IPST Postdoctoral Fellowship in Artificial Chemical Intelligence

The Institute for Physical Science & Technology (IPST) invites applications for postdoctoral fellowships in Artificial Chemical Intelligence — research at the interface of {Proteins ∪ RNA ∪ Chemistry} ∩ AI ∩ (Statistical Mechanics). Up to 2 fellows will be hired to work with the Tiwary Lab and positions will stay open until filled.

What you’ll do

You will develop the next generation of AI methods for the physical and life sciences. These will include methods that fuse AI with rigorous statistical mechanics (thermodynamics and dynamics) to tackle health- and energy-relevant problems where data is very limited. You will design models that embed physical constraints, learn ensembles from scarce/noisy measurements, and transfer across environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, solvent, concentration, cell type), remaining robust, uncertainty-aware, and not brittle under distribution shift. You will collaborate with scientists in the Tiwary lab at IPST and the Institute for Health Computing as well as national lab and industry collaborators.

Qualifications

Publications demonstrating expertise in deploying and developing AI models, and domain expertise in at least one of proteins, RNA, or chemistry/molecular sciences generally; experience in statistical mechanics is desirable but not required. PhD in a science/engineering field by start; strong scientific computing and written/verbal communication skills.

Support

$80,000 salary, full UMD benefits, $5,000 yearly research funds, and access to UMD’s Zaratan (3.5 PF) HPC. Initial 1-year term, renewable by one more year depending on conditions; flexible start; rolling applications.

What else will you gain

1. Career mentoring for academia and industry — job materials, interview/chalk-talk prep, and targeted networking.

2. Research independence and leadership — own projects, co-advise students and lead collaborations.

3. Tools, training, and visibility — access to different HPC and modern ML/simulation stacks; national/international speaking opportunities and cross-academia/industry connections.

How to apply (email: ptiwary@umd.edu)

1. CV (≤2 pages) with publications + code repository link showing your work + contact info for 2 references

2. Research statement (≤2 pages) outlining past work and future plans at the interface of {Proteins ∪ RNA ∪ Chemistry} ∩ AI ∩ (Statistical Mechanics).