/BES in publications and presentations related to research conducted during the fellowship, and submit these publications to the ALS publication database. The specific acknowledgement language about ALS use and fellowship support you must use is listed on this page; and
• Commit to the fellowship cohort cycle dates.

Application Process Timeline for the Spring 2024 Fellowship Cycle

Application Procedure

The postdoctoral fellowship application form will ask for:

• Current C.V.
• Current publication list
• Statement of research to be performed (up to 2 pages)
• Collaborative Statement of Support from ALS host that describes how the project would advance ALS strategic directions and/or benefit the science or capabilities of ALS programs – ALS host to submit through this link
• Inclusion, diversity, equity, and accountability (IDEA) statement – please see instructions here
• Proof of PhD (required at least one month prior to the fellowship start date)

Individuals interested in applying for a fellowship must contact one or more beamline and/or photon science staff members to discuss possible projects (staff are listed in beamline directory entries and on the ALS staff page). The ALS staff member with whom they propose to work and collaborate should review the research plan, and applicants should ask them to write a letter of support to attach to their application.

Selection Procedure

All fellowship applications will be reviewed by the ALS Science Council. Applications will be evaluated based on the qualifications of the applicant, the merits of the proposed collaborative research, and the alignment of the project with ALS strategic priorities.

For more information: Please contact Ashley White, ALS Division Deputy for Strategy.

How to Apply

The next round of applications for ALS postdoctoral fellowships will open in spring 2024 for a start date of September 1, 2024.

Current Fellows

Spring 2023 Cohort

• Aidan Coffey, University of Houston (ALS host: Chenhui Zhu)
• Matthew Landsman, University of Texas at Austin (ALS host: Gregory Su)
• Min-Jae Kim, Chungnam National University (ALS host: Jinghua Guo)

Fall 2023 Cohort

• Florian Chabot, UC Irvine (ALS host: Dula Parkinson)
• Shane Devlin, University of Nevada Las Vegas (ALS host: Moni Blum)
• JiEun Lee, Pusan National University (ALS host: Sung-Kwan Mo)
• Jason Parker, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (ALS host: Dula Parkinson)

About the ALS

The ALS is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science national scientific user facility whose excellent scientific reputation, expert staff, and capabilities in the soft x-ray, hard x-ray, and infrared regimes attract approximately 1,600 academic and industrial users each year in disciplines spanning physical, chemical, materials, biological, energy, and Earth sciences. It is one of five Berkeley Lab user facilities that serve a combined 14,000 users annually. The co-location of these user facilities – including the Molecular Foundry Nanoscale Science Research Center and the NERSC scientific computing center, as well as Berkeley Lab’s outstanding programs in materials and chemical sciences among others – offers a prime environment for collaborative science. The ALS has been a global leader in soft x-ray science for more than two decades and is currently undergoing a major upgrade (ALS-U) that will endow the facility with state-of-the-art x-ray capabilities. It’s an exciting time to be at our facility!

The core values of the ALS reflect a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We seek candidates who will support a culture in which the entire ALS community feels welcomed and valued. An ongoing commitment to recruiting a vibrant, diverse and talented workforce is paramount to promoting a diverse lab community.