The Sustainable Agriculture, Food, and Environment (SAFE) Lab led by incoming assistant professor Jikai Zhao (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=TS6zvOEAAAAJ&hl=en) in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at Kansas State University is seeking master’s (1-2) and PhD (2-3) students specializing in biofuels/platform chemicals production through biochemical conversion of biomass and in sugar (glucose/galactose to fructose/tagatose) isomerization through enzymatic/catalytic reactions. The stipends are $20,000/year and $24,000/year for master’s and PhD students, respectively, with an additional tuition support of ~ $10,000/year.

Qualifications
The role of graduate research assistants encompasses a variety of responsibilities:

• conducting research in biomass valorization and sugar isomerization.
  o developing scholarly manuscripts, presentations for scientific conferences, and reports to disseminate research findings.
• mentoring undergraduate students and managing the laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Jikai Zhao.
  o assisting in identifying funding sources and drafting grant proposals.
• engaging in relevant extension and education activities.
• performing other research, education, and extension-related tasks as needed.
  Required Qualifications
  A B.S./M.S. degree in biological engineering, chemical engineering, biochemistry, agricultural engineering, food science/chemistry, or a closely related discipline.
  Basic theoretical background and experimental experience in biomass pretreatment, fermentation, sugar isomerization, computational modeling, technoeconomic analysis, or life cycle assessment.
• Strong written and oral communication skills with ability to publish manuscripts.
• TOEFL (79)/IELTS (6.5) and GPA above 3.0.
• Admission Details: https://www.k-state.edu/grad/admissions/application-process/

Preferred Qualifications
Preference will be given to applicants with strong research experience, publication records, considerable motivation, and excellent problem-solving skills.

Apply

Inquiries including (1) a cover letter and (2) a CV can be submitted to Dr. Jikai Zhao at zjkbwy@gmail.com. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting immediately until the position is filled.