Postdoctoral Fellow – Bio‑based Materials for Sustainable Agriculture

About the role

The Sustainable Materials Research Center (SusMaT‑RC) at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University seeks a highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellow to lead research on bio‑based functional materials for sustainable agriculture. The project focuses on water‑soil interfaces, water retention, controlled nutrient release, and soil hydration using multi‑source biomass feedstocks.

Key responsibilities

• Design, formulate and characterize biobased hydrogels, polymers and composites for agricultural applications.
• Develop and optimise protocols for nutrient encapsulation and controlled release.
• Investigate water‑use efficiency, soil moisture dynamics and nutrient availability under arid and semi‑arid conditions.
• Apply analytical, spectroscopic and microscopic techniques (FTIR, UV‑Vis, XRD, DLS, SEM‑EDS, TEM, TGA/DSC) for material characterisation.
• Maintain detailed experimental records and prepare manuscripts for high‑impact journals.
• Present findings at national and international conferences.
• Contribute to research proposals and external funding applications.
• Assist in supervising master’s and doctoral students.

Required profile

• Recent Ph.D. in Chemistry, Polymer Science, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering or a closely related discipline.
• Hands‑on experience in polymer/hydrogel synthesis, biopolymer modification and development of water‑retentive formulations.
• Strong interest in sustainable agriculture and circular‑economy concepts.

Required skills

• FTIR spectroscopy
• UV‑Vis spectroscopy
• X‑ray diffraction (XRD)
• Dynamic light scattering (DLS)
• Scanning electron microscopy with EDS (SEM‑EDS)
• Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
• Thermogravimetric analysis / differential scanning calorimetry (TGA/DSC)
• Polymer and hydrogel synthesis
• Biopolymer modification