Details

Posted: 14-Dec-22

Location: West Lafayette, Indiana

Salary: competitive

Categories:

Physics: Physics

Sector:

Academic

Work Function:

Faculty 4-Year College/University

Preferred Education:

Doctorate

The Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Science at Purdue University invites applications for a non-tenure track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor of Practice. The successful candidate will support the learning and engagement activities of the Department, defined broadly.

Qualifications: Candidates must have a PhD in Physics or Astronomy or closely related field, with a track record and a commitment to teaching and engagement. Successful candidates will teach at undergraduate and graduate levels, participate in curriculum development for face-to-face and online courses, conduct professional development of teaching assistants, engage in scholarship of teaching and learning, including seeking external funding to support these efforts, dedicate time to committee work related to learning and engagement activities, contribute to recruitment and retention of students, and participate in departmental outreach efforts.

The Department and College: The Department of Physics and Astronomy has 60 tenured and tenure-track professors, 190 graduate students, and 280 undergraduates. The Department is engaged in research in astrophysics, atomic, molecular, and optical physics, biological physics, condensed matter, high energy, nuclear physics, and physics education, as well as university-wide multidisciplinary research in data science, nanoscience, photonics, and quantum information science involving the Birck Nanotechnology Center, the Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute, and the Colleges of Engineering. For more information, see https://www.physics.purdue.edu/.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is part of the College of Science, which comprises the physical, computing and life sciences at Purdue. It is the second-largest college at Purdue with over 350 faculty and more than 6000 students. With multiple commitments of significant investment and strong alignment with Purdue leadership, the College is committed to supporting existing strengths and enhancing the scope and impact of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Purdue itself is one of the nations leading land-grant universities, with an enrollment of over 41,000 students primarily focused on STEM subjects. For more information, see https://www.purdue.edu/purduemoves/initiatives/stem/index.php.

Application Procedure: Applicants should apply electronically at https://careers.purdue.edu/job-invite/22139/

that includes (1) a cover letter, (2) a complete curriculum vitae, and (3) statement of teaching and learning.

Purdue University, the College of Science, and the Department of Physics and Astronomy are committed to advancing diversity in all areas of faculty effort, including discovery, instruction, and engagement. Candidates are encouraged to address in their cover letter how they are prepared to contribute to a climate that values diversity and inclusion. Purdue University, the College of Science, and the Department of Physics and Astronomy are committed to free and open inquiry in all matters. Candidates are encouraged to address in their cover letter how they are prepared to contribute to a climate that values free inquiry and academic freedom.

Additionally, applicants should arrange for three letters of reference to be e-mailed to the Search Chair at physpop@purdue.edu. Applications will be held in strict confidence and will be reviewed beginning January 30, 2023. Applications will remain in consideration until the position is filled. A background check will be required for employment in this position.

Purdue University is an EOE/AA employer. All individuals, including minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.

About Purdue University

Physics explores the fundamental mysteries of nature...from how the universe was created, to how biological systems function, to how to create new forms of matter. The strength of Purdue's physics department is its internationally recognized research in the areas of astrophysics, high energy physics, geophysics, nanophysics, nuclear physics, sensor technology, biophysics and more. How chlorophyll and hemoglobin work, the structure of black holes, the search for fundamental particles, the precise dating of Stonehenge, and new sensors for homeland defense are a few of the topics that drive the research in our department.

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Assistant Professor of Practice in West Lafayette, IN for Purdue University

Overview

Safe and readily available water is important for public health, whether it is used for drinking, domestic use, food production or recreational purposes. Improved water supply and sanitation, and better management of water resources, can boost countries economic growth and can contribute greatly to poverty reduction.

In 2010, the UN General Assembly explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation. Everyone has the right to sufficient, continuous, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use.

Sustainable Development Goal target 6.1 calls for universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water. The target is tracked with the indicator of safely managed drinking water services drinking water from an improved water source that is located on premises, available when needed, and free from faecal and priority chemical contamination.

In 2020, 5.8 billion people used safely managed drinking-water services that is, they used improved water sources located on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination. The remaining 2 billion people without safely managed services in 2020 included:

Sharp geographic, sociocultural and economic inequalities persist, not only between rural and urban areas but also in towns and cities where people living in low-income, informal or illegal settlements usually have less access to improved sources of drinking-water than other residents.

Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio. Absent, inadequate, or inappropriately managed water and sanitation services expose individuals to preventable health risks. This is particularly the case in health care facilities where both patients and staff are placed at additional risk of infection and disease when water, sanitation and hygiene services are lacking. Globally, 15% of patients develop an infection during a hospital stay, with the proportion much greater in low-income countries.

Inadequate management of urban, industrial and agricultural wastewater means the drinking-water of hundreds of millions of people is dangerously contaminated or chemically polluted. Natural presence of chemicals, particularly in groundwater, can also be of health significance, including arsenic and fluoride, while other chemicals, such as lead, may be elevated in drinking-water as a result of leaching from water supply components in contact with drinking-water.

Some 829000 people are estimated to die each year from diarrhoea as a result of unsafe drinking-water, sanitation and hand hygiene. Yet diarrhoea is largely preventable, and the deaths of 297000 children aged under 5 years could be avoided each year if these risk factors were addressed. Where water is not readily available, people may decide handwashing is not a priority, thereby adding to the likelihood of diarrhoea and other diseases.

Diarrhoea is the most widely known disease linked to contaminated food and water but there are other hazards. In 2017, over 220 million people required preventative treatment for schistosomiasis an acute and chronic disease caused by parasitic worms contracted through exposure to infested water.

In many parts of the world, insects that live or breed in water carry and transmit diseases such as dengue fever. Some of these insects, known as vectors, breed in clean, rather than dirty water, and household drinking water containers can serve as breeding grounds. The simple intervention of covering water storage containers can reduce vector breeding and may also reduce faecal contamination of water at the household level.

When water comes from improved and more accessible sources, people spend less time and effort physically collecting it, meaning they can be productive in other ways. This can also result in greater personal safety and reducing musculoskeletal disorders by reducing the need to make long or risky journeys to collect and carry water. Better water sources also mean less expenditure on health, as people are less likely to fall ill and incur medical costs and are better able to remain economically productive.

With children particularly at risk from water-related diseases, access to improved sources of water can result in better health, and therefore better school attendance, with positive longer-term consequences for their lives.

Historical rates of progress would need to double for the world to achieve universal coverage with basic drinking water services by 2030. To achieve universal safely managed services, rates would need to quadruple. Climate change, increasing water scarcity, population growth, demographic changes and urbanization already pose challenges for water supply systems. Over 2 billion people live in water-stressed countries, which is expected to be exacerbated in some regions as result of climate change and population growth. Re-use of wastewater to recover water, nutrients or energy is becoming an important strategy. Increasingly countries are using wastewater for irrigation; in developing countries this represents 7% of irrigated land. While this practice if done inappropriately poses health risks, safe management of wastewater can yield multiple benefits, including increased food production.

Options for water sources used for drinking-water and irrigation will continue to evolve, with an increasing reliance on groundwater and alternative sources, including wastewater. Climate change will lead to greater fluctuations in harvested rainwater. Management of all water resources will need to be improved to ensure provision and quality.

As the international authority on public health and water quality, WHO leads global efforts to prevent water-related disease, advising governments on the development of health-based targets and regulations.

WHO produces a series of water quality guidelines, including on drinking-water, safe use of wastewater, and recreational water quality. The water quality guidelines are based on managing risks, and since 2004 the Guidelines for drinking-water quality promote the Framework for safe drinking-water. The Framework recommends establishment of health-based targets, the development and implementation of water safety plans by water suppliers to most effectively identify and manage risks from catchment to consumer, and independent surveillance to ensure that water safety plans are effective and health-based targets are being met.

The drinking-water guidelines are supported by background publications that provide the technical basis for the Guidelines recommendations. WHO also supports countries to implement the drinking-water quality guidelines through the development of practical guidance materials and provision of direct country support. This includes the development of locally relevant drinking-water quality regulations aligned to the principles in the Guidelines, the development, implementation and auditing of water safety plans and strengthening of surveillance practices.

Since 2014, WHO has been testing household water treatment products against WHO health-based performance criteria through the WHO International Scheme to Evaluate Household Water Treatment Technologies. The aim of the scheme is to ensure that products protect users from the pathogens that cause diarrhoeal disease and to strengthen policy, regulatory and monitoring mechanisms at the national level to support appropriate targeting and consistent and correct use of such products.

WHO works closely with UNICEF in a number of areas concerning water and health, including on water, sanitation, and hygiene in health care facilities. In 2015 the two agencies jointly developed WASH FIT (Water and Sanitation for Health Facility Improvement Tool), an adaptation of the water safety plan approach. WASH FIT aims to guide small, primary health care facilities in low- and middle-income settings through a continuous cycle of improvement through assessments, prioritization of risk, and definition of specific, targeted actions. A 2019 reportdescribes practical steps that countries can take to improve water, sanitation and hygiene in health care facilities.

Excerpt from:
Drinking-water - World Health Organization

This timeline features Premodern example of nanotechnology, as well as Modern Era discoveries and milestones in the field of nanotechnology.

Early examples of nanostructured materials were based on craftsmens empirical understanding and manipulation of materials. Use of high heat was one common step in their processes to produce these materials with novel properties.

The Lycurgus Cup at the British Museum, lit from the outside (left) and from the inside (right)

4th Century: The Lycurgus Cup (Rome) is an example of dichroic glass; colloidal gold and silver in the glass allow it to look opaque green when lit from outside but translucent red when light shines through the inside. (Images at left.)

9th-17th Centuries: Glowing, glittering luster ceramic glazes used in the Islamic world, and later in Europe, contained silver or copper or other metallic nanoparticles. (Image at right.)

6th-15th Centuries: Vibrant stained glass windows in European cathedrals owed their rich colors to nanoparticles of gold chloride and other metal oxides and chlorides; gold nanoparticles also acted as photocatalytic air purifiers. (Image at left.)

13th-18th Centuries: Damascus saber blades contained carbon nanotubes and cementite nanowiresan ultrahigh-carbon steel formulation that gave them strength, resilience, the ability to hold a keen edge, and a visible moir pattern in the steel that give the blades their name. (Images below.)

These are based on increasingly sophisticated scientific understanding and instrumentation, as well as experimentation.

1857: Michael Faraday discovered colloidal ruby gold, demonstrating that nanostructured gold under certain lighting conditions produces different-colored solutions.

1936: Erwin Mller, working at Siemens Research Laboratory, invented the field emission microscope, allowing near-atomic-resolution images of materials.

1947: John Bardeen, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain at Bell Labs discovered the semiconductor transistor and greatly expanded scientific knowledge of semiconductor interfaces, laying the foundation for electronic devices and the Information Age.

1950: Victor La Mer and Robert Dinegar developed the theory and a process for growing monodisperse colloidal materials. Controlled ability to fabricate colloids enables myriad industrial uses such as specialized papers, paints, and thin films, even dialysis treatments.

1951: Erwin Mller pioneered the field ion microscope, a means to image the arrangement of atoms at the surface of a sharp metal tip; he first imaged tungsten atoms.

1956: Arthur von Hippel at MIT introduced many concepts ofand coined the termmolecular engineering as applied to dielectrics, ferroelectrics, and piezoelectrics

1958: Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments originated the concept of, designed, and built the first integrated circuit, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 2000. (Image at left.)

1959: Richard Feynman of the California Institute of Technology gave what is considered to be the first lecture on technology and engineering at the atomic scale, "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" at an American Physical Society meeting at Caltech. (Image at right.)

1965: Intel co-founder Gordon Moore described in Electronics magazine several trends he foresaw in the field of electronics. One trend now known as Moores Law, described the density of transistors on an integrated chip (IC) doubling every 12 months (later amended to every 2 years). Moore also saw chip sizes and costs shrinking with their growing functionalitywith a transformational effect on the ways people live and work. That the basic trend Moore envisioned has continued for 50 years is to a large extent due to the semiconductor industrys increasing reliance on nanotechnology as ICs and transistors have approached atomic dimensions.1974: Tokyo Science University Professor Norio Taniguchi coined the term nanotechnology to describe precision machining of materials to within atomic-scale dimensional tolerances. (See graph at left.)

1981: Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer at IBMs Zurich lab invented the scanning tunneling microscope, allowing scientists to "see" (create direct spatial images of) individual atoms for the first time. Binnig and Rohrer won the Nobel Prize for this discovery in 1986.

1981: Russias Alexei Ekimov discovered nanocrystalline, semiconducting quantum dots in a glass matrix and conducted pioneering studies of their electronic and optical properties.

1985: Rice University researchers Harold Kroto, Sean OBrien, Robert Curl, and Richard Smalley discovered the Buckminsterfullerene (C60), more commonly known as the buckyball, which is a molecule resembling a soccer ball in shape and composed entirely of carbon, as are graphite and diamond. The team was awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their roles in this discovery and that of the fullerene class of molecules more generally. (Artist's rendering at right.)

1985: Bell Labss Louis Brus discovered colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots), for which he shared the 2008 Kavli Prize in Nanotechnology.

1986: Gerd Binnig, Calvin Quate, and Christoph Gerber invented the atomic force microscope, which has the capability to view, measure, and manipulate materials down to fractions of a nanometer in size, including measurement of various forces intrinsic to nanomaterials.

1989:Don Eigler and Erhard Schweizer at IBM's Almaden Research Center manipulated 35 individual xenon atoms to spell out the IBM logo. This demonstration of the ability to precisely manipulate atoms ushered in the applied use of nanotechnology. (Image at left.)

1990s: Early nanotechnology companies began to operate, e.g., Nanophase Technologies in 1989, Helix Energy Solutions Group in 1990, Zyvex in 1997, Nano-Tex in 1998.

1991: Sumio Iijima of NEC is credited with discovering the carbon nanotube (CNT), although there were early observations of tubular carbon structures by others as well. Iijima shared the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience in 2008 for this advance and other advances in the field. CNTs, like buckyballs, are entirely composed of carbon, but in a tubular shape. They exhibit extraordinary properties in terms of strength, electrical and thermal conductivity, among others. (Image below.)

1992: C.T. Kresge and colleagues at Mobil Oil discovered the nanostructured catalytic materials MCM-41 and MCM-48, now used heavily in refining crude oil as well as for drug delivery, water treatment, and other varied applications.

1993: Moungi Bawendi of MIT invented a method for controlled synthesis of nanocrystals (quantum dots), paving the way for applications ranging from computing to biology to high-efficiency photovoltaics and lighting. Within the next several years, work by other researchers such as Louis Brus and Chris Murray also contributed methods for synthesizing quantum dots.

1998: The Interagency Working Group on Nanotechnology (IWGN) was formed under the National Science and Technology Council to investigate the state of the art in nanoscale science and technology and to forecast possible future developments. The IWGNs study and report, Nanotechnology Research Directions: Vision for the Next Decade (1999) defined the vision for and led directly to formation of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative in 2000.

1999: Cornell University researchers Wilson Ho and Hyojune Lee probed secrets of chemical bonding by assembling a molecule [iron carbonyl Fe(CO)2] from constituent components [iron (Fe) and carbon monoxide (CO)] with a scanning tunneling microscope. (Image at left.)

1999: Chad Mirkin at Northwestern University invented dip-pen nanolithography (DPN), leading to manufacturable, reproducible writing of electronic circuits as well as patterning of biomaterials for cell biology research, nanoencryption, and other applications. (Image below right.)

1999early 2000s: Consumer products making use of nanotechnology began appearing in the marketplace, including lightweight nanotechnology-enabled automobile bumpers that resist denting and scratching, golf balls that fly straighter, tennis rackets that are stiffer (therefore, the ball rebounds faster), baseball bats with better flex and "kick," nano-silver antibacterial socks, clear sunscreens, wrinkle- and stain-resistant clothing, deep-penetrating therapeutic cosmetics, scratch-resistant glass coatings, faster-recharging batteries for cordless electric tools, and improved displays for televisions, cell phones, and digital cameras.

2000: President Clinton launched the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) to coordinate Federal R&D efforts and promote U.S. competitiveness in nanotechnology. Congress funded the NNI for the first time in FY2001. The NSET Subcommittee of the NSTC was designated as the interagency group responsible for coordinating the NNI.

2003: Congress enacted the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (P.L. 108-153). The act provided a statutory foundation for the NNI, established programs, assigned agency responsibilities, authorized funding levels, and promoted research to address key issues.

2003: Naomi Halas, Jennifer West, Rebekah Drezek, and Renata Pasqualin at Rice University developed gold nanoshells, which when tuned in size to absorb near-infrared light, serve as a platform for the integrated discovery, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer without invasive biopsies, surgery, or systemically destructive radiation or chemotherapy.2004: The European Commission adopted the Communication Towards a European Strategy for Nanotechnology, COM(2004) 338, which proposed institutionalizing European nanoscience and nanotechnology R&D efforts within an integrated and responsible strategy, and which spurred European action plans and ongoing funding for nanotechnology R&D. (Image at left.)

2004: Britains Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering published Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies: Opportunities and Uncertainties advocating the need to address potential health, environmental, social, ethical, and regulatory issues associated with nanotechnology.

2004: SUNY Albany launched the first college-level education program in nanotechnology in the United States, the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

2005: Erik Winfree and Paul Rothemund from the California Institute of Technology developed theories for DNA-based computation and algorithmic self-assembly in which computations are embedded in the process of nanocrystal growth.

2006: James Tour and colleagues at Rice University built a nanoscale car made of oligo(phenylene ethynylene) with alkynyl axles and four spherical C60 fullerene (buckyball) wheels. In response to increases in temperature, the nanocar moved about on a gold surface as a result of the buckyball wheels turning, as in a conventional car. At temperatures above 300C it moved around too fast for the chemists to keep track of it! (Image at left.)

2007: Angela Belcher and colleagues at MIT built a lithium-ion battery with a common type of virus that is nonharmful to humans, using a low-cost and environmentally benign process. The batteries have the same energy capacity and power performance as state-of-the-art rechargeable batteries being considered to power plug-in hybrid cars, and they could also be used to power personal electronic devices. (Image at right.)

2008: The first official NNI Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Research was published, based on a two-year process of NNI-sponsored investigations and public dialogs. This strategy document was updated in 2011, following a series of workshops and public review.

20092010: Nadrian Seeman and colleagues at New York University createdseveral DNA-like robotic nanoscale assembly devices.One is a process for creating 3D DNA structures using synthetic sequences of DNA crystals that can be programmed to self-assemble using sticky ends and placement in a set order and orientation.Nanoelectronics could benefit:the flexibility and density that 3D nanoscale components allow could enable assembly of parts that are smaller, more complex, and more closely spaced. Another Seeman creation (with colleagues at Chinas Nanjing University) is a DNA assembly line. For this work, Seeman shared the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience in 2010.

2010: IBM used a silicon tip measuring only a few nanometers at its apex (similar to the tips used in atomic force microscopes) to chisel away material from a substrate to create a complete nanoscale 3D relief map of the world one-one-thousandth the size of a grain of saltin 2 minutes and 23 seconds. This activity demonstrated a powerful patterning methodology for generating nanoscale patterns and structures as small as 15 nanometers at greatly reduced cost and complexity, opening up new prospects for fields such as electronics, optoelectronics, and medicine. (Image below.)

2011:The NSET Subcommittee updated both the NNI Strategic Plan and the NNI Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Strategy, drawing on extensive input from public workshops and online dialog with stakeholders from Government, academia, NGOs, and the public, and others.

2012: The NNI launched two more Nanotechnology Signature Initiatives (NSIs)--Nanosensors and the Nanotechnology Knowledge Infrastructure (NKI)--bringing the total to five NSIs.

2013: -The NNI starts the next round of Strategic Planning, starting with the Stakeholder Workshop. -Stanford researchers develop the first carbon nanotube computer.

2014: -The NNI releases the updated 2014 Strategic Plan. -The NNI releases the 2014 Progress Review on the Coordinated Implementation of the NNI 2011 Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Strategy.

Read more:
Nanotechnology Timeline | National Nanotechnology Initiative